WEBVTT 00:00:08.269 --> 00:00:10.789 The views and opinions expressed in Cold and 00:00:10.789 --> 00:00:13.710 Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All 00:00:13.710 --> 00:00:16.129 parties mentioned are considered innocent until 00:00:16.129 --> 00:00:18.969 proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing 00:00:18.969 --> 00:00:22.410 also contains adult themes and languages. Listener 00:00:22.410 --> 00:00:26.269 discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin 00:00:26.269 --> 00:00:28.989 -Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski. 00:00:29.230 --> 00:00:31.289 And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover 00:00:31.289 --> 00:00:34.700 cold cases and missing person cases. Hello, everyone, 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:36.920 and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:39.619 host, Ali . And I'm your co -host, Eli. Welcome 00:00:39.619 --> 00:00:42.560 back, everyone. Yes. So a little housekeeping 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:45.079 right at the top. This episode is going to be 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:48.320 a two -parter. So there are a lot of details 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:51.719 in this case. So I want to go over all of them 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:54.420 since details are very important in cold cases. 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:57.840 So this will be a two -parter episode. Part one 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:04.920 this week, part two next week. They're kind of 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:07.780 rare when it comes to cold cases and missing 00:01:07.780 --> 00:01:10.980 person cases, so it's great that Ali brought 00:01:10.980 --> 00:01:13.900 it to cold and missing today, and I think we 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:18.780 should just jump right in. Let's do it. So just 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:20.700 as a bit of a content warning at the top, this 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:24.959 case does involve young people. Today, we are 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:28.280 talking about the cold cases of Jayne Friedt, Mark 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:31.680 Flemmonds, Ruth Ellen Shelton, and Danny Davis. 00:01:32.439 --> 00:01:35.900 otherwise known as the Burger Chef Murders. And 00:01:35.900 --> 00:01:40.079 this takes place in November of 1978 in Speedway, 00:01:40.219 --> 00:01:44.000 Indiana. But first, a little bit about Jayne, 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:48.299 Mark, Ruth, and Danny. Jayne was 20 years old 00:01:48.299 --> 00:01:51.900 in 1978. She was the assistant manager of the 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:55.840 Burger Chef in Speedway. Jayne was hardworking 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:58.900 and reliable and took her role seriously. She 00:01:58.900 --> 00:02:00.959 was supporting herself and building her future. 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.239 She actually had recently transferred to this 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:06.819 particular Burger Chef location about six months 00:02:06.819 --> 00:02:09.319 before the timeline picks up, after working at 00:02:09.319 --> 00:02:12.800 a different location for over three years. Mark 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:16.680 Flemons was just 16 years old in 1978. He was 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:18.780 a sophomore at Speedway High School, where he 00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:22.319 was known for his big smile and contagious laughter. 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:26.319 He was the youngest of seven siblings, and him 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:29.300 and his family lived nearby the Burger Chef in 00:02:29.300 --> 00:02:32.409 Big Eagle Apartments. He was so close to the 00:02:32.409 --> 00:02:34.669 Burger Chef that he was able to walk to and from 00:02:34.669 --> 00:02:40.250 work. Ruth Allen was 17 years old in 1978. She 00:02:40.250 --> 00:02:43.129 was incredibly intelligent. She was an honor 00:02:43.129 --> 00:02:45.689 roll student and had even started attending some 00:02:45.689 --> 00:02:48.189 college classes to get a jump start on her college 00:02:48.189 --> 00:02:52.449 credits. She was heavily involved in her youth 00:02:52.449 --> 00:02:56.050 group and her church worship band. She loved 00:02:56.050 --> 00:03:00.159 making music and singing. She had dreams of going 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:02.419 to college and wanted to become a computer scientist. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:09.199 Danny Davis was 16 years old in 1978. Danny was 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:12.759 helpful, energetic, and social with those that 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:15.900 he loved. He kept a very small group of close 00:03:15.900 --> 00:03:18.900 friends, very small, but he was very loyal and 00:03:18.900 --> 00:03:23.039 committed to those friendships. Danny was the 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:25.939 most recent hire at the Burger Chef. He was so 00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:28.219 new that he hadn't even gotten his first paycheck 00:03:28.219 --> 00:03:31.400 yet by the time the timeline picks up. He was 00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:34.159 a student at Decatur Central High School, and 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:36.479 he had a budding interest in photography. He 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:39.960 had even built himself a darkroom. He also wanted 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:42.319 to join the Air Force after graduating and would 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:46.259 often take photos of aviation or planes. He loved 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:50.280 taking photographs of that type of stuff. So 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:52.759 just before we jump into the timeline, I just 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:55.139 wanted to take a moment to talk about... kind 00:03:55.139 --> 00:03:58.120 of the location and well, I guess the locations 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:02.259 overall. So Burger Chef. Burger Chef was a popular 00:04:02.259 --> 00:04:07.759 Midwest fast food chain in the 70s. They actually 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:11.960 introduced the fun meal, I believe, a few years 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:14.840 before McDonald's introduced the happy meal. 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:18.920 So they were a big competitor of like all of 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:22.579 the famous fast food chains today. In the 1980s, 00:04:22.579 --> 00:04:26.339 Burger Chef was acquired and the locations were 00:04:26.339 --> 00:04:29.000 turned into Hardee's. So if you have a Hardee's 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:30.939 near you, there could be a chance that at one 00:04:30.939 --> 00:04:34.420 point it was a Burger Chef. Speedway, Indiana 00:04:34.420 --> 00:04:37.879 is just outside of Indianapolis. It's actually 00:04:37.879 --> 00:04:41.300 where the Indy 500 track is physically located. 00:04:41.459 --> 00:04:44.800 So that track is in Speedway, Indiana. Even though 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:48.540 it's the Indy 500, it's in Speedway. With the 00:04:48.540 --> 00:04:51.240 track being there and the town's name, Speedway, 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:56.139 Indiana, that town definitely is baked in racing 00:04:56.139 --> 00:04:59.079 and cars and that kind of stuff. So it's not 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:01.120 like a small rural town by any stretch. It's 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:05.379 a suburb of a big city and very close to Indianapolis, 00:05:05.459 --> 00:05:09.680 which is the capital of Indiana. And now a timeline 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:17.500 of events. Friday, November 17th, 1978. It is 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:21.399 the closing shift at the Burger Chef on Crawfordsville 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:25.180 Road in Speedway, Indiana. It had been a pretty 00:05:25.180 --> 00:05:28.100 typical night. It had been busy through the dinner 00:05:28.100 --> 00:05:30.480 rush, but as the night wore on, the restaurant 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:34.240 began to empty out. By 11 p .m., it was closing 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:38.060 time, and the four employees, Jayne, Mark, Ruth, 00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:40.920 and Danny, were scheduled to work for two more 00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:44.439 hours to close down the restaurant. Mark had 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:47.660 come in that night as a favor, actually. He was 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:50.459 working a shift that wasn't his. He had covered 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:53.319 for his co -worker Brian so he could take out 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:57.259 their other co -worker, Ginger, on a date. Mark 00:05:57.259 --> 00:05:59.839 had had a plan to walk home with his friend Kirk 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:02.879 after work. Remember, Mark lived very close to 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:06.319 the burger shop. Kirk, his friend, was spending 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:08.779 the night across the street from the burger shop 00:06:08.779 --> 00:06:13.290 at an under -21 club known as The Galaxy. Mark 00:06:13.290 --> 00:06:15.689 was not allowed to go there. His family was very 00:06:15.689 --> 00:06:18.829 religious. But Kirk planned to spend the evening 00:06:18.829 --> 00:06:22.029 there and then at midnight walk over to the Burger 00:06:22.029 --> 00:06:24.509 Chef so him and Mark could walk home together 00:06:24.509 --> 00:06:26.870 since they both lived in the same apartment building. 00:06:28.009 --> 00:06:31.389 Also nearby the Burger Chef is a Dunkin' Donuts. 00:06:32.550 --> 00:06:36.199 That night on November 17th, A 17 -year -old 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:38.319 girl was working at the Dunkin' Donuts and her 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:40.920 boyfriend, whose name is George, was visiting 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:43.079 her and spending time with her while she worked. 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:45.720 At some point in the night, one of the Burger 00:06:45.720 --> 00:06:48.139 Chef employees had actually gone to Dunkin' Donuts 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:50.600 to grab a box of donuts to snack on throughout 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:53.980 the night. So 11 p .m. rolls around, the restaurant 00:06:53.980 --> 00:06:58.779 is closed. Jayne Ruth, Mark, and Danny get to 00:06:58.779 --> 00:07:01.819 work on closing down the restaurant. At around 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:05.870 11 .15, George... That's the boyfriend of the 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:08.990 Dunkin' Donuts worker. George had walked over 00:07:08.990 --> 00:07:11.589 to the Burger Chef to get a book of matches. 00:07:12.269 --> 00:07:15.050 At first he didn't see anyone, but eventually 00:07:15.050 --> 00:07:17.269 Danny came from the back of the restaurant and 00:07:17.269 --> 00:07:20.389 gave him a book of matches. George headed back 00:07:20.389 --> 00:07:22.069 to the Dunkin' Donuts where him and his girlfriend 00:07:22.069 --> 00:07:26.009 stepped out back to have a cigarette. While they 00:07:26.009 --> 00:07:29.389 were out back smoking, two men walked down the 00:07:29.389 --> 00:07:31.930 nearby railroad tracks nearby and approached 00:07:31.930 --> 00:07:35.790 the teen couple. The men tell the couple that 00:07:35.790 --> 00:07:37.949 they should leave because there had been a lot 00:07:37.949 --> 00:07:41.189 of vandalism in the area. The men were also kind 00:07:41.189 --> 00:07:44.870 of shabbily dressed. One of the men is around 00:07:44.870 --> 00:07:49.209 5 '6 and around 200 pounds, very stocky build. 00:07:49.470 --> 00:07:52.769 He had reddish brownish hair with a full beard 00:07:52.769 --> 00:07:56.009 and mustache. The other man was a bit taller, 00:07:56.189 --> 00:08:00.720 around 5 '9 and 160 pounds, medium build. with 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:03.399 dark, greasy hair that had been combed back and 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:05.620 was mostly clean -shaven, though he did have 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:08.339 some stubble coming through. The couple finished 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:10.620 their cigarette and head back inside the Dunkin' 00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:15.699 Donuts. This was between 11 .15 and 11 .30. At 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:19.439 around 11 .45 p .m., Brian and Ginger were ending 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:22.360 their date night. They drove past the Burger 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:25.079 Chef, and they noticed that Jayne’s car was not 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:27.680 in the parking lot, but all of the lights were 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:31.389 still on inside. That was strange, as Jayne, being 00:08:31.389 --> 00:08:33.330 the assistant manager, would have been one of 00:08:33.330 --> 00:08:36.570 the last ones to leave. They don't see anyone 00:08:36.570 --> 00:08:40.389 inside or outside of the restaurant. Brian decides 00:08:40.389 --> 00:08:43.750 to drive Ginger home before swinging by the burger 00:08:43.750 --> 00:08:47.090 chef to see what was going on. So a few minutes 00:08:47.090 --> 00:08:50.649 later, right around midnight, Kirk approaches 00:08:50.649 --> 00:08:54.350 the burger chef. Remember, Kirk and Mark were 00:08:54.350 --> 00:08:55.809 going to walk home together around midnight. 00:08:56.460 --> 00:08:58.980 And when Kirk arrived at the Burger Chef, he 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:00.919 said that there were still cars in the parking 00:09:00.919 --> 00:09:03.720 lot, but the back door of the restaurant was 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:08.019 wide open. Kirk didn't see or hear anyone inside 00:09:08.019 --> 00:09:10.279 of the restaurant, so he decided to walk home 00:09:10.279 --> 00:09:14.399 alone. Shortly after Kirk leaves, Brian returns 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.620 from dropping off Ginger. All of the lights are 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:20.539 still on, and he notices the back door is slightly 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:24.330 open, he says. Brian goes inside and sees that 00:09:24.330 --> 00:09:27.149 the register drawer was on the ground and Jayne 00:09:27.149 --> 00:09:29.909 and Ruth's purses were still inside along with 00:09:29.909 --> 00:09:33.549 several jackets. The manager's office had been 00:09:33.549 --> 00:09:37.649 ransacked. Brian calls a manager who tells him 00:09:37.649 --> 00:09:41.990 to call the police. Jayne’s car, a Chevrolet Vega, 00:09:42.269 --> 00:09:46.610 was missing from the parking lot as well. Altogether, 00:09:46.850 --> 00:09:51.379 $581 had been stolen in cash. but several hundred 00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:55.379 dollars of coins had been left behind. Brian 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:57.700 called the police just shortly after midnight 00:09:57.700 --> 00:10:01.740 on Saturday, November 18th. But when Speedway 00:10:01.740 --> 00:10:04.820 officers arrived, they brushed off the scene. 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:08.740 They believed that the most likely scenario was 00:10:08.740 --> 00:10:11.879 that the four employees had taken the money and 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:15.379 gone off and played hooky, went to a party, maybe 00:10:15.379 --> 00:10:18.700 they were even at the Galaxy nearby. The police 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:21.039 didn't think it was strange to find the empty 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:24.200 money bags or that there was an empty roll of 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:27.840 adhesive tape near them. No crime scene tape 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:30.519 went up. No evidence was collected that night. 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:34.539 In fact, the restaurant is cleared to open the 00:10:34.539 --> 00:10:37.320 next day. And so the morning shift comes in and 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:39.500 they clean the entire restaurant to get it ready 00:10:39.500 --> 00:10:43.000 for opening. However, a few hours later, around 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.480 4 a .m., this is still Saturday morning. Jayne’s 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:49.840 car was found abandoned just a block and a half 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:53.240 from the Speedway Police Department. In fact, 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:55.779 from where the car was parked, you could see 00:10:55.779 --> 00:10:58.940 the back door of the police station. When Jayne’s 00:10:58.940 --> 00:11:01.679 car is found, police start to take the disappearance 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:04.860 of the four Burger Chef employees much more seriously. 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:08.879 However, they still clear the restaurant to open 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:13.730 in a few hours. When police find the car, All 00:11:13.730 --> 00:11:16.730 of the doors except the driver's side door were 00:11:16.730 --> 00:11:19.809 unlocked. The driver's side door was locked. 00:11:20.450 --> 00:11:23.990 Police believe that during the abduction, Jayne 00:11:23.990 --> 00:11:27.169 was forced to drive her own car. When she got 00:11:27.169 --> 00:11:30.929 out of the car, out of habit, police think that 00:11:30.929 --> 00:11:36.750 she locked the door behind her. Very attentive 00:11:36.750 --> 00:11:39.110 at locking her doors and would often remind people 00:11:39.110 --> 00:11:41.230 who were riding in her car to lock the doors 00:11:41.230 --> 00:11:43.450 behind them. This was before automatic locks. 00:11:44.389 --> 00:11:47.429 Police alert the families that their loved ones 00:11:47.429 --> 00:11:49.750 are missing, that their children are missing. 00:11:50.870 --> 00:11:53.789 The family is anxious as all of them are very 00:11:53.789 --> 00:11:56.690 hard workers and very responsible. None of them 00:11:56.690 --> 00:12:00.070 were known for running off or staying out all 00:12:00.070 --> 00:12:02.509 night. They were responsible. They went to work 00:12:02.509 --> 00:12:05.100 and they came home. It was very out of character 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:07.019 that none of them would come home and even more 00:12:07.019 --> 00:12:09.860 out of character that they would steal money 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:14.179 to go out on a night on the town. However, that 00:12:14.179 --> 00:12:16.779 is where we're going to leave our timeline for 00:12:16.779 --> 00:12:18.759 this week. We're just going to go over those 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:21.820 details. But if you know anything about the Burger 00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:25.679 Chef murders in November of 1978, please call 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:28.659 the Indiana State Police District Investigative 00:12:28.659 --> 00:12:37.500 Commander at 317 - 899 -8577 or 1 -800 -582 -8440. 00:12:39.539 --> 00:12:42.460 So that is part one of the Burger Chef murder. 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:44.899 So this is just going through the abduction. 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:53.539 I have heard of this very, very sad case before. 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:56.200 And I imagine some of our listeners have as well. 00:12:56.519 --> 00:13:00.320 But you talking about Jayne. Mark, Ruth, Ellen, 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:08.419 and Danny, you know, their personalities immediately 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:12.519 filled in in my head. And these were children, 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:20.299 which I appreciate that you emphasized. These 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:24.320 were kids, you know, and they felt very familiar 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:28.779 to me. And listening to But we were briefly able 00:13:28.779 --> 00:13:34.759 to hear about them so far. This is the first 00:13:34.759 --> 00:13:37.200 time I've heard this case with as much detail 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.980 as you provided. It's not one that I've really 00:13:39.980 --> 00:13:45.980 taken a dive into before on my own, but I feel 00:13:45.980 --> 00:13:48.600 grateful to know more about the information and 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:51.159 just some of the details that I didn't know. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:55.019 Yeah, this is all what was reported at the time. 00:13:55.019 --> 00:13:57.340 And this was what was reported again and again. 00:13:57.659 --> 00:14:02.419 I will say that in later years, there was reports 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:06.600 that, you know, all the timeline I gave of, you 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:09.200 know, Brian coming, Kirk walking, like all of 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:11.860 that kind of got erased in more recent years 00:14:11.860 --> 00:14:15.779 when the story is told. And in more recent tellings, 00:14:15.779 --> 00:14:18.840 they say that a delivery driver arrived at 1015 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:24.289 to find the back door. Which is just very different 00:14:24.289 --> 00:14:27.250 from what was originally reported. So I did go 00:14:27.250 --> 00:14:29.789 with the original reporting just since I think 00:14:29.789 --> 00:14:33.830 that was closer to what truly happened. Since 00:14:33.830 --> 00:14:39.409 you took us right back into the timeline, which 00:14:39.409 --> 00:14:42.590 I'm glad you did, I have so many questions. Starting 00:14:42.590 --> 00:14:48.889 with, were there any... Adults. I mean, by adults, 00:14:48.950 --> 00:14:50.850 I mean anyone over the age of, I don't know, 00:14:50.870 --> 00:14:57.190 21, 25. Who was there closing with them or, I 00:14:57.190 --> 00:15:01.269 don't know, at least checking on them? No. So 00:15:01.269 --> 00:15:03.450 the oldest person would have been Jayne. She was 00:15:03.450 --> 00:15:07.450 20 and the assistant manager. But no, they, you 00:15:07.450 --> 00:15:09.809 know, they were employees and they were working 00:15:09.809 --> 00:15:13.850 the closing shift. So, yeah, it was it was just 00:15:13.850 --> 00:15:16.529 them. And, yeah, I just feel like I have to emphasize 00:15:16.529 --> 00:15:19.889 again and again that these were kids. Like, these 00:15:19.889 --> 00:15:23.690 are teenagers. And even though Jaye is 20, you 00:15:23.690 --> 00:15:26.230 know, not to take away her adulthood or anything, 00:15:26.350 --> 00:15:28.850 but she's still so young, just starting her life. 00:15:28.950 --> 00:15:32.309 So, like, very young people, kids, teenagers. 00:15:32.850 --> 00:15:36.970 It's a tragic case. Yeah, I mean, they are. They're 00:15:36.970 --> 00:15:42.440 kids. There's the 21 and under club. right near 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:46.320 where they're working. And it pulled a memory 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:50.440 from my own life. I definitely went to a 21 and 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:55.720 under dance club in my youth. But also I think 00:15:55.720 --> 00:16:04.860 a 21 and under club existing in that space, there's 00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:08.100 a lot of young people there, a lot of minors, 00:16:08.100 --> 00:16:10.240 and this thing happening right across the street. 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:15.320 I don't know, it makes me feel very scared in 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:18.059 that maybe that that area was being watched and 00:16:18.059 --> 00:16:21.679 was maybe chosen for its vulnerability because 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:26.370 it was packed with young people. Yeah. I mean, 00:16:26.370 --> 00:16:27.929 you know, the Burger Chef employees, they're 00:16:27.929 --> 00:16:31.309 young. There's the Galaxy, the 21 and under club 00:16:31.309 --> 00:16:33.370 that's right there. And then even at the Dunkin' 00:16:33.389 --> 00:16:36.190 Donuts, it seems like, you know, at least one 00:16:36.190 --> 00:16:39.429 of the employees working, she was 17. I don't 00:16:39.429 --> 00:16:41.230 know her name. She's not named in the papers, 00:16:41.309 --> 00:16:43.549 but we know her boyfriend's name is George at 00:16:43.549 --> 00:16:45.970 that time. So, you know, there's just a lot of 00:16:45.970 --> 00:16:48.909 young folks working closing shifts on a Friday 00:16:48.909 --> 00:16:53.059 night, which not a bad thing, but. Yeah, this 00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:55.980 is definitely a vulnerable spot, I'd say. Yeah, 00:16:56.059 --> 00:16:57.840 the next thing I wrote down as I was listening 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:02.360 to you was, normal night, normal kids. Yeah, 00:17:02.379 --> 00:17:05.839 it was an extremely normal night until it just 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:10.759 wasn't anymore. That's why it's so shocking to 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:14.779 me. And again, this was a detail I did know because 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:17.500 it's spoken about so often, I think, when this 00:17:17.500 --> 00:17:20.369 case is being... brought up or reported on or 00:17:20.369 --> 00:17:23.829 on a podcast that law enforcement didn't take 00:17:23.829 --> 00:17:28.430 the clear red flags, at least surrounding the 00:17:28.430 --> 00:17:30.950 business, seriously. It was a huge swing and 00:17:30.950 --> 00:17:36.930 a miss to not address what was clearly happening. 00:17:37.549 --> 00:17:41.750 I think it ate up a lot of time in the investigation. 00:17:43.250 --> 00:17:46.569 Yeah, I mean, just so much was lost. I mean, 00:17:46.589 --> 00:17:49.869 in 1978, They weren't necessarily looking for 00:17:49.869 --> 00:17:52.549 DNA, but they were definitely, you know, would 00:17:52.549 --> 00:17:55.430 have looked for fingerprints, palm prints, anything 00:17:55.430 --> 00:17:58.289 like that. And, you know, for the morning crew 00:17:58.289 --> 00:18:00.490 to come through and clean, like when you clean 00:18:00.490 --> 00:18:03.390 a restaurant, like anyone who's ever worked in 00:18:03.390 --> 00:18:06.150 a kitchen, like, you know, you're using cleaners 00:18:06.150 --> 00:18:08.609 until it shines and there's not a, you know, 00:18:08.609 --> 00:18:11.230 fingerprint on it. Like it's it's cleaned in 00:18:11.230 --> 00:18:15.269 the back. So, yeah, all of those cleaners, you 00:18:15.269 --> 00:18:17.789 know, just where things were. All of that got 00:18:17.789 --> 00:18:20.609 lost. It is reported, and we'll talk about this 00:18:20.609 --> 00:18:23.309 a little bit more next week, but the police come 00:18:23.309 --> 00:18:27.470 back and try to set up the Burger Chef to make 00:18:27.470 --> 00:18:29.250 it look like how they remembered so they could 00:18:29.250 --> 00:18:32.609 take pictures. But even then, that's just subject 00:18:32.609 --> 00:18:34.710 to one person's memory. There's so many details 00:18:34.710 --> 00:18:38.930 that got lost, such as that. empty roll of adhesive 00:18:38.930 --> 00:18:41.589 tape that's not mentioned a lot it's in the very 00:18:41.589 --> 00:18:45.250 early reportings but to me that's very nefarious 00:18:45.250 --> 00:18:48.250 the girls um purses being left there if they 00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:49.710 were going out for a night they would have took 00:18:49.710 --> 00:18:51.289 their purses they would have took their coats 00:18:51.289 --> 00:18:53.809 it's November in Indiana it starts to get cold 00:18:53.809 --> 00:18:58.450 like so many signs pointed to something nefarious 00:18:58.450 --> 00:19:00.630 as opposed to they just played hooky for the 00:19:00.630 --> 00:19:07.779 night yeah this crime scene the burger chef unknowingly 00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:12.460 from the exterior, still had very noticeable 00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:17.900 differences happening in its current day -to 00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:22.220 -day on that day or that evening. It's something 00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:25.460 that should have been looked at. I will say, 00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:28.500 and this is less devil's advocate and more, I 00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:32.160 think, my understanding of humanity and consumption 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:37.420 of true crime and the psychology behind it. I 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:40.519 think maybe there was a willingness to brush 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:44.400 it off as something juvenile because acknowledging 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:47.079 that it could be something different is very 00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:50.920 scary. And it also might acknowledge that they 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:56.119 are incapable of taking, of handling what this 00:19:56.119 --> 00:20:00.880 could be, you know, at best, like, you know, 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:03.420 kidnapping and they're all alive. You know, I 00:20:03.420 --> 00:20:08.400 don't know. There's a part of me that understands 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:13.160 that, I guess. But yeah, it's tough. It's really 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:16.200 tough that that decision was made that day. Well, 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:18.680 and what's even more interesting is that the 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:22.000 climate in Speedway at this time is very, very 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.299 tense. There had been a few weeks before this, 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:28.819 there had been an older woman. I believe she 00:20:28.819 --> 00:20:32.700 was murdered in her garage. And then the week 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:35.430 leading up to these murders. the abduction and 00:20:35.430 --> 00:20:39.789 murders, there were multiple bombs that were 00:20:39.789 --> 00:20:42.730 set off around Speedway. And if I'm remembering 00:20:42.730 --> 00:20:46.069 correctly, one of the girls, it might have been 00:20:46.069 --> 00:20:47.789 Jayne, but I can't quite remember off the top 00:20:47.789 --> 00:20:49.630 of my head. She had actually called police in 00:20:49.630 --> 00:20:52.470 the weeks or in the week like leading up to this 00:20:52.470 --> 00:20:54.650 because she had seen someone suspicious. And 00:20:54.650 --> 00:20:56.369 with all the bombings happening, she wanted to 00:20:56.369 --> 00:20:58.170 like call and report it in that she had seen 00:20:58.170 --> 00:21:00.150 like somebody kind of acting suspiciously. So 00:21:00.150 --> 00:21:02.869 there was like a lot of tension in Speedway. 00:21:02.910 --> 00:21:05.980 So I. Considering all that, I am surprised that 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:08.640 the police didn't take it more seriously. But 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:11.339 then on the same token or the other side of the 00:21:11.339 --> 00:21:13.619 coin, maybe they were like, I just can't deal 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:15.720 with another thing at this moment. So this is 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:18.740 what it has to be. All right. Now, before you 00:21:18.740 --> 00:21:21.259 keep going, because that's a new detail to me, 00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:28.099 one that is new to our listeners as well. I have 00:21:28.099 --> 00:21:34.960 so many questions, but. Obviously, there's more 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:43.240 for you to tell us. For now, I'm sad to leave 00:21:43.240 --> 00:21:46.259 it on this note that, you know, we are just acknowledging 00:21:46.259 --> 00:21:49.539 that there was a major flaw in the initial response 00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:54.160 and investigation. But I think it's really great 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:58.279 that even though I do know some information about 00:21:58.279 --> 00:22:02.099 this case that You have brought it here. It's 00:22:02.099 --> 00:22:05.779 one that I've always wanted to dive into. Again, 00:22:05.900 --> 00:22:12.039 these were kids and I know this was in the late 00:22:12.039 --> 00:22:15.119 70s, but I believe that it's still possible that 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:18.900 there's information out there that someone maybe 00:22:18.900 --> 00:22:21.319 knows something or there's information buried 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:24.200 somewhere or I don't know what, but I definitely 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:27.720 am holding out hope. Yeah, this is a case I'd 00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:31.160 seen. you know, around in other true crime areas. 00:22:31.339 --> 00:22:33.940 But it's one that I really didn't know the details 00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:36.599 of. I just kind of knew the general story. You 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:40.160 know, four employees were murdered. I didn't 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:42.500 realize they had been abducted and removed from 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:45.579 the Burger Chef, which we will talk more about 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:49.079 in the next episode. But I really wanted to look 00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:51.839 into this one. I'm actually pretty familiar with 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:54.900 Speedway. My dad and I, we would do these like 00:22:54.900 --> 00:22:58.819 motorcycle runs and for charity for a children's 00:22:58.819 --> 00:23:02.279 hospital in Indiana. And at the end of it, we 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:06.319 would drive motorcycles around the Indy 500 track. 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:09.049 So we were in and out of Speedway. The whole 00:23:09.049 --> 00:23:12.450 weekend for a couple of summers. And it was one 00:23:12.450 --> 00:23:14.490 that I just like was very interested in knowing 00:23:14.490 --> 00:23:17.450 the area, knowing the location. And I totally 00:23:17.450 --> 00:23:20.289 agree that I think this is still solvable, even 00:23:20.289 --> 00:23:24.069 though we are 40 plus years later. I think that, 00:23:24.069 --> 00:23:27.369 you know, right now we've introduced two characters, 00:23:27.650 --> 00:23:29.490 these men who walk up on the railroad tracks. 00:23:29.829 --> 00:23:31.890 There are definitely people police want to talk 00:23:31.890 --> 00:23:34.390 to who they've never really been able to track 00:23:34.390 --> 00:23:38.920 down officially. There's at least two people 00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:41.480 involved. That's two mouths. That's two people 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:44.299 who could talk in their sleep. That's two people 00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:46.200 who could talk when they're drunk. That's two 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:49.140 people that can, you know, talk when they're 00:23:49.140 --> 00:23:54.240 angry and not thinking. So I think they have 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:56.599 told somebody. I think somebody else has been 00:23:56.599 --> 00:24:00.019 told about this crime. But again, if you know 00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:02.759 anything about the Burger Chef murders in November 00:24:02.759 --> 00:24:06.099 of 1978, please call the Indiana State Police 00:24:06.099 --> 00:24:10.420 District Investigative Commander at 317 -899 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:18.880 -8577 or 1 -800 -582 -8440. We will have pictures 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:23.980 of Jayne, Ruth Ellen, Mark, and Danny on our Instagram 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:26.160 at Cold and Missing. We'll also have pictures 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:28.220 of the Burger Chef and we'll put the composite 00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:32.039 sketch of the two people who walked up on the 00:24:32.039 --> 00:24:34.690 railroad tracks and talked to that. teen couple 00:24:34.690 --> 00:24:38.109 um we will put those up as well police are very 00:24:38.109 --> 00:24:40.769 interested in talking to those two men and like 00:24:40.769 --> 00:24:43.210 i've mentioned they have not been able to locate 00:24:43.210 --> 00:24:47.109 them so we will put pictures on there um and 00:24:47.109 --> 00:24:49.690 yeah please join us again next week we will go 00:24:49.690 --> 00:24:53.119 into part two If you or someone you love is hard 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:55.420 of hearing, we have our transcripts on our website, 00:24:55.539 --> 00:24:58.619 www .coldandmissing .com, where you can find 00:24:58.619 --> 00:25:01.119 this and all our past episodes, including other 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:04.349 two -parters that we've done in the past. If 00:25:04.349 --> 00:25:06.490 you could leave us a review, that would mean 00:25:06.490 --> 00:25:10.049 so much to us. I saw some very generous and very 00:25:10.049 --> 00:25:12.230 kind reviews come in this past week. So thank 00:25:12.230 --> 00:25:14.390 you so much for taking the time to do that. Five 00:25:14.390 --> 00:25:17.150 stars goes a long way. So if you know this case 00:25:17.150 --> 00:25:20.329 or if you've learned some new cases, having listened 00:25:20.329 --> 00:25:22.950 to Cold and Missing, please give us five stars, 00:25:23.029 --> 00:25:25.269 share. It really helps others find the podcast 00:25:25.269 --> 00:25:29.700 and having... A lot of five stars reviews gives 00:25:29.700 --> 00:25:31.660 us a chance of being listened to and gives these 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:34.539 cases a chance of getting out there. So thank 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:36.920 you. Five stars goes an extraordinarily long 00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:41.160 way. But that is all I have for you until next 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:43.839 week when we dive into part two of The Burger 00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:46.380 Chef Murders. Thank you so much for listening 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:49.319 to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali . And 00:25:49.319 --> 00:25:51.779 I'm your co -host, Eli. Have a good week and 00:25:51.779 --> 00:25:56.180 stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe, y 'all. Thank you.