William Hale

Case identification

• Name: William Hale
• Known as: the so-called "King of the Osage Hills"
• Occupation/role: U.S. cattleman; wealthy rancher and oil man; power player in the Osage Indian Reservation in northern Oklahoma

Timeline

• 1921 — Hale ordered the murders of his nephew's wife and mother-in-law.
• May 1921 — The badly decomposed body of Anna Brown was found in a remote ravine in northern Oklahoma; the undertaker later discovered a bullet hole in the back of her head.
• July 1921 — Lizzie Q. Kyle died; poison was suspected.
• January 1923 — Henry Roan was shot to death.
• March 10, 1923 — Lizzie’s daughter Rita Smith, Rita’s husband William E. “Bill” Smith, and their housekeeper Nettie Brookshire died when their Fairfax home was destroyed by an explosion.
• February 1923 — The case was set aside until Henry Roan was found shot in the head and partially frozen in his car.
• January 1926 — Federal agents, assisted by state officers, took Hale, Ernest Burkhart, and Ramsey into custody; in the same month, Kelsie Morrison and Byron Burkhart were charged with the murder of Anna Brown.
• June 1926 — The defendants were tried in state and federal courts.
• November 1926 — Kelsie Morrison received a life sentence for Anna Brown’s murder (while already serving time).
• April — Kelsie Morrison and Byron Burkhart were charged with the murder of Anna Brown.
• January 1929 — Hale and Ramsey were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, for the murder of Henry Roan (Ramsey’s sentencing is given as occurring in November 1929).
• 1929 — It was reported that $27 million dollars was being held by the Guardian System set up to protect the financial interests of 883 Osage families in Osage County; Hale was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment after three trials under federal laws; Hale was sent to Leavenworth prison in Kansas.
• November 1929 — Ramsey was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, for the murder of Henry Roan.
• 1947 — Hale was paroled.
• 1959 — Ernest Burkhart was released.
• 1965 — Byron Burkhart received a full pardon from Oklahoma governor Henry Bellmon.
• 1966 — Ernest Burkhart received a pardon in 1966.
• At some point after parole — Hale spent some of his life in Montana working as a ranch hand for Benny Binion.
• At death — Hale died in Arizona.

The offence

• Between 1921 and 1923, over a dozen people on the Osage Indian Reservation died under suspicious circumstances, and estimates varied but approximately twenty-four Osage Indians died violent or suspicious deaths during the early 1920s.
• The murders were committed in an attempt to collect insurance money and gain control of valuable oil properties owned by deceased persons.
• Hale was suspected of ordering murders to gain control of oil rights.
• Specific killings described in the case included:
  • Anna Brown — an Osage Native American whose badly decomposed body was found in May 1921 in a remote ravine; a bullet hole was later discovered in the back of her head.
  • Lizzie Q. Kyle — died in July 1921 with poison suspected.
  • Henry Roan — shot in the head and partially frozen in his car; later described as a cousin of Anna Brown; Hale was suspected of connection to Roan’s death.
  • Rita Smith, William E. “Bill” Smith, and Nettie Brookshire — died in a March 10, 1923 explosion that destroyed their Fairfax home; Rita and Nettie Brookshire died instantly, and Bill Smith died a week later due to massive injuries from the blast.

Investigation

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) became involved after the Department of the Interior wrote to Director William J. Burns requesting assistance in investigating these deaths.
• The U.S. Bureau of Investigation sent agents to Osage County after the Osage Tribal Council sought U.S. government intervention in the growing number of Osage murders, including those of Joe Grayhorse, William Stepson, Anna Sanford, and others outside the Kyle family.
• Four agents were sent by the Commissioner of the Office of Indian Affairs of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
• Agents worked undercover for two years and infiltrated the reservation.
• The agents eventually gained the townspeople’s trust enough that they began speaking out against Hale, after the agents posed as various roles including an insurance salesman, cattle buyer, oil prospector, and herbal doctor.
• The agents focused on the Roan murder that had occurred on restricted Indian land, giving federal authorities jurisdiction.
• The agents met regularly to compare observations and noted the reoccurring names of William K. Hale, Ernest Burkhart, and John Ramsey.
• Under interrogation Ernest Burkhart tied Ramsey to the Roan murder, and Ramsey admitted Hale had hired him to kill Roan.
• Ramsey also confessed involvement in the Smith murders and implicated Hale as the ringleader and also Henry Grammar and Asa “Ace” Kirby.
• Grammar and Kirby later died under separate but suspicious circumstances soon after the Smith murders.
• Ramsey later recanted his confession, while Hale maintained his innocence.

Arrest

• Federal agents, assisted by state officers, took Hale, Burkhart, and Ramsey into custody in January 1926.
• In January (and April as described), Kelsie Morrison and Byron Burkhart were charged with the murder of Anna Brown.

People involved

Defendant / accused

• William Hale — suspected and later convicted; described as mastermind; rose to local prominence through bribery, intimidation, and extortion; maintained innocence during the proceedings.

Relatives and co-accused

• Ernest Burkhart — compelled/coerced into helping with the scheme; pleaded guilty and received a life sentence in Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester for the murder of William E. Smith; turned state's evidence; testified against Hale and Ramsey.
• Byron Burkhart — turned state's evidence; was not tried for the crime.
• Kelsie Morrison — admitted he had killed Anna Brown at Hale’s request; was already serving time in November 1926 when he received a life sentence for Brown’s murder.
• John Ramsey — admitted Hale had hired him to kill Roan; later recanted; was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Henry Roan.
• Henry Grammar — implicated by Ramsey in the Smith murders; died under separate but suspicious circumstances soon after the Smith murders.
• Asa “Ace” Kirby — implicated by Ramsey in the Smith murders; died under separate but suspicious circumstances soon after the Smith murders.
• Benny Binion — Hale worked for him as a ranch hand in Montana (described as some of Hale’s life after parole).
• Henry Bellmon — Oklahoma governor who issued a full pardon to Byron Burkhart in 1965.

Victims named

• Anna Brown
• Lizzie Q. / Lizzie Q. Kyle
• Henry Roan
• Rita Smith
• William E. “Bill” Smith
• Nettie Brookshire
• Additional Osage victims named include:
  • Joe Grayhorse
  • William Stepson
  • Anna Sanford
• Additional family relationships and heirs described included:
  • Mollie Kile (or Kyle) — Ernest married her; she inherited oil headrights; later discovered to have been poisoned; recovered after moving away from Fairfax.
  • Anna’s mother, Lizzie Q — possessed headrights and was later suspected of poisoning.

Trial

• Hale was convicted after three trials under federal laws.
• Ernest Burkhart pleaded guilty and received a life sentence in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester for the murder of William E. Smith.
• Turning state's evidence, Burkhart testified against Hale and Ramsey.
• Ramsey and Hale were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, for the murder of Henry Roan.
• The trials involved deadlocked juries, appeals, and overturned verdicts, and they received national newspaper and magazine coverage.
• Between June 1926 and November 1929, the defendants were tried in state and federal courts at Guthrie, Oklahoma City, Pawhuska, and Bartlesville.
• Hale maintained his innocence, and Ramsey later recanted his confession.

Sentencing

• Hale was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, after conviction in 1929.
• Ernest Burkhart received a life sentence in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester for the murder of William E. Smith.
• Kelsie Morrison received a life sentence in November 1926 for the murder of Anna Brown.
• Ramsey was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, for the murder of Henry Roan (sentenced in November 1929).
• Byron Burkhart was not tried for the crime after turning state's evidence.

Appeals and later legal developments

• Hale’s conviction was associated with national coverage and included appeals and overturned verdicts during the period described, but no specific appeal outcome is stated beyond the convictions and sentencing described.
• Despite Osage protests, Hale, Ramsey, and Ernest Burkhart were eventually paroled.
• Byron Burkhart received a full pardon in 1965.
• Ernest Burkhart was released in 1959 and received a pardon in 1966.
• Hale was paroled in 1947.

Outcome

• Hale was convicted after three trials under federal laws and sent to Leavenworth prison in Kansas.
• Hale was sentenced to life but was paroled in 1947.
• Hale died in Arizona.
• Ramsey and Ernest Burkhart were paroled, as described.
• Byron Burkhart turned state's evidence and was not tried for the crime; Byron later received a full pardon from Oklahoma governor Henry Bellmon in 1965.

Aftermath / related consequences

• To prevent another “Reign of Terror,” after 1925 federal law prohibited non-Osages from inheriting the headrights of tribal members possessing more than one-half Osage blood.
• In 1929, it was reported that $27 million dollars was being held by the Guardian System set up to protect the financial interests of 883 Osage families in Osage County.
• The killings subsided after the arrest of William K. Hale in 1926 (as described).

Other details

• Hale rose to local prominence through years of bribery, intimidation, and extortion.
• Hale had bribed or threatened many townspeople into silence when the Osage Tribal Council suspected him.
• Hale was described as native of Greenville, Texas and self-proclaimed “King of the Osage Hills.”
• William K. Hale had organized deaths within Mollie’s family to inherit oil headrights and insurance policies.
• Hale encouraged his subservient nephew Ernest Burkhart to marry Mollie Kyle, a full-blood Osage.
• Lizzie Q. Kyle resided with Mollie and Ernest in Fairfax.
• Lizzie had three full headrights in addition to her own at the time of her death, having inherited those of her deceased first husband and two daughters.
• Lizzie lost another daughter, Anna Brown, who was shot to death during the early hours of May 22, 1921 (as described).
• Hale was described as the beneficiary of Roan’s $25,000 life insurance policy.
• Hale’s henchmen included a hired killer and a crooked lawyer who also got time (the specific names beyond those in the case summary were not provided).
• A decomposed body of Anna Brown was found in a remote ravine in northern Oklahoma, and the undertaker discovered a bullet hole in the back of her head.