East Texas

The KFC investigation had been a focus of the Texas Attorney General's Office for more than a dozen years.

State investigators joined the case in 1995. Shane Phelps, chief of the Prosecutor's Assistance/Special Investigations Division, was placed in charge.

Shortly after that, a spokesman for then AG Dan Morales, announced the office would present evidence for criminal indictments.

On May 10, 1995, Morales, at a news conference in Henderson, said he hopes "justice will prevail" and that he believes "some degree of closure" may be obtained. He recognized how agonizing the past decade had been for family members of the victims and the community.

Morales declined to comment on evidence.

In 2002, the Rusk County District Attorney's Office announced it had deferred prosecution to the Texas AG's Office.

"Our attorneys did meet with the district attorney," AG spokesman Tom Kelley said at the time. "The DA requested, in no uncertain terms, that the AG's office handle the cases and serve as lead prosecutors."

When Greg Abbott defeated Morales for the AG's office, he assumed responsibility for the case.

Surrounded by the family members of the victims, Abbott in November 2005 announced capital murder indictments against two Tyler cousins in the murders.

"Today a Rusk County grand jury handed up five indictments of capital murder against Tyler natives Darnell Hartsfield and Romeo Pinkerton in the execution-style slaying of five victims who were kidnapped from a Kilgore Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in 1983," Abbott said in a hastily called press conference at the Rusk County Courthouse entrance.

By this time, Lisa Tanner, Texas AG's Office assistant prosecutor, had taken over the investigation and prosecution. Ms. Tanner was leading the prosecution of Pinkerton when Pinkerton pleaded guilty to murder in the case.

In a news release on Monday, Attorney General Abbott said, "Our successful investigation and prosecution would not have been possible without collaborative efforts by the Rusk County Sheriff's Department, Rusk County District Attorney Michael Jimerson, former Rusk County District Attorney Kyle Freeman and the Texas Department of Public Safety Laboratory System.

"I want to thank Assistant Attorney General Lisa Tanner for her tireless work in this case. Her leadership and dedication to the victims' families helped make this possible. This guilty plea will not bring back the lives lost in 1983, but today marks a critical milestone on the path to justice," he continued

The Office of the Attorney General has been involved in the case since 1993, when then-Rusk County District Attorney Freeman requested investigative and prosecutorial assistance.

At the defendants' request, prosecutors agreed to move Pinkerton's trial from Rusk County to New Boston in Bowie County, about 20 miles west of Texarkana.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, surrounded by law enforcement officials and family members, announces the indictments against Darnell Hartsfield, 44, and Romeo Pinkerton, 47, for capital murder.
((Staff File Photo By Tom Worner))