Top 10 Things Killers of the Flower Moon Gets Factually Right

In addition to running errands for his uncle, William King Hale, Ernest Burkhart made a living as a driver. Ernest’s chauffeuring job led to his first meeting with Mollie Kyle, a member of the Osage community. Although Mollie possesses the wealth, Ernest becomes the driving force in their relationship, which the film cleverly conveys. Ernest learned to speak the native language for Mollie, who was drawn to his charming, tender side. They eventually married with encouragement from Hale. Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Ernest as a conflicted man who claims to love his family, but this is outweighed by greed and loyalty to his uncle. It’s debatable just how much Ernest cared for Mollie, but she unquestionably loved him, making his betrayal all the more despicable.

The land granted to the Osage was more valuable than anyone anticipated with oil being unearthed in the early 20th century. The mineral rights brought the Osage millions, allowing them to acquire cars, mansions, and white servants. It also made them targets of greedy outsiders. Between 1918 and 1931, over 60 Osage members were murdered with the numbers possibly going into the hundreds. During the Reign of Terror alone, 24 Native Americans died. There were also two white victims: oilman Barney McBride, who had allied with the Osage, and attorney W. W. Vaughan, who mysteriously died upon seemingly making a break in the case. McBride was stabbed with a sack over his head, as the film depicts, while Vaughan was thrown from a speeding train.

Since most Osage murders went uninvestigated, there’s no way that the book or film could explore every person responsible for these atrocities, which is acknowledged. “Killers of the Flower Moon” nonetheless highlights some of the most prominent known conspirators, such as William Hale. Although the Osage had the money, they lacked control with the U.S. government issuing many of them “guardians.” Some guardians swindled their way to the Osage’s riches while others resorted to murder. Engrained in local politics, Hale presented himself as a friend to the Osage. Behind the scenes, Hale sought to control Osage headrights. One of his schemes involved his nephew marrying Mollie Kyle. Once Mollie’s family was dead, Ernest would just have to kill his wife to inherit everything.

As evidence began to pile up, an arrest warrant for William Hale and Ernest Burkhart was issued on January 4, 1926. In the film, Burkhart is blindsided by his public arrest while Hale turns himself in before he can be apprehended. Based on David Grann’s research, this is precisely how both arrests played out in reality. Hale calmly walked into Sheriff Freas’ office, looking like he was attending a party with his shoes shined, his suit pressed, and a felt hat atop his head. Apparently, Hale had recently ordered a new set of clothes. He proceeded to nonchalantly tell the sheriff, “Understand I’m wanted,” before surrendering. Hale figured that he’d save the authorities the trouble, seemingly confident that his time behind bars would be brief.

An enforcer of William Hale, Kelsie Morrison commits numerous heinous acts throughout the film. One of his most unspeakable schemes involves two Osage children. Osage member Tillie Stepson was widowed following the mysterious death of her husband Bill, whom Morrison likely murdered. Morrison then married Tillie, becoming her children’s guardian. Growing suspicious, Tillie tried to rescind the guardianship and prevent Morrison from inheriting her estate. Before legal action could be taken, Tillie died with Morrison as the beneficiary. While imprisoned, Morrison wrote to Hale, inquiring how he could get the money that Tillie’s children were entitled to. It was strongly implied that Morrison planned to officially adopt and murder them. While Morrison seemingly never accomplished this, many young Osage people were buried during this time.

Exposing the darkest side of the Wild West, local law enforcement turned a blind eye to the Osage murders. As seen in the film, Osage members like Mollie hired private detectives to investigate, but the case didn’t gain significant traction until the Bureau of Investigation - later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation - got involved. J. Edgar Hoover entrusted the investigation to agent Tom White, a former Texas Ranger. While the public came to recognize White, he had numerous agents working undercover. Their investigation would expose William Hale as the ringleader. This was arguably the BOI’s most prominent homicide investigation up until this point. However, many believe that the BOI only uncovered the tip of the iceberg with most of the murders going uninvestigated and unsolved.

Mollie’s elder sister, Anna Brown was an outspoken flapper with a weakness for booze and jazz. She was also known to pack a pistol in her alligator purse. Brown was with child when her almost unrecognizable body was discovered in a ravine. Mollie identified the body, although in reality, her other sister Rita and brother-in-law Bill assisted. Brown’s death kicked off the Reign of Terror with the murders of Charles Whitehorn and Henry Roan following. Although Brown’s death was initially written off as an accident, the truth came out at trial when Kelsie Morrison confessed that William Hale hired him to execute the murder. Morrison testified that Brown’s former boyfriend, Bryan Burkhart, lured her to a creek. It was Morrison who pulled the trigger, though.

With family members turning up dead, Rita and Bill Smith thought it would be safer if they moved closer to town. They couldn’t escape William Hale’s greed, however. Shortly after Bill returned home to Rita one night in March 1923, their house exploded. Also in the dwelling was their white servant, Nettie Brookshire. Rita and Nettie immediately died in the blast, although Bill was alive when he was discovered in the rubble. Bill held on for four days, but his injuries proved too severe. The Smiths wouldn’t be Osage’s last victims, but the explosion perhaps played the most substantial role in attracting Washington’s attention. ​​Burt Lawson, who was already serving time, later confessed that he set up the explosives, conspiring with Hale and Ernest Burkhart.

While some Osage members were shot, others were poisoned. Mollie was among the poisoned victims with all signs pointing to her husband as the culprit. Living with diabetes, Mollie received insulin, unaware that Ernest and her doctors were sneaking in poison. It wasn’t until Mollie was separated from Ernest and moved to a hospital that her health improved. Although this seemed to make it clear who was responsible, Mollie struggled to believe that Ernest could do such a thing. Mollie was a devout catholic, which might explain why she stayed with Ernest as long as she did. Once she came to accept his betrayal, Mollie finally divorced Ernest. She later married a man named John Cobb before dying with her estate going to her children.

Ernest Burkhart was the BOI’s reluctant star witness, identifying John Ramsey as Henry Roan’s shooter and Kelsie Morrison as Anna Brown’s killer. Before he could testify, Ernest spoke with William Hale’s legal representation, who convinced him to keep his mouth shut. Although it appeared Hale would slip through the hands of justice, Ernest had a change of heart. It’s hard to say what exactly triggered this, but as the film suggests, it was most likely due to the sudden death of his youngest daughter. Although Hale, Burkhart, Morrison, and Ramsey all received guilty verdicts, none of them got the death sentence. Morrison’s conviction was overturned in 1931. The other three guilty parties were all eventually paroled with their crimes only recently coming back into light.

Had you heard about the Osage murders before seeing “Killers of the Flower Moon?” Share your research in the comments.