Overview of Jayne Friedt
Jayne Friedt was born on May 5, 1958. Jayne was an assistant manager for the Burger Chef restaurant. She had recently transferred to the Speedway location after working at another Burger Chef location for three years. She was 20 years old, was known for being involved in many activities, and was considered a hard worker.
On November 17, 1978, Jayne and her three co-workers, Mark Flemmonds, Ruth Ellen Shelton, and Daniel Davis, were working the closing shift at Burger Chef in Speedway, Indiana. Sometime between 11:45 pm and midnight unknown individuals broke into the Burger Chef restaurant and kidnapped the four employees. Another co-worker, Brian Craine, was originally scheduled to work that night, but had his shift covered by Mark Flemmonds. However, when Brian stopped at the restaurant, he noticed his other coworkers were gone. The register was left open and it was later discovered that approximately $580 was missing from the register.
Brian contacted the police but unfortunately, it was not taken seriously and chalked up to four kids who probably played hooky from work. Jayne’s 1974 white Chevrolet Vega would later be found the next day a mile and a half away near West 15th street. The restaurant was not processed as a crime scene which would later play a detrimental role in the investigation. The restaurant was cleared to operate as normal for the next day.
On November 19, 1978, the bodies of the four employees were discovered in a rural woods area of Johnson County. Ruth and Daniel were shot execution-style with a .38 caliber. Their manager, Jayne Friedt, was stabbed to death, the four-and-a-half-inch blade had snapped and would be found in her chest during an autopsy. Mark Flemmonds died as a result of blunt force trauma and asphyxiation. The employees were still in their Burger Chef uniforms.