Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Anna Brown and the Osage Hills Murders Pt. 1

Episode Date: April 20, 2022

In the 1920s, the people of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma were the wealthiest people per capita in the entire world because their land sat on one of the largest oil reserves ever discovered. But even with all this money, they were powerless. So when Anna Brown and others from the Osage Nation turned up dead, authorities felt little motivation to solve the cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of violence, murder, and gruesome descriptions of dead bodies. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Like many Native American tribes, the O'Sage Nation has a rich history that has largely been erased from the history books. In the mid-1800s, they were driven off their Midwestern homelands by the increasingly aggressive United States government. They were forced to settle in Kansas, but colonists continued to encroach on their property. In an effort to establish and maintain their own space, tribal leaders made a deal with the

federal government. In 1870, they agreed to purchase a swath of land in northeastern Oklahoma on one condition. The Osage people would have total ownership of everything in the region, above and below. the ground. The area was around 2,300 square miles. Nothing compared to the lands their ancestors once freely roamed. It was rocky, infertile, and in the eyes of white settlers, worthless. But for the Osage, this was a good thing. Many wanted European Americans to stay as far away from them as possible. Their new land offered an opportunity to return to tribal traditions, to finally be free of the influence of white colonists.

However, their relative autonomy didn't last long. Shortly after moving to Oklahoma, petroleum was discovered. The Osage people's seemingly worthless land contained one of the largest oil reserves ever discovered. Almost immediately, prospectors flooded the area. Over the next 50 years, the Osage leased sections of their land to oilmen. The money they brought in was devoidable. amongst the group. Every member of the Osage people had their name on a tribal role,

and they each received head rights, that is, portions of the income that the land generated. And this income proved to be monumental. By the 1920s, the Osage were bringing in the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars a year. They were the richest people per capita in the entire world. They had everything. But then, prominent members of of their tribe started dropping dead. Welcome to Solved Murder's True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host Carter Roy.

And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday we step into the world of true crimes, most fascinating murder cases, and tell the tale of how real-life detectives close the case. You can find episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free, on Spotify.

This is our first episode on Anna Brown and the Osage Hills murders. This week we'll cover the crimes that terrified the Osage Nation. We'll see how local law enforcement repeatedly failed to protect the tribe and forced them to take matters into their own hands. Next week, we'll dive into the FBI's undercover investigation, which revealed a conspiracy that nobody could have imagined. We have all that. And more coming up. Stay with us.

I knew about investing, but I really didn't know how to go about it. Meet Corey, a wealthfront client. With Wealthfront, it could put money in, and it would automatically distribute it into a diversified portfolio. Then it starts to compound. The compounding compounds on the compounding. Just let it run, and it's great. Over one million clients trust Wealthfront.

Get started at Wealthfront.com. Client was paid $1,000 for their testimonial, creating a conflict of interest. Outcomes vary. Investment management and advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. Investing involves risk to principle regardless of the strategy used. Has performance does not guarantee future results.

On the afternoon of May 28, 1921, a man, we'll call him John, and his son were squirrel hunting in Fairfax, Oklahoma. Fairfax was just outside of the Osage Nation, but the once deserted area now crawled with people. Everyone wanted to make a buck off the coveted Osage oil. John might have had hopes of striking it rich, but that day he simply simply, needed to eat, he and his son crept through the hot grasslands searching for food. Suddenly, John's son saw something scurry through a tree. He raised his gun, shot, and watched the squirrel's limp body tumble off the branch. The teenager smiled and ran after his kill, but his pride quickly gave way to disappointment. He couldn't find the squirrel's body anywhere, as he made his

way further into the trees, he discovered a ravine. The animal must have fallen in, he reasoned, and gotten carried downstream. John's son leaned over the edge of the ravine and looked in. There was no trace of the squirrel, but there was something else. Dad! You find that squirrel? No, but... You've got to be around here somewhere.

Dad, there's a body, a woman, I think, in the ravine. What? Look! Go get the horses. We'll ride in the town and tell the police. At the time, Oklahoma was the Wild West. There was no police station or number to call for emergency help. John and his son rode their horses downtown, hoping to run into the sheriff or one of his men. Unfortunately, police were nowhere to be found. With no other options, John went to a local trading company. The lead undertaker and several of his assistants took a covered wagon out to the edge of town.

John and his son led them to the ravine where they retrieved and inspected the body. Hoisted up here. Can you tell who it is? It's hard to say. The corpse must have been laying out here at least a week. James, we're going to need some mice to reduce the bloating. The body will be impossible to identify if we can't counteract some of this to keep. On it.

And John, you find a police officer. Tell them to check for reports of a missing woman, a Native American by the looks of it. We'll do. At first, the undertaker couldn't identify the body. However, as he reduced some of the bloating and discoloration of the corpse, a terrible recognition dawned on him. The body could have belonged to Anna Brown, an Osage woman who hadn't been seen for nearly a week. Anna Brown was known to be unpredictable. Even though Prohibition made the consumption of alcohol illegal,

she had an affinity for moonshine. Both Native Americans and white settlers had heard whispers of her drunken escapades, rumors about the way she'd go missing, and then stumble home drunk many days later. It was possible that she got so intoxicated that she fell into the ravine. But it was also possible that Anna had simply taken taken off for a few days. The mortician couldn't be sure that the body was hers, but nevertheless, it seemed like a good place to start. He had one of his assistants contact Anna Brown's family.

Molly Burckhard. This may seem like a strange question, but have you seen Anna lately? No, but Anna... We found a body out here, near the end of town. It's a Native American woman. We don't know who it is, but... I'll be there right away. This news shook Molly. to the core. She'd been concerned about Anna's absence, but she hadn't let her mind wander into such frightening territory. Molly steadied her breath and tried to imagine her sister alive and sipping moonshine,

but her thoughts continued to race. She had to look at the body, if only to set her mind at ease. Molly went to Fairfax in a brand new automobile. This was just one of the many things that set her apart from the average American. Whereas most people couldn't afford a single car, she had multiple vehicles to pick from. That day, she chose an automobile with a spacious back seat. Her husband, Ernest, his brother Brian, her sister Rita and her sister's husband, Bill, all accompanied her to the edge of Fairfax. The family stepped out of the car and made their way to the ravine where the undertaker stood beside the corpse. As they walked closer to the body, the scent of death took over the air.

They held their noses and looked into the face of the corpse. But there was little left to see. The flesh had been eaten away by flies and worms. But other remnants remained. As Molly surveyed the scene, her eyes filled with tears. Those are her clothes. Rita, those are her clothes. Are you sure?

I washed them for her last week. I just need to... No, I can't. Bill, can you look inside her mouth? She had gold fillings, a couple of them on the right side. What do you see? It's her. Molly confirmed the worst.

Her sister, 34-year-old Anna Brown, was dead. But the family couldn't take their loved one's body. Local law enforcement had become aware of the corpse, and it was technically under there. jurisdiction. The body would have to be processed according to the standards of Fairfax police, which included an inquest. In 1921, forensic investigations were very different than they are today. Questionable deaths were solved through public inquests. A jury composed of regular citizens was tasked with deciding whether a person's demise was an act of God or man. That is, if someone

had died of natural causes or been murdered. Sundown was quickly approaching, so the jury convened as fast as possible. It was made up entirely of white men, including two doctors, all of whom were led by the Fairfax Justice of the Peace. The doctors performed an autopsy in front of the crowd. They agreed with the undertaker's estimate

that Anna had died approximately one week prior, but they couldn't find any clear cause of death. until they shifted her head just slightly. This small movement was enough to peel the skin off the back of Anna's skull. With the flesh out of the way, doctors could see bone. They found that Anna's cranium contained one small hole, exactly the size of a bullet. Anna Brown had been murdered,

and based on the fact that there was only one hole in her skull, doctors assumed the bullet would be lodged inside her brain. But they were wrong. They opened Anna's cranium, dug through the gray matter for a projectile, and found nothing. However, they did uncover a few other pieces of evidence. Near the ravine was a small flask of moonshine. Investigators reasoned that Anna had likely been drinking by the creek before she was shot. Furthermore, there were two sets of identical tire tracks,

one leading into the area and one leading in the area. out. Whoever killed Anna must have been driving a car, meaning the perpetrator must have been wealthy. But likely because forensic investigations were so new, local police did a terrible job of preserving this evidence. They didn't take a cast of the tire marks, dust for fingerprints, or even look for gunpowder residue on Anna's body. Worse yet, the inquest resulted in a contaminated crime scene and an altered corpse. Nevertheless, Fairfax police weren't discouraged. They set to work looking for suspects

and soon discovered that cracking the case would be much more difficult than they thought. Up next, Fairfax authorities run into roadblocks. Then, another death shakes the Osage Nation. Their role models, nurturers, and to many, the ultimate best friend. But what happens when Mommy Dearest has a dark side? One that's more criminal than caring.

Find out in the Spotify original from Parcast, Malicious Moms. Hi, I'm Vanessa Richardson, host of Malicious Moms. Every Sunday on Spotify, join me for a closer look at the moms who took their maternal instincts to illegal extremes. A beloved actress who would do anything for her child. a jilted ex who used her kids to take deadly revenge. Plus, a wife, a mistress, and an altercation with an axe you have to hear to believe.

In this podcast collection, learn the dire length some women went to help their children and how others used motherhood to carry out their misdeeds. Sometimes true crime can be a real mother. Follow malicious moms free and only on Spotify. It's now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus. We're somewhere in the Gulf of Thailand. Getting us out of here should be your focus.

I'm your boss. You work for me. We're not in the office anymore. It's bold, relentless, and endlessly rewatchable. Discover white critics give it 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. You're so fired. Oh, am I? No help is coming. Send help. Rated R. Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus.

Now, back to our story. On an evening in late May, 1921, police in Fairfax, Oklahoma, investigated the death of 34-year-old Anna Brown, an Osage Native American woman who had died of a single gunshot to the head. Unfortunately, poor forensic methods destroyed what little evidence the officers found. Even so, Fairfax authorities attempted to create a list of suspects. Shortly after the public inquest, a hearing was held at Fairfax Courthouse. A group of white jurors listened as law enforcement questioned Anna's family.

Molly Burkart, when did you first notice your sister was missing? I last saw her on, I believe it was May 21st. I hosted a luncheon, and she was there. How would you describe her behavior that day? Anna was Anna. Could you elaborate? Anna, she and her husband recently split up, and it's been very difficult for her emotionally. So she was drinking quite a bit.

She showed up to the lunch in tipsy, and by evening she'd had far too much whiskey. Did she spend a night then? No, my brother-in-law, Brian Burkhart, drove her home. Did you watch their car leave? Yes, they took off towards Fairfax. And you never saw her alive after that? No, I didn't. Molly's statement immediately gave police two suspects, Anna's ex-husband, Oda Brown,

and Molly's brother-in-law, Brian Burkhart. Because Brian was already at the hearing, law enforcement brought him to the stand. Mr. Burkhart, according to your sister-in-law, you were the last person to see Anna Brown alive. What do you make of that? I brought her home from the lunch, and that's all I can tell you. About what time did you drop her off? Maybe 4.30 in the afternoon? And afterwards, where did you go?

Out to town for a bit. And that was the last time you saw Anna? Yes, sir. Are you sure about that? Absolutely positive. Brian didn't offer up any extra details about that evening, which made law enforcement suspicious. He couldn't prove he'd taken Anna home,

so for all police knew he'd dream. driven Anna out to the ravine himself. Unsure about Brian's statement, officers questioned his brother, Molly's husband, Ernest Burkart. Ernest insisted his brother was telling the truth. But this didn't put Fairfax authorities at ease. They detained both brothers suspicious that they were covering for each other. Molly was shocked at the implication. She was certain her own family had nothing to do with the murder.

While the Burkhart brothers were behind bars, Fairfax investigators looked into Oda Brown, Anna's ex-husband. He struck detectives as a particularly interesting character. His slender frame gave him a look of constant hunger, and his gray eyes always seemed to be flitting from one place to another. Although he and Anna had divorced just months before, he was already married to another woman. Still, Oda appeared distraught by the news of Anna's death. When officers questioned him, his responses were so over the top that they seemed theatrical. Oda Brown? Oh, no.

Oh, no. I'm sorry. You're here to ask me. To ask about Anna. Oh, God. You two were married, correct? We were in love. We were...

You never... understand. Soulmates. I would have done anything for her. She was everything. The sun, the moon, the stars, everything. As I understand it, you were recently divorced. What does that matter? I'll never stop loving her. And now I've got to... Jesus, I've got to watch her get buried. Do you remember where you were on the evening of May 21st? Do you mind if I get a cigarette? Could you just answer the question? I was with my new wife. She's a, a Pawnee woman.

She reminds me of Anna. I... That's really enough, Mr. Brown. We'll chuck in your alibi. You can expect another officer to be in touch soon. With this, Fairfax police believe they had their suspect. They released Brian and Ernest Burkhart from jail and turned all their attention towards Oda Brown.

But officers were surprised to... to learn that Oda's alibi was, at least on its surface, solid. He claimed that he wasn't in Fairfax the night of the murder. He owned a business in Pahuska, a small Pawnee Native American settlement north of the Osage Nation, about 30 miles east of Fairfax, so it wasn't improbable. And authorities couldn't find any evidence to suggest otherwise. With that lead dashed, police pivoted back to the Burkhart brothers.

By all accounts, Brian was the last person to see Anna alive. However, besides that, there was no actual evidence tying him to the crime. It would be useless to place him or his brother back in custody. Back in the Osage Nation, Molly Burkart grew increasingly desperate. In her mind, Fairfax police had been useless from the start. Now she had to plan her oldest sister's funeral without. knowing who killed her or why. Although Anna's death was shrouded in mystery,

Molly was determined to lay her to rest with dignity. Traditionally, Osage funerals were quite simple. They began with a ritual in which the dead person's face was painted to signal their tribe and clan. This marking ensured their spirit could be taken to the Osage resting place, what they called the happy hunting ground. After the body was prepared, family and friends gathered to bid their loved one a final farewell. They sang a prayer song of mourning as they buried the dead.

But this tradition had very nearly been lost. The riches that the Osage people got from their oil brought new pleasures, like cars and luxury clothing, but also new pressures. As prospectors and other settlers flooded the area, the Osage were pushed. to assimilate. To do business with white people, they had to learn English and be educated according to contemporary American standards, which often included attending Catholic schools. Over time, Osage parents encouraged their children to take on more Anglo-Saxon traits, if only to make their inevitable assimilation easier. Even though the Osage made clear efforts to fit in with settlers, they still faced discrimination,

and economic exploitation. White business owners charged them exorbitant prices for products that should have been affordable. For example, the undertaker who prepared Anna's body demanded that Molly pay $1,450 for her casket, the equivalent of nearly $38,000 today. Of course, Molly could afford it. Every member of the Osage Nation was a multimillionaire, but the price gouging was a matter. of principle, and it revealed a terrible truth. No amount of money could insulate the Osage from the anti-Indigenous sentiment that most white Americans held. By the time of Anna's death

in 1921, many members of the Osage Nation lived in an in-between space, standing in the midst of both cultures. Molly and her sisters could speak Osage as well as English, went by both Native American and anglicized names and practiced a mixture of indigenous and Catholic religion. For this reason, Anna's funeral was far from traditional. The service included Catholic prayers and Osage morning songs. Anna's face couldn't be painted with the traditional markings of her tribe and clan because it was already too decomposed. This made her family worry. It might mean that Anna's spirit might never make it to the happy hunting ground. Nevertheless, mourners buried Anna's body at exactly noon.

Her life was officially over, but the mystery surrounding her death had just begun. Throughout June of 1921, Fairfax Police continued their investigation, but their work was half-hearted at best. Unable to establish any leads, they assumed that Anna's killer was one of the countless bootleggers and criminals who lived on the outside. skirts of the Osage Hills. But they didn't make an attempt to interview any of these rogues. It looked an awful lot like they shrugged off the investigation altogether, until they received a letter from a Kansas man, who claimed to have information about the crime.

He wrote to the sheriff. Honorable, sir, I hope to be of some assistance to you. I know what happened, Tanda Brown. The sheriff sped all the way from Oklahoma to Kansas, He found the man, a 28-year-old who remains unnamed, in jail for forging a check. I got your letter. What happened to Anna Brown? Her ex-husband. What's his name again? Oda Brown.

Him. He paid me to do it. Stay right here. The man claimed that Oda Brown paid him $8,000 to kill Anna, over $100,000 today. At first glance, the idea made sense. Oda didn't seem capable of killing anybody, but he might have paid someone else to do the dirty work. The sheriff called Fairfax to share this discovery. Local police arrested Oda,

and soon enough, O'Sage Hill's newspapers all shared a similar headline. Anna Brown's killer had been caught. But after a few days, police realized that they'd made a huge, mistake. Oda Brown couldn't keep a job, and his and Anna's divorce left him scraping for cash. There was no way he had the money to hire a hitman. Moreover, authorities couldn't prove that the Kansas man had been in Fairfax at the time of Anna's murder, and there was no evidence that Oda Brown ever contacted him. The whole confession had been a farce, but police didn't know why a seemingly random man would try to frame Oda Brown.

Whatever the motivation, officers didn't have enough evidence to keep Anna's ex-husband behind bars. They were forced to release him and go back to square one, Anna's body. She'd been shot, but the bullet had yet to be recovered. If police could locate it, they could trace it to a gun and find her killer. The projectile held the secrets to Anna's demise. Later that summer, police exhumed Anna's corpse. They dug through what remained of her brain for a bullet, but again they found nothing.

It was perplexing. There was no exit wound, yet the projectile had vanished. Officers couldn't explain the missing bullet, the false confession, or the lack of suspects. Instead of digging their heels into the mystery, they threw their hands in the air, declaring that Anna's death came at the hands of parties unknown. This sorry statement was the end of their investigation.

They closed the case and moved on. Unsurprisingly, this infuriated the Osage people and Anna's family in particular, who felt dismissed by local police. But no one's grief, not even Molly Burkhart's, rivaled that of Anna's mother, Lizzie. As the investigation fizzled out, she seemed to waste away with it. She grew thinner and more sickly, wracked by some unnamed illness.

Terrified for her mother's health, Molly took Lizzie to Osage healers. They tried all manner of remedies, but nothing helped. Near the end of July, 1921, Lizzie passed away, joining her eldest daughter in the happy hunting ground. But something about Lizzie's illness struck Bill Smith, Molly's brother-in-law, is very strange. Bill was married to Molly's only living sister, Rita, and he thought the deaths in the family must have been connected. Likely because he was white, Bill had an easy time getting the attention of medical doctors in Fairfax. He described Lizzie's symptoms, gradual weight loss, persistent exhaustion, and eventually death. At least one doctor examined Lizzie's body and couldn't find any natural explanation for her passing.

After conferring with more medical professionals, Bill came to what he believed was the only possible conclusion. Lizzie, like Anna, had been a victim of murder. Someone had poisoned her. Coming up, Molly Burkhart and Bill Smith take matters into their own hands. Own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming,

Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamava's history. Club Serrano members can earn daily instant prizes and secure a spot in the finale May 29th. Don't pass go and own it all. Only at Yamava, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You win?

Details at yamava.com must be 21-20. Please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. But this was your run club era. Turns out it was more of a thinking about run club era. The good news? Someone's marathon training is about to start.

Sell your workout gear on Deepop. Just snap a few photos and we'll take care of the rest. They get their race day fit and you get a payout for trying. Someone on Deepop wants what you've got. Start selling now. Deepop where taste recognizes taste. Now, back to the story. In July of 1921, Fairfax police closed their investigation into the May 21st murder

of 34-year-old Anna Brown, deeming the crime unsolved. Mere days later, Anna's mother Lizzie died of an apparent poisoning. Something very strange was happening in the Osage Nation, and Anna's sister, Molly Burkart, was determined to solve the mystery. after Lizzie's death, Molly called the remaining members of her family, her husband Ernest and his brother Brian, her sister Rita and her sister's husband, Bill, to a meeting at her mansion. That's enough coffee for me. Cream and sugar? Of course. Bring enough for everyone. We have to do something.

I've been looking for caskets for mom and flowers. Do you think white roses or pink? Rita, I can't. I haven't even thought about it. that. I think we need to tell the police that Lizzie's death was... And what will they do, Bill? Question a couple of people and then give up? The police... The police don't care about us. I need you to get that through your head. Two Osage women dead, and they act like they have better things to worry about. So what do we do? We could hire a private investigator. Here's the cream and sugar. Yes, thank you.

Ernest, that's not a bad idea. I bet my uncle now someone. Okay, call him. Tell him to get the best detective he can find. We'll pay top dollar. I don't care what it takes. Ernest contacted his uncle, a well-known Oklahoman named William Hale. 47-year-old William Hale's reputation preceded him.

He'd spent the first few decades of his life fighting to get by in the Wild West, but finally solidified himself as a champion cattle rancher and businessman in the Earth. early 1900s. William Hale was known by many as the king of the Osage Hills. Although his riches couldn't rival those of a single member of the Osage Nation, he was still one of the wealthiest people in the area. He often gave money to charitable causes and would do anything to help his family. When William heard that his nephew and niece-in-law were in need of a private investigator,

he hired the best he could find, a shadowy, chain-smoking man known only by the name Pike. Pike didn't talk much, but William promised he could get the job done. But Molly, Bill, and Rita weren't so sure. They sent Pike to investigate, but they didn't know if one man, especially one who seemed as brooding and secretive as Pike, could solve the mystery. Just to be certain, Molly directed Scott Mathis,

the man in charge of Anna's vast estate, to hire a second group of detectives. Mathis gathered a team of experienced private eyes, briefed them on Anna and Lizzie's deaths, and told them to find answers. Molly and her family crossed their fingers, hoping the detectives could dig up the secrets that Fairfax police left buried.

Unsurprisingly, Pike wasn't a great communicator, whether he was actually investigating Anna and Lizzie's deaths or not, the family heard little to nothing from him throughout the next few weeks. However, the group of private investigators hired by Anna's estate immediately set to work doing what Fairfax police should have. They questioned people who knew about Anna's day-to-day life, beginning with her servant. Can you give us any information on Anna's whereabouts?

on the night of May 21st. I wish I could. I only worked in the morning, so I wasn't around that night. But after they found Anna's body, well, Rita and I thought it was real odd that the police didn't come check her house, so we came over to look through her bedroom.

Everything was in order, except her purse. A real nice alligator bag was on the floor wide open. Everything had been torn out of it, her cash, her checkbook, everything. I'd say she must have left in a rush, but honestly, Anna never went anywhere

without that bag. I can't imagine why she would have left it behind. Right away, the private detectives discovered something police hadn't. On the night of her death, Anna left her favorite handbag in her room. This could have meant that she left home in a rush. However, the fact that her purse had been ransacked seemed to suggest a kidnapping. It was possible that Anna's killers forced her out of her room, then stole the money from her bag before driving her out to the ravine. Either way, this line of questioning did make one thing clear. The servant verified that Anna did bring her alligator purse to Molly's luncheon, meaning that, in order for the bag to be back at home,

Brian Burkhart must have dropped her off after the gathering. Anna was definitely home around 5 p.m. on May 21st. But after that, no one knew where she went. Detective set out to establish a timeline for the night of Anna's death. They needed to find out exactly when she left or was taken from her home. Anna's telephone record seemed like the best place to start. Investigators discovered that she answered a call at about 8.30 p.m. on May 21st, meaning she must have been in her room at that time.

This seemed like a breakthrough piece of evidence. The caller could very well have been Anna's kid. killer. Investigators just needed to find out who dialed Anna's number, but when they spoke to telephone operators, things got even stranger. At the time, operators usually kept written records of all the calls they connected. But when detectives asked who contacted Anna, the operator told them that the communication was a blind, meaning that the person who connected the call had been paid to destroy the records of it. Whoever phoned Anna that night had gone out of their way to cover their tracks. Over the next few months, detectives tried and repeatedly failed to identify the mysterious caller.

Then a private eye got a piece of information from a Caw Native American woman living in Fairfax. You guys ever talk to Rose? She's an Osage lady. Now, I can't tell you what happened. I can only tell you what I heard. But Rose told me. she did it. Apparently, Anna Brown was getting a little too close to Rose's boyfriend, if you know what I mean. So she picked Anna up, shot her in the head, and left her in the creek. Rose told me she even got a little bit of blood on her clothes, so she had to throw them out too. Without missing a beat, investigators explored the lead. They eavesdropped on conversations between Rose and her boyfriend, but found nothing. Furthermore, nobody in the Osage Nation had ever seen Anna around Rose or her boyfriend.

The call woman's story couldn't be corroborated. Just like the man from Kansas, it looked like she made the whole thing up. For investigators, it was beginning to feel like someone, or perhaps a group of someone's, was purposely trying to throw them off. Everywhere they went, private eyes felt trailed. Some shadowy figure or organization was watching them,

making sure their questions remained unanswered. At the same time, this unnamed entity filled the Osage Nation with terror. Anna and her mother weren't the only victims. More and more Osage people died of apparent murders. In February of that year, an Osage man received a phone call that prompted him to leave his home. A few hours later, he returned, gravely ill. and by sunrise he stopped breathing. Medical examiners determined the cause of death as poisoning,

possibly by the chemical strychnine, a highly toxic pesticide. In March, an Osagewoman died under similar circumstances. A possible M.O. was materializing. The killer, or killers, would lure people out of their homes with a phone call and somehow administer a poison. But clearly many questions remained.

If poisoning was the regular M.O., something must have been different about Anna because she was shot. The death of Anna's mother, Lizzie, also broke the pattern. She looked to have been poisoned over a period of weeks, not a single night. Even so, the investigators the family had hired believed all the murders were connected. But it was getting increasingly difficult to find information. information. O'Sage people didn't want to speak to detectives. They feared that if they did, they might be poisoned next. With no one willing to talk, the private eyes work stalled in the spring of 1922. Nobody had heard from Pike, the detective hired by William Hale, in months.

Molly was despondent. Nearly a year had passed since her sister's murder, and she wasn't any closer to figuring out what happened. There was only one place left to turn. Unfortunately, Molly already knew that United States officials wouldn't take her seriously. A string of murders on a Native American reservation was the least of the government's worries. All of Molly's Catholic education, her perfect English, and her vast wealth wouldn't be enough to make the American government help her people. But there was one thing that could.

Molly knew just the person to talk to, a 55-year-old white man named Barney McBride. He'd made his own small fortune off of Osage Oil, and he was one of the tribe's closest allies. Bonnie here? Oh, how are you holding up? At your service, as always. Nobody here can help us. What can I do? Go to the capital and tell them what's happening here.

I'll pay for your travel. I've got all the money in cash. Barney agreed to make the trip. In August of 1922, he took off towards Washington, D.C., hoping to persuade the federal government to investigate the Osage Hills murders. But when Barney checked into his hotel room, he received a telegram that simply read, Be careful. Thanks again for tuning into solved murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with part two of Anna Brown and the Osage Hills murders. We'll delve into Barney's death for all the FBI's investigation and discover the mastermind behind the entire conspiracy.

For more information on Anna Brown and the Osage Hills murders, amongst the many sources we used, we found Killers of the Flower Moon. The Osage murders and the birth of the FBI by David Gran extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of solved murders and all other Spotify originals from Parkast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. If we live till next time. Solved Murders, True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler.

Sound design by Michael Langsner with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly Madden, and Joshua Kern. This episode of Solved Murders was written by Karris Allen with writing assistance by Giles Hofsef, fact-checking by Amber Hurley, and research by Mickey Taylor. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Melissa Medina, Sammy Amounce, Leith Walsh Lager, Brian Kim, Charlie Wes, and Cameron Nekod. Solve Murder stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy. For many, Sunday is a special day spent with family. That makes it the perfect time to check

out the Spotify original from Parkast, Malicious Moms. Hi, I'm Vanessa Richardson. Every Sunday in this podcast collection, join me for an intimate look at the matriarchs who were far more criminal than caring. Warning, this isn't your mother's podcast. Follow malicious moms free and only on Spotify.