IN IN - Burger Chef murders, Speedway, 17 Nov 1978

[lolz]

The Speedway Murders: Australian filmmakers attempt to solve 1978 US cold case

The Speedway Murders: Australian filmmakers attempt to solve 1978 US cold case​

Photo: Supplied: NZIFF
At the end of their Friday night shift in 1978 four young workers at a burger restaurant in Speedway, Indiana went missing.

At first police thought they'd taken the petty cash and gone partying. But they didn't appear the next morning. By Sunday, the bodies of Jayne Friedt, Daniel Davis, Mark Flemmonds and Ruth Ellen Shelton had been found in the woods 30km away.

The Burger Chef Murders, as the case came to be known, was never solved - although there were suspects.

45 years on Australian filmmakers Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien have tried to piece together what happened that night, interviewing witnesses, police officers and family members in an attempt to turn up new evidence about the case.

And they may have found something. Their film, The Speedway Murders, recreates the Burger Chef scene - with young Kiwi and Australian actors portraying the victims and running through the main theories of what happened that night. It's playing as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival.

Luke (left), on set. Adam, right. Photo: Supplied: NZIFF

 

[Richard]

The Burger Chef Murder Victims:

L to R: Jayne Friedt, 20, Ruth Shelton, 18, Daniel Davis, 16, and Mark Flemmonds, 16.

 

[dotr]

'May 30, 2024 #SpeedwayIndiana #BurgerChef
The trailer is here for THE SPEEDWAY MURDERS, a thrilling true-crime docudrama from Australia filmmaker duo Adam Kamien and Luke Rynderman. Discover one of the United States’ most baffling unsolved cases of four young employees kidnapped and brutally slain following the closing shift at a burger restaurant in Speedway, Indiana in 1978. See it first at New Zealand International Film Festival 2024.'

'Jul 20, 2022 Cold Cases to Dig Into
On Friday, November 17, 1978, the Burger Chef murders took place at a Burger Chef restaurant in Speedway, Indiana. Four young employees went missing (Daniel Davis, Mark Flemmonds, Ruth Shelton, and Jayne Friedt). Ridiculously, the missing teens were not taken seriously by investigators and were assumed to be petty cash thieves due to missing cash from the restaurant safe. The next day, Burger Chef was open for business as usual…It was only until their bodies were found in the woods days later, that investigators realized that they had wiped away possible evidence at a crime scene.How this case unravels will leave you in complete disarray'

 

[KentuckyFilly79]

I just watched this today. It was very well done.

 

[KentuckyFilly79]

Has anyone read the released FBI files? I am curious about the shoes notated on pg 12 - items 8 & 9 - a left shoe was found in the vehicle (Item 8) and then the pair of shoes (Item 9) was recovered from under a bridge in Speedway the next day. Does anyone know if this bridge was located on the route the car would have traveled when it left the Burger Chef to the location it was ultimately found?

 

[KentuckyFilly79]

Also, on pg 57 there is a news article that was written before they found the victims. In the article it is stated that Carolyn Friedt, Jayne's mom, was told by the police not to "release any photograph of their daughter to the media". What would be the purpose in this? At the time she was missing, one would think that you would want to get her picture out there in the public.

 

[HopeRains]

'May 30, 2024 #SpeedwayIndiana #BurgerChef
The trailer is here for THE SPEEDWAY MURDERS, a thrilling true-crime docudrama from Australia filmmaker duo Adam Kamien and Luke Rynderman. Discover one of the United States’ most baffling unsolved cases of four young employees kidnapped and brutally slain following the closing shift at a burger restaurant in Speedway, Indiana in 1978. See it first at New Zealand International Film Festival 2024.'

'Jul 20, 2022 Cold Cases to Dig Into
On Friday, November 17, 1978, the Burger Chef murders took place at a Burger Chef restaurant in Speedway, Indiana. Four young employees went missing (Daniel Davis, Mark Flemmonds, Ruth Shelton, and Jayne Friedt). Ridiculously, the missing teens were not taken seriously by investigators and were assumed to be petty cash thieves due to missing cash from the restaurant safe. The next day, Burger Chef was open for business as usual…It was only until their bodies were found in the woods days later, that investigators realized that they had wiped away possible evidence at a crime scene.How this case unravels will leave you in complete disarray'

Also now on Hulu. I watched it last night. There was a man in the documentary who indicated that a man by the name of Jeff Reid essentially confessed to him that he was the perpetrator and things "went sideways" at multiple points and the kids were murdered as a result. Per this person in his interview, he hadn't spoken of it ever. Mr. Reid apparently was accompanied by a man name Tim Willoughby, who has not been seen/found. Additionally, while there was no confirmation, the man in question (Reid) was captured on TV video around the time of the murders, at the Burger Chef, and exiting his van. One of the detectives in the documentary spoke with Mr. Reid sometime after the killing, saying he was "retired" (he wasn't) and directly asked him if he was responsible for which Mr. Reid was silent. The detective felt that something would have been said by Mr. Reid when being accused of a quadruple murder. As I recall, Mr. Reid died (while in jail I believe) in 2011/12.

 

[HopeRains]

I believe (although not sure) this is the Tim Willoughby in question. The distance between Clayton (MP) and Speedway (Burger Chef) is less than 20 miles. Interestly, it doesn't appear his missing timeline works for Burger Chef murders, unless he was in fact involved in his girlfriend's murder and on the run as initially thought by LE OR on the run from those who murdered his girlfriend. Hmm.

Timothy Lee Willoughby – The Charley Project

 

[dotr]

Naman Shrestha October 30, 2024

James "Jimmy” Friedt: What Happened to the Burger Chef Murder Suspect?

With Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien at the helm, ‘The Speedway Murders’ is a true-crime documentary movie that explores the unsolved murders of the four employees of Burger Chef restaurant in Speedway, Indiana, on November 17, 1978. One of the several primary suspects in the case was James...

thecinemaholic.com

''James “Jimmy” Friedt Was Linked to the Burger Chef Murders Due to His Involvement With Drugs​

''After James’ arrest, the police also theorized that since he dealt drugs, he might be responsible for getting his sister and her coworkers killed over a drug debt. However, James denied having any hand in the Burger Chef murders right away. Moreover, the authorities could not charge James with anything due to a lack of evidence. Thus, after about six days of digging deep into his life, the detectives cleared him of any involvement in the killing of his sister and other employees of the Burger Chef restaurant. The same could not be said about his cocaine-dealing charges.''
October 2024 PHOTO (16) GALLERY.

PHOTOS | Demolition begins on former Burger Chef connected to 1978 murders

More than four decades after the quadruple murder, the infamous Burger Chef in Speedway is now being demolished.

www.wishtv.com

''PHOTOS | Demolition begins on former Burger Chef connected to 1978 murders''​

 

[Zapoleon]

wow I never knew a movie had been made about it, or that it had now been knocked down.

I dunno where I first learned about this I was thinking it must have been on unsolved mysteries or something at some point was defo from a tv show.

Never realised it was in indy aswell, thought it was more rural Indiana it had took place.