History: FBI helped solve 13 Osage murders in early 1920s

Friday, May 27, 2011  

"On this day, May 27, in 1921, a hunting party in Oklahoma discovered the body of Osage Indian Anna Brown, the first of several murders traced to wealthy cattleman Bill Hale.

Over the next two years, 13 other Osage men and women were killed, including by firebomb. The tribe hired the newly formed FBI to investigate.

Agents discovered that Hale, known as the "King of Osage Hills," and his nephews conspired to marry full-blooded Osage women, collect on the insurance policies and gain access to the wealth of oil under the reservation."

Get the Story:
Crime History: First of Indian murders leads to wealthy landowner (The Washington Examiner 5/27)