Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Anna Brown and the Osage Hills Murders Pt. 2

Episode Date: April 27, 2022

Anybody investigating the mysterious death of Anna Brown, or any of the other suspicious deaths in the Osage Nation, had either been threatened or killed. But with new FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in charge, solving these murders became a priority. The deeper they dug into the case, the more they realized how vast the conspiracy was. 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 and murder that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. In August of 1922, 55-year-old Barney McBride boarded a train from Osage Hills, Oklahoma to Washington, D.C. His friend, an Osage woman named Molly Burkhart, had sent him on a mission.

Barney remembered the desperation in Molly's eyes. She told him that it all began with the death of her sister, Anna Brown. Since then, many other Osage people had died under mysterious circumstances. Local law enforcement shrugged off the murders, and private detectives failed to establish any suspects. There was only one place left for Molly to turn, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, the United States government had never been particularly sympathetic to Native Americans.

Molly needed Barney, a wealthy white man, to convince the FBI to investigate the crimes. Barney was more than willing to help. He had every intention of bringing federal agents back to Oklahoma, but he never got the chance. The night he arrived in D.C., Barney stopped at a club for a game of billiards. He stayed for an hour or so, then headed back to his... boarding house. He intended to get a good night's sleep before visiting the capital the next day. But as soon as Barney stepped outside, his world went black. Someone slipped a burlap sack over his head and tightened it around his neck. Through his terror, Barney felt calloused hands close over his arm.

His attackers dragged him across the pavement and pushed him down, sending him head first into the concrete. Before he could stand, a storm of kicks, punches, and stabs rained down upon him. The blows were unpredictable, the pain, blinding. Something hit him in the skull. His ears rang and white spots speckled his vision. His consciousness faded away. And in his last moments of life, Barney was struck with a terrible realization. Whoever killed Anna Brown was killing him too. Welcome to Solved Murders, True Crime Mysteries, 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 exclusively on Spotify. This is our second episode on Anna Brown. in the Osage Hills murders. Last week, we discussed the killing of 34-year-old Anna Brown, the first in a string of mysterious deaths in the Osage Nation.

This week, we'll see how federal agents went undercover and discovered a conspiracy that nobody could have imagined. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. 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

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Send help Rated R Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus On a gray morning In August of 1920 Less than 12 hours After Barney McBride Arrived in Washington, D.C.

A passerbite found the 55-year-old's body in a culvert outside of D.C. He'd been beaten and stabbed and stripped naked, save for his socks and shoes. Maryland police surveyed the scene. Oh, my God. This is grizzly. White male, middle-aged, no tattoos, scars,

or other identifying marks. Who would do something like this? It must have been at least two attackers. Oh, look. Stop. Don't touch the body. There's something sticking out of his shoe. It looks like a business card?

Here, let me. It says Barney McBride. Officers found a card with Barney's name on it tucked inside his shoe. His assailants wanted people to know he'd been murdered because his death was a warning. Anyone who tried to solve the Osage Hills murders would become a victim. Maryland police followed up on the name and contacted Oklahoma authorities. Before long, newspapers and Osage, Fairfax, and Paw Huska were awash with headlines about Barney's violent death. Molly Burkart was struck numb when she learned what happened.

She'd already lost a sister and a mother, but this was the first death that she felt responsible for. Still, there was at least one reason to be hopeful. Barney's death made national news, likely because he was white and his murder took place outside of Osage Hills. The Washington Post published the headline, Conspiracy believed to kill rich Indians. This was the first time that people across the country heard about the crime spree. Furthermore, the newspaper clearly stated what Osage people already knew.

Someone was out to get them, and money was the most obvious motive. Although Barney's murder brought press coverage, it didn't bring sympathy. Many white Americans regarded the Osage with contempt. They believed Native Americans were unworthy of such vast wealth, and the fact that Osage people routinely employed white servants ruffled more than a few feathers. Because of this, the press coverage surrounding Barney McBride's death resulted in increased anti-Osage vitriol. Around this time, the U.S. government implemented a system in which white Americans acted as guardians of the Osage,

essentially overseeing and putting limits on the tribe's spending habits. Even though the Osage had millions of dollars at their disposal, white Americans made it increasingly difficult for them to actually spend that money. Osage wealth was Osage power, and the U.S. system made it increasingly difficult for them to actually spend that money. dramatically took that power away. This left Molly and her remaining family feeling more hopeless than ever. The Osage Nation was falling apart. Gripped by terror, families installed outdoor lights hoping to scare away whatever lurked in the night. Even with these new lights, nights in the Osage Nation were terrifying. By early 1923, Rita and Bill Smith, Molly's sister and brother-in-law

felt like they hadn't slept in months. What was that? Huh? I heard something moving outside. It's probably the wind. It wasn't the wind. Maybe a coyote. There was again.

Honey, it's probably nothing. I can't live like this, Bill. That ought to scare any animals away. Now please try to get some sleep. Rita laid awake in the... the middle of the night, every sound sent a shiver down her spine. She imagines someone creeping around her house, trying to break in. Soon the paranoia became too much, and Rita went to the only person she really trusted, her sister. Rita, what's wrong? I think someone's watching

me. Where's Bill? He went to Fairfax. We're moving. What? I can't live here anymore, Molly. something or someone or I don't know. At night, I hear all these noises. I can't sleep. Everywhere I go, I feel afraid. It's not safe here. Rita. It's not safe, Molly.

I just came to tell you that. You need to look out for yourself, okay? Ernest will take care of me. Just lock your doors and your windows. I can't lose another sister. Rita bid her sister a tearful goodbye. She packed her belongings and met Bill at their new home in Fairfax, Oklahoma. It was strange to be away from the reservation, but Rita did feel safer in the city.

Their new neighbors had guard dogs that barked at the slightest disturbance. Plus, white people lived in Fairfax, which meant it was the kind of place where the police actually cared about what went bump in the night. But just as she was settling in, the dog. that had put Rita's mind at ease started wasting away, growing weak and tired. Soon their ribs pressed against their skin, and the poor animals looked like walking skeletons. Then they started to die. Bill had no doubt that the dogs were being poisoned, just like so many Osage people before. The animal's deaths were a warning of fear tactic.

Someone was slowly breaking down Bill and Rita's defenses. And there was no use trying to run. One night in late March, Bill and Rita got in bed. They slept fitfully, their dreams plagued by a shapeless darkness. And then, just before 3 a.m., Bill and Rita's home exploded. The blast was so powerful that it bent metal signposts and shattered neighbors' windows. Miles away at Molly and Ernest's house, the ground shook. The two bolted upright, feeling as if an earthquake had rattled their home.

Molly ran to her window. In the distance, she could see plumes of smoke rising high into the sky. An eerie orange glow emanated from the horizon. What was that? I don't know. Something's burning, I think. It looks like there was an explosion. Ernest and Molly got to the disaster as fast as they could. There, in Fairfax, Molly saw her sister's new.

house reduced to a pile of smoldering wood. It looked like a bomb had gone off in the center of Bill and Rita's home. Molly stood against the wind, tears streaming down her face, praying that somehow her only living sister had survived the explosion. Up next, Molly discovers her family's fate and finally gets help from the FBI. 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. Now, back to the story. In March 1923, an explosion flattened Bill and Rita Smith's Fairfax home. 34-year-old Molly Burkhart prayed that her sister hadn't become yet another victim of the faceless killer haunting the Osage Nation. But then her worst fears were confirmed. The last remaining member of her family was dead. The loss was so enormous that Molly felt it physically, like a whole thing.

hole had opened up in her center. She could barely hear when the police told her that Rita's 19-year-old servant had died too. There was a single miraculous survivor, Bill Smith. Officers had rushed him to the hospital, but the situation looked grave. Do, Ernest, what do I do? There's nothing you can do. Fix it. I want to make it stop. I know. I want my family. We'll talk to the tribal. Council. We'll figure something out. A few days later, Bill Smith succumbed to his injuries.

By now, the total death count had reached nearly two dozen. Desperate to put a stop to the violence, Molly and Ernest met with the Osage Tribal Council. They convinced the Council to pass a resolution formally requesting assistance from the FBI. In the spring of 1923, a single-fetched. agent came to the area. He tried to interview locals, but nobody would talk. Less than a month later, the agent returned to Washington, D.C. This was just one of the many failed investigations. In late April, the governor of Oklahoma finally sent a state detective to Osage County. Before long, locals caught the investigator accepting bribes from a man who headed up a gambling ring.

Then in June of 1923, there was another hopeful start. A local attorney, 54-year-old W.W. Vaughn, got a call from an Osage man named George Bigheart. George was in a hospital in Oklahoma City, slowly dying from what looked like poisoning, and he claimed to have information about the killings. Vaughn rushed to the hospital. The men spoke, and George gave the attorney a stack of documents. that may have identified the mastermind behind the murders. Vaughn stayed by George's side until he passed away a few hours later and then boarded a train back home.

But Vaughn never got the chance to share his discovery. His body was found on a set of railroad tracks in central Oklahoma, 36 hours later. He died of a broken neck. His train compartment had been ransacked. The stack of documents was gone. Fairfax police knew the situation had gotten out of hand. They wanted to reopen their own investigation, but something was stopping them.

Why do you keep looking around like that? I got a letter. What kind of letter? It says, cease your investigation. Any detective work will be met with swift retribution. Let sleeping dogs lie, or you will be buried next. The Justice of the Peace had received a... anonymous threat, and instead of trying to find the author of the letter, he listened to the

order. Law enforcement gave up. Then, as if Molly Burkhart needed one more tragedy in her life, her uncle-in-law's land was targeted next. Forty-seven-year-old William Hale, known by many as the king of the Osage Hills, worked as a cattle rancher, and sometime after Vaughn's death, his pastures were set ablaze. Miles upon miles of grasslands were incinerated. Livestock were reduced to piles of ash and bone. It seemed like nobody. Not even one of the wealthiest, most well-respected white men in the area was safe.

Molly couldn't stand it anymore. She turned away from the public and locked herself inside. By 1924, she and her husband, Ernest, had effectively gone into hiding. Over the next year, Molly lived in a haze. She felt weak, nauseous, and unable to focus. At first, she thought the symptoms were a result of the diabetes she'd lived with since childhood. But even after doctors injected her with a new drug called insulin, she didn't feel any better. She started harboring a secret fear.

She wondered if she was being poisoned. but there was only one person who lived with her, ate with her, and slept with her, her her husband, Ernest. The mere thought made Molly's stomach turn. A part of her said she was being paranoid. Yet another part said there was no other possibility. Molly isolated herself so that no one could hurt her. But maybe the person she feared had been right next to her all along.

Soon, Molly sent a secret message to her. the local Catholic priest, telling him that her life was in danger. The priest passed along the message, yet another one of Molly's desperate attempts to get help from a country that had so often wronged her and her people. But this time, something was different. The Federal Bureau of Investigation had come under new management. A man named Jay Edgar Hoover was attempting to reform the organization, and he decided that the Osage Hill's murders would be the FBI's first big case. Hoover brought on one of his best FBI agents, a Texan named Tom White.

What is it, Director? Agent White, I've got a big job for you. I'm listening. A string of unsolved murders on a Native American reservation. It started about four years ago. As far as I can tell, it's got to be a conspiracy, and whoever's behind it has everyone in the area terrified. The FBI sent an agent down there about two years ago but couldn't get anybody to talk. Now, I'm putting you in charge.

Okay. Wow. I'm going to need a team. The Bureau will send any agency one, but I do need to tell you one thing. What's that? There is absolutely no room for failure. I understand. Jay Edgar Hoover made sure that Tom White knew how high the stakes were.

The Osage Hill's murders had to be solved, and Agent White had to be very careful. Otherwise, he might become the killer's next victim. White relocated to Oklahoma, where he assembled a team of six agents that he called the Cowboys. The Cowboys went undercover as insurance salesmen, cattle ranchers, and medicine men. Their task was deceptively simple, gained the trust of locals, and discreet. exactly what was happening in the Osage Nation. Unbeknownst to Molly, who grew weaker by the day, federal agents were finally in town,

and they were going to find and prosecute the monster plaguing the Osage Hills. Early on in their investigation, the agents met with the Fairfax Justice of the Peace and revisited evidence from the original crime scene, the ravine where Anna's body was found. right away they noticed some troubling inconsistencies. Where's all the evidence? The report says there was a flask and tire marks in clothing.

Where did it all go? The officers didn't preserve it. All we have is Anna's skull. Let me see it. No exit wound. No bullet? That's right. The bullet must have been in there.

It wasn't. And to be frank, I'm... I'm not too comfortable having you all in my office. I've received threats, and I don't want to look as if I'm assisting in any kind of investigation. We're undercover. Right, but... If anybody asks you, we're just a couple of ranchers.

Okay. The bullet must have been in her skull. There's nowhere to place it could have gone. Unless... Unless... Unless somebody took it out. It was the only explanation. Someone had hidden the evidence.

somebody at the crime scene, maybe the police, the undertaker, or one of the jurors, was involved in the scheme. The further the agents dug in, the more they realized how vast the conspiracy really was. Countless police and citizens had been terrified into silence and complicity. Furthermore, the sheer number and variety of crimes suggested not one, but multiple killers. The aim of the FBI's investigation shifted. They weren't just looking for a murderer. They were looking for the ringleader of this twisted circus. It was a monumental task, and to achieve it, the FBI agents needed an inside perspective.

They enlisted the help of an informant, a local bootleger named Kelsey Morrison. Kelsey's job was to work from the bottom up, to determine who carried out the crimes and at whose request. With Kelsey out in the field, the FBI felt good about its progress, and things started coming together. Undercover agents spoke to the call woman who had issued a statement that investigators found suspicious. Then during an interview with Kelsey, she revealed her secret. A white man had come to her home and threatened her into lying about the crime. She wouldn't divulge the white man's identity, but agents continued inching close to her. to the truth. Masquerading as an insurance salesman, one detective struck up a conversation

with a woman at a Fairfax convenience store. She told him, You sell insurance? Well, you better be careful who you work with. You know William Hale, the cattleman? A couple of summers ago, he had his workers torch his pastures for the insurance money. Heard he got almost $30,000. William Hale, the king of the Osage Hed. had committed insurance fraud. He'd burned his land and killed his livestock for cash. But that wasn't the worst of it. Federal agents also spoke to Pike,

the private eye that William hired to investigate Anna and Lizzie Brown's deaths. It didn't take long for Pike to confess. I wasn't paid to solve the case. Mr. Hale was very clear about that. My job was to make sure Brian's alibi looked solid, and that was it. William had hired Pike to protect Brian Burkart, his nephew. Brian supposedly drove Anna home on the night of her murder, but that wasn't the whole truth.

From witness testimonies, White pieced together that Brian and Anna stopped by the house that afternoon, which explained why her alligator purse was left behind. But then they went to a speakeasy in Fairfax. Witnesses confirmed this story. Anna Brown was seen with Brian Burkhard at the bar, and she was also caught leaving a different bar, with Brian and another unidentified man.

To top it all off, in October of 1925, a government aide pointed Agent White towards an Osage County inmate. The man was in jail for burglary, but he had information about the conspiracy. I understand you know something about the Osage murders. I do. and I want to make a clean breast of it. In 1918, I worked as a ranch hand for Bill Smith.

About three years later, I learned he was having relations with my wife, so clearly, I didn't like Bill. About a year after that, Ernest Burckhart came to me. He said, I've got a proposition for you. I want you to blow up, Bill Smith and his wife. I refused, of course. Then Ernest's uncle, William Hale, knocked on my door. He promised me $5,000 if I put a fuse under their house. And?

And I said no. But then I got myself in a little legal trouble. William told me that if I blew up the house, he'd help me out. So I did it. And I'm not proud of it. But I think people ought to know the truth. With that, the FBI agents believed they finally had the answer. William Hale, the king of the Osage Hills, was calling the shots.

And his nephews, Brian and Ernest, looked like his right-hand men. Together they bribed and threatened locals into doing their bidding. Before long, agents arrested William and earnest. William was predictably tight-lipped, but his nephew was easier to crack. We've got a signed confession implicating you in the murders of Bill and Rita Smith, your own in-laws. You've got it all wrong. I don't even know that man who confessed. Are you suggesting he lied?

My uncle can be a very pretty good. persuasive. That guy didn't kill Bill and Rita. Another guy John Ramsey did it. We promised him money. How many people has your uncle had killed? I've lost count. But Anna Brown was one of them. I think so. Yes. And your brother, Brian? I don't know anything about that. Oh, Ernest, don't start lying now. Brian took Anna to a speakeasy in Fairfax. He lured her into a trap. But she left with someone else. Who? Have you ever heard of Kelsey Morrison?

It was the biggest bombshell of all. Kelsey Morrison, the FBI's own informant, left the bar with Anna that fateful night. And according to Ernest, Kelsey fired the shot that killed her. It was the final piece in the puzzle. Investigators now had a clear picture of May 21, 1921, the day that 34-year-old Anna Brown was murdered. Coming up, we unravel William Hale's twisted conspiracy.

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Anna showed up at a gathering at Molly and Ernest Burckhart's house, already half drunk on moonshine. She ate some food and mingled with her family, but tensions were high. By the time Anna was ready to return home, she was still too drunk to drive. Anna, do you have a way home? Me, I have my car. You can't drive. Sure I can. Anna, stop. I'll find someone to take you. Ernest,

Ernest, darling, could you give Anna a right home? Brian will take her. Wait, right here. Brian will give you a lift. It's unclear if Brian arrived at the house intending to get Anna alone. However, Brian, like Ernest and William, had something to gain by getting Anna out of the way, and on May 21st, he saw his opportunity. Brian helped Anna as she stumbled to his car. He drove her to her house, where she left her alligator purse. But Brian knew the town gossip. Ever since her divorce, Anna had a pension for drinking and hanging around with men.

He invited her to go to a speakeasy and fairfax. knowing she'd never refuse. They likely picked up Kelsey Morrison, the FBI's future informant along the way. They shared more whiskey at the bar. Even though Anna was bordering on incoherent, Brian and Kelsey pushed her to keep drinking. It was all a part of the plan.

The men got Anna so drunk that she didn't notice the 38 automatic handgun holstered on Kelsey's hip. If she'd asked, he might have told her it was a gift from William Hale. At some point that evening, Kelsey and Brian made eye contact. They were both far more sober than Anna Brown, and it was time to act. Anna, do you want to go somewhere a little quieter? Where? There's this beautiful place out on the edge of town.

Lots of trees and nice creek. Okay, sure. Kelsey and Brian led Anna to the car. They drove to the outskirts of Fairfax. By that point, Anna couldn't even walk. So Brian and Kelsey carried her to the ravine. Still, someone opened up a flask of whiskey. The group sat, passing the moonshine around.

Brian and Ernest buzzed with anticipation. Anna slumped over too intoxicated to sit up on her own. And, of course, that's exactly what. what Brian and Kelsey wanted. Once Anna had nearly blacked out, Kelsey stood and withdrew his handgun from its holster. According to him, Brian held Anna upright while he fired at the back of her head. In 1920s, Oklahoma, a gunshot wasn't an unfamiliar sound. Anyone who heard the blast probably thought it was a hunter. They had no idea that it was only the first in a string of terrifying crimes. Brian stared at Anna, his sister-in-law.

Blood dripped from the ends of her long, black hair. He let go of her limp body. Anna Brown's body slumped to the ground. A week later, a squirrel hunter and his son stumbled on Anna's body. A few months after that, Anna's own mother, Lizzie, died of an apparent poisoning. In 1923, Bill and Rita's home exploded. one after another, Osage people dropped dead, and the FBI had finally figured out why.

As soon as they knew that William Hale was at the center of the conspiracy, the deaths began to make sense. William was a white man who had clawed his way to the top. He'd lied, cheated, and killed for money. But the Osage people's riches came in the form of head rights, that is, payments resulting from ownership of tribal land. Head rights couldn't be bought, sold, or traded. They could only be inherited.

It's unclear whether Williams started plotting his scheme before or after his nephew married Molly Burkhart. It's possible that the wedding itself was part of the conspiracy that Ernest had planned to backstab his wife and her family all along. Either way, Ernest and Molly's marriage sat at the same. center of everything. Molly's family had millions of dollars at their disposal, and William Hale wanted to steal their fortune. He moved systematically. Of the sisters, Anna was the easiest target. She was recently divorced and had no children of her own. So when she died, her riches

went to her mother, Lizzie. When Lizzie was poisoned, her money was split between her remaining children, Rita and Molly. William ordered the killings of distant relatives and anyone else who might try to get in the way. Then he had Rita and Bill murdered. At that point, all the family's head rights belonged to Molly, and upon her death, the fortune would land right in Ernest Burkhart's lap. Once Ernest had the money, William must have either planned to kill him or otherwise usurp the fortune for himself. But his scheme had been foiled. Molly Burkhart was alive,

and as soon as the FBI arrested her husband, her strange illness dissipated. But Ernest never admitted to trying to kill his wife. In fact, some people believe William Hale paid the doctors who treated Molly's diabetes to administer poison instead of insulin. Either way, Molly was going to be okay, though the same can't be said for the dozens of other Osage people who died on William Hale's orders.

The remaining members of the Osage tribe, Molly included, were both heartbroken and furious, and they wanted justice. First to trial was Ernest Burkhart, charged for his role in the murders of Bill and Rita Smith. The proceedings began in June of 1926. At first, Ernest pleaded not. guilty, but soon enough, he realized how much evidence the FBI had collected against him and his family. Less than two weeks after his trial began, Ernest withdrew his original plea and admitted that he did have a hand in the conspiracy. In front of a room of onlookers, including his own wife, he said, I feel in my heart that I did it because I was requested to do it by my uncle, William Hale.

Molly didn't think her grief could get any more debilitating, but listening to her husband confess made something inside of her crack. Ernest had known what was happening all along. He'd been an active participant in the conspiracy. His love and sympathy were nothing more than an act. Ernest was a phony, and their marriage was a sham. This, above all else, broke Molly's heart for good. On June 21st, 1926, Ernest Burkhart was sentenced to life in prison and hard labor. Shortly after, Molly filed for divorce. Next up was Kelsey Morrison. He, too, chose to confess. Kelsey Morrison, you fired the shot that killed Anna Brown?

Yes, sir, while Brian Burkart held her up. At whose insistence did you and Mr. Burkhart commit the crime? William Hale. Did he pay you for it? Yes, sir. The jury found Kelsey Morrison guilty of Anna Brown's murder. But shockingly, Brian Burkart faced no charges. He testified against Kelsey, and in exchange was given immunity.

He faced no consequences for his role in the crime. And finally, John Ramsey and William Hale. They both pleaded not guilty, but before the trial could come to an end, officials learned that some of the Oklahoma jurors were being bribed and intimidated into giving the men favorable verdicts. So the prosecutors had to retry the men with a new jury of their peers. Ultimately, John and William's cases went all the way to the federal level.

William lied tirelessly, insisting he never paid or threatened anyone. But countless Oklahomans testified against him, detailing how he pressured them into committing and hiding grisly crimes. In the end, the prosecutor characterized William Hale perfectly, calling him the ruthless freebooter of death. In 1929, a federal judge sentenced both John Ramsey and William Hale to life in prison. Eight years after Anna Brown's death,

the story of the Osage Hill's murders finally came to an end. The culprits were behind bars, at least momentarily. Three of the prisoners, Ernest, William, and John were all eventually paroled, with Ernest Burkart receiving a pardon for his part in the crimes. To this day, questions remain. It's unknown how many people were really involved in the scheme. Certainly there are Oklahomans who administered poison, lied to investigators, and hid evidence, all of whom remain.

anonymous. And sadly, William Hale wasn't the only person who tried to steal Osage wealth. Over the following years, Swindlers cheated hundreds of millions of dollars away from the Osage Nation. When the Great Depression struck in 1929, their money continued to dwindle until the richest people per capita in the entire world became ordinary citizens. Today, about 16,000 Osage people remain. They continue to receive royalties from their oil, but the payments are minimal. Although William Hale's greed and cruelty left a permanent mark on the Osage people, they remain a vibrant, independent nation, an emblem not of victimhood, but of resilience.

Thanks again for tuning into solved murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with another episode. 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 Graham, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders

and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. If we live till next time. Solve murders, True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. Sound designed by Michael Langsner

with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly Madden, and Freddie Beckley. This episode of Solve Murders is 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 Marcy Edwards, Melissa Medina,

Cameron Nekad, Nasee, Tarsha, Lath Walsh Lager, and Charlie West. Solved 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 Parcast, 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.