All four were still wearing their brown and orange Burger Chef uniforms. But when another Burger Chef worker came just after midnight, they discovered that their fellow employees were missing. My family and I relocated to the Jersey Shore when I was around six years old, and one of the things that stands out in my memory is a restaurant called Burger Chef. It was a well-known burger spot, but it is no longer in business. simply couldn't afford one. This franchise was a series of restaurants where chefs made their customers burgers. Just typical prep and cleanup. He had been beaten around his head. However, after someone within the sheriff's office leaked details of Forrester's cooperation, he suddenly recanted his confession and claimed it was coerced. In this book, every chapter is a new case with new victims. Burger Queen was rebranded as Druthers restaurants in 1981, despite the fact that the majority of the alterations were just cosmetic. take their coat? This case is a great case to start with because there is a lot of information available and many theories as well. Ahead of the documentary's premiere on September 5, 2022, here are five quick facts to acquaint viewers with the Burger Chef murders. Not far away was the body of Jayne Friedt, murdered with a . After serving customers and locking the doors for the night, the kids began their regular cleanup to ready the restaurant for the following day. case from the beginning. One morning in November 1978, the residents of Speedway, Indiana, woke up to the horrifying news of four fast food restaurant employees being brutally murdered. There is nothing wrong with being an armchair detective. In 1987, The Telegraph reported on a story where three different generations of the same family had someone called Ronald MacDonald in it. the case was closer to getting closed. door was not. Another anonymous donor offered $10,000. No one was ever brought to justice in connection with the deaths. Both of these Steak n' Shake added another $1,000 to the fund. They claimed that the company had encouraged them to purchase restaurant upgrades even though it was aware of the pending sale. The founders of the Then, in 1981, the authorities heard from Alan Pruitt, who claimed to have information about the murder. She drove a Vega, which was found Ever since Burger Chef created this deal, a plethora of fast food chains have implemented this concept. The first time was in the early 1960s, and then on a second occasion in 1969. Here are seven other fast food businesses that we miss frequenting and wish we could do so. However, Alans story kept changing over the years, and with no concrete evidence tying Jeff and Tim to the murders, the case remained unsolved. When the $15.00 (70% off) Ruth Ellen Shelton, Daniel Davis and Mark. Their bodies were found two days later in a hilly, wooded area off Johnson County road 700 North, near Center Grove High School. These restaurants usually had a wide variety of burger options and sandwich options. Investigators came up with the names of five men thought to be part of the. The blade of the Burger Chef murders, they held their ground saying that they knew Friedt had been stabbed twice in the chest, while Davis and Shelton had both sustained several gunshot wounds. He came to close up late at night and found the entire joint empty and the cash locker open. Great blog post, this post helped me to write my blog post. Plus, Ruth and Jaynes jackets and purses were still at the restaurant. witness description, the State Police had sketches made up. Over the years many [14], Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 14:57, List of defunct fast-food restaurant chains, "Mad Men: A Brief History of the Real-World Burger Chef", "Burger Chef's Longest-Held Location was in Michigan", "General Foods Says It Plans To Buy Burger Chef Systems", "Burger Chef was 'incrediburgible': RetroIndy", "This defunct burger chain invented much of what you love about fast food", "Hardee's(R) Brings Back Burger Chef(R) Big Shef(TM) Hamburger for a Limited Time in Select Markets", "Hardee's brings back the Burger Chef Big Shef for a LTO", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burger_Chef&oldid=1140939277, 19801996: "Nowhere else but Burger Chef. The chain had enjoyed some pretty solid success, until they folded in 1996, roughly about 25 years ago. Just after midnight on November 17, 1978, a teenage boy pulled into the parking lot of the Burger Chef where he worked in Speedway, Indiana. In the same year that Frank and Donald Thomas established their restaurant in Indianapolis, Indiana, they received a patent for the flame broiler, which was developed by their parent firm, General Equipment Corporation. It just goes to show you how Burger Chef's creator patented some interesting designs throughout the chain's pretty short history. department. employees had taken off with some cash from the registers. At the time when General Foods purchased Burger Chef, the chain had 600 restaurants spread over 39 states. The Indianapolis-based fast food chain is remembered fondly here in Cincinnati and across the country. Indiana State Police, and the Johnson County Sheriff's Department, the On November 17, 1978, it was just another Friday night at a Burger Chef restaurant in Speedway, Indiana. Torontoist furthermore republished some of Burger Chef's original advertisements that were meant to entice the 1969 Canadian public. 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. found one day earlier or had M fallen the other direction so that the Willsey received a court order to bring Forrester to Marion County, where he confessed to shooting Davis and Shelton. The Burger Chef restaurant was cleaned up. 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. February 02, 2018. 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. Monday due to the tragedy at hand. The police still didn't At this point the Police speculate that the York and another officer were on a special task force set up to solve The Burger Chef restaurant closed at 11:00 pm like usual. They were kidnapped during what was believed to be a botched robbery. When he was questioned by police, he Based on the to checking Roger Dale Stafford. 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.". That knife is a survival hunting knife made of flimsy steel painted black. By 1972, its total number of restaurants had reached 1,200, making it second only to McDonalds in the industry (1,600). Friedt's car, a tiny Chevrolet Vega, was found a mile from the restaurant at a park near Speedway police headquarters. in April of 979. In 1978, the same years of the murders, there While Burger Chef used to be a major chain, competing with the likes of McDonald's, it's largely forgotten today since it fizzled out in the early 1980s. Around 10pm on that fateful night. All of the departments gave statements claiming to be cooperating with [1] The chain featured several signature items, such as the Big Shef and Super Shef hamburgers. Druthers. Bodies were found close to state road 37, but near Center Grove High School on 700 East.) When the police came to investigate this crime scene, they didn't respond appropriately. Freidt was found. 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. . It is believed that this On Friday, Nov. 17, 1978, four employees went to work at the Burger Chef on Crawfordsville Road in Speedway, Indiana. 3911 E 15th St, Panama City, FL - (opened . Two of their ads seemed bold and aggressively confident. victims were also interviewed and they talked about how they have lost He was supposed to his brother there to take him home. by the grace of God. Twenty miles south of Speedway, in Johnson County, four bodies had been discovered in a rural field, shot, stabbed, and . A witness came forward November 17, 1978. Four young employees were abducted from the restaurant, taken to a wooded field in Johnson County and killed, state police said. 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. Ruth Ellen Shelton, Mark Two of the They also found a few cash register draws and Shelton's jacket on the ground. like most fall days in Indiana. I didn't name names because of liability reasons, but names can be found in other individuals speculating. Twenty miles south of Burger Chef a grisly discovery was made in a Johnson County field. One of the major reasons for the case's being unsolved was the negligence of the authorities. I think I know the guy in the sketch. He then led police to the crime scene in the woods, where he accurately described the location and position of the bodies when they were found. varies depending on the publication where you find the information. found due to the orders given by the Johnson County Prosecutor, Charles March of 1979 led police aired. the other one another, but anonymous officers came forward to say the The proteins included Cajun and curry chicken, as well as some plant based options. The investigation trucked on, following any possible shred of . Lee came to Dalton as the general manager. Around midnight that night, another employee came by to pay a visit after noticing the lights still on at the restaurant. Two men that were In January of 1980, Ken Be the first one to comment on this story. He didn't have anything to say nice about the The following year, the chain introduced the Funmeal, the first kids meal that included a burger, french fries, a drink, a cookie, and a small toy; with expanded packaging that included stories about Burger Chef and Jeff's adventures and friends (including the magician Burgerini, vampire Count Fangburger, talking ape Burgerilla, and Cackleburger the witch), with riddles and puzzles. had known the man for five years, he had never shaved. [19] With no further cooperation from Forrester and no direct evidence proving he committed the murders, Forrester was never charged. food workers in Oklahoma. Louis All of the Burger Chef establishments in St. Louis were rebranded as Hardees some time around the year 1986. She had only been working at the Speedway hope. Company became a Dairy Queen franchisee (but a former Druthers franchise still remains). Joseph Roy Joe Metheny was an American serial murderer and rapist who was originally from the Baltimore, Maryland region. The final restaurant to carry the Burger Chef name closed in 1996. [13] The handle of the knife had broken off and was missing; the blade was later recovered during an autopsy. [4] They offered a double burger, called the Big Shef, and later the quarter-pound (113 gram) hamburger, Super Shef. 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. went on at the Burger Chef as usual. In January of 2015, a young man, Jake Query, Unfortunately, for Burger Chef, the lawsuit was unsuccessful. As someone who lives in Indiana, I can assure you that The objective is to promote history on Medium and demonstrate the value of historical writing. Your email address will not be published. Friedt and Flemmonds were additionally discovered, and it was clear that all four of them were murdered. The cafe "Burger Chef " is famous for the fast and quality service, and the tastiest food. 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. been in the state at the time of the murders. So it is Authorities never publicly named suspects, but if you dig around you can find the names of a few. [12][11][13][8][14]Friedt had been stabbed twice in the chest. Their bodies were found two days later near Center Grove High School in Johnson County. "Police didn't have a clue what was going on at the restaurant. followers raised enough money to purchase a headstone. 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). Also working with her on the night of the incident were 17-year-old Ruth Shelton, 16-year-old Daniel Davis, and 16-year-old Mark Flemmonds. came in that the kids were still missing, that the police started to An article on MeTV laid out the date that Burger Chef created its Fun Meal. way the scenes were handled during the numerous interviews he has given. He recalled: Many theories have emerged over the years, linking the Burger Chef murders to drugs. Well, cast these wonders aside, because these questions are about to be answered. Their bodies were found two days later in a hilly, wooded area . My only question is who was Jayne's live in boyfriend she had broken up with that summer. I am a History Educator and a Lifelong Learner with a Masters in Global History. 1978, two days later, when the bodies of all four victims were discovered near Johnson County Woods by a couple who lived in White River Township, located approximately 15 miles from the Burger Chef location. 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Foods purchased Burger Chef & quot ; Burger Chef, the Telegraph on..., despite the fact that the majority of the around the year 1986 service and... When General Foods purchased Burger Chef & quot ; Burger Chef, the Telegraph reported on a occasion!, state police had sketches made up young man, Jake Query, Unfortunately, for Burger Chef quot... Missing ; the blade was later recovered during an autopsy boyfriend she only! Were rebranded as Hardees some time around the year 1986 Roger Dale.! Joint empty and the cash locker open School on 700 East. in a Johnson County and killed, police! When he was questioned by police, he Based on the publication where find. Were 17-year-old Ruth Shelton, 16-year-old Daniel Davis and Mark the publication you..., wooded area on this story with because there is a lot of information available and many theories as.. To be part of the incident were 17-year-old Ruth Shelton, Daniel Davis and Mark, FL - opened. 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where were the burger chef bodies found