◆ SpookStack

ars , ™ . : ee: a NL = ; : “the ir’bod ies. ‘betng blown, asunder. “Smith hins. r was rescued from ‘fh "e . “Zingered for about four days when he diedsi-: Before he paaced . . @made a dying declaratton that the only enemtes he had ij on he could suspect of blowing up his home were Sole eng. gh MO RS EAU te det Ree: a ee apter the passing of Rita Smith, the only member of Lt, = Sromtly renatning was Mollie Burkhart, Ernest's wife. In addition a tis etping “out Smith's $6,000 clain against Hale and ‘eliminating a man 2 15, anz tous to see the Hale-Burkhart faction brought to justice, this: ‘triple 16 murder was calculated to further enrich the Ernest Burkhart fanily py. PL? ‘ approximately $250,000 from the estite of Rita Smith, since Moilte. «>: 18<-furkhart was Rita’s only -surviving. sister. However, this had beer. bir, ; Jpyeunvented by 4 Joint will made by Rita and her husband under which 3 2, irvivor of the two was to acquire the estate of the first to- digs. 21; State. Smith survived Rita by approzimately four days all of the prope? >> passed to him and, at his death, to a daughter of Smith's by a forme? 23 marriage, a girl living in Arkanscs unknow, to Hale and the surkharses 2a FL ain 5 can a “the rar ‘entered the investigation of these brutal murders “th 36.1923 and spent years of painstaking tnuestigation tn unraveling the 27° “mystery and gathering from all parts of the .country the necessary. - 2es,evidence | to convict the guilty parttes. Special Agents, carefuliy ." Bg “selected because of their knowledge of Indian and frontier life, drove F307, thousands of miles through the of] fields day and night in the Aéeaty, Bi 3yvcold, rain, Snow and mud in running out innumerable leads, many of . fa 22. ‘which were designed to confuse them and throw them off the trail of 133. the vrue perpetrators. tees Bese ; Private detectives, many of whom were hired by the murderers: 438 themselves to frustrate the investigation, had spent many month3 on ithe’ cases, ‘interutewing numerous persons many timese * co ; ei, 49 To overcome some of the obstacles with which they were faced,» 440 ! some of the Agents assumed undercover capacities including an iasurance’ — og ,2alesnan, an Indien "medicine man,” a cattleman,.a prespector and. Bs | a2. ‘pian Texas cowboy. The lives of the Agents investigating these eo: Jona 442 were constantly in danger since the area abounded with robbers. 145 PBI investigations revealed that wiiliam EK. Hale, a millionair. 46. “Rancher, was the mastermind behind the murders which were further S47 Geatgned | to augment hia wealth. “A ag vestigations revealed that on the night of hex murders ee 50 Anna had been plied with Liquor by Kelsey Morrison, a nedt~apbearing _ BY sy white mgn of very pad reputation, and Bryan Burkhart, who were accpwoand Bea c5 - by Morrfiaon's Osage wife. They drove by the ranch house of eta j 33 Male w gave Morrison a .32 caliber automatic pistol to ktl1 Anna 2 457 TOR F @,’8 house the party drove to within a few hundred fee t of where 4 “3s ie i iis el ee had ee oe ee