Modern Technology Identifies Final Perpetrator in 1983 KFC Murders

AUSTIN, TX — After 42 years of investigation, Texas law enforcement officials have identified the final suspect in the 1983 abduction and murder of five people in Rusk County — a case widely known as the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) murders. The suspect, Devan Riggs, died years before being identified, and the case has now been formally closed.

The victims — Opie Hughes, 39; Mary Tyler, 37; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monty Landers, 19 — were found Sept. 24, 1983, on 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. Investigators later determined that all five had been abducted during an armed robbery the night before at a KFC restaurant in Kilgore, miles from where their bodies were discovered.

In 2007 and 2008, DNA evidence led to the convictions of two men — Romeo Pinkerton and Darnell Hartsfield. But a third DNA sample collected from Hughes’ clothing did not match either man, indicating the involvement of an additional perpetrator. Despite continued investigation, authorities were unable to identify the third suspect for years.

That changed in 2023, when the Texas Rangers determined the case qualified for testing under the Department of Public Safety’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program. Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, the program provides resources to help solve unsolved sexual assaults and sexually related homicides, aiming to bring justice to the victims and their families

In July 2024, investigators sent the remaining DNA sample to Bode Technologies for advanced testing and forensic genealogy. By May 2025, analysts had narrowed the potential suspect to one of three brothers living in East Texas. Additional testing and research produced a positive match in November 2025, identifying Riggs as the final participant in the crime.

Riggs has been dead for more than a decade, and no arrests will be made.

The Texas Rangers thanked the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office, Rusk County District Attorney’s Office, Kilgore Police Department, Bode Technologies, and DPS’s Austin Crime Laboratory for their work on the decades-long investigation. Officials said the case underscores the importance of collaborative law enforcement efforts in pursuing answers for families of unsolved crimes.