493 - Jazz Hands All Around

Summary

Podcast Episode Summary: My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark - Episode 493: "Jazz Hands All Around"

Release Date: August 14, 2025

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Introduction to the Episode

In Episode 493, titled "Jazz Hands All Around," hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark delve into one of America's most chilling and lesser-known true crime stories: the Osage Oil Murders. This solo episode, primarily featuring Karen, offers an in-depth exploration of the tragic events that unfolded in Osage County, Oklahoma, during the early 20th century. The hosts aim to shed light on a dark chapter of American history that intertwines wealth, betrayal, and systemic racism.

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Background: The Osage Nation and the Oil Boom

[13:06] Karen Kilgariff introduces the story by setting the stage in Osage County, Oklahoma, home to the Osage Nation. Originally from Missouri and Arkansas, the Osage were forcibly relocated to what was deemed worthless land in Oklahoma in the 1870s. However, the discovery of vast oil deposits beneath their land transformed their fortunes dramatically.

[13:21] Karen explains, “In 1923 alone, those oil royalties brought in around $30 million for the Osage Nation. Adjusted for today, that’s approximately $480 million.” This sudden wealth made the Osage people some of the richest individuals per capita in the world during the 1910s and 1920s.

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The Onset of Tragedy: Suspicious Deaths Begin

Despite their prosperity, the Osage Nation faced a dark turn as numerous members began dying under mysterious circumstances. Between 1907 and 1923, the death rate among the Osage significantly exceeded national averages, with many deaths deemed "suspicious."

[15:03] Georgia Hardstark reacts, “Oh, my God. Like, that's amazing.”

[15:05] Karen Kilgariff: "But of course, with that money came an increase in tribal member deaths. And many of these deaths were suspicious."

These deaths were often dismissed by white authorities, with causes ranging from "wasting illnesses" to accidental shootings. Families felt unheard and unprotected, leading them to take matters into their own hands.

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Private Investigations and Uncovering the Conspiracy

Frustrated by the lack of response from local law enforcement, the Osage families hired private investigators to uncover the truth behind the deaths. Their relentless pursuit revealed a horrifying conspiracy orchestrated by white settlers aiming to exploit the Osage's wealth.

[25:33] Georgia Hardstark: “Like, you gotta suspect, right?”

[25:34] Karen Kilgariff: "Yes. I mean, like, if other people are dying of poison, you should have suspected it before you."

The investigation unveiled that prominent individuals, including William Hale—a wealthy white rancher—and his nephew Ernest Burkhart were behind orchestrating the murders to gain control of the headrights—the shares of oil profits allocated to each Osage individual.

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Escalation of Murders and Systemic Complicity

As the investigation progressed, the murders intensified. Notable incidents included the bombing of Rita and Bill Smith's home in March 1923, resulting in their deaths and leaving Molly Burkhart as the sole survivor in her immediate family. The conspiracy extended beyond direct perpetrators, implicating local officials, doctors, and other white settlers who were complicit in covering up the crimes.

[37:12] Georgia Hardstark: "It's like a systematic execution of this whole community and family."

[37:16] Karen Kilgariff: "This means all of their assets and headrights, her father's, her mother's and her three sisters are transferred to her in earnest."

The relentless killings aimed to eliminate any Osage family members who could inherit wealth, ensuring that the conspiracy's beneficiaries maintained control over the oil-rich land.

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FBI Involvement: Breaking the Silence

Recognizing the severity and scale of the murders, J. Edgar Hoover appointed Agent Thomas B. White to lead the investigation in Osage County. Agent White, a seasoned lawman with an impeccable reputation, faced immense challenges due to the pervasive fear and silence among the Osage and the complicity of local authorities.

[39:32] Georgia Hardstark: “That's right. I remember that. Wow. Yeah.”

Agent White’s methodical approach began to piece together the intricate web of deceit, leading to significant breakthroughs, including the testimonies of Ernest Burkhart and other conspirators. These revelations exposed the depth of the conspiracy and the extent of William Hale’s involvement.

[41:18] Georgia Hardstark: "Damn."

[41:19] Karen Kilgariff: "Agent White then learns that William Hale was the beneficiary of victim Henry Rowan's $25,000 life insurance policy..."

This evidence was crucial in bringing the perpetrators to justice, albeit after significant loss and suffering endured by the Osage community.

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Trials, Convictions, and Aftermath

The culmination of the investigation led to the 1926 trial, where William Hale and Ernest Burkhart were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Despite these convictions, many other conspirators remained at large, and several suspicious deaths were never fully resolved.

[46:36] Karen Kilgariff: "And of course, these doctors just happen to have a very chummy relationship with William Hale."

The trial was a landmark moment, highlighting the systemic injustices faced by the Osage Nation. However, the ripple effects of the murders and the betrayal by trusted individuals left lasting scars on the community.

[49:26] Georgia Hardstark: “Great.”

[49:27] Karen Kilgariff: "Of course, Hale serves just 21 years before being paroled in 1947."

Despite the legal outcomes, the full extent of the conspiracy and the number of lives lost remains a somber reminder of the exploitation endured by the Osage people.

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Concluding Reflections

In reflecting on the story, Karen emphasizes the broader implications of the Osage Oil Murders as a testament to the dark side of colonialism and systemic racism in America. The episode underscores the importance of remembering and acknowledging these historical injustices to prevent their recurrence.

[53:09] Georgia Hardstark: “Damn.”

[53:10] Karen Kilgariff: "For example, Charles Whitehorn, the man whose body was found the same day as Anna's body, is widely assumed to have been murdered by a white man in collusion with Whitehorn's white widow, Hattie."

The hosts commend the works of historians and authors like David Grann, whose book "Killers of the Flower Moon" and its subsequent film adaptation have brought renewed attention to this harrowing chapter of history.

[54:29] Karen Kilgariff: "But a historian named Lewis Burns has said, 'I don't know of a single Osage family that didn't lose at least one family member because of head rights.'"

The episode closes on a poignant note, acknowledging the enduring trauma within the Osage community and the necessity of ongoing dialogue and education about such injustices.

[55:05] Georgia Hardstark: “Wow. I'm so glad the book was written about it because you'd never heard of it before.”

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Key Takeaways

• Wealth and Exploitation: The Osage Nation's sudden wealth from oil led to unprecedented exploitation and tragic loss of life.

• Systemic Racism: The murders were facilitated by systemic racism, with local authorities and prominent white settlers complicit in the conspiracies.

• FBI’s Role: Agent Thomas B. White’s investigation was pivotal in uncovering the truth, showcasing both the possibilities and limitations of federal intervention during that era.

• Legacy: The Osage Oil Murders remain a significant yet often overlooked part of American history, highlighting the need for continued awareness and recognition of past injustices.

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Notable Quotes

• [15:05] Karen Kilgariff: "But of course, with that money came an increase in tribal member deaths. And many of these deaths were suspicious."

• [22:38] Georgia Hardstark: “Oh, my God. How scary.”

• [31:12] Georgia Hardstark: “Oh, shit.”

• [41:18] Georgia Hardstark: "Damn."

• [44:59] Georgia Hardstark: “Yeah.”

• [53:09] Georgia Hardstark: “Damn.”

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Final Thoughts

Episode 493 of "My Favorite Murder" serves as a profound exploration of the Osage Oil Murders, intertwining thorough historical analysis with the hosts' characteristic candor and empathy. Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark successfully illuminate the complexities and horrors of this true crime story, ensuring that it receives the attention and remembrance it deserves. Through their storytelling, listeners gain not only an understanding of the events but also an appreciation for the resilience of the Osage Nation in the face of unimaginable adversity.

Transcript

[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

My favor.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hello and welcome to my favorite murder. That's Georgia Hardstar, that's Karen Kilgariff and.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We'Re about to podcast for you. Watch this.

[Georgia Hardstark]

This is like we have to think of something to say after welcome every week.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And we're doing it every week for 10 years.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Almost 10 fucking years.

[Karen Kilgariff]

10 years. 10 years.

[Georgia Hardstark]

10.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So here's what I came up with for Georgia for this week. Okay, I started this sentence. How did I say it?

[Georgia Hardstark]

And we're gonna podcast at you. Oh yo. Oh, just now right before we started, you said I'm going to. Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I'm gonna get.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's Right. You said, I'm gonna get. And then you said, I'm gonna save it for the podcast. And in my wildest dreams. I can't imagine. I can't imagine.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Top three.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm going to get another tattoo. Is that what it was? Another fish tattoo?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Another. A second fish.

[Georgia Hardstark]

A second salmon tattoo.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But this one is five times the size of the first one.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm going to get ready to walk out. Appear.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, storm out. The best storm out is when you warn people seven minutes in advance that you're gonna angrily stand up and walk out.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And you're waiting until you're on. You're being recorded.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes, exactly. As many witnesses as possible.

[Georgia Hardstark]

What could the last one be? I'm going to get more dogs.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, I am.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Are you?

[Karen Kilgariff]

But, I mean, that's not what it was.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And it's gonna be so disappointing.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, no. What is it?

[Karen Kilgariff]

When you play games like this, you can't help but set yourself up to be like, I'm going to have to get a bunch of Kleenex because my nose has started randomly, all of a sudden running when I have no allergies. That's not the way I live my life. No. All of a sudden, just. It's menopause. Do you know? It's this single stream of just something coming out of your nose. You're like, what the hell? And then that's what it is. Dab, dab, dab.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Is that a thing, too?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I just blame everything on menopause. Now that would be like.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, I kind of do already.

[Georgia Hardstark]

But nose is gonna start running.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's the thing we used to talk about. Weird. Like, I have to have clinics because all of a sudden my nose will just run. And I'm like, okay, okay. And then, like, some point this weekend, I was just sitting outside, literally, like, sipping a Diet Coke, and it was like, oh, my God, onto my lip. I was not ready.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Well, welcome to the fucking tissue world. Tissue club sucks. It's annoying. Although my allergies are much better. I've been taking these drops. You can get, like, allergy drops made. They test you and then they, like, get you these drops. Fascinating stuff for a true crime podcast.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, what the people they to hear about compounding pharmacies on this podcast, what.

[Georgia Hardstark]

They want to tune into. I always think in the beginning of these, when we're talking stupid shit like this of the girl who's playing it for her sister or her mom being like, well, just wait. They get.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It gets better. It's not always like, this.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Let me fast forward. Let me. Let me fast forward.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Are you telling me that people aren't gripped by my story of I'm about.

[Georgia Hardstark]

To get and my guesses that mean nothing to nobody?

[Karen Kilgariff]

None of this means anything to anybody.

[Georgia Hardstark]

None of it means anything to anyone. And that's what we're here for.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And that's the lesson of 10 years of podcasting. Hey.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hey. I'm going to be in Ireland when this gets posted.

[Karen Kilgariff]

What part?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Dublin?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Hell, yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And then we're going to Edinburgh, which I'm a little nervous about because the Fringe Fest is going on and it looks like every street performer is just up in your face the whole time.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes, but it's Ireland, so they're more low key. The Irish up in your face.

[Georgia Hardstark]

No, they're not. They're Scottish.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, that's right. Oh, sorry. I was thinking about when I went to the Galway. You're talking Fringe Fest. I was thinking of the Galway Arts Festival.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, okay. No, that sounds great.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Your vacation is my vacation. This world.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm going to the same.

[Karen Kilgariff]

My workplaces. Edinburgh is one of the greatest cities there is.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. I'm really excited.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Have you been before?

[Georgia Hardstark]

I went as a broke 25 year old with my friends who were doing a festival tour all over Europe, and so I just, like, bummed along with them. So I didn't have any money for anything. We were there for like 24 hours. So now I'm going back all fresh. We're gonna see oasis on Vince's 50th birthday.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So excited. This is. This is it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Are you going to throw your beer cup full of pee? Remember that moment?

[Georgia Hardstark]

No, they always. Oh, my God. Fear. That's the thing. Thank God that doesn't happen at my favorite Murder Live shows.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Well, you don't. I mean, anything's possible. Well, that's a great 50th birthday. Yeah, that'll be very fun. But then there's all the witchy things that you can do in Edinburgh.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Like castle y things and witchy things. Okay. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Tours and I mean, there's just the oldest of cultures.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I feel like I have to say that someone's going to be living at my house while we're gone, so no one breaks in.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay. Is that what Marty's on duty?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. That's what 10 years of this podcast will do to you is you get so paranoid that you have to, you know, do that. People should know that I have pets. So clearly someone's going to be staying there. You know, like, it goes without Saying.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Mimi is going to be watching the house for Mimi. And angrily watching the house.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yes, she is. She'll scratch her fucking eyes out.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Be careful of Mimi. All right. Anything else exciting going on? I mean, that's a great, exciting trip to take.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. No, I mean, we're just planning for our live shows. It feels like it's coming up so fast.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It is coming up fast.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Go to my favoritemurder.com live to get tickets, please.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's right. And we do wanna thank everybody for all of your excitement. We announced and you showed up and you've bought tickets, and we were scared that maybe you wouldn't, and you really did. So thank you so much. There are a couple tickets left, though.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Pasadena, San Diego, Salt Lake City. I think those cities still have a couple. So go to myfavoritemurder.com live and get what is now available at the airing of this podcast.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm picking out so many dresses. You guys are gonna. I'm picking out dresses that I looked at and I'm like. Karen's dad would say, what the hell is she wearing? I don't know why. Like, that's. My goal is for your dad to. What in the hell is she wearing? Jesus. That's from the 1960s. Why would she wear that?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Your Aunt Kathleen had to dress like that. Yes. That's a great idea.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I'm always dressing for the opposite, where it's like, I don't want to hear.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It, don't comment on my clothes, don't.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Want to hear it. But I have to say, I was doing some shopping this week, and it's so great to have an excuse like that where it's like, I have to go to the mall. And I did try something on that I loved, and it didn't have pockets. And I was like, this just doesn't even make sense anymore for women of today. Yeah, you better put pockets in your dresses.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I bought a pair of pajama shorts recently and they didn't have pockets.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Come on.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Like, where I.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Where am I gonna put that little apple remote?

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm not gonna be in bed the whole time. I'm gonna be walking around, rocking around.

[Karen Kilgariff]

With the apple remote in your pocket.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Where did I put that leg? It's gone forever.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Where did I put my headphones?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. Yes. So we're preparing, too. Are you prepared for this tour?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Prepared? Please come and don't throw your pee.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Please don't pull an Oasis audience on us. Oh, that was legendary. Well, we'll go into highlights. Let's do it. Would you like to live deliciously well now you can with ad free EP of my favorite Murder. You get that and so much more when you join our fan cult. You can also get exclusive audio, video content. You get merch discounts. You get access to the private Discord page where all the other fan Cult members are chatting it up. Get in there.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, they're talking about meeting up before the shows, live shows. So get in there. If you're going alone and you wanna like have a drink with some Murderinos beforehand.

[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

All right, well this is a solo episode because it's summer, it's vacation. The live shows are coming up so you tell me a story.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's right. It's my chance to shine. Now there was a very famous movie very recently about these murders that I'm gonna tell you about. We begin today in Osage County, Oklahoma, home to the Osage Nation.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy Shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

This wasn't always the Osage Nation's home. In the 1870s, after having already been pushed out of their ancestral lands in what are now Missouri and Arkansas, the Osage are then forced to relocate from Kansas to eastern Oklahoma on land that white authorities have deemed worthless for farming. But decades later, underneath that same worthless land, oil deposits are discovered. So when the Osage realize that they're sitting on a gold mine, they meet with the federal government and shrewdly negotiate to maintain their reservations, mineral rights. Flipping a very racist power dynamic on its head. So in 1923 alone, those oil royalties brought in around $30 million for the Osage nation. Whoa. Do you want to guess what that would be in today's money? 175, $480 million.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. And that's in one year.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The person who did the accounting, the fucking white man who did the accounting is like, just send them there. Fired.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Well, because. Yeah, exactly. They're like, this is not our colonial plan where we're trying to oppress these people.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So how the Osage decide to handle it is they pool that money and then they divide it equally among the 2,229 people listed on the official Osage tribal roll.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Everybody gets a cut.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Damn.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And there's more than enough to go around.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That is fair.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. And so each person's share become known as their head rights. And we'll refer to head rights kind of for the rest of the story.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So by the 1910s and into the 20s, the Osage were said to be the wealthiest people per capita in the entire world.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God. Like, that's amazing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. But of course, with that money came an increase in. In tribal member deaths. Between 1907 and 1923, it's estimated that members of the Osage nation died at about one and a half the national rate.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And many of these deaths were suspicious. But as grieving families fought for accountability and justice, they were often dismissed by the white authorities. No shock there. Writer Dennis McAuliffe Jr. Is an Osage tribal member who learned that his own grandmother's 1920s murdered was covered up as well.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And he writes, quote, deliberate poisonings were chalked up to drinking bad liquor, shootings got labeled as suicides, autopsies were often skipped, burials rushed, and death certificates falsified.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So then, in the early 20s, in Osage county, driven by the persistence of the Osage people, one of the FBI's very first major homicide cases is going to be investigated. And decades later, it will serve as the subject of David Grant's bestselling book, Killers of the Flower Moon, which was then adapted into Martin Scorsese's 2023 Oscar winning film. This is the story of the Osage oil murders.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow. This is an epic.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Right?

[Georgia Hardstark]

This is. Yeah. Good job.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Because when we're doing solos, we still want to give the people what they want.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I definitely. Yeah, you want a little bit of like a showstopper. Right, Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Jazz hands all around. Of talking about what is essentially, it typifies a true crime story in the most government signed on. Worst way, horrifying way possible.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Like, oh, people say that the government's not after you. And it's like, well, here's a story where they literally are after you entirely.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Kind of like say, government, say, you know, your town, whatever it is, where it's so much worse than you can even begin to imagine. So we begin today with the Osage family that play key figures in this FBI investigation and whose experience serve as the backbone for the book Killers of the Flower Moon. The patriarch of this household is Nakai Se Wai, who prefers his Osage name, but many people call him Jimmy. Again, colonialism. So he passes away before much of our story takes place. And his widow is named Lizzie Q. And they have four daughters together that are born in the 1880s and early 1890s. The oldest daughter is Anna. Then there's Molly and followed by Minnie and Rita. And we spend most of our time in this story with Molly, who in Scorsese's movie is played by Lily Gladstone.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yes, amazingly.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And she earned lots of awards for that portrayal. And she became the first Native American woman ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. And she won the Golden Globe for the same category. Amazing. So lots of firsts and groundbreaking kind of glass ceiling breaking took place during that, which is amazing. And also just the fact that getting this story to the general public is the kind of history that we all need to learn. So Molly's family experiences this huge transformation of Osage county firsthand. They lived in the abject poverty after being pushed out of Kansas and forced by the government to assimilate into mainstream American culture, which meant that they had to either abandon or hide their Osage identities, customs, traditions, or else food and funds would be withholding.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Jesus.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Then when Molly's around 10 and her sisters being close in age to her, are also close to that age, that's when the oil's discovered. Suddenly, Osage families go from barely scraping by to moving into large homes that are often Staffed with white domestic servants.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Damn. I mean, God, what a fucking moment.

[Karen Kilgariff]

What a moment. This should be a TV show. That should be a TV show.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The teachers downstairs kind of style.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes, absolutely.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Is it a comedy?

[Karen Kilgariff]

I think it could be.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I think the people who made Reservation Dog.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Could easily give us a kind of a retro. Let's capture this for the moment that it is.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. All right. There's your pitch.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Not for me to say though. Not for me to pitch, but okay. So there's nothing that a member of the Osage nation who is getting a cut of this oil money can't buy, including couture from Paris, expensive cars and chauffeurs to drive them. Oh, my God. Anything that basically you could dream of. One New York newspaper reports that quote, lo and behold, the Indians, instead of starving to death, enjoys a steady income that turns bankers green with envy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Jesus.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, End quote. So this materializes as an influx of white settlers into Osage county in the 1910s and 20s. Their numbers swell and many of these transplants are bad news. An FBI report will later note that, quote, the rich oiled fields produce not only an abundance of oil, but also grift, easy money, gambling, whiskey, and parasites bent on milking the Osay out of all he owned. So that's pretty typical.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But these schemes used by white settlers are endless. Some open businesses that sell goods or services to Osage customers at extremely inflated prices. There's also a rash of robberies and con men in the area. And then there are also these so called guardians who are mandated by the federal government. So guardians are basically white people who monitor Osage men and women's bank accounts because the government has deemed them, quote, incompetent when it comes to handling their oil wealth.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow. So it's in the bank and they still have to have someone keep an eye on it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

A white man.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, they force someone to. Yeah, yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

To keep tabs. It's not only overtly racist, these so called guardians aren't trained accountants. Many of them are just local white businessmen. But they oversee every aspect of their ward's spending. Approving or denying whatever expenditures they see fit. It's so infuriating.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So I bet they like can't just take all their money out and leave. You know what I mean? You're thinking like, go move to New York City. It's like they don't have access to that money even though it's theirs.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes, I'm sure their spending is controlled in a way that serves the white infrastructure and unsurprisingly many of these guardians abuse this power and steal directly from Osage accounts. Another type of grifter are the white settlers, typically single men who swoop into Osage county looking to marry into oil. By law, head rights can only be passed along through an inheritance or marriage. They cannot be sold or given away. So joining an Osage household is a direct way for white men to access the oil money, as they often wind up serving as the guardian for their Osage wives. So, love. It's like everything is a scam. Everything. So by the late 1910s, Molly and her sisters, Anna, Minnie and Rita are in their late 20s to early 30s. Like every Osage person, they know that white people are here to swindle and con them. So trust is not something that comes easily. But at the same time, there's only around 2,000 people on the official tribal role, and so the number of young, eligible Osage men and women is a small pool. Because of that, many of them do wind up marrying white settlers in the face of the very real possibility that their partners have ulterior motives.

[Georgia Hardstark]

God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Nasty. Just like the worst feeling.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Absolutely.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's like, oh, I'm gonna hold out and wait for the biggest sociopath, who is the most convincing to basically be like, no, no, no, but I really love you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

This time it's real. Even though, look around. Oh, my God, how terrifying.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Horrible. So in 1917, when Molly's around 30 years old, she meets a World War I vet named Ernest Burkhart. He is in his mid-20s and he's new to town, so at first, Molly's not so sure about Ernest. He's a good looking guy. In the movie, he's played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yes, he is.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And he's often described as simple and passive, which probably makes him feel safe to Molly. Totally right. He's not a scheming and, like, smooth talker.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Also, given the power he would have over their household, it seems to be a green flag that Ernest doesn't seem particularly shrewd or ambitious. It also doesn't hurt that Ernest is the nephew and sort of adoptive son of one of the most powerful men in Osage County, a man named William King Hale. So Hale is in his 40s, and he's a white cowboy from Texas who's got a rags to riches story that mirrors the Osage's own rise to wealth. He started out leasing grazing land from the Osage tribe and slowly acquired more acres and more cattle and then a bank and then a general store and Ultimately, he became one of the county's wealthiest ranchers. It's unclear, though, if he came by all of that money honestly. Every time, in every deal. Dennis McAuliffe Jr. Reports that, quote, a portion of his fortune allegedly came from insuring his pasture for a dollar an acre and having his cowboys torch 30,000 acres in one night.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. But in the area, in the county, Hale has a great reputation. He's seen as easygoing and generous. The kind of guy who donates to schools, gives money to build hospitals, and positions himself as the, quote, best friend of the Osage.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So, like, a lot of scheming going.

[Karen Kilgariff]

On in town, a lot of high level. It's kind of that thing where people get scammed and then they're so embarrassed, they're like, how could I fall for it? And it's like, because the person who was scamming you dedicated their life to scamming. That's what they do, right? So you're just like, you're having this, like, oh, my God, we won the lottery. Except for it turns everyone into an enemy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

So Molly and her family know William Hale very well. So when Ernest begins to pursue Molly, they're so just kind of pre established trust. She figures that Ernest must like her for her and not her money, because he doesn't need the money. William Hale will always take care of him, presumably. Okay, so Molly eventually marries Ernest, and they do seem like a loving couple. She has diabetes, which can be fatal at that time, so she depends on Ernest to care for her. And even though Molly speaks English fluently, Ernest learns to speak the Osage language so that the two can communicate in her native language.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

An act of love. Yeah, some might say.

[Georgia Hardstark]

One would think.

[Karen Kilgariff]

One would like to assume.

[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

About a year later, in 1918, Minnie, who's Molly's second youngest sister, suddenly died. She was only in her late 20s. She'd always been very healthy. The doctors, the white doctors chalk it up to quote a wasting illness. And that's that.

[Georgia Hardstark]

They never look further into a wasting illness. Mm.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Just a few months later, Minnie's widower, who's a white man named Bill Smith, marries the younger sister Rita, who's the youngest daughter in Molly's family. It sounds weird, but it's actually an antiquated custom that many cultures around the world practice, which is kind of like if someone dies, you marry back into the family. Got it, sibling. Okay, so Minnie's head rights are now split between their mother, Lizzie, and Minnie's widower, Bill. And now Bill also has claim to rita's head rights. Three years later, it's 1921. Molly and Ernest now have two small children and Molly's mother Lizzie has moved into their house. But Molly's oldest sister Anna is struggling. She's recently divorced a white settler named Ota Brown, and her sisters have noticed that she's been drinking a lot lately. And then in May of that year, Anna goes to visit Molly in Ernest, and she gets a ride home from Ernest's brother Brian, who she's actually gone on a few dates with. After that, Anna vanishes. Her family members don't hear from her for several days, which is extremely out of character for her. A week later, squirrel hunters find the body of 36 year old Anna dumped in an Osage county ravine. She's been shot twice in the head. And even though there are no exit wounds, the white doctors who perform her autopsy can't seem to find the bullets in her skull.

[Georgia Hardstark]

God. Like her last moments realizing that it was all a scam. They've been betrayed. Her sister's husband, who's about to go back to her, is fucking.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's her sister's husband's brother is one away. But still, you're totally right where it's like all of a sudden it all is a plot. Like, this is the confirmations. You can't tell anybody. Horrifying. So those bullets could be critical evidence. But of course, they just simply quote, unquote, can't find them. On the same day that Anna's body is found, a second body is found under some brush near the town of Pawhuska, which is also in Osage County. The victim here is male, but like Anna, he is Osage. He's wealthy, he's in his 30s, and he's been shot twice in the head. There's a letter addressed to a Charles Whitehorn in his pocket, and that's how authorities identify him. So these two murders send shockwaves through the Osage nation. And the expectation, of course, is that both deaths will be properly investigated and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. But despite a few people being brought in for questioning, including Anna's ex husband and Ernest's brother, Brian, the man who drove Anna home the night she went missing, no one is charged in either case. And police don't even determine whether or not the murders are connected.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Two bullets each, and maybe they're not connected.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Same day, mo same day. Yeah, in July of 1921, about two months after those bodies are found, the inquiry into Anna's death is officially closed with the determination that she was murdered, quote, at the hands of partner.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Jesus.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's just as far as it's gonna go.

[Georgia Hardstark]

What was the case?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, cold case closed. This is the same verdict reached in the Charles Whitehorn investigation. So with the white authorities failing to take real action, the victim's loved ones are forced to investigate themselves. So that is the advantage of this oil boon, is that now instead of being put in this place of, like, having to beg people, they can hire private investigators. So that's what they do. Both families hire private investigators. And they soon uncover a bombshell. It turns out that Anna was pregnant at the time of her murder.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

No one knows who the father might be. So now the families post rewards for any information that could help solve the cases, with Molly's family offering $2,000, which is $35,000 in today's money. Yeah. They also enlist William Hale's help, who talks to his buddies down at the police station and at the DA's office.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's the head guy. Guy around town.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. So he is like.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So he's like, I'm gonna. He just.

[Karen Kilgariff]

This is like, I'm friendly, I'm friends to the Osage people. He's also basically saying, I'm gonna pull some strings being the uncle, the kind of or zat's uncle of Ernest. Around the same time, Molly's mother Lizzie, gets very sick and dies. Lizzie did have some underlying medical issues, and some people wonder if the grief of losing two daughters within just a couple of years was just too much for her to handle. But Molly, Rita and Rita's husband Bill share a nagging suspicion that there is more to that. But no doctors are interested in investigating Lizzie's cause of death any further.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So meanwhile, Lizzie owns several valuable head rights. She has her own, she has her late husband's, and then she has the partial ones she inherited back from both Minnie and Anna. So now, following her death, these head rights will be divided between two households. Molly and Ernest's, and Rita and Bill's. Okay, this is a lot of money.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Molly and Rita have now lost two sisters and their mother, all in close succession, and they are deeply in grief. But Rita's husband Bill, is becoming very vocal about his belief that their family is systematically being murdered.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God. How scary.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. He even takes it upon himself to investigate the murders alongside the private investigators they've hired. But he always stops short of accusing anyone by name because he's not an idiot. They are surrounded.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Meanwhile, across the county, more members of the Osage nation are dying under strange circumstances. In 1922, a 29 year old champion steer roper named William Stepson picks up the phone at his home in the Osage county town of Fairfax, where he lives with his wife and two children. And he receives some sort of message that then prompts him to leave the house immediately. When he comes back later that night, he is very, very sick. He dies within hours of making it back home.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So someone called and we're like, you gotta get over here. And then something nefarious happened. Yeah, okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And he makes it back home just basically to die at home.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Jesus.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Many Osage immediately suspect William was poisoned that night. But beyond hiring private investigators and posting rewards, there are very few avenues to meaningfully investigate, as local police just refused to acknowledge the possibility that it was a murder. A few months later, an Osage man in his 30s named Joe Bates Starts, quote, frothing at the mouth after drinking whiskey he'd purchased from a stranger. He collapses and dies not long after, leaving behind a wife and six kids. The Osage Nation suspects yet another poisoning. But again, local officials decide not to investigate. So now the Osage Nation have completely lost faith in the local white run institutions. And they basically feel forced to take matters into their own hands. So about a month after Joe Bates murder, tribal leaders enlist a white 55 year old oil man named Barney McBride, whom the Osage trust and consider to be an ally, to head up to Washington D.C. and lobby the federal government to send investigators to Osage County. But shortly after arriving in D.C. barney is ambushed, stabbed to death and dumped in an alleyway.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy sh. Okay, that. Now you're like, are we. We're not being paranoid?

[Karen Kilgariff]

No one's being paranoid. They weren't being paranoid the first time. And now it's like confirmation after confirmation.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, how terrifying.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And the suspicious deaths continue. In January of 1923, the body of 40 year old Henry Rowan, who is Molly and Rita's cousin, is found north of Fairfax in his car, slumped over the steering wheel, having been shot in the back of the head. This is another clear homicide and the police do not meaningfully investigate it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yikes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Months later, In June of 1923, an Osage man in his 40s named George Bigheart becomes very sick. He suspects he's been poisoned. And from his deathbed, he asks to see a 54 year old white lawyer named W.W. vaughn, who, like Barney McBride, is widely seen as a true Osage ally. And he shares with him what he claims is key information about the murders, along with a stack of incriminating documents.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

After George dies, W.W. vaughn calls his wife, who has just given birth to their 10th child.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

To tell her where he stashed some money in case anything happens to him.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Because he knows.

[Karen Kilgariff]

He then contacts the sheriff. He's saying he's on the way with evidence. Once he leaves that hospital, he vanishes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. He's got to be scary.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's gotta be the scary.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

To be that guy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. But he did it anyway.

[Karen Kilgariff]

He sure did.

[Georgia Hardstark]

You know what I mean? Like, he did it anyway.

[Karen Kilgariff]

He truly was acting on the Osage's behalf. Clearly.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

A few days later, W.W. vaughn's dead body is found near some railroad tracks, having clearly been thrown from a moving train. Jesus. Neither his nor George Bigheart's killers are ever found. Nor are the documents that George gave Vaughan at the hospital just gone. Now it's spring of 1923 and the violence and lack of accountability are so extreme that many Osage believe that white officials, the cops, doctors, politicians, all of them aren't just covering up their white friends murders. They're actively participating in what is like a conspiracy to ostensibly steal their victims fortunes. Yeah, there's a sense that any Osage person might be next. This fear is so intense that Rita and Bill move from the countryside into a more populated Fairfax neighborhood, hoping that being around other people will help keep them safer.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's like a systematic execution of this whole.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Of the whole family.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Community and family. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Molly and Ernest, who have just welcomed the third daughter named Anna, named after her aunt. They live just down the street. So one night In March of 1923, Molly and Ernest wake up to the sound of a massive bang. Molly jumps out of bed, runs to the window and sees a huge orange fireball rising above her sister's house. Rita and Bill's home has just been bombed. The property is reduced to rubble. Rita and the family's teenage maid, a woman named Nettie Brookshire, die instantly. Bill lives through the explosion. He hangs on for several days and then succumbs to his injuries.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

His doctors inject him with so much morphine that he isn't able to say much before he dies. Aside from this quote. Okay, they got Rita and now it looks like they've got me.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Damn.

[Karen Kilgariff]

End quote. So aside from Ernest and their children, Molly is now the only member of her immediate family that's left alive.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

This means all of their assets and head rights, her father's, her mother's and her three sisters are transferred to her in earnest.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. So now meanwhile, up in Washington D.C. a 29 year old J. Edgar Hoover, who Leonardo DiCaprio has also played in a film, has just been made. The acting director of the Bureau of Investigation, which is the early incarnation of the FBI. And even though homicides aren't really the Bureau's purview at the time, they're more known for tackling white collar crimes. They've technically been working on the Osage case for a couple of years, even though it is a complete mess. So in 1925, Hoover sends a respected lawman named Thomas B. White to take over the Oklahoma field office and to shake up this investigation. Agent White is a 6 foot tall Texan in his 40s with a no nonsense, incorruptible reputation. He has a sterling background as a Texas Ranger and as a special agent for railroad companies. We've actually talked about this man before in episode 410, which was entitled the Bossy one, because he will eventually become a prison warden that gets taken hostage during the Leavenworth prison break of 1931.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right. I remember that. Wow. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So that same guy. So, Agent White, this is his younger years. He assembles a team of agents, including undercover operatives, to go into Osage County. But right away, they hit a wall of silence because people are very afraid to share what they do know or even what they suspect.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, everyone could be the enemy.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes, because if you aren't acting with the enemy, then. Then you'll just get killed, too.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Totally.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So as Agent White interviews people and digs around in the case files, he's finding signs of a clear conspiracy which corroborate with the o have been suspecting all along. Important pieces of evidence go missing. Autopsies are hastily prepared. Witness statements are never followed up on. Alibis go unchecked. And one of the people that Agent White really wants to speak to about this is Molly Burkhart. But when he first meets her, he is stunned by how sick she is. Ernest explains that Molly suffers from diabetes and that she's recently started taking insulin, which is hard to come by and considered experimental at the time. But instead of improving, Molly seems to be getting worse. Because of this insulin. Agent White suspects that Molly is being poisoned by someone. He can't do much with this suspicion until he pulls some evidence together. But fortunately, a tip comes in. An incarcerated man named Burt Lawson spills that. Back in 1923, he was hired to blow up Bill and Rita Smith's home using nitroglycerin. He was paid $5,000 to do this, which is 90,000 in today's money. And the man who hired him? None other than self professed best friend of the Osage himself, William Hale, and his nephew, Ernest Burkhart, Molly's doting husband, served as his intermediary.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Damn.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Agent White then learns that William Hale was the beneficiary of victim Henry Rowan's $25,000 life insurance policy, which is worth nearly $450,000 today, despite Henry leaving behind a wife and children. So for some reason, he's got a life insurance policy that names this dude and not his immediate family. Not long before Henry's murder, Hale shopped around to different insurers before finding one that was willing to sign off on such a suspicious policy. An insurer will eventually claim he'd actually asked Hale if he was planning on killing Henry for the payout. And Hale reportedly said back quote. Oh, God, I am. Hell, yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay, and then just sign here, sir. Like, what the fuck?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Just sign here so I can go on My White Way and never say a fucking word about it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God. On My White Way. It's the new Follow the Yellow Brick Road.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Please. No. Every time we tell a story about the White Way, it's not great. Gotta say.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Agent White theorizes that the motive here is obvious and straightforward. William Hale profited from Henry Rowan's death and stood to gain even more with the help of his compliant nephew Ernest, Molly's mother and sisters. Estates and oil headrights funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars straight into Ernest's control and by proxy, William Hales.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

These estates are worth millions and millions in today's money. As the investigation closes in, people who Agent White believes are tied up in this conspiracy wind up dead. Many of these are white men suspected of working with Hale, who were then silenced before they could talk, turn on him or testify. Yeah, the three T's. I threw the second T in because I wanted it to be three. Agent White himself becomes a target. One of his relatives will later tell David Grant that, quote, once when he went to open his window, he found sticks of dynamite behind the curtain.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, no.

[Karen Kilgariff]

End quote.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Just by chance, like a fucking cartoon. Looney Tunes cartoon.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So White starts sleeping with a gun, and he keeps his head off anytime he's out in public, knowing that William Hale wants him dead and actually has enough power to make that happen in Osage county for sure. Then Agent White starts meeting with Ernest Burkhart, who, little by little, starts talking. It all gets very complicated, but essentially, Ernest shares just enough to implicate one of William Hale's goons, who then in turn says just enough information about Hale and Ernest to implicate them. As the men slowly reveal more and more information, a tangled web of white settlers is exposed and taken into custody for the murders of Anna, Rita, Bill the Smith's maid, Nettie Berkshire, and Henry Roan.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And the only reason Minnie and Lizzie's deaths are not part of this FBI investigation is because their cause of death remained unclear. Meanwhile, Molly has now become so sick that she's actually nearing death. So she's rushed to a hospital, and while she's there, her condition quickly improves. And that's how it's determined that her insulin injections were being laced with poison. Those shots were being administered by the same white doctors known as the Schown brothers, who had, quote, treated her mother, Lizzie, before Her death injected Bill Smith with so much morphine following the blast that he couldn't speak and determined her sister Minnie had died of a, quote, wasting illness. And suspiciously, the ones who couldn't find the fatal bullets in Anna's head during her autopsy. So here's your conspiracy made real.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Horrifying. And of course, these doctors just happen to have a very chummy relationship with William hale. So in 1926, the first trial in this case kicks off. But there will be many in the coming years as prosecutors unravel this conspiracy and work to convict William Hale, Ernest Burkhart, and their accomplices. The Tulsa Tribune describes the packed courtroom as filled with cross, well groomed businessmen and society women, as well as cowboys in broad brimmed hats and Osage chiefs in bearded garb.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's pretty surprising that they even, like, were brought to trial. I mean, I would suspect that they would just never get caught and never brought to justice. But it's pretty incredible.

[Karen Kilgariff]

They get brought to justice and then in this way where, like, people get to show up. I mean, it's why they cut people off from money, because money is power. Money is that voice that you get to hire in a lawyer that makes. Is that real?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So Molly herself is there. And with Hale and Ernest both pleading not guilty, she seems to be standing by her husband, presumably because she can't fathom what he's being accused of. A conspiracy to this level. And because of her support of her husband, Molly is shut out by much of the Osage community. At the same time, she's shunned by the white people who blame her for William Hale's downfall. Molly is also enduring the horrific testimony about her beloved family members and their deaths. For example, in a particularly shocking twist, prosecutors reveal in court that her sister Anna had confided in close friends the identity of her unborn child's father.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

She believed it was William Hale's baby. No, this is a married man. So if he did get Anna pregnant, presumably because they had an affair, this suggests another possible motive for her murder. Tragically, Molly and Ernest's youngest daughter Anna then dies of whooping cough around this time. And that seems to fundamentally shift something in Ernest Burkart. He decides to rescind his not guilty plea and come clean. And he names Hale as the mastermind of this entire conspiracy, while duly admitting to facilitating the bombing at the Smith house and the shooting of death of Henry Rowan. Ernest wasn't the guy who lit the fuse or pulled the trigger in either of those murders. But he found men willing to do it, and he made sure the jobs got done. And while Ernest's exact knowledge on the plan to kill Anna isn't clear, we do know that his brother Brian was directly implicated. A man named Kelsey Morrison eventually confesses, claiming that William Hale hired him to kill Anna. Kelsey testifies that Brian was right beside him as he pulled the trigger that night. And he'd even driven Anna to the ravine in Ernest's car.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

When Brian is eventually charged in connection with Anna's murder, his trial ends in a hung jury and he's acquitted. No. The one thing Ernest does always maintain is that he had no idea that they were poisoning Molly's insulin. And no one knows if that's true or not.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Like, you gotta suspect, right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Well, yes. I mean, like, if other people are dying of poison, you should have suspected it before you. I mean, if you were clear on that, that would have been something you would have been all over.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Regardless, Ernest admitting to everything shifts something in Molly. Of course, she can no longer cling to the hope that he is somehow innocent. She files for a divorce and refuses to ever look at him again.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, I know for sure, but like.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, but good for her. The betrayal, it's somewhat.

[Karen Kilgariff]

You thought it's so heartbreaking and that you had a family with. And it's like, Bill was her sister's husband. Bill was the real deal.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. It's like, also, did he love the kids? Who the fuck, right? You'll never know for sure, right?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Who were you this whole time? Could there be love? If you're also then. Killing my mother, killing my sister, like.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That'S not how love works.

[Karen Kilgariff]

No. No. Is your love good enough?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

David Grann writes that quote, whenever her husband's name was mentioned, she recoiled in horror. In the end, some semblance of justice is served, which many Osage were not expecting. Both Ernest Burkhart and William Hale are sentenced to life in prison.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Great.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Of course, Hale serves just 21 years before being paroled in 1947. Although he is barred from ever going back to Oklahoma, he dies quietly in an Arizona nursing home in 1962 at the age of 87. What's weird is when Hale goes to jail for this stint, he's sent to Leavenworth. And that's where Thomas White will soon become the warden.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay, Agent White. So they overlap.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Weird.

[Karen Kilgariff]

At that jail, Ernest Burkhart also gets parole. But it happens a bit earlier. In 1937, he's arrested not long after that for robbing a house. Somehow he still receives a full pardon from the then Oklahoma governor in 1965. Ostensibly.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Pardon.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Pardon.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Okay.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Ostensibly. Because his confession helped put Hale and the others away. But the pardon does allow him to go back to Oklahoma. Ernest winds up moving into a trailer in Osage county that he shares with his brother Brian. And he dies there in 1986 at the age of 94 as a pariah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So it's not like he doesn't go back to life as he knew it in any way.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. It's just a sad fucking loners who live out in a trailer together where they belong.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. Whether he's a tool of his evil uncle or a part of the plan. This idea that you think you could go anywhere where people be like, hey, you served your time for a betrayal to that level.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Of your own wife.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. And children, of course.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Children. As for Molly Burkhart, she maintains a low profile for the rest of her life. We know she eventually remarries and that she dies young at the age of 50 in 1937 of an unspecified illness. Molly's death is not considered suspicious. Except for maybe by me and you. May be coincidental that she dies the same year Ernest is paroled.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, I thought that.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So Molly's two children and Ernest's two children inherit her estate. But at this point, by the time they inherit it, it's dwindled because of the Great Depression. So it's nothing like it was before.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But this isn't the end of the story. Despite Agent Thomas White's commendable work in Oklahoma, this case does not conclude with the FBI swooping in and catching the b bad guys. Even though J. Edgar Hoover, ever the egotistical, power hungry guy, was very eager to frame it that way. Hoover, like his agents and just about everyone in the Oage nation knew very well that there was a much larger, more insidious conspiracy going on here. And he chose to ignore it. But not before he build The Osage Nation $20,000. The equivalent of $370,000 in today's money.

[Georgia Hardstark]

For what?

[Karen Kilgariff]

For the work his age agents did on the William Hale case.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Sorry, this is not like a fucking cleaning service that came and cleaned. You don't get a charge.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

FBI bill taxes, bro. Yeah. Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And that is something that was not captured in the movie. But it's a point David Grann drives home in the book Killers of the Flower Moon. Basically, William Hale was not some homicidal mob boss behind every unsolved osage county murder like J. Edgar Hoover wanted him to seem. Instead, he was one bagged actor of many who were all operating within a culture of complicity and violence geared at making white settlers richer at the expense of Osage Nation members and also at the expense of their neighbors, their friends, and even their family members. Which is essentially colonialism.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

As David Grann has put it, quote, this is not a story about who did it. It's a story about who didn't do it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Damn.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Ooh. That just gave me a weird shock.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

For example, Charles Whitehorn, the man whose body was found the same day as Anna's body, is widely assumed to have been murdered by a white man in collusion with Whitehorn's white widow, Hattie, presumably for his head. Right.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Damn.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Hattie once even told investigators, quote, if I tell you what happened, you will send me to the electric chair.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The other suspicious deaths, the ones of William Stepson, Joe Bates, George Bigheart, Barney McBride, and W.W. vaughn, are never solved. But they are not to be directly tied to the William Hale conspiracy. Which means they're just from their own either conspiracy of a different group or anyone else that these people were exposed to with no protection from.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Who had the same goal in mind.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So in the mid-1920s, laws are finally passed that make it more difficult to transfer head rights to non Osage people, even through marriage. But for many, this happens way too late. We will almost certainly never have a conclusive death tol this period of time in Osage County. The most modest estimates put that number in the dozens. But a historian named Lewis Burns has said, quote, I don't know of a single Osage family that didn't lose at least one family member because of head rights.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

End quote. Today, the Osage nation has a population of around 10,000 people. Many of them live outside of Oklahoma. And of course, the oil boom days are over, as are the big checks that came with it. But the ripple effects of this dark chapter are still widely felt among the Osage people. In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grant interviews the great grandson of Henry Rowan, who says that the murders are, quote, still in the back of our minds. You just have it in the back of your head that you don't trust anybody. Yeah. End quote. And that is the story of the Osage oil murders.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow. I'm so glad the book was written about it because. Because you'd never heard of it before.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And it's a huge historical story, and.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It'S the kind of thing I think that when white people hear about that, it's like, oh, yeah, bad things happen. And we know that bad things happen. But it's like, no, we should actually.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Talk about specific moment, how it happens.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So it doesn't happen anymore. Then the responsibility of people who are gonna go in there and say, we are the police. We are the sheriff. We are the people who hold people accountable. And how do you make it so that everyone's a bad actor on that side of the fence?

[Georgia Hardstark]

There's no hope. Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Gotta change.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Good job.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Thank you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That was an epic story.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It was a big one. Marin McLachen, one of the great researchers of our time.

[Georgia Hardstark]

All right, well, great job.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Thank you so much. That's a solo episode.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's how it's done.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Feels like a tripler.

[Georgia Hardstark]

We hope your sister enjoyed.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We hope your mother takes you up on this and comes back.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right. Right. We hope your road trip's going well.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We promise we won't swear as much next time.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right. And stay sexy and don't get murdered. Goodbye, Elvis. Do you want a cookie?

[Karen Kilgariff]

This has been an exactly right production.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Our senior producers are Alejandra Keck and Margaret Molly Smith.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

[Georgia Hardstark]

This episode was mixed by Liana Squillace.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Our researchers are Maren McGlashan and Ali Elkin.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Email your hometowns to my favorite murdermail.com.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Follow the show on Instagram at my favorite murder.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Listen to my favorite murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And now you can watch us on exactly right's YouTube page. While you're there, please like and subscribe.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye, foreign.

[Karen Kilgariff]

You know, most of us don't treat our livers with any respect.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Amen. We just kind of assume they'll keep showing up for work even if we don't.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Fortunately, LiverMD is here to help.

[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

When your Liver struggles, you feel it. Fatigue, bloating, brain fog, and slower recovery from those weekend indulgences. Take control of your liver health today with LiverMD.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Visit1md.org and use code MURDER to save 15 on your first order.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye.

[C]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

Two.

[C]

Seriously, it's 15amonth. Three, no big contracts. Four, I use it. Five, my mom uses it. Are you, are you playing me off? That's what's happening, right? Okay, give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront.

[Georgia Hardstark]

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