Narrator (4:21)

Molly and her family in this two.

Carter Roy (4:23)

Parter, we want to make it clear that the reign of terror reached far beyond this one household. It's likely that many Osage people in Oklahoma lost their lives lives, their land, their money, or all three at the hands of manipulative criminals. Today, in part two, I'll share how some of those killers were finally brought to justice. And what happened when Molly discovered who was coming after her family. All that and more coming up.

Narrator (5:05)

As 1922 dawned over the Osage Nation's tribal lands in Oklahoma, most Osage citizens agreed on one very disturbing they were being targeted and killed, all to get access to their wealth. There had been too many deaths and disappearances for the Osage to believe otherwise. It seemed like every member of the tribe knew someone who'd vanished or died under suspicious circumstances. Molly Burkhart, now 35 years old, knew at least three. Her sister Minnie, was the first to die after a mysterious illness. Her other sister, Anna, was murdered with a single gunshot. Their mother, Lizzie, died after experiencing the same symptoms as Minnie. Now Molly was starting to feel sick herself. As a diabetic, occasional periods of poor health were normal for her. But these new symptoms were different. Not to mention, there were widespread rumors of poisonings on the reservation. Rumors Molly must have heard herself. Molly was an intelligent, educated woman, and she knew she had something in common with the Osage people who'd gone missing. Missing or died, they all owned head rights, shares of the tribe's communally owned mineral rights. As of 1922, each headright was worth about $220,000 a year in today's money. Molly had her own headrights. But as more members of her family passed, she inherited theirs, too. By the 1920s, Molly and her sister Rita each had three, equaling $630,000 per year in today's money. The sisters knew their wealth made them targets. But neither Molly nor Rita went to the local authorities for protection. That's because most Osage citizens rightfully believe the Oklahoma courts were on the killer's side. Local judges were the ones enforcing federal law by appointing white guardians to manage Osage money. That guardianship system was a major reason the Osage ended up in so much danger.

Expert/Analyst (7:25)

And around the turn of the 20th century, a federal law required all Osage people without white ancestry to have a so called guardian manage their money. These guardians frequently abused their power to steal their ward's assets. They could use all kinds of financial mechanisms to do this, but the quickest option was to kill their ward and inherit their fortune, either by marrying them or becoming their next of kin or by partnering with a corrupt lawyer. To give you a sense of how big this business was, there were 400 professional guardians and lawyers in the town of Pawhuska, the central Osage county town where Molly lived, which only had a population of a few hundred people, by the way. Now we're mostly talking about the Osage nation in this episode, but guardianship affected all indigenous tribes in Oklahoma.

Narrator (8:22)

The guardianship system was unjust for so many reasons, but since the Osage couldn't spend a dime without their guardian's approval, it made it a lot harder to get themselves out of the situation. In 1922, Molly Burkhart was in this exact situation. Her husband, 30 year old Ernest, served as her legal guardian. We don't know if Molly ever tried to move away from Pawhuska or Osage county, but if she did, Ernest surely nixed the plan. Not to mention Molly had three children to think about. By 1922, the couple had a newborn named after Molly's late sister Anna, a one year old son nicknamed Cowboy, and a four year old called Elizabeth. With most of her family now dead, Molly didn't have much of a support system outside of her sister Rita and Molly's first husband Henry. So Molly also leaned on the local Catholic priest. But after her family members started dying, Ernest wouldn't let Molly go to church, which was odd. But Molly didn't question him for a long time. Molly believed Ernest genuinely had her best interests at heart. He was kind and caring, watching over her and their kids. Because of Molly's diabetes, she was often tired and in pain. Ernest helped administer her insulin injections and watched the children when she was too sick. He even did his best to learn Molly's indigenous language so she wouldn't have to speak English at home. So Molly wasn't wrong to think Ernest loved her and wanted to protect her. But the truth was, Ernest was playing the long game Molly knew Ernest spent a lot of time with his uncle, William King Hale. After moving to osage county in 1902, William had become one of the most powerful men in the region. By this point, Molly had probably heard rumors that William was targeting Osage people for their head rights. What Molly didn't know was that William was using Ernest as a pawn too. He had been ever since William moved to Oklahoma. William even chose Molly as Ernest's wife and ordered him to propose. At first, Ernest obeyed his uncle out of respect. But now their relationship was based mostly on fear. Or so it seemed. Ernest knew William was capable of just about anything. And it wasn't just Ernest who was scared of William. It was everyone. Not only was he one of the richest men in town, he was incredibly well connected. He counted everyone from sheriffs and politicians to mobsters and bootleggers among his closest friends. Back in 1922, nobody would dare cross him. That is, nobody except for Bill Smith. Bill was married to Rita, Molly's last living sister. He'd been part of their family for a while. In fact, before getting together with Rita, he'd been married to Molly's other sister, Minnie. It's hard to tell if Bill was a villain or a hero in this story. Some people suspected him of killing Minnie, largely because of how quickly he married Rita after she died. Bill also had a business relationship with William King Hale and even claimed to have lent William a large sum of money, which wasn't reflecting well on Bill either. But on the other hand, Bill seemed truly terrified of losing Rita, not to mention his own life. He moved his family from the country to the biggest city in Osage county, hoping they'd be safer with more people around there. Bill told anyone who would listen that his former wife Minnie and his mother in law had been murdered. He spoke up at public meetings, demanding an investigation. In private, he told his friends that he believed William was involved. And this behavior put him at odds with many of his fellow white men. Particularly those who benefited from what's become known as the Reign of Terror. Including the lawyers specializing in Native guardianship. Bill's message was getting so loud, people couldn't help but listen. Even for the non natives who up until now preferred to turn a blind eye. But then something happened that made all of the murders way too hard to ignore. In February 1922, a 29 year old Osage man named William Stepson died suddenly in his bed as a rodeo champion. He was physically fit and in excellent health. No one could believe he died overnight from a fatal illness. But now, with a local celebrity gone, many were determined to get to the bottom of it. Which meant the truth was finally about to surface.

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Narrator (14:59)

In February 1922, 29 year old rodeo champion William Stepson was added to the long list of Osage headright holders who died under suspicious circumstances. After his death, a white man named Kelsey Morrison promptly married William's widow, putting himself in line to inherit the stepson head rights. As was common with sudden, unexplained deaths of native men, the old drank himself to death stereotype was brought forth. But this time it didn't hold up. Everyone knew William Stepson wasn't living with any alcohol related illnesses, and because he was well known as a rodeo star, there was a lot of attention around his death, which was why demand actually led to an investigation being approved. In April 1922, stepson's stomach was shipped to Oklahoma City for a coroner's inquest. His friends were certain that he died from strychnine poisoning and no alcohol was found in Stepson's stomach. But the coroner didn't find poison either. However, Stepson had been dead for two months by then. Any traces of strychnine would have been long gone. It only takes 24 to 48 hours for the poison to disappear from the body. Body. That didn't matter to the police though. They declined to open a homicide investigation. Stepson's friends were outraged and they became even more upset when his 24 year old widow was found dead too. Her death wasn't investigated as a murder either, and Kelsey Morrison, the white man who'd married her, inherited both of their head rights. It was getting harder and harder for anyone with a conscience to look away. Even Some of the people who profited from the guardianship system were getting concerned. But the Osage were in an impossible position. Many of the people benefiting from the murders had close connections to law enforcement. William King Hale was a deputy sheriff himself and local judges had no reason to step in. Their biggest concern was getting re elected, which wouldn't happen without the support of the area's white settlers. During election campaigns, these judges awarded their biggest donors by naming them as guardians for the wealthiest Osage people around. With the system rigged against them, the Osage had no idea where to turn for help. Bill Smith did have an idea though. Disgusted with the authorities failure to act, he hired a private detective from Tulsa. We don't know his name, but we can assume he did his job well. Because soon Bill stopped implying that William King Hale was involved and started saying so explicitly. He told people he had enough evidence to prove William had killed Bill's sister in law, Anna Brown. He didn't go to the authorities with that evidence, but he suggested he might if the murders didn't stop soon. Molly Burkhart must have heard Bill's accusations, but she was concerned she was also being slowly poisoned. If she made any waves, she feared her death might come much sooner. And if that happened, she knew no one would be brave enough to investigate. It's difficult to overstate how powerful William King Hale was in Osage county at this time. He wasn't just a big fish in a small pond. He was a shark. He'd spent much of his adult life convincing the Osage he was their closest ally. He made big donations to local charities and provided expensive food for tribal events. He even offered cash rewards for information on the murders, including Anna's, which Bill was now accusing him of planning. After each suspicious death, William made sure he was seen publicly comforting the bereaved. And because William owned a funeral home, he made sure all the victims were buried in top of the line caskets. Though it was at a substantial markup paid for by the victims estates. In between funerals, he showered his Osage friends with lavish gifts. Ponies for the children and brand new suits for the men. He was happy to lend money to those in need. But when borrowers couldn't pay him back, they'd see a different side of William. Because as we know, William wasn't all kind smiles and free ponies. He frequently hired small time crooks to do dirty work for him. Including Kelsey Morrison, the man who married William Stepson's widow. And Kelsey was far from the only one. There were a lot of criminals living in or passing through Osage County. At the time, William seemed to know most of them. From notorious interstate bootleggers to local petty thieves. Many ended up borrowing William Hale's money, Then doing illegal favors for him to pay off their debts. Like killing innocent people on his behalf. But Bill was onto him. With the help of the private detective from Tulsa, Bill figured out that William was specifically after Molly and Rita. And it wasn't hard for him to see the blueprints of William's plan. First, William would have Rita killed, so Molly inherited the entire family's head rights. Then he'd have Ernest go after Molly, his own wife, so Ernest could inherit the head rights for himself. All before turning them over to William. With a massive payday for Ernest too, no doubt. But for all this to work, Rita had to be a widow when she died. Otherwise Bill would inherit it all. Which meant Bill. Bill would likely be William's next victim. But Bill wasn't the only person William was after. There were others standing in the way of his schemes. And they weren't all Osage. One of these people was a 55 year old retired oilman named Barney McBride. The Osage liked Barney for the kindness and respect he showed the area's indigenous people. Sometime in 1922, a group of Osage people approached him about the murders happening all over their land. They knew their only hope for a real investigation was if a trusted white man went to the federal government. Barney agreed to take their concerns to Washington D.C. he arrived on August 9, 1922. When he checked into his hotel, a telegram was waiting for him with two menacing Be careful. And he took that advice seriously. When he went out that night at a place called the Elks Club, Barney took both his Bible and his gun. But neither protected him. As he left the club, a group of men attacked him on the Capitol's dark, empty streets. They threw a bag over Barney's head and beat him viciously, crushing his skull. His body was found the next morning. He'd been stripped naked, save for his socks and shoes, and stabbed more than 20 times. Clearly, someone was trying to send a message. Barney's 17 year old stepdaughter was beside herself with grief. She hired private detectives and offered a large reward. But Barney's murder was never officially solved. The case drew national headlines, including one in the Washington Post that read Conspiracy believed to kill Rich Indians. Although it cost him his life, Barney's mission was a partial success. By becoming the most prominent white victim of the reign of terror, he drew an unprecedented level of attention to the Osage murders, but more lives would be claimed before federal authorities finally stepped in.

Ann Marie Green (24:12)

Your favorite true crime series, 48 Hours, is back for a new season, and so is the official aftershow podcast Postmortem. Every Monday, listen to a new episode of 48 Hours and then join me 48 Hours correspondent Ann Marie Green on Tuesday for a new episode of Postmortem where we bring you a closer look at each case.

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Narrator (24:47)

After 55 year old Barney McBride was killed in August 1922, his murder drew national media attention to the reign of terror in Osage County. But the Osage people still weren't safe. In January 1923, tribe members Joe Greyhorse and Anna Sanford joined the long list of victims of Osage people killed for their headrights. It's not clear if William King Hale had anything to do with their deaths, but he certainly was involved with this next one. That January 40 year old Henry Roan, Molly Burkhart's first husband, wasn't doing well. His current wife cheated on him and after Henry learned about it, his addiction to alcohol spiraled. William King Hale was aware of Henry's struggles and he decided Henry would be the perfect next victim. But before William acted, he took out a $25,000 life insurance policy on Henry worth almost half a million dollars today.

Expert/Analyst (25:57)

Here's the thing, you can't just buy a life insurance policy on some random person, but you can do it for someone you have a so called insurable interest in. In other words, someone whose death could really hurt you financially. Someone whose end of life could mean the end of your business, for example as well. Usually that would be a business partner or a spouse. In the case of Henry Roan, William's supposed insurable interest was a $12,000 loan he said he made to Henry. Whatever the reason is, you do still have to consent to having a life insurance policy taken out on you. Or at least you're supposed to.

Narrator (26:39)

We don't know exactly why Henry consented to this. Maybe he really did ask to borrow money and William insisted on taking out a policy against him before forking over the cash. But it's also possible that Henry never consented at all and William conspired with Henry's guardian to get the policy approved. Whatever the case, William was positioned to benefit from Henry's death and he made his move one night in late January 1923 when Henry didn't come home that evening, his wife assumed he was out drinking, which he was. But William was banking on that part. He'd hired a bootlegger named John Ramsey to take Henry out on the town and give him free whiskey. Once Henry was good and drunk, William wanted John to shoot him and make it look like a suicide. John was halfway successful. On January 26, 1923, he shot and killed Henry. But the bullet entered through the back of Henry's head, which definitely didn't look like a suicide. John abandoned Henry's body in a car at the bottom of a stormwater channel and fled. Henry's body wasn't discovered until February 6th, when a couple of hunters stumbled across the crime scene. William grieved publicly for his supposed friend. He even insisted on serving as a pallbearer at Henry's funeral. Afterwards, he filed a claim under the $25,000 life insurance policy on Henry. Then, just for good measure, he started a rumor that Henry was killed by the man his wife was having an affair with. According to the bootlegger John Ramsey's later confession, Ernest Burkhart was in on this murder, too. And his motive was an ugly one. Apparently, Ernest thought that Henry was going to divorce his wife and try to get back with Molly. For the moment, though, nobody knew who was responsible for killing Henry. But Bill Smith was certain he knew the answer. And he was threatening to go to the authorities about William. And this time, it looked like he might actually do it. Bill had been holding on to his proof for months. Maybe he didn't want William to know what he had on him. Or perhaps he thought William wouldn't dare actually kill him after he'd told everyone in town, if I die, William Hale did it. But Bill also had a selfish motive for keeping his evidence to himself. See, William owed Bill $6,000. So instead of exposing the king of the Osage Hills, Bill tried to blackmail him into paying off the debt. That decision would end Bill's life and William's killing spree. On March 9, 1923, 36 year old Molly brought her two year old son Cowboy to visit his Aunt Rita and Uncle Bill. Molly had planned to stay the night, but when they arrived, she found Bill and Rita in a state of panic. Dogs in their neighborhood were being poisoned. Bill and Rita took this to mean the killer, AKA William, was sending them a message. Cowboy's presence was a welcome distraction, but he had a terrible ear infection. So Molly decided her son was too sick for a sleepover. She made her apologies and took Cowboy to the doctor before heading home. At 3am the next morning, as Molly was asleep in her own bed, a five gallon keg of nitroglycerin exploded under Rita in Bill's house. The blast was so loud, it shook Molly and Ernest awake on the other side of town. Ernest knew right away what had happened. After all, he was in on the whole plan. He knew William had hired another lowlife, someone named Asa Kirby, to plant the bomb. And he knew Molly was supposed to be there when it went off. Rita was killed instantly, as was her teenage house servant. Bill survived the blast, although his injuries were so bad, he succumbed to them two days later. But he lived long enough for the family's head rights to be out of William's reach. Half of Rita's estate went to her half sister, Grace Bighorn. The rest went to Bill. And when he died from his injuries, his share of the head rights went to his daughter in Arkansas. With his dying breath, Bill told the authorities his only enemies were William King Hale and Williams nature nephews Byron and Ernest Burkhart. This was the last straw for Osage tribal leadership. A few days after the bombing, they sent a full delegation to Washington, D.C. they lobbied the Department of the Interior, which oversees U.S. relations with native tribes, for help. The Office of Indian affairs finally agreed to their request, and they formally asked the Bureau of Investigation, which later became the FBI, to investigate. As long as the Osage helped finance it. The Bureau put its assistant director, J. Edgar Hoover, on the case. Hoover dispatched an agent to osage county on April 2, 1923, a little less than a month after the bombing. William King Hale was the Bureau's primary suspect from the beginning. Between Bill Smith's deathbed accusation and the life insurance policy taken out just weeks before Henry Rhone's murder, it wasn't hard to make the connection. The problem was, William was so feared nobody would say a word about him to a federal agent. With no one willing to come forward, the investigation stalled. But Hoover didn't drop it. In late 1924, the FBI was created and Hoover was appointed as the bureau's first director. He passed the investigation on to the Special Agent in charge of Houston's field office, Tom White. In the summer of 1925, Agent White sent four undercover agents to investigate the Osage Age murders. Each was assigned a different Persona. A doctor, a rancher, an oilman, and an insurance salesman. The last agent was particularly clever. Selling life insurance was a very effective way to find out who was afraid of dying. As the undercover agent went door to door, many of his customers said they believed William might kill them next. This gave the agent an idea. He decided to sell William a policy. And while William didn't go for it, he quickly befriended the agent. Before long, William was sharing a lot of personal information with him, including his plans to move to Florida on short notice. Of course, he had no idea he was spilling his guts to the FBI. Piece by piece, the agents built their case. They knew that if they wanted to put William away, they needed an army of witnesses to testify for the prosecution. In the fall of 1925, one critical informant came forward. Molly Burkhardt's priest. He told the Bureau that Ernest was keeping Molly from attending services, but she'd gotten a message to him. She said she was afraid she was being poisoned. Thankfully, the priest's message reached the Bureau in time. Agents swooped in and rushed Molly to a hospital, where her symptoms soon vanished. It turned out the medicine that was supposed to help her was actually killing her. Her insulin shots were, which she got from two doctors on Williams payroll, were full of poison. And it wasn't long until the investigators had all the evidence they needed. Just a couple of Months later, in January 1926, 51 year old William King Hale and his nephew, 33 year old Ernest Burkhart, were finally arrested, as were many of their accomplices. William and the bootlegger John Ramsey were convicted of murdering Henry Roane. Both got life sentences. Kelsey Morrison was convicted of killing Anna Brown on William's orders and also received a life sentence. Ernest's brother, Byron Burkhart, who participated in Anna's murder too, avoided jail by testifying for the prosecution. Ernest was also sentenced to life in prison for his role in Bill and Rita's deaths. Molly filed for divorce. With Ernest and William in prison, Molly was free to go back to church and meet new people. She even fell in love again with a man named John Cobb. The couple got married in 1928, about two years after Ernest's trial. But this time, Molly was determined to do things differently. She sued to terminate her guardianship in 1931, at the age of 44, she was declared a competent adult. For the first time in her adult life, Molly controlled her own fortune. She got to enjoy it for a few more years until she died in 1937. And at the age of 50 after a long illness. Considering how many people had tried to kill her, living long enough to die of natural causes was its own kind of victory. So was justice done, criminally speaking? Not really. William, John Ramsay and Ernest were all ultimately paroled. After serving just part of their life sentences. Kelsey Morrison's life sentence was repealed in 1931. Two of Williams hired guns dropped dead before they could testify against him. Most of the Osage murders remain officially unsolved. According to the Osage's current principal, Chief Jeffrey Standing Bear, it's estimated that at least 5% of their tribe was murdered during the reign of terror years. In all likelihood, dozens of killers and accomplices were never charged.

Expert/Analyst (38:22)

Well, as for the financial side of things, the news is a little better here, although there's still work to be done. In 1925, a new law stopped non Osage people from inheriting Osage head rights. Although the Great Depression ended the oil boom in Oklahoma and head rights continue to bring in a modest income for their owners and still do today. Beyond that, the Osage people were able to secure some additional financial restitution. After decades of watching the federal government mismanage their mineral rights trust, the Osage Nation filed suit in 2000. They claim the government failed to collect money owed to them for oil leases and also failed to invest that money for the benefit of head right holders. After years of legal wrangling, the government finally agreed to pay $380 million in damages. But that is just pennies on the dollar compared to what was stolen from the Osage people over the years. But it did help the tribe buy back some of their former land, starting with 43,000 acres purchased from multimedia billionaire Ted.

Narrator (39:34)

The Osage Nation officially took ownership of that land in 2016. They're using it for farming and beef production with the goal of providing food security for the entire tribe. If they succeed, it'll be the first time in 200 years the Osage Nation can feed their population without relying on trade with the United States proving just how resilient the Osage people are and why it's so important for us to remember the atrocities that were committed against them.

Carter Roy (40:18)

Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy and this is Scams, Money and Murder. If you enjoyed this episode, you can check out more just like it by searching for Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts, Scams, Money and Murder is a Crime House original. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media, Rimehouse on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review and follow. Follow Scams, Money and Murder and Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts and to enhance your listening experience subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode of Murder True Crime Stories ad free, along with early access to each thrilling two part series and exciting bonus content. We'll be back next Thursday.

Narrator (41:15)

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