The Osage Reign of Terror (1926)

Between 1920 and 1925, near Fairfax, Oklahoma, over sixty Osage Indians died mysteriously. Most of the murders were never solved. The motive for these violent crimes: Osage oil money.  William K. Hale, also known as “King of the Osage Hills,” was a wealthy and powerful figure in Osage County and active in Osage matters. The mastermind behind many of these murders, Hale executed his plan to acquire tribal wealth through Osage headright holders. Hale, along with his accomplices, Ernest Burkhart, John Ramsey, and several others, were allegedly tied to more than twenty deaths.  The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma tried Hale and Ramsey in the second-floor courtroom of the Oklahoma City historic courthouse from October 20th to 29th, 1926. Both were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Henry Roan.