KFC Timeline: How It All Happened
(Staff Photo By Tom Turner)
TRIAL BEGINS: Romeo Pinkerton sits on trial at the Bowie County Courthouse in New Boston for the 1983 abduction and execution style killings of five Kilgore residents on August 6.
Sept. 23, 1983
Working at the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore are Mary Tyler, 37, Opie Hughes, 39, and Joey Johnson, 20. David Maxwell, 20, an off-duty employee, and Monte Landers, 20, are visiting Johnson. At about 11 p.m., Mrs. Tyler's daughter, Kim, arrives. A door is open and blood is on the floor. Police begin searching for the missing.
Sept. 24, 1983
An oil field worker arriving about 10 a.m. at a well in Rusk County finds the five victims. Each had been shot.
Sept. 28, 1983
DPS appoints Texas Ranger Capt. G.W. Burks of Dallas to oversee the investigation after law officers in Rusk and Gregg counties complain that coordination is breaking down.
March 7, 1995
A Rusk County grand jury begins hearing KFC testimony.
Working at the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore are Mary Tyler, 37, Opie Hughes, 39, and Joey Johnson, 20. David Maxwell, 20, an off-duty employee, and Monte Landers, 20, are visiting Johnson. At about 11 p.m., Mrs. Tyler's daughter, Kim, arrives. A door is open and blood is on the floor. Police begin searching for the missing.
Sept. 24, 1983
An oil field worker arriving about 10 a.m. at a well in Rusk County finds the five victims. Each had been shot.
Sept. 28, 1983
DPS appoints Texas Ranger Capt. G.W. Burks of Dallas to oversee the investigation after law officers in Rusk and Gregg counties complain that coordination is breaking down.
March 7, 1995
A Rusk County grand jury begins hearing KFC testimony.
(Staff Photo By Tom Turner)
PROSECUTION: Texas Attorney General Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner leaves the Bowie County Courthouse in New Boston, Texas at the end of the first day of the trial of Romeo Pinkerton.
April 27, 1995
The grand jury indicts James Earl Mankins Jr. on five counts of capital murder. Investigators say a fingernail recovered from the clothing of one of the victims matches Mankin's DNA.
Nov. 13, 1995
A judge drops capital murder charges against Mankins after more tests establish the fingernail was not his.
Feb. 22, 2002
Rusk County Sheriff James Stroud says blood samples from a possible suspect will be compared to crime-scene evidence.
Sept. 8, 2003
A new grand jury in Rusk County begins hearing evidence.
Jan. 29, 2004
The grand jury indicts James Earl Mankins Jr. on five counts of capital murder. Investigators say a fingernail recovered from the clothing of one of the victims matches Mankin's DNA.
Nov. 13, 1995
A judge drops capital murder charges against Mankins after more tests establish the fingernail was not his.
Feb. 22, 2002
Rusk County Sheriff James Stroud says blood samples from a possible suspect will be compared to crime-scene evidence.
Sept. 8, 2003
A new grand jury in Rusk County begins hearing evidence.
Jan. 29, 2004
(File Photo)
ABDUCTION SITE: Five people were removed from this KFC in Kilgore and shot to death.
Grand jury members are released after spending five months hearing testimony in the case.
Nov. 10, 2004
A Rusk County grand jury indicts Darnell Hartsfield on aggravated perjury charges for allegedly lying about being in the KFC restaurant.
July 30, 2005
Romeo Pinkerton is arrested in Tyler on charges of burglarizing Griffin Elementary School, and evading arrest/detention.
Oct. 9, 2005
Several lawmen familiar with the case tell the Tyler newspaper they believe there is enough evidence to solve the case.
Oct. 26, 2005
A jury finds Darnell Hartsfield guilty of aggravated perjury for lying to a grand jury investigating the KFC case. He had said he was not in the restaurant. DNA evidence indicated he had been there.
Nov. 10, 2004
A Rusk County grand jury indicts Darnell Hartsfield on aggravated perjury charges for allegedly lying about being in the KFC restaurant.
July 30, 2005
Romeo Pinkerton is arrested in Tyler on charges of burglarizing Griffin Elementary School, and evading arrest/detention.
Oct. 9, 2005
Several lawmen familiar with the case tell the Tyler newspaper they believe there is enough evidence to solve the case.
Oct. 26, 2005
A jury finds Darnell Hartsfield guilty of aggravated perjury for lying to a grand jury investigating the KFC case. He had said he was not in the restaurant. DNA evidence indicated he had been there.
(Staff File Photo By Kenneth Dean)
MURDER SITE: Arthur Worlick, of Rusk County, is the man who found the bodies in the KFC Murder case in 1983. In this September 2004 photo he points to the location of where the bodies were found.
Nov. 17, 2005
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announces that a grand jury has indicted Darnell Hartsfield and Romeo Pinkerton each on five counts of capital murder.
June 12, 2006
Romeo Pinkerton is convicted of the Griffin school burglary
Aug. 6, 2007
Jury selection begins in the capital murder case against Romeo Pinkerton.
Oct. 15, 2007
Opening arguments begin in New Boston in the capital murder case against Pinkerton.
Oct. 29, 2007
Romeo Pinkerton pleads guilty to five counts of murder avoiding the death penalty of a capital murder conviction. He is given five life sentences.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announces that a grand jury has indicted Darnell Hartsfield and Romeo Pinkerton each on five counts of capital murder.
June 12, 2006
Romeo Pinkerton is convicted of the Griffin school burglary
Aug. 6, 2007
Jury selection begins in the capital murder case against Romeo Pinkerton.
Oct. 15, 2007
Opening arguments begin in New Boston in the capital murder case against Pinkerton.
Oct. 29, 2007
Romeo Pinkerton pleads guilty to five counts of murder avoiding the death penalty of a capital murder conviction. He is given five life sentences.
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