45 years since the still unsolved Burger Chef murders

This reminds me of the Austin yogurt shop murders. All young kids and last I heard never solved.

I blame the irresponsible Burger Chef Demolition Night promotion at the ball park that evening. An enraged shock jock instigated the fracas because Burger Chef had yanked their ads over his unsubstantiated “Wendy’s spits in their chili” allegations.

It was obviously that bitch, Wendy! She hides a shank beneath those pigtails.

Ray Kroc.

FYi, I grew up nearby a Burger Chef location. Their food was on point and when they installed a works bar it was a big deal. AIl the 80s, all the Burger Chef locations I knew about turned into Hardee's.

BTW, A young Eve Plumb (aka Jan Brady) appeared in their tv commercial back in '77. (at link)

My dad called the place "Booger Chef."

Who is killing the great Burger Chefs of Speedway?

My dad was a mechanic at The Speedway and I’d go with him sometimes to look at the cars. I remember we’d pass this place and I’d get so scared. I was only 5 but I sort of understood what happened. It turned into a Hardee’s and was still there when I left that shithole state in 2005.

It was Jeff.

R5 Jan needed a job

70s kid - I forgot all about Burger Chef until references to it appeared in Mad Men. Only then did I remember how big a chain it was.

R8, happy for your successful escape from Indiana. Truly a shithole!

Hardness is the fast food choice of rapists

There were reports of an odd character skulking around the property shortly before the incident. Police released a sketch from witness descriptions in the hopes that someone would recognize this person of interest.

I loved Burger Chef back in the 80s. The works bar was the best. Sadly we didn’t have any near us and only got to go when we visited family in Ohio. So bummed when it closed but at least Wendy’s went into the old space so we could get Frostys

In 1954, Frank and Donald Thomas patented the flame broiler in their parent company General Equipment Corporation and started their restaurant in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1957, they opened their first Burger Chef.

Burger Chef spread across the United States, following a strategy of opening outlets in smaller towns. By 1972, its number of locations (1,200) was surpassed only by McDonald's (1,600) .In 1968, General Foods Corporation purchased the chain and continued its rapid expansion. By 1969, international expansion was underway with General Foods building ten Burger Chef outlets in Australia. The expansion ended in 1975 with a US$1.3 million loss.

The chain had two mascots: Burger Chef, voiced by Paul Winchell, and Jeff (the chef's juvenile sidekick).

In 1982, General Foods sold Burger Chef to the Canadian company Imasco, which also owned Hardee's, for US$44 million (equivalent to $133.43 million in 2022).I Imasco converted many locations to Hardee's restaurants and let franchises and locations near existing Hardee's locations convert to other brands.Remaining restaurants that did not convert to Hardee's or new names and branding simply closed.

Burger Chef restaurant to be razed 45 years after unsolved murders.

A lingering vestige of the notorious unsolved Burger Chef murders 45 years ago in Speedway will soon be obliterated.

The free-standing building at 5725-5735 Crawfordsville Road is being demolished and replaced by a dental office.

“It’s been a couple of shops over the years that never caught on for more than a couple months and we’ve talked about redeveloping over time but that hasn’t happened,” said Speedway Town Council President Vince Noblet.

Ruth Shelton’s sister, Theresa Jefferies, was 12 when the killings occurred. She said she went to the building a couple of years ago to participate in a documentary and it was “horrible.”

But she said never had strong feelings about its remaining erect.

“I’m strange that way, I never blamed the building,” Jefferies said, partly because she lives in Marion and doesn't have to pass it regularly.

Other relatives of victims, she said, feel differently and consider the building “evil.”

“I think if they blessed the site when they tear it down it would mean a lot to them,” she said.

You'll notice Jeff totally dropped out of sight soon after the murders

[quote]Burger Chef spread across the United States

I'm 71 and grew up in NorCal and traveled all over the US and can't remember ever seeing a Burger Chef. They certainly didn't have any locations where I lived.

It was George….George Tropicana. I mean….George Glass.

[quote] Burger Chef spread across the United States

Not where I lived on Lawn Guyland. We did have a Dick Clark’s Whirl In. though for one whole summer. Then it closed down and was an eyesore for 40 years.

I loved Burger Chef as a kid. It was open until I was 8 or 9.

I moved to Indiana for grad school in Bloomington in '88. Never heard of them. The conversion to Hardee's must have been complete by then. Plenty of those. It's kinda sad when an apparently good brand disappears.

I was a latch key kid in the 80s, and my dad gave me $5 for lunch every day in the summer since I was left to fend for myself. I would walk to the Burger Chef every day and buy a mushroom and Swiss burger, fries and a drink and usually had over a dollar left to buy ice cream at Baskin's. Needless to say I was a chubby kid.

I remember hearing about this case years later.

Booger Death! It was the only fast food place in my college town back in the early 80s.

The only time I ate there was when Mom took me to a doctor’s appointment. One the way home, she treated me to Booger Death.

Sounds like a shithole town

I guess it someone the victims knew and could identify. That's why they were all murdered. And it was more than one person in on the robbery, so it's amazing that none of them have said anything. The cops must have investigated all the former employees and their associates.

I don’t know nothin’bout no murders but their Kid’s Meal was a favorite of mine.