The last suspect in the 1983 "KFC murders" has been identified, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced on Wednesday.

"After 42 years of investigation, law enforcement officials have identified the last perpetrator in the abduction and murder of five Texans in Rusk Co. – an event known to many across the country as the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) murders," DPS said in a statement.

The 1983 KFC murders

On Sept. 24, 1983, five bodies were found on a remote oil lease in Rusk County. Officials said they had been abducted during an armed robbery at a Kilgore KFC. 

The victims, Opie Hughes, Mary Tyler, Joey Johnson, David Maxwell, and Monty Landers, had been shot in the back of their heads, "execution-style," officials said. Hughes had also been sexually assaulted. 

In 2007 and 2008, Romeo Pinkerton and Darnell Hartsfield were convicted of the killings using DNA evidence from the restaurant. However, DNA from Hughes' clothing did not match either man, suggesting a third, unidentified perpetrator. Investigators continued searching for years, but no arrests were made.  

40 years later, a break in the case

In 2023, the Texas Rangers submitted the cold case to the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program, which uses DOJ funding to help solve unsolved sexual assaults and related homicides. 

In July 2024, DNA from Opie Hughes' clothing was sent to Bode Technologies for advanced testing and genealogical analysis. In May 2025, this testing identified one of three East Texas brothers as a potential suspect in the 1983 murders.  

Finally, in November 2025, after further research and additional DNA testing, investigators received a positive match and identified one of the brothers, Devan Riggs as the perpetrator, DPS said.  

DPS said Devan Riggs died years before being identified, so no arrests will be made, and the case is now closed. 

The Texas Rangers thanked the Rusk Co. Sheriff's Office, Rusk Co. District Attorney's Office, Kilgore Police Department, Bode Technologies and members of DPS' Austin Crime Laboratory for their dedication, which ultimately led to Riggs' identification. 

"Cases like this highlight the importance of collaborative investigative work between the Texas Rangers and our law enforcement partners to keep unsolved cases alive, ultimately bringing closure to victims' families and the community," DPS said in a statement.