On the evening of May 24, 2000, 18-year-old Jeremy Ryan Mele was working at a Wendy’s in Flushing, Queens, when two men, one a former employee, entered the restaurant intending to rob it. The assailants used their knowledge of the layout to reach the basement office, forced seven employees into the walk-in refrigerator, bound them with duct tape, placed plastic bags over their heads, and shot each victim in the head.

Five employees died at the scene, including Jeremy Ryan Mele, Ali Ibadat, Anita Smith, Jean Auguste, and Ramon Nazario. Two others survived; one survivor called 911 after the attackers fled. The investigation identified former employee John Taylor and Craig Godineaux as suspects; both were arrested within 48 hours and later charged with murder, attempted murder, and robbery. Godineaux pleaded guilty and received life without parole; Taylor was convicted on five counts of first-degree murder and initially sentenced to death, later serving life without parole.

Does anyone have memories of the restaurant, the victims, or information that could add to the record of what happened that night?