Can you find the facts in this picture? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most authentic details from Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of David Grann’s nonfiction book about the Osage County murders.
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00:00 "Well, well, well, our war hero has arrived."
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most authentic details
00:09 from Martin Scorsese's adaptation of David Grahn's non-fiction book about the Osage County
00:13 murders.
00:14 Spoilers for the movie, book, and history will follow.
00:18 "This is a story that has real evil in it.
00:22 Evil like I've never covered or ever experienced."
00:24 #10.
00:26 Ernest Burkhart was Molly Kyle's driver.
00:29 In addition to running errands for his uncle, William King Hale, Ernest Burkhart made a
00:33 living as a driver.
00:35 Ernest's chauffeuring job led to his first meeting with Molly Kyle, a member of the Osage
00:39 community.
00:40 "They told me you was going with Matt Williams for a time."
00:44 "You talk too much."
00:49 Although Molly possesses the wealth, Ernest becomes the driving force in their relationship,
00:54 which the film cleverly conveys.
00:57 Ernest learned to speak the native language for Molly, who was drawn to his charming,
01:01 tender side.
01:02 "I'm going to be a good girl."
01:05 "I'm going to be a good girl.
01:08 I'm going to be a good girl.
01:11 I'm going to be a good girl."
01:15 They eventually married with encouragement from Hale.
01:17 "Well, we mix these families together, and that estate money flows the right direction.
01:22 It'll come to us."
01:23 Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Ernest as a conflicted man who claims to love his family, but this
01:28 is outweighed by greed and loyalty to his uncle.
01:32 It's debatable just how much Ernest cared for Molly, but she unquestionably loved him,
01:37 making his betrayal all the more despicable.
01:40 "I don't even know if you love me anymore."
01:43 "Of course I love you."
01:44 "Then kill these men who killed my family."
01:48 The victims were mostly wealthy Native Americans.
01:52 The land granted to the Osage was more valuable than anyone anticipated, with oil being unearthed
01:57 in the early 20th century.
01:59 "Black gold.
02:02 Money flows freely here now."
02:04 "I do love that money, sir."
02:05 The mineral rights brought the Osage millions, allowing them to acquire cars, mansions, and
02:11 white servants.
02:12 "By 1923, the Osage collectively received that year more than $30 million, which today
02:20 would be worth the equivalent of more than $400 million."
02:25 It also made them targets of greedy outsiders.
02:28 "And then, one by one, the number of unsolved murders grows."
02:34 Between 1918 and 1931, over 60 Osage members were murdered, with the numbers possibly going
02:41 into the hundreds.
02:42 During the Reign of Terror alone, 24 Native Americans died.
02:47 There were also two white victims, oil man Barney McBride, who had allied with the Osage,
02:52 and attorney W.W.
02:53 Vaughn, who mysteriously died upon seemingly making a break in the case.
02:57 McBride was stabbed with a sack over his head, as the film depicts, while Vaughn was thrown
03:02 from a speeding train.
03:04 Number 8.
03:05 Who Committed the Murders?
03:07 Since most Osage murders went uninvestigated, there's no way that the book or film could
03:12 explore every person responsible for these atrocities, which is acknowledged.
03:16 "I realized this wasn't a whodunit, it was who didn't do it, meaning so many people were
03:23 part of this."
03:24 "The whole town, almost, at least the white part of town."
03:28 "Was complicit.
03:29 Was complicit."
03:30 "Killers of the Flower Moon" nonetheless highlights some of the most prominent known conspirators,
03:35 such as William Hale.
03:36 "Her grandmother had married a young Texan named Ernest Burkhardt, who was the nephew
03:40 of the most powerful man in Osage County, William K. Hale.
03:45 Hale wasn't entitled to any Osage oil money, but as Molly's husband, his nephew Ernest
03:50 was."
03:52 Although the Osage had the money, they lacked control, with the U.S. government issuing
03:56 many of them guardians.
03:58 Some guardians swindled their way to the Osage's riches, while others resorted to murder.
04:03 Ingrained in local politics, Hale presented himself as a friend to the Osage.
04:08 Behind the scenes, Hale sought to control Osage headrights.
04:12 One of his schemes involved his nephew marrying Molly Kyle.
04:15 "It just looks like murder.
04:16 It's not supposed to be that way.
04:17 You hear her?"
04:18 "I told them in front of their head, I said in front of their head, just like this, just
04:19 like you told me, I promise you, I promise you, I swear on my children, I swear on my
04:25 children."
04:28 Once Molly's family was dead, Ernest would just have to kill his wife to inherit everything.
04:33 Number 7.
04:34 William Hale turned himself in.
04:36 "William King Hale."
04:37 "He was an extraordinary character."
04:39 "Osage are the most beautiful people on God's earth."
04:42 "He was respectful on the one hand, and murderous thug on the other hand."
04:46 "You're gonna make trouble, make it big."
04:48 As evidence began to pile up, an arrest warrant for William Hale and Ernest Burkhart was issued
04:53 on January 4th, 1926.
04:56 In the film, Burkhart is blindsided by his public arrest, while Hale turns himself in
05:01 before he can be apprehended.
05:03 Based on David Grahn's research, this is precisely how both arrests played out in reality.
05:08 Hale calmly walked into Sheriff Frias' office, looking like he was attending a party, with
05:12 his shoes shined, his suit pressed, and a felt hat atop his head.
05:16 Apparently, Hale had recently ordered a new set of clothes.
05:20 He proceeded to nonchalantly tell the sheriff, quote, "Understand I'm wanted," before surrendering.
05:25 "He put on a good show.
05:27 People seemed to like him."
05:28 "Sure, and narcissists do.
05:30 He's the good old guy.
05:32 And when it, you know, first was arrested and went into trouble, you know, people just
05:37 couldn't believe it."
05:38 Hale figured he'd save the authorities the trouble, seemingly confident that his time
05:43 behind bars would be brief.
05:44 "They're gonna go.
05:45 Their time is over.
05:46 It will happen."
05:47 "Kelsey Morrison was a bootlegger, a convicted bootlegger."
05:58 An enforcer of William Hale, Kelsey Morrison commits numerous heinous acts throughout the
06:03 film.
06:04 One of his most unspeakable schemes involves two Osage children.
06:07 Osage member Tilly Stepson was widowed following the mysterious death of her husband Bill,
06:12 whom Morrison likely murdered.
06:14 Morrison then married Tilly, becoming her children's guardian.
06:17 "The purpose was for him to benefit from my grandfather's death, of him either getting
06:26 some headright money or my granddad's wife, Tilly Powell."
06:33 Growing suspicious, Tilly tried to rescind the guardianship and prevent Morrison from
06:37 inheriting her estate.
06:39 Before legal action could be taken, Tilly died with Morrison as the beneficiary.
06:43 "Hale and accomplice Kelsey Morrison are convicted in the shooting of Molly's sister,
06:49 Anna."
06:50 While imprisoned, Morrison wrote to Hale, inquiring how he could get the money that Tilly's
06:54 children were entitled to.
06:56 It was strongly implied that Morrison planned to officially adopt and murder them.
07:01 "Because on Tilly's tombstone it says, 'Tilly Powell, wife of Kelsey Morrison.'"
07:07 While Morrison seemingly never accomplished this, many young Osage people were buried
07:12 during this time.
07:13 Number 5.
07:14 The BOI's investigation.
07:15 "Local law enforcement was of no use to the Osage.
07:20 The sheriff allegedly ran a brothel out of his jail.
07:24 The Osage tribal council knew they had to do something and hired the newly formed FBI
07:29 to investigate."
07:30 Exposing the darkest side of the Wild West, local law enforcement ignored the Osage murders.
07:37 As seen in the film, Osage members like Molly hired private detectives to investigate, but
07:42 the case didn't gain significant traction until the Bureau of Investigation, later renamed
07:47 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, got involved.
07:50 "Records disappear.
07:52 It seems there's a network behind this murder spree, but who is the mastermind and who can
07:56 these agents trust?"
07:58 J. Edgar Hoover entrusted the investigation to Agent Tom White, a former Texas Ranger.
08:03 "I was sent down from Washington, D.C. to see about these murders."
08:07 "See what about 'em?"
08:10 "See who's doing it."
08:12 While the public came to recognize White, he had numerous agents working undercover.
08:16 Their investigation would expose William Hale as the ringleader.
08:19 "This is just bad luck."
08:22 "Seems more like an epidemic than bad luck to me."
08:26 This was arguably the BOI's most prominent homicide investigation up until this point.
08:31 However, many believe that the BOI only uncovered the tip of the iceberg, with most of the murders
08:36 going uninvestigated and unsolved.
08:39 "You can't understand the formation of the United States without understanding this case,
08:45 this original sin from which this country was born."
08:48 Number 4.
08:49 Anna Brown's Murder.
08:51 Molly's elder sister, Anna Brown, was an outspoken flapper with a weakness for blues and jazz.
08:56 She was also known to pack a pistol in her alligator purse.
09:00 Brown was with child when her almost unrecognizable body was discovered in a ravine.
09:04 "The murders surround the family of Molly Burkhardt.
09:10 Her sister, Anna, is found in the woods, shot in the head."
09:15 Molly identified the body, although in reality, her other sister Rita and brother-in-law Bill assisted.
09:21 Brown's death kicked off the reign of terror, with the murders of Charles Whitehorn and
09:25 Henry Roan following.
09:27 Although Brown's death was initially written off as an accident, the truth came out at
09:31 trial when Kelsey Morrison confessed that William Hale hired him to execute the murder.
09:36 Morrison testified that Brown's former boyfriend, Brian Burkhardt, lured her to a creek.
09:41 It was Morrison who pulled the trigger, though.
09:43 "One of the killers held her up, and the other killer shot her right in the back of the head."
09:47 With family members turning up dead, Rita and Bill Smith thought it would be safer if
10:00 they moved closer to town.
10:02 They couldn't escape William Hale's greed, however.
10:05 Shortly after Bill returned home to Rita one night in March 1923, their house exploded.
10:11 Also in the dwelling was their white servant, Nettie Brookshire.
10:14 "Evil surrounds my heart."
10:16 Rita and Nettie immediately died in the blast, although Bill was alive when he was discovered
10:24 in the rubble.
10:25 Bill held on for four days, but his injuries proved too severe.
10:29 The Smiths wouldn't be Osage's last victims, but the explosion perhaps played the most
10:34 substantial role in attracting Washington's attention.
10:37 Burt Lawson, who was already serving time, later confessed that he set up the explosives,
10:43 conspiring with Hale and Ernest Burkhardt.
10:45 "They did think that this was not normal, that too many young people were dying, or
10:51 people, you know, suspiciously."
10:53 The plan, it seemed, was for Ernest himself to finish the job by murdering Molly, getting
11:02 sole possession of the oil rights.
11:05 While some Osage members were shot, others were poisoned.
11:09 Molly was among the poisoned victims, with all signs pointing to her husband as the culprit.
11:14 "Did your wife say who she was most afraid of?"
11:17 Living with diabetes, Molly received insulin, unaware that Ernest and her doctors were sneaking
11:22 in poison.
11:23 "I need you here."
11:24 "I am right here."
11:26 It wasn't until Molly was separated from Ernest and moved to a hospital that her health improved.
11:32 Though this seemed to make it clear who was responsible, Molly struggled to believe that
11:36 Ernest could do such a thing.
11:38 Molly was a devout Catholic, which might explain why she stayed with Ernest as long as she
11:42 did.
11:43 Once she came to accept his betrayal, Molly finally divorced Ernest.
11:47 "Some people like Molly Burkhardt can't bear to preserve the memories.
11:52 She cuts out the face of her former husband Ernest from all her pictures, like this one
11:57 with their two children."
11:59 She later married a man named John Cobb before dying, with her estate going to her children.
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12:21 Number 1.
12:22 Ernest Burkhardt's Testimony
12:24 Ernest Burkhardt was the BOI's reluctant star witness, identifying John Ramsey as Henry
12:29 Rohn's shooter and Kelsey Morrison as Anna Brown's killer.
12:33 Before he could testify, Ernest spoke with William Hale's legal representation, who convinced
12:37 him to keep his mouth shut.
12:38 "Ernest got really scared.
12:42 And I think somewhere in there he must have realized that he was the patsy in all of this,
12:47 you know?
12:48 That he was the fall guy."
12:50 Although it appeared Hale would slip through the hands of justice, Ernest had a change
12:54 of heart.
12:55 "Under oath, Ernest admitted it was his own brother who'd murdered Molly's sister, Anna,
13:00 and that his uncle, that benign-looking William K. Hale, had ordered it, along with the murder
13:05 of Molly's other sister, Rita."
13:07 It's hard to say what exactly triggered this, but as the film suggests, it was most likely
13:12 due to the sudden death of his youngest daughter.
13:14 Although Hale, Burkhardt, Morrison, and Ramsey all received guilty verdicts, none of them
13:19 got the death sentence.
13:21 Morrison's conviction was overturned in 1931.
13:24 The other three guilty parties were all eventually paroled, with their crimes only recently coming
13:29 back into light.
13:30 "I ain't got nothing but regret."
13:36 Had you heard about the Osage murders before seeing Killers of the Flower Moon?
13:40 Share your research in the comments.
13:41 "Can you find the wolves in this picture?"
13:47 Did you enjoy this video?
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13:55 Thanks for watching!
14:03 (dramatic music)