When the capital murder trial of Romeo Pinkerton begins in August, it will begin what prosecutors have said will be a "closure to the families" of five people slain in the 1983 Kentucky Fried Chicken murders.
The trial is scheduled to be played out in a Bowie County courtroom because of the publicity surrounding the case.
Pinkerton and Darnell Hartsfield were each indicted on five counts of capital murder late last year after Hartsfield was convicted of aggravated perjury for testimony he made before a special grand jury investigating the case.
State District Judge Clay Gossett told the Tyler Morning Telegraph earlier this year that there was no choice but to move the trial to Bowie County.
"Everyone agreed that it was the best thing to do to ensure a fair trial," he said. "There is just too much publicity surrounding the case."
THE MURDERS
On Sept. 23, 1983, several unknown suspects made their way into the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore and abducted five people.
The victims were taken to a rural oil field on Walter King Road, where they were shot in the head and left for dead. An oil field worker discovered the bodies the next day.
Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Ann Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monte Landers, 19, were found dead; all had been shot at least twice.
Autopsy reports indicated that Mrs. Hughes was shot in the back as she tried to flee, and that Johnson was shot in the abdomen.
The Kilgore Police Department, Rusk County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, the Tyler Police Department crime unit, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and Texas Rangers all joined in the investigation, scouring the murder scene and the restaurant for clues, but the case grew cold.
In 2002, advances in DNA technology breathed new life was breathed into the case.
Since a grand jury began hearing evidence in 2003, one of the former investigators in the case has died, and another has battled cancer.
Those involved said crucial testimony would be lost if the case is not soon tried.
TRIAL SET
Pinkerton is the first of the two men to be tried for the murders. The state attorney general's lead prosecutor, Lisa Tanner, first asked that the trial be moved to McLennan County or Ellis County, Gossett said.
But McClennan County notified the Rusk County district clerk's office that it could not accommodate the venue change. And Gossett said a personal visit to Ellis County indicated that it could not handle a trial like the KFC case.
Instead, the judge chose Bowie County. He said the cost to move the trial there was minor, compared to the cost of the retrial that could result if an appellate court later ruled that the trial should have been moved.
"I believe the trial will last about six weeks, with four weeks of that figure being to pick the jury," Gossett said. "This is just a guess - it could take more time or could take less."
Gossett also reinstated a November 2005 gag order in the case, ordering all entities involved in the case from releasing the victims' autopsy reports to the media and the public.
No one associated with the case could speak about the trial or what they thought would be the outcome, but DNA evidence and the testimony of people who said they saw the two men in the restaurant on the night of the murders are expected to be two key pieces of the prosecution's case.
Kenneth Dean covers police, fire, public safety organizations. He can be reached at 903.596.6353. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com"> news@tylerpaper.com
FAQ
Search Forums
Log in
Register
