Tyler

By KENNETH DEAN and ADAM RUSSELL
Staff Writers

KILGORE — Officials confirmed that Rusk County prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for the second suspect in the 1983 murder case where five people were taken from a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant and killed.

Rusk County District Attorney Investigator William Brown said State Attorney General Lisa Tanner and District Attorney Michael Jimerson filed a motion to waive the death penalty against Darnell Hartsfield who is accused of taking part in the crime.

State District Judge Clay Gossett granted the motion and confirmed in court that the trial’s venue would be moved to Brazos County. Romeo Pinkerton pleaded guilty in the previous case that was held in Bowie County because of publicity surrounding the case. Pinkerton received five life terms in the case while Hartsfield, Pinkerton’s cousin, remains jailed awaiting trial for his part in the Sept. 23 abduction and slayings of Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Ann Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monte Landers, 19.

Brown said a third suspect who is unknown to investigators remains at large in the case. Investigators discovered a DNA sample which did not belong to the other two suspects indicating a third person took part in the crime. Pinkerton and Hartsfield were both linked to the crime through DNA evidence.

Anyone with information identifying the third suspect should immediately contact the Texas Attorney General’s Office at 512-475-4446 or the Rusk County Crime Stoppers at 903-655-8477. KFC reinstated a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the third suspect.