The killings were committed by former Wendy's employee John Taylor along with Craig Godineaux, who had planned to rob the restaurant's safe.
The robbery was carefully planned, as Taylor forced his former manager there, Jean Auguste, to summon the six employees to his office on the pretense of having an important meeting.
[1] The New York City Police Department (NYPD) arrested Taylor and Godineaux less than 48 hours after the killings.
The Queens District Attorney's Office fought to have Taylor's case declared an exception to the decision, but were unsuccessful.
As a result, on October 23, 2007, the New York Court of Appeals vacated the death penalty portion of Taylor's verdict.