It’s been over forty years since four young Burger Chef employees, including Theresa Jefferies’ sister, Ruth Ellen Shelton, disappeared from a restaurant.
The documentary ‘The SpeedWay Murders‘ showcases the early hours of November 17, 1978, when an off-duty colleague discovered the restaurant open.
But the workers- Jayne Friedt, Ruth Shelton, Mark Flemmonds, and Daniel Davis—were nowhere to be found.
Highlights
- Theresa was 12, and her elder sister was merely away from the 18th birthday during the Burger homicide
- Theresa still hopes that the investigation will eventually come out in their favor and the culprits will get their karma.
- Ruth parents didn’t see apar the investigation loophole before they passed away.
The four cash register drawers had been opened; although $500 cash was missing, the change was left behind.
The workers, including assistant manager Friedt and high school students Shelton, Flemmonds, and Davis, were also missing.
After two days, the bodies of Ruth Shelton and Daniel Davis were discovered
Both victims had sustained multiple wounds inflicted by a 38-caliber hand weapon.
Theresa Jefferies Continues To Hope For Justice For Her Sister, Ruth Shelton, To This Day
During the unfortunate incident, Theresa was 12 while her sister Ruth was merely away from her 18th birthday.
Theresa Jefferies and her brother Gordon were at home when their parents broke the news.
The #BurgerChefMurders case involves 4 teens —
— The Horror You Know Podcast (@horroryouknow) July 20, 2023
Jayne Friedt, Daniel Davis, Ruth Shelton, & Mark Flemmonds
— employees of a Speedway, IN Burger Chef who were kidnapped & murdered in a nearby wooded area
LISTEN HERE for the full story: https://t.co/zf1JaMZ6E5#TrueCrime #Horror pic.twitter.com/XOL1izJGnU
They were told that their sister, Ruth Ellen, was in heaven with grandma and grandpa.
Ruth’s family was in despair about what happened to her in the pitch-black homicide.
Her parents couldn’t see apar the loophole investigation before they took their last breath.
Theresa Jefferies has maintained a sense of hope over the years, though she acknowledges a distinction between hope and certainty.
While there’s a chance the case could be solved, she doesn’t expect it to happen soon.
Instead of dwelling on the crime, Jefferies now focuses on honoring the lives of those lost.
She emphasized that they were individuals who deserved to be remembered for who they were, not solely for what happened to them.
According to the investigation, the perpetrators allegedly persuaded the four employees to leave with them in Jayne Friedt’s car.
They then switched to their getaway vehicle, drove to Johnson County, and forced the victims to a field where Ruth Shelton and Daniel Davis were fatally shot.
Additional Information
- Speedway police initially suspected they were “irresponsible kids” who had left for a night out.
- Disregarding the fact that young women wouldn’t typically leave their purses behind, officers didn’t call in crime scene technicians, dust for fingerprints, or photograph the scene.
- Investigators quickly located a witness who had seen two men in the alley approximately an hour before the abductions.
