The Osage Indian Murders: 10 Disturbing Facts About One of America’s Most Infamous Crimes

The Osage Indian Murders: 10 Disturbing Facts About One of America’s Most Infamous Crimes

During the 1910s to 1930s, there was a series of murders of Osage Native Americans in Osage County, Oklahoma. This series of murders came to be known as the Osage Indian Murders which shocked many. The increased number of unsolved murders led to a reign of terror which lasted from 1921 to 1926.

More than sixty wealthy Osage Indians were reportedly murdered during this period. Suspicion also arose claiming that more murders might have been covered up. These murders included the killings of heirs to future fortunes.

Valuable oil had been discovered in the Osage Indian Reservation which was owned by some families. These murders were carried out purposely to take over the wealth and lands of Osage members which had oil. The culprits wanted to earn annual royalties from those who had headrights.

Local officials were accused of being very corrupt and could not help in solving these murders. With the corruption involved, most of these murders were never solved, while some men were convicted and sentenced. William Hale, one of the culprits who had ordered the murders of his nephew’s wife to gain control of the wealth was among those who were prosecuted.

Here are the 10 Disturbing Facts About One of America’s Most Infamous Crimes:

1. The Osage Indian Murders were Driven by the Lust of Grabbing the Wealth of Others

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The Osage Indian murders came to be known as one of America’s most infamous crimes with motivated people to commit the murders. Various oil reserves were established on the lands of some Osage families. This made those families without wealth have lost and wanted to own them.

The valuable oil and lucrative annual royalties made some people carry out the murders. Close family members were killed during this period so that their wealth could be grabbed.

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2. Murders of 18 Osages & 3 Non-Natives led to a Reign of Terror

The Osage Indian Murders began in the early 1920s which sent chills throughout this region of the western US. 18 Osages and three non-natives were murdered in a short span in Osage County.

These murders led to the ‘Reign of Terror’ on the Osage reservation as described by the Colorado newspapers. What shocked people more is that some of these murders were associated with several members of the same family.

3. Bomb Containing 19L of Nitroglycerin was Used to Kill Some Victims

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The victims of the Osage Indian Murders were killed in various ways. One of the shocking ways that some of the victims were murdered was through the bombing of their residences. On 10^th March 1923, there was a bomb blast that destroyed the Fairfax residence of Rita Smith.

The blast killed Rita and Nettie Brookshire, her servant. Bill Smith, her husband, sustained fatal injuries and died four days later. Earlier on, Bill had made a statement where he implicated his murderers. Investigators revealed that the bomb contained 19 liters of nitroglycerin.

4. An Inordinate Number of Young People were Targeted

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Full-blooded Osage men and women were killed over this period of time. The majority of Osage people to be murdered were young people.

The majority had inherited the wealth of their parent while others were supposed to take over the wealth of their parents. Robert Allen Warrior, a writer wrote about his walk to the Osage cemetery in 1995 and saw the large number of young people who were murdered.

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5. Corruption in the Osage Local Officials Made Some Murders Unsolved

Before the Osage murders became a crisis in the western part of the US, little was done by the local authorities to prevent more killings. As some of the bodies were found dumped in various locations, the local authorities overlooked them and this made the cases go unsolved.

The Bureau of Investigation, the preceding agency to the Federal Bureau of Investigation held in bringing the truth to the table. The BOI made conclusions that there was extensive corruption among the local officials which hindered getting justice for some murdered Osages.

6. Local White Lawyers & Businessmen Inherited Land Belonging to Murdered Osage

With the high rate of murders of the wealthy Osage, there was a need to appoint people to inherit or deed their wealth and royalties. Between 1921 and 1923, local white lawyers and businessmen were appointed by courts as guardians of the wealthy Osage.

60 rich Osage died by 1925 which meant that the local white lawyers and businessmen were to inherit their property. Some of these people were directly in the murder of these wealthy Osage for them to amass their wealth.

7. Wealthy Osage Women’s Murders were Committed or Ordered by their Husbands

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Young people and women who had headrights for their wealth were victims of the murders. Most murders were not seriously investigated not until the Bureau of Investigation was sent to help in the cases.

It was later revealed that some women were murdered by their husbands who committed or sometimes ordered the murders to be carried out. Journalist Dennis McAuliffe helped in investigating the suspicious death of his grandmother in 1925.

She was a headright who had died and the stories behind her death, kidney disease, and suicide, made him investigate more. It is through his investigations in the early 1990s that he found out the BOI believed several Osage women were murdered by their husbands.

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8. William Hale was Involved in Several Murders of Wealthy Osage

William Hale and his nephews Ernest and Bryan have traveled from Texas to Osage County to work in the oil fields. However, their intentions changed after they saw the huge fortune in the Osage Nation through oil production. That is how they hatched plans of murdering the wealthy Osage and gain wealth.

For two years, four agents from the Interior Department’s Commissioner of Indian Affairs were sent to investigate the three. The Osage Tribal Council believed that Hale and his nephews had murdered several people. Hale and his nephews were brought to trial for their crime ring, conspiracies, and murders.

9. Murderers were Promised Good Rewards for Killing the Wealthy

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The Osage Indian murders were not conducted by one person as there was a crime ring. Contracted murderers were given promises of hefty rewards after they complete their tasks.

John Ramsey, one of the killers made a confession of participating in one of the murders. He revealed that Hale, the prime suspect, had promised to give him 500 dollars and a new car if he killed Roan.

10. Osage County Officials Sought Revenge on Officer Who Brought the Murders to Light

The Osage Indian murders were well calculated and there were several players who had various roles to play. Osage County officials also had a major role to play in ensuring that investigations were never carried out through corruption.

However, some officers were against the murders among them being Pyle who played a huge role in bringing the murders to light. This did not end well as the County officials wanted to revenge against Pyle. He had to flee with his wife to Arizona for fear of their lives.

The Osage India Murders saga attracted more investigations from across the country and ended up in a positive way. Hale and his co-accused were convicted to life imprisonment but were later given parole which angered the people.

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