Episode #212: Beyond the Keystone - Indiana
- keystonecoldcases
- Jul 3
- 1 min read
In November 1978, what began as a routine closing shift at a Burger Chef restaurant in Speedway, Indiana, ended in one of the nation's most haunting unsolved murder cases. Four young employees—Jayne Friedt, Ruth Shelton, Daniel Davis, and Mark Flemmonds—vanished without a trace, only to be found murdered two days later in a wooded area miles away. Despite decades of investigations, false confessions, and countless theories, no one has ever been convicted. In this episode, we examine the timeline, the investigative mistakes that may have cost the case its best chance at justice, and why the Burger Chef murders continue to captivate true crime investigators nearly 50 years later.
Sources
The Burger Chef Murders in Indiana by Julie Young (Arcadia Publishing, 2019) — widely cited as one of the best detailed accounts. Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Burger-Chef-Murders-Indiana-Crime/dp/1467143081
Documentary : The Speedway Murders
National Register context is referenced in the Wikipedia page above and local sites. The district (roughly 10th–16th Streets, Main to Winton) was listed in 2005.
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