{"id":62598,"date":"2025-12-16T20:27:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T01:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bnonews.com\/?p=62598"},"modified":"2025-12-16T20:27:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T01:27:58","slug":"final-suspect-identified-in-1983-texas-kfc-murders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bnonews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/final-suspect-identified-in-1983-texas-kfc-murders\/","title":{"rendered":"Final suspect identified in 1983 Texas KFC murders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Texas authorities say they have identified the final perpetrator in the 1983 abduction and murder of five people in East Texas, bringing an end to a case that remained unsolved for more than four decades, according to officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement<\/a> was made Tuesday by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which said the killings occurred in Rusk County after the victims were abducted during an armed robbery at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore on the night of September 23, 1983. The victims were found dead the following morning on a remote oil lease in rural Rusk County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The victims were identified as Opie Hughes, 39; Mary Tyler, 37; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monty Landers, 19, according to the department. Investigators said all five were fatally shot execution-style, and Hughes was sexually assaulted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities said two men, Romeo Pinkerton and Darnell Hartsfield, were convicted in 2007 and 2008 using DNA evidence collected from the restaurant. However, a separate DNA sample taken from Hughes\u2019 clothing did not match either man, indicating the involvement of a third perpetrator, according to investigators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the case was reexamined in 2023 through the department\u2019s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative program, which allowed additional DNA testing and genealogical analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advanced testing conducted in 2024 and 2025 ultimately led investigators to identify Devan Riggs as the third suspect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials said Riggs had been dead for more than a decade at the time of identification. The Texas Department of Public Safety said the investigation is now closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case, widely known as the Kentucky Fried Chicken murders, drew national attention at the time because of the number of victims and the circumstances of their abduction and killings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas authorities say they have identified the final perpetrator in the 1983 abduction and murder of five people in East Texas, bringing an end to a case that remained unsolved for more than four decades, according to officials. 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