Final perpetrator in 1983 Texas 'KFC murders' identified
FILE -- Texas authorities investigate 1983 KFC Murders
From the KDFW archives, a look at the investigation into the 1983 KFC Murders that spanned Gregg and Rusk counties in eastern Texas.
The third and final suspect in a famous quintuple homicide in Texas has been identified 42 years after the crime, Texas DPS announced.
The five victims were killed "execution-style" after being abducted from a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Kilgore in 1983.
‘KFC murders’ arrest
A Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant is seen in Kilgore, Texas, in 1983. The restaurant was the site of abductions that turned into homicides in neighboring Rusk County, Texas. (KDFW / FOX Local)
The latest:
Devan Riggs was identified by investigators after the Texas Rangers reopened the case in 2023, leading to continued investigation.
Through the use of advanced DNA technology, investigators found evidence on the clothing of one of the victims in 2024, and identified three brothers in East Texas in May 2025.
In November, Riggs was positively identified as the origin of the DNA evidence.
According to DPS, Riggs has been dead for over a decade. No new arrests have been made.
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Kilgore ‘KFC murders’
The backstory:
Opie Hughes, 39; Mary Tyler, 37; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monty Landers, 19, were found dead on Sept. 24, 1983, on a remote oil lease in Rusk County. Each had been fatally shot in the back of the head, described by DPS as "execution-style." Hughes had also been sexually assaulted.
It was found that the victims had been abducted the night before from a KFC in Kilgore, miles away from where the bodies were found.
The case went unsolved for years, until DNA evidence was used over two decades later to identify two suspects in the crime.
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‘KFC murders’ convictions
Romeo Pinkerton and Darnell Hartsfield were convicted in 2007 and 2008.
Their identification and ultimate convictions stemmed from DNA evidence found at the KFC.
At the time, one piece of evidence from Hughes' clothing didn't match Pinkerton or Hartsfield, indicating that a third suspect was still on the loose.
Investigators worked for years to identify the third suspect, DPS said, but the case went unsolved until being revived this year.
The Source: Information in this case comes from Texas DPS.