Man convicted in 1983 KFC killings

BRYAN, Texas, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A jury deliberated less than two hours Tuesday before convicting a man in the so-called Kentucky Fried Chicken killings 25 years ago in Kilgore,Texas.

Darnell Hartsfield, 47, of Tyler faces life in prison for what a prosecutor called "one big, long armed robbery that turned very, very bad" and left five people dead, KLTV in Tyler reported. A convicted robber, Hartsfield was already serving a life term for a perjury conviction.

The 1983 case started when Opie Ann Hughes, Monty Landers, Mary Tyler, Joey Johnson and David Maxwell were abducted from the fast-food restaurant, driven about 15 miles to a remote oilfield road and then shot. Their bodies were discovered the next morning. All but Landers were KFC employees.

Last year, Hartsfield's cousin, Romeo Pinkerton of Tyler, pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced life in prison.

Lisa Tanner with the attorney general's office said they believe a third suspect is still at large, KYTX-TV in Tyler reported.