Murder Sheet

On November 17, 1978, four young workers vanished from a fast food restaurant in Speedway, Indiana. Two days later, their bodies were found in the woods of Johnson County. The Burger Chef murders remain unsolved to this day. We still don't know who killed employees Jayne Friedt, Ruth Shelton, Danny Davis, and Mark Flemmonds, or why. In this episode of "You Never Can Forget," an investigative minis...

On November 17, 1978, four young employees began the night shift at the Burger Chef restaurant in Speedway, Indiana. By midnight, they had vanished, never to be seen alive again. Two days later, their bodies were found in a wooded area in Johnson County. But who killed Jayne Friedt, Ruth Shelton, Danny Davis, and Mark Flemmonds? Last year, the Murder Sheet launched an investigative miniseries...

Note: This episode contains disturbing content, including descriptions from court documents on a child murder case. Jump from 24:00 to 28:15 to miss these upsetting descriptions. In 2017, someone murdered Liberty German and Abigail Williams in broad daylight. The double homicide of these two young girls remains unsolved, leaving their families and wider community of Delphi Indiana without answers....

In this episode, we will wrap up the story of Francis Henry Bloeth, the "Other Long Island Serial Killer." Bloeth was arrested for three murders and sentenced to die for his crimes. But his story has a rather unexpected ending. The Murder Sheet was also able to interview John Jay College of Criminal Justice Professor Robert McCrie about this topic. We enjoyed our thought-provoking conversation wit...

A killer stalked across Long Island in the summer of 1959, preying upon employees working solo shifts in diners and delicatessens. He ended up claiming three innocent lives. A single tip would put an end to the murderer's reign of terror. But could police make the case against the accused stick? Follow the  Murder Sheet  on social media for the latest. Facebook Twitter Instagram And send...

Fear came to Long Island in 1959. Fear in the form of a single man, one who was set upon terrorizing and killing restaurant employees. By the end of the summer, three innocent workers were dead. But the notoriety of the crimes faded over the decades. You may have heard of the Long Island Serial Killer, but you've likely never heard of this one. Follow the  Murder Sheet  on social media f...

The fight began outside of a McDonald's in Sacramento, California. By the time the confrontation ended alongside a nearby International House of Pancakes, one person was dead. But how did a brief interaction on the bright, beautiful morning of June 6, 2013 result in murder? If you have any tips on the unsolved murder of Justin Oliphant, contact the Sacramento Police at (916) 808-5471. Follow the&n...

Peggy Cox was murdered at the Hardee's in Franklin, Tennessee on February 1, 1991. To this day, we don't know who gunned down the hardworking mother-of-three at the drive-thru on her 49th birthday. Police have come up with a number of theories over the years. They've even enlisted the help of the Vidocq Society. But nothing has resulted in a conviction yet. In this episode of the Murder Sheet, we...

On February 1, 1991, Peggy Cox was busy taking drive-thru orders at the Hardee's in Franklin, Tennessee. It was her 49th birthday, but she was hard at work at the restaurant. Around 11:45 p.m., a man pulled up and ordered a roast beef sandwich. A few moments later, he shot Peggy through the window and sped off. The mother of three collapsed in front of her 20-year-old son, who was also working at...

In 2017, someone murdered Liberty German and Abigail Williams in Delphi, Indiana. The double homicide of these two young girls remains unsolved.  In the years since, online sleuths have speculated that either Paul Etter or Thomas Bruce may have perpetrated the killings. In this episode, we’ll be looking into the life and crimes of each man.  This episode takes a break from our focus on r...

In this episode of the Murder Sheet, we're going to switch things up a bit. Instead of diving into a single restaurant homicide, we'll split our attention between two remarkable cases. One took place in Chicago in the nineteenth century. The other happened in Harlem in the forties. Rather oddly, despite occurring around six decades apart, both of these killings involved drunken rages, seedy bars,...

On New Year's Day in 1973, a woman met a man at a New York City bar called W.M. Tweeds. They hit it off and went back to her place. But the story doesn’t end there. The woman — a 28-year-old teacher named Roseanne Quinn — was never seen alive again. At least, not by anyone other than her killer.  In a way, Roseanne Quinn has died many deaths. First, at the hands of a vicious, violen...

Late on a May night in 1930, someone crept into the Golden Pheasant Inn. The local restaurant was popular for its chicken dish, and for being a haven where Wisconsinites could blow off steam with slot machines, booze, and sex workers. But the intruder wasn't there for any of that. He was after owner John Van Veghel and waitress Lucille Birdsall, a couple sound asleep in their bed. The subsequent m...

In 1987, a young pregnant woman went to work at an Ohio McDonald's. Her husband followed, brandishing a firearm. Gina Femia Smith never made it home from her shift. And her killer went on the run, leaving a quiet corner of Ohio terrified of what might happen next. Follow the  Murder Sheet  on social media for the latest. Facebook Twitter Instagram And send tips and thoughts to murdershee...

On June 25, 1906, three shots rang out at Mam'zelle Champagne, a musical revue playing in a restaurant space atop Madison Square Garden. Millionaire Harry Thaw had just killed famed architect Stanford White, in front of rows and rows of witnesses and a stageful of chorus girls. The murder became known as the crime of the century, and word of it spread throughout New York society and beyond. Thaw w...

The Delphi murders have become a somewhat controversial topic in true crime circles, with adherents of different theories occasionally clashing online. True Crime Garage's recent run of three episodes on the Delphi murders — titled "Under the Bridge" — added to the controversy. Hosts Nic and the Captain, along with an anonymous Reddit researcher, discussed a theory involving several witn...

What is going on with the sketches in the Delphi murders? In 2017, police released a sketch of an older man. Two years later, they came out with a different sketch, depicting a younger, baby-faced man. This episode takes a break from our focus on restaurant homicides, and is part of our intermittent series of episodes on the Delphi case. We'll go over a timeline of the two sketches, and share our...

Early on the morning of May 25, 2000, a wounded Wendy's worker made a desperate call to 911. Along with his six coworkers, he had just been bound, gagged, and shot in the head during a robbery. The duo who perpetrated the brutal massacre had stolen over $2,000 and disappeared into the night. Listen to this episode of The Murder Sheet to learn more about the vicious crime, the motive behind the kil...

On January 13, 1991, Roderick Clemons clocked in for his shift at a Church's Chicken restaurant in Akron, Ohio. The 26-year-old assistant manager was working hard for a promotion, despite his reservations about the fast food joint's rough neighborhood. Unfortunately, Roderick never made it home that night. And nearly 30 years later, we still don't know who brutally murdered him. This week, listen...

After Chicago police arrested 19-year-old Maurice Harris for the 2017 massacre at Nadia's Fish & Chicken, many assumed that was the end of the story. But truly, it was only the beginning. In this final episode of "In the Shadow of Nadia," we'll discuss the shocking end to the case. Join the Murder Sheet's Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee in the fifth and final episode of "In the Shadow o...

Chicago police announced that they believed 19-year-old Maurice Harris was the culprit behind the 2017 massacre at Nadia's Fish & Chicken. To outsiders, it might have seemed like authorities had an ironclad case against the young man. But Ian Barney — the attorney who represented Harris in his police brutality suit — wasn't so sure. In this episode of "In the Shadow of Nadia," w...

After the Chicago Police Department arrested 19-year-old Maurice Harris for the Nadia's Fish & Chicken murders, prosecutors went about trying to make a case against the teenager. Attorney Ian Barney had initially signed on to represent Maurice Harris in his brutality suit against the cops. Now, the lawyer found himself working to defend his client from murder charges. Barney was convinced of H...

When the Chicago Police Department announced that they'd arrested Maurice Harris for the March 30, 2017 quadruple homicide at Nadia's Fish & Chicken Grill, they made sure to talk at length about the 19-year-old's juvenile record. But they still failed to disclose a few key details. Namely, that their prime suspect was still in the process of suing their department for brutality. Five years ear...

On a spring day four years ago, a gunman burst into a restaurant in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood. He opened fire, killing two young men in the eatery, and a pair of brothers attempting to flee the scene. Many questions remain about the murders that occurred on March 30, 2017 in Nadia's Fish & Chicken Grill. The sudden massacre happened in the midst of a spate of killings in the South Sho...

In 1967, two young women working at High's Ice Cream in Staunton, Virginia were shot to death at work. Decades later, one of their coworkers, Sharron Smith, confessed on her deathbed to the killings. But that wasn't the end of the story. For some, it was just the beginning. William "Bill" Thomas, a man who had been acquitted of one of the murders, brought a lawsuit against Staunton itself, after l...