RUSK COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — After more than four decades of investigation, the Texas Department of Public Safety has identified the last perpetrator in the notorious 1983 Kentucky Fried Chicken murders that shocked East Texas and captured national attention.
The Texas Rangers announced that Devan Riggs was the third and final suspect in the execution-style killings of five people in Rusk County. However, Riggs died more than a decade ago, meaning no arrests will be made and the case is now officially closed.
On the morning of Sept. 24, 1983, the bodies of Opie Hughes, 39; Mary Tyler, 37; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monty Landers, 19, were discovered on a remote oil lease in rural Rusk County. Each victim had been fatally shot in the back of the head in execution-style killings, and Hughes had been sexually assaulted.
Investigators determined all five victims had been abducted from a KFC restaurant in Kilgore during an armed robbery the night before their bodies were found.
DNA evidence leads to breakthrough
In 2007 and 2008, two men – Romeo Pinkerton and Darnell Hartsfield – were convicted of the killings using DNA evidence collected at the restaurant. However, one piece of DNA evidence collected from Hughes' clothing did not match either convicted perpetrator, indicating a third person was involved.
For years, law enforcement continued searching for the third perpetrator without success.
The breakthrough came in 2023 when the Texas Rangers identified the case as eligible for testing through the Texas DPS' Sexual Assault Kit Initiative program. The program receives funding from the Department of Justice and Bureau of Justice Assistance to help agencies across the United States investigate unsolved sexual assaults and sexually related homicides.
In July 2024, the final piece of DNA evidence from Hughes' clothing was sent to Bode Technologies for advanced DNA testing and genealogy analysis. By May 2025, this testing identified one of three brothers living in East Texas as a potential suspect.
After additional research and DNA testing, investigators received a positive match in November 2025, identifying Riggs as the third perpetrator.
Collaborative effort brings closure
The Texas Rangers thanked multiple agencies for their collaborative work on the case, including the Rusk County Sheriff's Office, Rusk County District Attorney's Office, Kilgore Police Department, Bode Technologies and members of the Texas Department of Public Safety's Austin Crime Laboratory.
The case highlights the importance of keeping unsolved cases active and the power of advancing DNA technology in bringing closure to victims' families and communities, even decades after crimes occur.
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