SPEEDWAY, Ind. — A central Indiana true crime that remains unsolved more than 45 years later is getting the documentary treatment with "The Speedway Murders."
On Nov. 17, 1978, four people – 20-year-old Jayne Friedt, 16-year-olds Daniel Davis and Mark Flemmonds, and 18-year-old Ruth Ellen Shelton – were working the late shift at the Burger Chef in Speedway, Indiana, when they were kidnapped.
Two days later, their bodies were found in rural Johnson County.
"We found it in an online forum and did a lot of research over the years," co-writer and co-director Luke Rynderman said. "We ended up in Speedway, meeting with some of the families. After meeting with them, seeing how raw the case still is, we thought we had to do something with it."
Instead of the typical documentary style of reenactment, "The Speedway Murders" interweaves interviews from family, friends and law enforcement with actors portraying the victims on the night of the crime.
"I think true crime audiences these days are very sophisticated, so we didn't want to fall back on the fare you see a lot of these days, which is a straight up-and-down retelling," co-director and co-writer Adam Kamien said. "We came up with an idea that we would have the victims in this case stuck in a time-loop inside the restaurant, trying to solve their own murder. Each day resets, and with every reset, we look at another theory — the idea being if they solve their own murder, they get to go home at the end of the night."
In March 2024, crews tore down the Burger Chef building on Crawfordsville Road. Most recently, the building was home to a pawn shop that closed in 2016. At the time, it wasn't clear what would happen to the property.
"We were lucky enough to film the building and around the building, which knowing what happened there, has a very haunting atmosphere," Rynderman said. "It's an interesting thing that some people are probably happy it's not there anymore, and others, it's a piece of history."
While four theories are presented in the 102-minute documentary, the filmmakers shared the complexities behind this still-unsolved case.
"I think we've been doing this too long to think there's not another surprise around the corner," Kamien said. "Obviously, we present the information we gathered as a result of our research, and people will make up their own minds, but I think one of the things that shocked us about this case is that when you start to look at it, there are one or two really prominent theories that a lot of people hold to be true but don't really hold order when you scratch the surface."
"Things get released all the time, and since we made the film, the FBI released their 600-page report, and we learned things from that," Rynderman said. "What we present in the film, anecdotally, makes sense."
The documentary opens up with investigators admitting the initial investigation was mishandled. For example, the morning after the four victims were kidnapped, the restaurant was cleaned to open to customers — getting rid of any DNA that could've been found at the scene of the crime.
"Had the investigation been handled properly from the get-go, you and I may not be sitting here having this conversation right now," Kamien said.
On Friday, June 21, Rynderman and Kamien will be hosting a question-and-answer session after the 7 p.m. screening at Landmark Glendale 12. Tickets are still available and can be purchased here. They'll be joined by some of the victims' family members, as well as people who worked on the case and helped make the documentary.
"The Speedway Murders" is now in select theaters and available to buy or rent on Apple TV, Prime Video and On Demand.