Jayne Friedt

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Indiana State Police (IN)

Offense Location:

Speedway, Indiana

Summary:

Jayne Friedt, 20, was an assistant manager at a Burger Chef restaurant in Speedway, Indiana, who disappeared along with three teenage coworkers on November 17, 1978. Their bodies were found two days later in Johnson County. She was found about 75 yards away from where the other two victims had been executed, and had been stabbed multiple times with a knife that had broken off in her chest. The case remains unsolved.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

An off-duty coworker found the restaurant open sometime after midnight on November 17, 1978, with Jayne Friedt and three teenage workers gone. The back door was ajar about three inches, the four cash register drawers were open with the cash gone but change remaining, and the robbers took about $500. Police found purses belonging to Friedt and another employee, but Friedt's car was gone. About four hours later, officers found Friedt's Chevrolet Vega abandoned in the 5500 block of West 16th Street. The four employees had all been working the closing shift that night, and the restaurant had closed at 11 PM, with the abduction taking place shortly afterwards. Their bodies were found two days later in a remote area of Johnson County.

Additional Details:

Police found Jayne Friedt's body about 75 yards away from where Shelton and Davis had been executed. She'd been stabbed multiple times with the knife blade still in her chest, the handle broken off. Burger Chef put up a $25,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest, and another anonymous donor offered $10,000. Jayne Friedt was twenty years old and a college student. Her nickname was 'Sweet Jayne;' people remembered her because of her beaming smile and positive disposition. She'd been working for the Burger Chef company since she was seventeen years old. In 1984, Donald Forrester, a man in the Pendleton Correctional Facility, called the police to confess about the Burger Chef Murders, telling them he was one of the murderers and could provide information in exchange for him not being put at the violent Indiana state prison. On November 14, 1986, someone inside the department leaked details of Forrester's confession and cooperation to the press, and perhaps spooked by the possibility of retribution, Forrester recanted three days later. On December 22, Marion County Prosecutor Stephen Goldsmith announced that Forrester would not be charged in this case, and with the case gone cold again, he doubted anyone ever would be. No one has ever been charged, and the Indiana State Police continue to keep the case open, having reportedly investigated the use of DNA-tracing techniques developed since the initial investigations.

Case Last Updated:

Oct 06, 2026