Like most fast food Jayne Friedt was a 20-year-old working as the assistant manager at the Burger Chef restaurant in Speedway. Murders at the Burger Joint chronicles the events surrounding the quadruple slaying and the inquiry that followed. An article on MeTV laid out the date that Burger Chef created its Fun Meal. For now, the case remains unsolved, but the authorities have maintained that tips have continued to come in. been in the state at the time of the murders. documented what they had planned to do. Bodies were found close to state road 37, but near Center Grove High School on 700 East.) In addition, $581 was. James L. Ferguson, the chairman of General Foods, said, "We have concluded that this business was not central to the long-term direction that we see for General Foods.". He was supposed to his brother there to take him home. After the Hardee's deal, there was at least one Burger Chef employee that resisted losing this branding. It is believed that this individuals, Ruth Ellen Shelton and Daniel Davis, were shot in way Burger Chef and McDonald's weren't exactly the best of pals. One of North Citys previous Burger Chefs was converted into a church after having a steeple erected to the building. Art Dolan Jr. gave Jackson, Michigan the 20th Burger Chef restaurant in the U.S. and the first outside of Burger Chef's Indianapolis headquarters. [1], In 1984, Detective Mel Willsey of the Marion County Sheriff's Department received a call from Donald Forrester, an inmate at the Pendleton Correctional Facility. suspects were offered a deal if they would give up information in the It was thought to be a case of petty theft, with the assumption that the pilfered cash had been used by the youths to go partying that night. Serving signature menu items like the Big Shef and Super Shef hamburgers, Burger Chef was a fast-growing chain that expanded into 1,050 locations in just under 20 years. In 1982, General Foods sold Burger Chef to the Canadian company Imasco, which also owned Hardee's, for US$44 million (equivalent to $123.55million in 2021). Druthers. He had been beaten around his head. [1], At the time, there was some speculation that the murders were tied to other crimes that had shocked the town over the preceding months, such as the murder of Julia Scyphers and the Speedway bombings. That same day, the bodies of Jayne, Daniel, Ruth Ellen, and Mark were found about 30 minutes away from Speedway. In 1978, the same years of the murders, there other options had happened he would have survived. hope. county. [1], Buddy Ellwanger, a Speedway police officer who was eventually assigned to the case, admitted "we screwed it up from the beginning". She drove a Vega, which was found Ruth Ellen Shelton, Mark Burger Chef was an American fast-food restaurant chain. as one being fair-haired and the other had a beard. He stated that there were no leads on the case. On Sunday, a few hikers were hiking through the deep woods of Johnson County, 20 miles away from the Burger Chef restaurant, when they came across four bodies, all of them brutally murdered. Ever since Burger Chef created this deal, a plethora of fast food chains have implemented this concept. Both . Hardee's brought back the Big Shef hamburger for a limited time in 2001, 2007, and 2014 at some Midwestern locations. Burger Chef, then a national fast-food chain headquartered in Indy with a presence akin to that of McDonald's or Hardee's, which later bought the company out, put up a $25,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. According to Forrester, Friedt's brother James owed money on a drug deal, so he and three other associates had gone to the restaurant to threaten her, but when Flemmonds intervened to protect Friedt, a fight broke out during which Flemmonds fell and hit his head on the bumper of a car. As part of the deal, they came into possession of two so-called Insta . The proteins included Cajun and curry chicken, as well as some plant based options. This hypothetical ad would've gone hard after the McNugget makers. over the field, this could have destroyed evidence of vehicle tracks. But with no crime scene, no evidence, no photos, and no witnesses, the chances of solving the crime looked bleak. In her interview, she told the killers that she hoped they would The lights of the restaurant were still on, and the door was unlocked. Hardee's isn't the only group that temporarily brought the Burger Chef brand back. As for Mark, it was determined that he had blunt force trauma and died from choking on his own blood. There was even a point in time where the now inoperative chain attempted to use Mickey D's own iconography against them. beard, was threatened with a lineup. But when another Burger Chef worker came just after midnight, they discovered that their fellow employees were missing. Initially, the authorities believed Jayne Friedt, Ruth Shelton, Daniel Davis, and Mark Flemmonds just left with the money for a night out, but that seemed out of character. On November 10, 2018, one week before the fortieth anniversary, a small dedication ceremony for family and friends was held at the memorial site at Leonard Park in Speedway. Cite. [1][8][10] All four victims were still wearing their Burger Chef uniforms. Some Burger Chef aficionados say the last Burger Chef closed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1996. The back door was open, but he quickly realized something was wrong because the place was empty, and the safe was open with the money gone. The bodies of all four assistant manager Jayne Friedt (20), and staff Ruth Ellen Shelton (18), Daniel Davis (16), and Mark Flemmonds (16), per ABC News - were later discovered by walkers 20 miles from the restaurant, according to Indianapolis Monthly. This particular location was closed on this Four young employees were abducted from the restaurant, taken to a wooded field in Johnson County and killed, state police said. Friedt and Flemmonds were additionally discovered, and it was clear that all four of them were murdered. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Friedt had been stabbed twice in the chest. General Equipment Company eventually decided that they'd attempt to franchise this idea and wanted a new design for their restaurants. day, Jayne Freidt's vehicle was found. On the 35th anniversary allowed to give statements to the media at the time the bodies were The police reconstructed Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}394745N 861542W / 39.79593N 86.26161W / 39.79593; -86.26161. No name If nothing else, there is general agreement the last Burger Chef closed 20 years ago. The Indianapolis-based fast food chain is remembered fondly here in Cincinnati and across the country. The manager was called and the building About seven months after the Burger Chef incident, Mary was found shot to death in a barrel. WBIW said that this case hasn't been solved and if you have any new information, then you're asked to contact Crime Stoppers. the case was closer to getting closed. A cleaner working at Nando's demanded a 20,000 settlement after he saw a chef drop a burger on the floor and then serve it to a customer, a tribunal heard. Not many people want another human's buffet pores sweating onto their condiments. Unfortunately, for Burger Chef, the lawsuit was unsuccessful. https://solvedandunsolvedcrimes.wordpress.com/2019/09/01/the-burger-chef-murders-1978/. He believes that all scenes should be treated as if the worst case "They were kids who were out there trying to take responsibility," Cherne said. Company became a Dairy Queen franchisee (but a former Druthers franchise still remains). [1][6], Investigators continued to follow leads relating to possible suspects as widely as Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Chicago and Dallas. In The Burger Chef Murders of Indiana, author Julie Young explores the case, and the tragic victims caught in the crosshairs. The man provided the names of others who he suggested belonged to a fast-food robbery gang, whom investigators suspected may have been involved in the case. [14], On April 16, 2009, River West Brands dropped their petition for cancellation, and both parties agreed to pay their own attorneys' fees. [18] He died in prison from cancer in 2006 at age 55. Any critical forensic evidence . "too many chiefs and not enough Indians.". Two bodies found. For those of you still longing for a Burger Chef fix, Hardee's has been known to bring back the Big Chef from time to time at some of their Midwestern locations. Business . Crawfordsville Road in Speedway, Indiana. And why did this fast food chain disappear? In this book, every chapter is a new case with new victims. The first Burger Chef restaurant opened in Indianapolis in the spring of 1958. In the time after the bodies were found, the authorities had the description of two men who were seen at the restaurant. Great blog post, this post helped me to write my blog post. location in Speedway. Their bodies were found two days later in a hilly, wooded area . Between 11:00 pm (closing time) and midnight (23:00 and 24:00 EST) on November 17, 1978, four employees of the Burger Chef restaurant at 5725 Crawfordsville Road disappeared: assistant manager Jayne Friedt, 20; Daniel Davis, 16; Mark Flemmonds, 16; and Ruth Ellen Shelton, 18. Other employees arrived at the restaurant and cleaned up any possible evidence that could have been left inside the night before. At around midnight on Friday, November 17th, 1978, an employee of the Burger Chef branch located on Speedway, Indiana, came by the restaurant and noticed something strange. scenario is at hand. Hardees is known to sometimes bring back the Big Chef at certain of its restaurants located in the Midwest, so those of you who are still pining for your Burger Chef fix should keep an eye out for it. The same day that the four victims were found, Burger Chef held a press conference in front of QRS communicated that the company sold this brand after it lost millions of dollars. Flemmonds was found. case from the beginning. [7], Police did not initially consider the case to be serious, given that management reported the loss of only approximately US$581 (equivalent to $2,414 in 2021) from the safe[8] and no clear signs of a struggle. an hour or so after close. Just typical prep and cleanup. More than US$100 in coins was left in the registers. This resulted in him shaving. There was a 14-year-old Ronald MacDonald, a 39-year-old Ronald MacDonald, and a 71-year-old Ronald MacDonald. He then led the police to a spot where he claimed he had thrown the gun into a river. Another slew of mistakes You are owner of a small and wonderful fast food cafe. Forty years have passed since four Burger Chef employees were kidnaped while on the job in Speedway, Indiana. Jayne Freidt was the assistant manager at the speedway The fair-haired man and Shotgun have never been She had only been working at the Speedway Burger Queen was rebranded as Druthers restaurants in 1981, despite the fact that the majority of the alterations were just cosmetic. Ken York was one of the However, as per the show, Donald talked about the victims being bound, which was untrue. This man legitimately deserved a medal for his tenacity. The investigation also faced several issues because the restaurant was allowed to be cleaned up the morning after the disappearance, which meant that any potential evidence was gone. ask God for forgiveness. The search led them to Franklin, Indiana. This led police to checking to see if he had These restaurants usually had a wide variety of burger options and sandwich options. It was noted that the doors were manual lock. debt from one of the employees, but then another employee had recognized At 11 p.m. on Nov. 17, 1978, four young people were closing up a Burger Chef restaurant at 5725 Crawfordsville Road in Speedway. inappropriate for him to question the work his officers had done. lack of communication was sending the investigation into a tailspin. (The picture above, shows the approximate location of where the bodies would have been found. Flemmond's father spoke similarly. In 1978, four employees from Burger Chef's Speedway, Indiana restaurant were mysteriously killed: Jayne Friedt, 20; Ruth Shelton, 17; Danny Davis, 16; and Mark Flemmonds, 16 (via Insider). [13] The New York Times piece furthermore provided General Food's given reason for selling the Burger Chef brand. Burger Chef offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. location for a short period of time, before that she had worked at the found the building empty and unlocked, so he called the speedway police To put that number into perspective, McDonald's had 1,600 restaurants. Over the years, the case has garnered national attention with various theories of what possibly happened. The chain expanded throughout the United States and, at its peak in 1973, had 1,050 locations. Not far away was the body of Jayne Friedt, murdered with a . When the police came to investigate this crime scene, they didn't respond appropriately. been claims that this man's son has confirmed that his father was later served time on a charge related to a shotgun, thus earning himself Who wouldn't want to live in that reality? The bodies of all four youths were discovered on Sunday afternoon by hikers in a Johnson County wooded area, some 20 miles (32 km) away. Between 300400 restaurants in 19 states at its peak. It rapidly expanded throughout the United States and at its peak in 1973 approached 1,200 locations, challenging McDonald's for artery-clogging supremacy. simply couldn't afford one. didn't seem suspicious until the bodies were found. They claimed it had, "Two big, all-beef patties on a triple-decker bun. Brian Kring, a fellow employee, and friend of the four deceased, took the night off to go out on a date. What kid could resist? It was obvious Journal & Courier 6-16-82 The Berkshire Eagle 5-22-84 Burger Chef Funmeal When the [1] Ken York, one of the original investigators on the case, has noted that the deaths of the Greenwood suspect and the bearded suspect, from an apparent suicide and a heart attack respectively, came suspiciously close after the release of the armed robber named by the Greenwood suspect. Burger Chef was a pretty popular fast-food chain that was founded in 1954, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Another associate named by the Greenwood suspect, who fit the description of the fair-haired man, also subsequently was imprisoned for other armed robberies of fast-food restaurants. March of 1979 led police Authorities never publicly named suspects, but if you dig around you can find the names of a few. The final restaurant to carry the Burger Chef name closed in 1996. He was born on March 2, 1953, and passed away on August 5, 2017. does still yield hope. believed that everything was going as it should until about midnight. He came to close up late at night and found the entire joint empty and the cash locker open. Where the bodies were found. It just goes to show you how Burger Chef's creator patented some interesting designs throughout the chain's pretty short history. But when he arrived, he found the restaurant empty. The original menu consisted solely of a 15-cent burger, 20-cent cheeseburger, 15-cent fries made from fresh potatoes (in 1963, his first day at work, Lee peeled 600 pounds of potatoes) and the milkshakes were 15 cents and sodas 10 cents. Be the first one to comment on this story. "Heap on the value at the Burger Chef Works Bar. While there were many theories regarding what happened, little evidence coupled with non-productive leads meant that the case went cold. The weather was dreary and rainy, more of a drizzle At the time when General Foods purchased Burger Chef, the chain had 600 restaurants spread over 39 states. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. It was an otherwise normal Friday night on November 17th, 1978, and the Burger Chef restaurant in Speedway, Indiana had been. varies depending on the publication where you find the information. Olson then goes onto state that Burger Chef can sell its customers the same feeling. . Starting in 1954, this Indianapolis-based burger company was part of the General Foods Corporation and eventually sold to the wonder of Hardee's in 1982, and officially closed . Mitchell ran this eatery for another 14 years. The program outlines that this Burger Chef would have started packing up at 11:00 p.m. 1721 W. Katella, Anaheim, CA - (opened March 7, 2000) - Was a McDonald's restaurant. He ended up selling this establishment to his stepdaughter, who then turned it into a Pleasers. Deciding to pay them a visit, he walked up to the back door and noticed it was open, which was odd. In another New York Timesarticle from 1972, the General Foods chairman C. W. "Tex" Cook said, "We overextended ourselves, primarily by assuming extensive real estate commitments and expanding too rapidly." Plus a generous slice of cheese, crispy lettuce, and tasty sauce." The following day, the Burger Chef employees were still missing. Willsey interviewed Forrester's ex-wife, who said that he had driven with her out to a wooded area shortly after the murders and retrieved several shell casings, which he then flushed down the toilet. [1] The chain featured several signature items, such as the Big Shef and Super Shef hamburgers. No pictures were taken at the Burger It has been forty years since four employees of Burger Chef were taken hostage while they were on the job in the city of Speedway, Indiana. Never an extra charge.". Summoned for a lineup, the man shaved his beard (which he had had for the previous five years) the night before he was to appear. passed his polygraph. [8][11]Both Davis and Shelton had been shot numerous times with a .38 caliberfirearm. Locations in Canada and Australia as well. Some officers that were on the scene claimed When Burger Chef was at the height of its popularity, it was the pioneer of a concept that nearly everyone today associates with McDonalds: the kids meal. It was believed that the employees Two days later, the four employees were found in a hilly, wooded area in Johnson County, Indiana, about a 35 to 40-minute drive from the restaurant. However, without confessions despite offers of plea deals to any suspects not directly responsible for the killings and without direct physical evidence of the involvement of the suspects in the murders, the police were not able to make arrests. Torontoist furthermore republished some of Burger Chef's original advertisements that were meant to entice the 1969 Canadian public. in April of 979. As a result, composite sketches and clay busts were made. On November 17th, 1978 four young employees of the dead fast food chain, Burger Chef in Speedway, Indiana, disappeared near closing time: Daniel Davis (16), Mark Flemmonds (16), Jayne Friedt (20) and Ruth Shelton (17). department. Credit: Bass Photo Co Collection, Indiana Historical Society View Source By 1959 there were eight Burger Chefs in Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri. Who knows, Hardee's may cook this item again. In 1967, General Foods paid a total of $16 million to acquire the Burger Chef restaurant chain. The founders of the Twenty miles south of Speedway, in Johnson County, four bodies had been discovered in a rural field, shot, stabbed, and . After serving customers and locking the doors for the night . why would the girls leave their purses at the restaurant? The bodies where in i would be grateful if you read over it.. you do an amazing job of writing about this case, well done on your work. Gantz. ", 19711976: "You get more to like at Burger Chef. MLive defined it as a place that patrons could go to put additional condiments on their burgers. When this employee arrived, he Its handle wasn't ambiguous like McDonald's or an acronym like KFC. As Reader's Digest expounded, McDonald's launched its Happy Meal in 1979, and Burger Chef brought a lawsuit for appropriating the Fun Meal idea. the business to open without collecting evidence was the right decision. His brother had a white work van. Indy Starnoted that this restaurant was created in 1957 after he and his brother Donald Thomas had patented a flame broiler. The Dalton store opened in 1969. The Burger Chef Murders were never solved. the Speedway location. Burger Chef may not be a familiar name to today's generation, but back in the 1960s and 70s, it rivaled the mighty McDonald's for the top spot in the fast food world. Kyle Sambrook, 33, and his Beagle Bane ventured out to walk and camp in the Highlands a week before their bodies were found. If a foodie was to search across America's landscapes and cityscapes, they wouldn't find a single official store still operating. There were options of your basic onion, tomatoes, carrots, cheeses, and fruits. [3], By 1972, its number of locations (1,200) was surpassed only by McDonald's (1,600). Each tree is adorned with a plaque with a short biography of one of the victims. disappeared. Flemmonds was gunned down at work because he came in to cover for the girl whom Kring had taken out on a date earlier that evening. But what exactly is a Works Bar? Time remarked that they were the first place to advertise the burger, fries, and a drink combo. According to Hersh Shefrin, Burger Chef had around 1,200 fast food outlets back in 1972. The suspect was in custody at the time. The authorities also found shell casings in the septic tank of a house Donald used to live in. He also knew about the broken handle of the knife, which was not widely publicized. like most fall days in Indiana. ", "Headstone Donated for Burger Chef Murder Victim. Both were shot multiple times in the head, neck, and shoulders with a .38-caliber firearm. On Sunday, November 19, 1978, two days after Brian Craine entered the abandoned Speedway Burger Chef restaurant, police received a devastating call. As someone who lives in Indiana, I can assure you that another employee who wasn't scheduled to work that evening had plans to In 2020, aneBay user put up a post that advertised 136 baseball-shaped disks that originally came from the chain's Fun Meals. The final restaurant to carry the Burger Chef name closed in 1996. The chain had enjoyed some pretty solid success, until they folded in 1996, roughly about 25 years ago. him and there was no choice, but to get rid of the witnesses. November 17, 1978. Their bodies were found in Johnson County two days later. If Mark had been It is believed that if one of two Just after 11:00 PM on Friday, November 17, 1978, four young employees of a Speedway, Indiana, Burger Chef restaurant located at 5725 Crawfordsville Road disappeared. [12][13], In January 2007, River West Brands, LLC, of Chicago, Illinois, sued Hardee's Food Systems in the US Patents and Trademarks Office, claiming abandonment of the Burger Chef trademark. They also found a few cash register draws and Shelton's jacket on the ground. Not every Burger Chef idea was adopted by the masses. Torontoist said that they did an ad blitz in 1970 but thendecided not to market their brand as aggressively. Ruth Ellen Shelton, Daniel Davis and Mark. Indianapolis Monthly also detailed that the bodies of Shelton and Davis were eventually found around 20 miles from the restaurant in the Johnson County woods. [7] The chain had two mascots: Burger Chef, voiced by Paul Winchell, and Jeff (the chef's juvenile sidekick). Sometime after 10 p.m. that night, the restaurant was found empty. Salty potato slices and sugary soda are two of the pillars that help hold up the burger experience. The franchise disappeared over time, but its stories lived on for the infamous crime at Burger Chef in Speedway, Indiana. Their most notable design that never caught on was a concept that they called the Works Bar. After serving customers and locking the doors, they began their regular cleanup to prepare for the following day, knowing nothing of the Burger Chef murders that has just taken place. Please logout and login again. The Burger Chef restaurant was cleaned up. found due to the orders given by the Johnson County Prosecutor, Charles followers raised enough money to purchase a headstone. Two days after the employees disappeared the worst case scenario appeared. the other one another, but anonymous officers came forward to say the bodies before the forensic technicians or the corner even arrived. Your email address will not be published. At this point the solved and is considered active. [21][22][23], On September 5, 2022, Investigation Discovery aired Murders at the Burger Joint. In 1954, Keith J. Kramer and his wife's uncle Matthew Burns opened the first two Burger King locations in Miami, Florida after purchasing the assets of a hamburger stand called Insta-Burger in Jacksonville. of the Speedway Police Department came into question, the Speedway They returned to the burger chef located at 5725 They were kidnapped during what was believed to be a botched robbery. Forty years have passed since four Burger Chef was an otherwise normal Friday night on November 17th, 1978 the. The approximate location of where the now inoperative chain attempted to use Mickey D 's own iconography them... Hypothetical ad would 've gone hard after the bodies were found about 30 minutes away from Speedway [ 3,. Casings in the state at the Burger Chef Works Bar pay them visit... 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