Murder: True Crime Stories - UNSOLVED: Burger Chef Murders 2

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

After four young employees were kidnapped and murdered at the Burger Chef restaurant in Speedway, Indiana, the police desperately searched for their killer. The investigation was at a dead end until 1984, when a convict named Donald Wayne Forrester confessed to the murders… but the case was far from closed. Murder: True Crime Stories is a Crime House Original. For more, follow us on Tiktok and Instagram @crimehouse To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Crime House When someone confesses to murder, that's basically the end of the investigation, right? Sure, we've all heard of coerced confessions, but if someone the police weren't even looking into calls them up and says, I did it, and that person can also lead detectives to new evidence, and he knows details of the crime scene that were never made public, most of us would say, case closed. Someone exactly like that confessed to the burger chef murders, but then they retracted it. And because there was no physical evidence to go on, no charges were ever filed.

To this day, the case remains officially unsolved, which leads us to ask the questions, was this person the real killer? Or did investigators fall for a false jailhouse confession coming from a convicted felon looking for a favor? People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on.

Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House Original. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders. I'll be bringing awareness to stories that need to be heard with a focus on those who are impacted. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community for making this possible.

Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once. Plus exciting bonus content. This is the second of two episodes on the Burger Chef murders. A baffling quadruple homicide in

Speedway, Indiana that's been unsolved for nearly half a century. In part one, you heard how four young fast food workers went missing during their closing shift launching a massive search effort. That search ended with the grisly discovery of all four bodies near a hiking trail in the woods. Today, in part two, I'll take you through the investigation, which continues to this day. I'll tell you how a red herring suspect might have helped the real killer escape, and why

a broken knife might still lead to the truth. Finally, I'll introduce you to a pair of detectives who both believe they've solved this case, but have different suspects in mind. All that and more coming up. Hey everyone, it's Carter. I have a favor to ask you. If you are enjoying Murder True Crime Stories, I would be honored if you took a moment to rate and review us on Apple and Spotify. Your valuable feedback helps us improve and expand our reach so other true crime

fans can find us too. Your support means everything. Today people often joke about living through simultaneous apocalypses. Take the California wildfires that burned over 4 billion acres in 2020 and the Texas ice storm that ravaged the state the following year. With disasters seemingly popping up around every corner, it can feel like the world is literally ending. To sentiment, the residents of Speedway, Indiana would have understood as they looked at the front page of the Indianapolis Star on Monday, November 20th, 1978. The top story was

about the burger chef murders, with the headline, Four Speedway Kidnap Victims Found Dead in Wooded Area. The second biggest story of the day was about the mass murder-suicide of cult members at the Jonestown settlement in Guyana. After a summer marked by the brutal murder of a local grandmother in her own garage and a string of bizarre bombings that disfigured a Vietnam veteran, it must have felt like Speedway and the world itself was collapsing into chaos. Investigators hoped they'd get a quick break in the Burger Chef case and restore a sense of order to the town, but their hope was short-lived as soon as they realized the most important clues in the case had probably already been destroyed.

most important clues in the case had probably already been destroyed. The four young victims, Ruth Ellen Shelton, Daniel Davis, Jane Freight, and Mark Flemons, had been kidnapped and violently killed over what seemed like a simple robbery gone wrong. Only $581 was missing from the safe and cash registers at the Speedway Burger Chef. Because it initially looked like a petty crime, the responding officers allowed the restaurant to be cleaned and reopened for business without collecting forensic evidence. They didn't even take photos of the crime scene. Then, once the victims' bodies were discovered, police accidentally contaminated the second crime scene.

Given all that, the police started their investigation at a significant disadvantage. But what they lacked in evidence, they made up for in manpower. Not only was the FBI called in, so were the Indiana State Police, the Indianapolis Police Department, and the Marion County Sheriff's Department. The latter was considered to be the premier investigative agency in the Indianapolis area at the time. As every elite detective in the region converged on Speedway, investigators wondered if all

three of the year's most shocking crimes might be related. The Burger Chef murders, the killing of 65-year-old Julia Cyphers by a professional hitman, and the string of bombings that created chaos and fear and speedway. And they had a suspect in the second two crimes, Brett Kimberlin, 24-year-old businessman. By day he operated two natural foods businesses, but local and federal authorities believed he made most of his money by selling cannabis. Police believed Kimberlin had hired a hitman to kill Julia Seifers because she suspected him of an inappropriate relationship with her grandchild.

They theorized that the bombings were an attempt by Kimberlin to distract local authorities from the Cyphers case, and at least one store employee identified Kimberlin as the man buying items used to make the bombs. However, he didn't seem to have any motive for the burger chef murders and his alibi that night checked out. Ultimately, Kimberlin was convicted of perpetrating the Speedway bombings. As for Julia Seifers, she sadly never got justice. Detectives believe they identified the hitman who shot her, but the only eyewitness, Julia's

husband, died before the suspect could be brought to trial. So if Kimberlin really was behind her death, we'll probably never know for sure. In the Burger Chef case, though, it was back to the drawing board. And one of the most determined people there was 35-year-old Virgil Van de Griff of the Marion County Sheriff's Department. Rather than sticking to tried and true strategies, Virgil made a point of studying up on new investigative techniques. He hoped to bring some of his cutting-edge knowledge to the table in speedway.

Virgil was tasked with following up on leads from the public, of which there were plenty thanks to two separate cash rewards. The Burger Chef Corporation put up $25,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case. Another anonymous donor offered an additional $10,000. Everyone in Indiana seemed to have a theory. Suspicion briefly fell on Jane Freight's on-again-off-again boyfriend, who some of her friends described as jealous.

Investigators also looked into the unnamed burger chef employee who had called off work that night, but then inexplicably showed up at the restaurant right after the murders. In the end, though, neither of those leads panned out. Then the authorities got a series of calls that made Virgil sit up and pay attention. Two witnesses said they were behind the burger Chef restaurant around the time of the kidnapping when they were approached by two men. One was bearded and another was clean shaven.

It struck the witnesses as strange, because the two men asked the witnesses for identification even though they didn't appear to be police officers. When the witnesses refused, the men told them to leave because there had been some vandalism in the area. By itself, this wouldn't have been a huge break in the case, but the authorities interviewed three other witnesses who saw two men matching the same description near the restaurant that night. They were sitting in a dirty white or tan station wagon. Speedway police confirmed, whoever the men were, they definitely didn't work for the

department. Then another separate witness came forward with an even more chilling story. The witness, who isn't named in FBI files, told the authorities that on the night of the murders, he was somewhere between the restaurant and the woods where the bodies were found. Around 1am, the witness was approached by a dark blue Plymouth car carrying two men and three women. The driver asked for directions to Stones Crossing, an independent area of Johnson

County near where the bodies were found. Investigators believe this witness was telling the truth. His description of the driver matched the other witness's description of the bearded man they'd seen, and it was possible the other passengers were some of the burger chef victims. This was the perfect opportunity to try out one of those new techniques Virgil van de Griff loved, forensic hypnosis. Today hypnosis is generally considered an unreliable source of testimony in trials,

but when information from a hypnotized witness can be confirmed by other evidence, the technique has proven useful. And back in the days before DNA testing, detectives needed whatever help they could get in a case like the burger chef murders. So the authorities hypnotized the witness. In a trance state, the teenager was able to describe a female passenger in the vehicle. His description matched one of the victim's. Virgil wondered if this witness had encountered the killer, and there were five other people who could back up their description of the bearded man.

Sketches of the bearded man and the clean shaven man were quickly produced and distributed by local media, along with clay sculptures made of their heads. Soon enough, Virgil received a report that a man on the west side of town had been heard bragging at two local bars about committing the burger chef murders. But Virgil didn't want to risk bringing this guy in for questioning and getting stonewalled. Instead, he decided to go undercover. Pretty soon, he got himself into a game of pool with a possible suspect. It didn't take long for Virgil to lead his new pool buddy to the topic of the killings. The strategy seemed to pay off.

Not only did he brag about the murders, he even broke his own pool cue in half to show how he treated the victims. That's when Virgil flashed his badge and took the man downtown, at which point his story changed. Once he was in a police interview room, the pool player swore he had nothing to do with the crime. He passed a polygraph test. Today, polygraphs aren't considered to be reliable, but back in the 1970s, they were a standard part of criminal investigations, and no physical evidence emerged linking this suspect to the murders. Virgil was back to square one.

Four bodies, no significant forensic evidence, and no credible suspects. 1978 was coming to an end, and the Burger Chef case wasn't any closer to being solved. Detectives reminded themselves it had only been a couple of months since the murders. A break in the case might be just around the corner. But no matter how close they felt they were to an answer, it would never come. on the twisted psychology of the world's most notorious serial killers. Names like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, The Night Stalker, featuring expert psychological analysis from licensed clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels. Mind of a Serial Killer will take you into their stories like never before. So get ready to uncover what drives someone to commit the unimaginable.

Mind of a Serial Killer is a Crime House original. New episodes drop every Monday. Just search Mind of a Serial Killer and follow wherever you listen to podcasts. As 1978 drew to a close, about six weeks after the Burger Chef murders, Virgil Vandergrift of the Marion County Sheriff's Department was more determined than ever to find the killer. Having found forensic hypnosis helpful, he ventured even farther into the realm of the unseen, meeting with psychics and even a self-proclaimed medium who tried

to contact the victims with a Ouija board. That was a step too far, though, even for Virgil. He left the room without sticking around to see what the ghosts had to say. While Virgil was toeing the line between science and spirituality, one of his colleagues with the Indiana State Police was following a more old-fashioned method. A hunch. Detective Ken York believed it was worth looking into rumors about a local fast food robbery gang. So Ken and some of his colleagues drove to nearby Franklin, Indiana in search of the

robbers. It wasn't long before they spotted a bearded man who matched the previous police sketches. Living next door to him was another potential suspect, who police called the Fair-Haired Man. These two were connected to a third suspect, aptly nicknamed the Shotgun Man, because he would eventually be imprisoned for shotgun-related crimes. All three men had an alleged connection to fast food robberies, and two of them matched eyewitness descriptions of people seen near the Speedway Burger Chef on the night of the

murders. The Indiana State Police got so excited, the police commissioner issued a temporary gag order barring officers working the case from speaking to reporters. The authorities didn't want to risk showing their hand too early, potentially scaring their suspects into disappearing or destroying evidence. After doing some more digging, detectives learned that the bearded man didn't have an alibi for the night of the murders, so detectives decided to include him in a police lineup. They wanted to see if the eyewitnesses recognized him, but the bearded man was one step ahead of them. Before he could be called in,

was one step ahead of them. Before he could be called in, he shaved. If you've ever had a friend with facial hair suddenly go barefaced, you know how big of a difference it can be. The lineup plan was a bust. No charges in the burger chef murders were ever filed against any of the three men. The fair-haired man did, however, eventually go to prison for unrelated fast food robberies. After the investigation into the fast food robbery ring went nowhere, police shifted their focus towards another group of lawbreakers, local drug dealers. Surprisingly, that trail led to someone detectives already knew, not as a suspect, but as a bereaved family member. On March 5, 1981, James Freight, the brother of victim Jane Freight, was arrested on cocaine-related

charges. It made the police wonder, what if James had enemies, and they'd intended to target Jane as a way of getting to him? Maybe the killers thought she'd be closing the restaurant alone that night and panicked when they found four people inside. It was a promising theory, but a few weeks after James' arrest, the state police announced they didn't believe James was connected to his sister's murder. Once again, there just wasn't any evidence to back up their hunch.

Sadly, the next big event related to the case also involved a victim's sibling. This time it was Kevin Flemmons, one of Mark's brothers. Despite the Flemmons' devotion to their Jehovah's Witness faith, it seemed Kevin had fallen in with a bad crowd. On December 28, 1981, Kevin and another man robbed an Indianapolis grocery store at Gunpoint. The sawed-off shotgun Kevin used in the robbery was later found to be the murder weapon in a drug-related homicide. Kevin wound up pleading guilty to his role in the robbery was later found to be the murder weapon in a drug-related homicide. Kevin wound up pleading guilty to his role in the killing and served time in prison.

However, there was no evidence connecting him to his brother's murder. The fact that two of the victims had siblings involved with drugs was just an odd coincidence. Despite the lack of progress, detectives, sheriff's deputies, state troopers, and FBI agents across Indiana remained obsessed with the burger chef murders. All of them dreamed of finding a clue that finally broke the case wide open. They put countless man hours into it, but so far, nothing had come of their work. There were other murders to solve, other victims waiting for justice. So much to the dismay of the many law enforcement officers who'd poured blood, sweat, and

tears into the investigation, in 1983, the FBI recommended the case be administratively closed. That's how it stayed until a brand new detective entered the picture, bringing with him a brand new suspect. And this one was willing to confess. In 1984, Mel Willesey was a detective and 16-year veteran of the Marion County Sheriff's Department. He joined the force as a fresh-faced 18-year-old eager to make his name. Now at 34, he was one of the few detectives in Indiana who hadn't ever been assigned to the Burger Chef case.

That was about to change. In November 1984, six years after the Burger Chef murders, Mel received a tip from an Indianapolis Star reporter. A man incarcerated at the Pendleton Correctional Facility wanted to speak to someone about those four kids who got killed in Speedway back in 1978. More specifically, he wanted to confess to killing them. After spending his whole adult life chasing criminals, Mel was immediately wary, especially after finding out who the inmate was and what he had to gain by confessing.

34-year-old Donald Wayne Forrester was just starting a 95-year sentence for a 1979 sexual assault and kidnapping. During the crime, he repeatedly assaulted a young woman at gunpoint in the backseat of his car while an accomplice drove. The woman was terrified Forrester was going to shoot her, so she leaped from the moving car and ran to a nearby house for help. Now two years later, Forrester was the one asking for help. He was scheduled for a transfer to the state prison in Michigan

City, Indiana. As a sex offender, Forrester feared for his life at the State Pen, where his crimes would be severely looked down upon. In exchange for a confession in the Burger Chef murders, he wanted to stay out of Michigan City. Mel Willis initially thought this was just another red herring. Forrester had plenty of time while awaiting his trial to read up on the Burger Chef murders. He knew how eager investigators were to solve this particular case, and that they'd be willing

to do him a favor if he could help them solve it. So Mel moved slowly. First he investigated Forrester's past to confirm if it was even possible that he was the killer. That part of the story checked out. Forrester was living in Speedway at the time, having just gotten out of prison for another sex crime. Next Mel wanted to see if Forrester knew anything about the case that he couldn't have read

in the papers. Detectives applied for a court order to bring Forrester to Marion County Jail in downtown Indianapolis. The order was approved, and Mel spent more than two years working with Forrester to obtain hard evidence. The more Mel talked to his new suspect, the more legitimate his stories seemed. Here's what Donald Forrester told Mel about the night of November 17, 1978. James Freight, Jane's brother who was arrested for selling cocaine, owed money to a local

gang of drug dealers. Forrester was one of them. That Friday night, Forrester and three of his associates broke into the Speedway Burger Chef. Their plan was to threaten 20-year-old Jane. They hoped she'd be scared enough to put the pressure on her brother to pay up. But sixteen-year-old Mark Flemmons, who was already well over six feet tall and studied karate, had made Jane a promise that summer.

After a string of fast food robberies nearby, he told Jane he'd protect her if anything ever happened at Burger Chef. According to Forrester, Mark kept his word. The fight took Mark and the drug dealers back out of the restaurant towards the gang's van. As they continued to scuffle, Mark's head struck the bumper of the van and he collapsed. The dealers believed they'd killed him in full view of his three co-workers, Jane, Ruth, and Daniel.

They'd signed up to scare a young 20-year-old woman not to do time for murder. The criminals panicked and forced all four Burger Chef employees into their van. They thought Mark was already dead and planned to dump his body. The dealers didn't want to leave any witnesses, so they planned to kill the other three employees there too. The story sounded plausible, but Mel still needed hard evidence. So he asked Forrester to show him where they had killed the kids. He took Mel directly to the crime scene.

There Forrester pointed out exactly where each of the bodies had fallen. He was even able to describe their positions. In preparation for this trip, Mel had reviewed detailed photos of the crime scene, which most likely weren't available to the public. Forrester's description matched them perfectly. Mel was starting to believe he really had the killer in his grasp. Still, Forrester's disturbing level of knowledge of the crime scene wasn't enough to seal the deal.

He could have gotten that information out of someone else during his time in prison, maybe the real killer or a police officer with loose lips. However, Forrester said he could lead Mel to the.38 caliber shell casings he disposed of after shooting Ruth and Daniel. That might be just enough to file charges. Mel spoke to Forrester's ex-wife. Incredibly, she confirmed that Forrester had taken her to the crime scene a few days after the bodies were removed. She remembered him taking up some shell casings there, which

he brought home and flushed down the toilet. That toilet, which had since been sold along with the forester's old house to a new owner, happened to be connected to a septic tank rather than a city sewer. Shocking even themselves, the detectives found the casings. They appeared to match the bullets found in Ruth and Daniel's bodies. After years of hard work, police finally had their first real piece of physical evidence. It still wasn't enough, because the gun used to kill Ruth and Daniel was still missing. If the shell casings were somehow a coincidence, maybe flushed by somebody else, charging Forrester could mean letting the real killer go free. So in late 1986, Mal and his team prepared for another round of interviews with Forrester.

Maybe he could tell them something more definitive about the other men who were there that night. A corroborating witness would go a long way towards proving his story. Then the unthinkable happened. A police source leaked Forrester's confession to the press, and he suddenly clammed up, claiming his entire confession was coerced. On December 22nd, 1986, authorities announced that no charges would be filed against Forrester.

Mel's department shipped him off to Michigan City State Prison. Once again, the investigation was closed. Since that devastating blow, there's been little progress made in the case. Over the years, the investigation has been briefly reopened in response to a tip, only to close again when it doesn't pan out. In 2006, while dying of cancer, Donald Forrester wrote letters to several people. One of them went to a person he'd named as an accomplice back in 1984 when he first confessed

to the murders. Although the FBI redacted the letter, a cover sheet describing its contents suggests Forrester apologized for implicating his acquaintance. Later that year, Forrester apologized for implicating his acquaintance. Later that year, Forrester died. It seems he went to his grave, maintaining that at least some elements of his confession were false. Mel Willsee, who took Forrester to the crime scene, and Virgil Van de Griff, the investigator with a knack for hypnosis, both think Forrester

did it. They consider the case solved even though no charges were ever filed. Ken York, who worked with the Indiana State Police at the time, disagrees. He believes the crew of fast food robbers he found living in Franklin, Indiana were to blame. And Ken claims the so-called bearded man made a deathbed confession to his son, who reported it to police. The police sergeant who is in charge of the case from 1998 until 2018 also suspects a

fast food burglary ring of five men. He won't say who they are, but based on his description, it's likely the same group Ken York thinks did it. These days, there's a new detective in charge of the case, Indiana Police Sergeant Bill Dalton. He took over in 2018 with big plans. In interviews, he talked about new advanced forms of DNA testing as well as using AI to find patterns in old case files. Dalton even released new images of the knife used to kill Jane Freight in hopes of getting a fresh tip from the public. So far, his efforts have been fruitless, but Dalton isn't giving up yet.

The most recent development in the case was a somewhat symbolic one. On March 21, 2024, 46 years after the murders, the Speedway Burger Chef building was demolished. Although we can still hold out hope, it seems like we may never know for sure who killed Mark Flemons, Ruth Shelton, Jane Freight, and Daniel Davis. But if we can't get them justice, maybe the next best thing is to remember them as more than just murder victims. At just 16, Mark Flemons was a loyal son and brother, a devout Jehovah's Witness, a musician, and a chivalrous friend.

As an aspiring martial artist, he promised to always protect his sisters and the women he worked with. Ruth Shelton was a promising 17-year-old computer science student who balanced church choir practice with a packed schedule of AP STEM classes. Jane Freight was hard-working, practical, and ambitious. She was poised to become one of Burger Chef's youngest store managers all before her 21st birthday. At just 16, Daniel Davis already knew he wanted to join the Air Force. His desire to serve his country was matched by his passion for aviation.

The robber or robbers who broke into the Speedway Burger Chef that night in November 1978 took a few hundred bucks from the registers. But they also stole something of infinitely greater value. Everything these four promising young people would have contributed to the world. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next week for the story of a new murder and all the people it affected. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House original.

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