The Texas Department of Public Safety has named the last suspect in the 1983 “Kentucky Fried Chicken Murders.”
Investigators have named Devan Riggs as the final suspect in the 1983 kidnappings and killings of five Texans, according to a press release from Texas DPS.
Riggs has been dead for more than a decade, so the case is now closed.
The suspects – now identified as Riggs, Romeo Pinkerton, and Darnell Hartsfield – allegedly robbed a KFC in the East Texas town of Kilgore on September 23, 1983, according to NBC. They then kidnapped four workers and a friend, driving 15 miles to a remote oil field, where they murdered them.
This shocked the nation as the “KFC Murders.” The case remained unsolved for decades, but Pinkerton pleaded guilty in 2007, according to KLTV. In 2008, a jury found Hartsfield guilty.
Seeking Answers
On September 24, 1983, investigators found the bodies of 19-year-old Monty Landers, 20-year-old David Maxwell, 20-year-old Joey Johnson, 37-year-old Mary Tyler, and 39-year-old Opie Hughes in a remote oil lease in rural Rusk County.
“Each had been fatally shot in the back of the head, execution-style, and Hughes had been sexually assaulted,” the release reads.
The case went unsolved for 24 years.
DNA evidence collected from KFC eventually pointed investigators in the right direction.
In 2007, Pinkerton pleaded guilty to his role in the killings. The plea helped him dodge the death penalty, but he was sentenced to five terms of life in prison, according to KLTV.
In 2008, a jury also found Hartsfield guilty, according to NBC. He was similarly sentenced to five terms of life in prison, and prosecutors chose not to seek the death penalty. The case reportedly “took years of bad leads” to reach trial, prompting officials to relocate more than 100 miles away due to publicity.
“However, one piece of DNA evidence collected from Hughes’ clothing did not match Pinkerton or Hartsfield – indicating a third perpetrator,” the release reads. “For years, law enforcement continued their work to find the third person involved, but no arrests were made.”
Eventually, the Texas Rangers found in 2023 that the case was eligible for testing and comparison through the Texas DPS Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. Investigators sent the last piece of DNA evidence from Hughes’ clothing to Bode Technologies for additional testing and genealogy.
The tests in May 2025 pointed to one of three brothers in East Texas as the potential third suspect, according to the release. In November, investigators found a positive match for Riggs.
Riggs has been dead for “more than a decade,” so law enforcement did not make any further arrests.
Texas Rangers thanked the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office, Rusk County District Attorney’s Office, Kilgore Police Department, Bode Technologies, and the Texas DPS Austin Crime Laboratory for their help with the investigation.
“Cases like this highlight the importance of collaborative investigative work between the Texas Rangers and our law enforcement partners to keep unsolved cases alive, ultimately bringing closure to victims’ families and the community,” the release reads.
In another cold case, Texas Rangers have raised the reward to $6,000 for information on the 1992 murder of Raymond Lightner in his Taylor home, as The Dallas Express reported. In November, students at the University of Texas-Arlington helped investigators with the Arlington Police Department solve another cold case murder from 1991.