The Kentucky Fried Chicken murders were an armed robbery and mass murder

Mass murder

Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...

 which took place at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore, Texas

Kilgore, Texas

Kilgore is a city in Gregg and Rusk Counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the home of Kilgore College, and was also the childhood home of famous classical pianist Van Cliburn...

 in 1983. For over two decades it was among the most tragic unsolved murder cases in Texas history.

1983 Robbery and Murders

On the evening of September 23, 1983, just before the restaurant closed, armed robbers held up the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore, Texas, USA. The five people in the restaurant at the time (who were either employees of the restaurant or were waiting for someone there) were abducted, taken to a nearby field, off highway 323 on County Road 232 and each executed in the back of the head with the exception of the manager who ran and was also shot in the head.

The victims' bodies were discovered by local police and Texas Rangers

Texas Ranger Division

The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...

, and were identified as: David Maxwell (20), Joey Johnson (20), Monty Landers (19), Mary Tyler (37) and Opie Hughes (38).

22-Year Investigation

For 22 years, the case remained unsolved; several people were arrested and one person, James Earl Mankins, Jr., an individual with prior drug convictions who was also the son of a State Representative, was charged with the murders, but was later released after the beginning of pre-trial proceedings due to a lack of evidence.

Finally, in November 2005, two men (already in prison for other crimes) were arrested and charged: Cousins Darnell Hartsfield (44) and Romeo Pinkerton (47). At the time of arrest, Hartsfield was serving a life sentence for aggravated perjury in connection with the case. Since they have been charged with capital murder, Hartsfield and Pinkerton could receive the death penalty if convicted.

2007 Convictions

Jury selection in Pinkerton's trial began August 6, 2007 in New Boston (http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_218090020.html).

Jury selection was completed September 27, 2007. Pinkerton's death penalty trial was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on October 15, 2007 at the Bowie County Courthouse in New Boston.

Pinkerton plead guilty to five lesser counts of first degree murder on October 29, 2007. He received five concurrent life sentences as a part of his plea deal.

Hartsfield was convicted at trial in Bryan (Brazos County), Texas (on a change of venue from East Texas due to pre-trial publicity) and sentenced to 5 consecutive life sentences.

April 18, 2007
news paper article from the Houston Chronicle now have Pinkerton saying he didn't do this crime.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6379602.html

Darnell Hartsfield and his cousin, Romeo Pinkerton, were both convicted of this crime in 2008.

On February 4, 2010 the Texas Sixth Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of Darnell Hartsfield. It was ruled that there was sufficient evidence for the conviction.

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11936380