아메리칸 인디언 원주민이 획책한 오일 머니에 대한 미국 백인들의 썪은 욕망을 드러낸 오세이지족 연쇄살인 사건; 이 사건을 모티브로한 마틴 스코세이지의 플라워 킬링 문은 똑같이 석유를 소재로한 데어 윌비 블러드를 연상시킨다; 이 사건의 주범인 William King Hale는 민주당원이었고, 32도 프리메이슨이었으며, 종신형을 받았다가 18년 형을 채운 뒤 가석방을 받기까지 한다

 

광란의 20년대와 대공황 시대인 1918년에서 1931년 사이 텍사스 주 출신 미국 백인 윌리엄 킹 헤일과 헤일을 따르는 백인 세력이 60명 이상의 아메리카 원주민 오세이지 부족 사람들을 총기난사, 중독, 폭탄 테러 등의 방법으로 연쇄살인한 사건.

2. 배경[편집]

아메리카 원주민 부족 오세이지(Ni Okašką)는 원래 기원전 700년 이후 현재 오하이오 주와 미시시피 주 강 주변에 다른 원주민 부족들과 거주하고 있었으며, 17세기 당시 이로쿼이 연맹이 오하이오 주 강쪽에 정착하자 미주리 강과 미시시피 강으로 이주했다.

부족명 오세이지는 프랑스인들이 지은 이름인데 "평온한 물"을 의미한다고 한다. 다만 오세이지 부족민들은 자신들을 수어족 언어로 "𐓏𐒰𐓓𐒰𐓓𐒷 (Wazhazhe)"라고 부르며, 이 이름은 중층수(中層水)를 의미한다.

19세기 초 오세이지족은 현재 캔자스주인 지역에서 강력한 부족으로 성장했지만, 미국 정부의 이주 정책으로 대부분의 부족민들이 오클라호마주에서 살게 되었다. 오세이지족은 1870년대 초 오클라호마주 북동 지역(현 오세이지군)을 돈으로 샀고, 1897년 오세이지군 지역에서 석유가 발견되면서 20세기 초 시점 오세이지족은 부자가 되었다.

그러나 텍사스 주 출신 미국 백인 윌리엄 킹 헤일과 헤일을 따르는 백인 세력이 이를 가만히 보지 않았는데...

3. 전개[편집]

1917년 오세이지 부족민 몰리 버크하트가 미국 백인 윌리엄 킹 헤일의 조카 어니스트 버크하트와 결혼했다.

1918년 몰리 버크하트의 자매 미니 버크하트가 독에 중독되어서 사망했다.

1921년 5월 14일 오세이지 부족민 애나 브라운의 사촌 찰스 와이트혼이 실종되었다. 이후 총기에 맞은 시체가 오세이지군의 도시 포허스카에서 발견되었다.

1921년 5월 22일 몰리 버크하트의 자매 애나 브라운이 살해당했다.

1921년 5월 27일 오세이지 부족민 애나 브라운의 시체가 오세이지군의 포허스카-페어팩스 도로에서 발견되었다. 부검 결과 그녀가 머리 뒤쪽에 총을 맞은 것으로 밝혀졌다.

1921년 7월 몰리와 애나의 모친이자 오세이지 부족민인 리지 Q가 독에 중독되어서 몰리와 어니스트의 집에서 사망했다.

1922년 2월 29세 오세이지족 청년 윌리엄 스텝슨이 독에 중독된 후 사망했으며, 스텝슨 사망 수개월 후 오세이지 부족민 2명이 독에 중독되어서 사망했다.

1922년 8월 오세이지족의 신뢰를 받는 백인 석유 회사 사업가 바니 맥브라이드가 연방 수사국에 수사를 요청하러 워싱턴 D.C.로 가려 했지만 날붙이에 찔려 사망했다.

1923년 1월 오세이지 부족민 조 그레이호스와 애나 샌드포드의 시체가 발견되었다.

1923년 2월 6일 몰리와 애나의 사촌이자 오세이지 부족민인 헨리 로안이 그의 자동차 안에 머리 뒤에 총을 맞은채 사망했다. 로안은 윌리엄 킹 헤일로부터 12,000 달러를 빌린 적이 있었고, 헤일은 로안의 생명 보험인 25,000 달러를 얻었다.

1923년 3월 10일 새벽 2시 애나 브라운의 자매 리타 스미스의 주택 페어팩스에서 폭탄[1]이 터지면서 리타와 리타의 백인 하인 소녀 네티 브룩셔가 사망했다. 리타의 남편 빌 스미스는 심각한 부상을 입었고, 3월 11일 병원에서 사망했다. 빌은 죽기 직전 집을 폭파한 인물들이 윌리엄 킹 헤일과 어니스트 버크하트일 것이라고 추측했다.

1923년 3월 24일 인디언 사무국 국장이 FBI의 전신인 The Bureau of Investigation(BOI)에게 사건의 수사를 요청했다.

1923년 6월 28일 오클라호마 시티 병원에 간 오세이지 부족민 조지 빅하트의 몸에서 독이 든 위스키가 발견되었다. 빅하트는 변호사 윌리엄 본에게 윌리엄 킹 헤일과 어니스트 버크하트가 수상하다고 말했다. 그러나 본은 포허스카로 가는 기차에 타고 가는 중 실종되었고, 두개골이 박살난 그의 시체가 포허스카 근처 철도 옆에서 발견되었다. 빅하트는 병원에서 사망했다.

1921년과 1923년 사이 13명의 오세이지 부족 남성들과 여성들이 사망했으며, 1925년 시점 60명 이상의 사망한 오세이지 부족민들의 석유 매장지 상속권이 그들의 법적 보호자들인 백인 변호사들과 백인 사업가들에게 갔다.# 1920년대와 1931년 사이 오세이지군 공동묘지를 조사한 결과 수십명의 오세이지족 청년들이 정체불명의 이유로 사망했다고 한다.

1925년 BOI가 5명의 수사관들을 오세이지군에 보냈으며, 오세이지 부족 원로들이 지역 수사관 제임스 먼로 파일과 BOI 수사관 톰 와이트의 도움을 받아서 지역 백인들의 비협조에도 불구하고 윌리엄 킹 헤일, 어니스트 버크하트, 존 램지, 켈시 모리슨 등 오세이지 부족의 백인 보호자들을 기소하는데 성공했다.

수사관들은 헤일이 오세이지 부족민 몰리 버크하트의 가족의 오세이지군 석유 매장지 상속권을 얻기 위해, 몰리의 가족 사람들을 총기 난사, 중독, 폭파 등 다양한 방법으로 죽였으며, 몰리 버크하트를 조카 어니스트 버크하트와 결혼하도록 해서 어니스트가 상속권을 얻도록 했다는 것을 알아냈다.

1925년 하반기 수사관들이 몰리를 찾았을 때 몰리는 마을 의사들에게 인슐린을 처방받는 과정에서 독에 중독되었으며, 병원에 긴급 호송되었다.

1928년 BOI 수사관들의 도움으로 몰리는 회복할 수 있었으며, 2년전 1926년 무기징역 선고를 받은 어니스트와 이혼하고 존 콥과 결혼했다. 1937년 6월 16일 몰리는 오세이지 살해 사건과 관련없는 이유로 사망했고, 그녀의 자녀들이 상속권을 얻었다.

1925년 미국 의회는 오세이지 부족민이 아닌 사람이 오세이지군 석유 매장지를 상속받을 수 없도록 법을 제정했다.

4. 평가[편집]

콜로라도주 지역 신문은 오세이지족 부족민들 60명 이상이 죽은 이 사건을 "공포정치(Reign of Terror)"라고 불렀으며, 이후 "공포정치"는 해당 사건을 상징하는 명칭이 되었다. 오클라호마주 지역 신문 The Daily Oklahoman은 해당 사건을 "오세이지족에게 도래한 석유의 저주(Oil Curse on Osage Indians)"라고 불렀다.

오세이지족 사건은 인디언 전쟁 이후 석유 매장지의 상속권을 두고 일어난 아메리카 원주민과 미국 백인 사이에서 일어난 대립이자 비극이며 이 과정에서 많은 오세이지족 사람들이 사망했다.

5. 관련 매체[편집]

5.1. 소설[편집]

• 오세이지 부족 출신 존 조셉 매튜스의 소설 <Sundown (1934)>는 해당 사건을 배경으로 하고 있다.

• 오세이지 부족 혼혈 프레드 그로브[2]는 10살이었을 때 해당 사건을 직접 목격했다고 한다. 이후 집필한 소설 <Flame of the Osage (1958)>, <Warrior Road (1974)>, <Drums Without Warriors (1976)>, < The Years of Fear (2002)>에서 해당 사건을 다루었다.

• 미국 백인 존 헌트의 소설 <The Grey Horse Legacy (1968)>이 해당 사건을 다루었다.

• 치카소 부족 출신 린다 호건의 소설 <Mean Spirit (1990)>이 해당 사건을 다루었다.

• 머스코지 부족 출신 톰 홈의 소설 <The Osage Rose (2008)>이 해당 사건을 다루었다.

5.2. 논픽션[편집]

• 미국 저널리스트 데이비드 그랜의 논픽션 <Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (2017)>이 해당 사건을 다루었으며, 그랜의 논픽션은 이후 같은 제목으로 영화화되었다.

5.3. 라디오[편집]

• 1935년 라디오 방송 프로듀서 필립스 로드가 진행하는 라디오 방송 프로그램 G-Men이 FBI의 협조를 받아서 해당 사건을 다루었다.

5.4. 영화[편집]

• 1959년 머빈 르로이 감독의 영화 연방 경찰에서 해당 사건을 언급했다.

• 데이비드 그랜의 논픽션 <Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (2017)>을 영화화한 영화 <플라워 킬링 문>이 2023년 10월 개봉했다.

6. 기타[편집]

다른 인디언 학살사건에 비해 미국에서 별로 알려지지 않았던 것으로 보인다. 아메리카 원주민이 해당 사건을 다룬 영화 플라워 킬링 문을 리뷰하는 영상의 댓글에서 여러 미국인들이 처음 알게 된 사건이라고 말했다. #

이는 한국에도 비슷한 상황이라서 해당 영화를 보고 사건을 처음 알게된 사람들이 많았다.

연쇄살인 사건의 유일한 생존자 몰리 버크하트와 남편 어니스트 버크하트                           https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_King_Hale William King Hale Article Talk Read Edit View history Tools From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other people named William Hale, see William Hale (disambiguation). William King Hale Hale in 1922 Born December 24, 1874 Hunt County, Texas, U.S.[a] Died August 15, 1962 (aged 87) Phoenix, Arizona U.S. Burial place Wichita, Kansas Occupation Cattleman Known for Being a major perpetrator of the Osage Indian murders Political party Democratic Criminal status Paroled (1947) Relatives Ernest Burkhart (nephew) Conviction(s) First degree murder (18 U.S.C. § 452) Criminal penalty Life imprisonment (1929) William King Hale (December 24, 1874 – August 15, 1962) was an American political and crime boss in Osage County, Oklahoma, who was responsible for the Osage Indian murders, for which he was later convicted. He made a fortune through cattle ranching, contract killings, and insurance fraud. Born in Hunt County, Texas, Hale worked as a cowboy in Texas and Indian Territory before settling in what would become Osage County around 1900. By the 1920s, he had amassed substantial influence in the county when he ordered the contract killings of Osage woman Mollie Kyle's family in a criminal conspiracy to gain control of their headrights. He was convicted in federal court for ordering the murder of Henry Roan in October 1929, sentenced to life in prison, and released on parole in July 1947. Hale died in Arizona in 1962. His role in the killings is a major focus of David Grann's 2017 book Killers of the Flower Moon. Robert De Niro portrayed him in Martin Scorsese's 2023 film adaptation of the book. Early life William Hale was born in Hunt County, Texas, on December 24, 1874.[1][a] His mother died when he was three years old. At age sixteen he began working as a cowboy in West Texas, and by 18 was running cattle on the Kiowa-Comanche reservation in Indian Territory.[3][1] At the turn of the 20th century, he settled in the Osage Nation (then Oklahoma Territory, now Osage County, Oklahoma), and by 1900 his wife had joined him where they lived in a tent and raised cattle.[4] By 1905, he moved to Gray Horse, an Osage town, to manage a ranch, and by 1907 he partnered with local bankers to buy his own ranch.[1] Hale was reportedly uneducated, but amassed a fortune through insurance fraud and unfair trade with the native Osage people. Tom White, the FBI special agent in charge of investigating Hale, wrote in a 1932 memo to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover: Eventually (Hale) became a millionaire, who dominated local politics and seemingly could not be punished for any of the many crimes ...His method of building up power and prestige was... by means of gifts and favors. He proclaimed himself "King of the Osage", owned a controlling interest of the Fairfax bank, and a part interest in the town's general store and funeral home;[5] He also served as a reserve deputy sheriff for Fairfax.[6] In addition, he owned a 5,000-acre (20 km2) ranch (and leased another 45,000 acres (180 km2) from Osage landowners).[2] Murders Main article: Osage Indian murders 1926 newspaper illustration of Henry Roan, Reta Smith, and William Vaughn Hale and his nephews, Ernest and Byron Burkhart, conspired to kill several[b] Osage people for their Osage headrights after Ernest married Mollie Kyle, a native Osage: In May 1921, Hale hired Kelsie Morrison to kill Mollie's sister Anna Brown. Morrison later confessed to the murder saying Hale had hired him in exchange for forgiving a $600 debt Morrison owed. Half of Anna's headrights were inherited by her mother Lizzie Q, who died exactly sixty days later. Her other heirs were Mollie, Reta Smith, and Grace Bigheart.[4] A cousin, Charles Whitehorn, was shot and killed a few weeks later.[8] In March 1922, Anna Sanford died under mysterious circumstances after marrying Tom McCoy. After Sanford's death, McCoy married Hale’s niece.[4] In 1923, George Bigheart was taken to Oklahoma City for treatment after drinking poisoned whiskey. Hale and Ernest took Bigheart to the hospital where he asked to see his attorney William Vaughn. Vaughn was killed on the railroad right-of-way outside Pawhuska, Oklahoma the next day after consulting with Bigheart. Bigheart later died as well.[4] In February 1923, another cousin, Henry Roan, was found shot dead in his car.[8] Hale held a $25,000 life insurance policy on Roan. Hale referred to Roan as a "good friend" and served as a pallbearer at his funeral.[9] Hale was later convicted for the murder of Roan.[4] In March 1923, Reta Smith, her husband, and a housekeeper were killed when the Smiths' home was bombed. Mollie inherited Reta's headrights.[8][4] Mollie later suffered symptoms of poisoning.[8] Mollie fell ill, but later discovered the poisoning and recovered when she moved away. She divorced Ernest afterward, and their children inherited Mollie's estate.[5] Hale's full plan is suspected to have involved the unrealized murders of Mollie, Ernest, and their children, leaving the Kyle-Burkhart estate solely to Hale.[10] Investigations Political cartoon depicting Mollie Burkhart and William Hale from the Enid Morning News Sunday edition on February 7, 1926 Hale was a segregationist and an influential member of the Democratic Party in Osage County.[11] He had considerable influence over the local Osage County prosecutor. During his election campaign, the prosecutor sought Hale's endorsement and after receiving it won every precinct near Hale's ranch. Hale used this connection to confer with local investigators during the initial investigation of Anna Brown's murder.[12] After Henry Roan's body was discovered in a ravine, Hale accompanied the deputy and marshal to recover the body.[13] Additionally, in 1921, Hale hired a private investigator to look into the murders. The investigator would later reveal to federal agents that he was hired, not to solve the murders but to manufacture evidence and to coach witnesses to "shape an alibi" for Hale and his accomplices.[14] A Bureau of Investigation (BOI)[c] report eventually concluded the chief of Ponca City Police, chief of Fairfax Police, Osage County prosecutor, and local Office of Indian Affairs agent were all under Hale's influence and would not be able to assist the investigation.[15] The Osage Nation Tribal Council requested the Bureau of Investigation to examine the murders. The Bureau sent undercover agents to investigate.[7] Investigators initially had trouble finding witnesses with Dick Gregg, a former member of the Al Spencer gang, being the only living witness. Gregg told investigators Hale had attempted to hire the Al Spencer gang to kill Bill and Reta Smith, but Spencer, the leader of the gang, had declined because killing a woman was "not my style." Gregg pointed investigators to Al Spencer, Henry Grammer, and Curley Johnson as having more information, but the three men were already dead. Eventually, a safecracker associated with Grammer named Asa Kirby as the bomber, but before agents could interview Kirby he was shot dead in a "failed jewel heist". Investigators believed that to orchestrate the killing, Hale had tipped off both Kirby and the store owner as to a potential heist of a shipment of diamonds. After this revelation, investigators began to believe Hale was possibly murdering witnesses, with some accusations he tampered with Grammer's car brakes and had poisoned Johnson.[16] Eventually, Burt Lawson, a man serving a prison sentence in McAlester, Oklahoma, came forward to testify he was instructed by Hale and Ernest Burkhart to plant the explosive device in the Smiths' home.[17] Hale generated additional suspicion when he brought suit to collect a life insurance policy for Henry Roan.[18] Hale had bought the life insurance policy in 1921; after his first application had been denied, he reapplied to a second life insurance company with a note signed by Roan certifying that Roan owed Hale $25,000 and was approved. When obtaining the required doctor's evaluation for the policy, Hale was asked by the doctor "Bill, what are you going to do, kill this Indian?" to which he responded "Hell yes."[19] Agents were also tipped off when they realized the order and methods of the murders appeared to be done in a particular fashion to maximize Mollie's inheritance. For example, Anna Brown was murdered first after her divorce to ensure that her inheritance went to family instead of her former husband, and Reta and Bill Smith were killed simultaneously in a bombing to trigger a simultaneous death clause in their will.[20] Arrest and conviction William Hale in 1926 (second from the left) and John Ramsey (third from left) flanked by two U.S. Marshals A warrant for Hale and Ernest's arrest was issued on January 4, 1926, for the murders of Bill and Reta Smith. Ernest was apprehended immediately, but Hale could not be found. According to David Grann, Hale later turned himself in wearing "a perfectly pressed suit, shoes shined to a gleam, a felt hat, and an overcoat with his diamond-studded Masonic lodge pin fastened to the lapel." Hale maintained his innocence, so federal agents focused on interrogating Ernest; he broke and turned state's evidence after being confronted with outlaw Blackie Thompson (who had been in state custody for murdering a police officer) willing to testify that Ernest tried to hire him to do the killings.[21] When confronted with Ernest's testimony, Hale maintained his innocence.[22] The Department of Justice wanted Hale to be tried in federal court, fearing his potential influence over Oklahoma state courts; however, a federal judge ruled the killing, which took place on an unalienated allotment, fell under the jurisdiction of Oklahoma courts. Hale legal counsel included former attorney general of Oklahoma Sargent Prentiss Freeling.[23] The case was moved to state court and his first hearing was March 12. According to David Grann, he recited a poem to his supporters in the courtroom saying Judge Not! The clouds of seeming guilt may dim thy brother's fame For Fate may throw suspicion's shade upon the brightest name.[24] While under trial in 1926, Hale sold his ranch to the Drummond family and the Mullendores family. The ranch land was later broken up and sold to smaller ranchers.[25] Trials Hale was tried alongside John Ramsey in July 1926 for the murder of Henry Roan in federal court (after the United States Supreme Court case United States v. Ramsey (1926) held that federal courts had jurisdiction) in Guthrie, Oklahoma.[26] By the time of their first trial, Ernest Burkhart had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Oklahoma courts.[4] The jury began deliberations on August 20 and five days later Hale and Ramsey's first trial resulted in a hung jury.[27] After the first trial, several witnesses were indicted, tried, and convicted for taking bribes or giving threatened testimony. Hale and Ramsey's second trial was scheduled for late October.[28] The trial was transferred to Oklahoma City. Ernest testified that Hale paid Ramsey a new Ford and $500 to kill Roan. Hale denied the allegations and claimed to be in Fort Worth at a livestock show during the bombing at the Smiths' house and that he had no reason to want Roan dead.[4] Jury deliberations began on October 28, and the next morning the jury found them both guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced them to life in prison.[29] Hale appealed and was retried. The case was retried in federal court in Guthrie, Oklahoma, but ended in another hung jury. The next trial in Oklahoma City resulted in another guilty sentence, this time for 99 years. Hale appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and a new trial was ordered. Hale was tried a final time in federal court at Pawhuska, Oklahoma.[4] Leavenworth Penitentiary He was convicted in federal court on October 29, 1929, for the murder of Henry Roan and sent to the Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas.[7] The warden during his stay was Tom White, the man who had headed the investigation into the Osage Indian murders.[30] There Hale worked in the tuberculosis ward and on a prison farm.[31] During his sentence he never admitted to the murders, and a psychological evaluator noted "he has put behind him any feeling of shame or repentance he may have had."[32] Parole and death Hale was sentenced to life in prison but was paroled on July 31, 1947.[4] During a visit, Hale's relatives said he once remarked, "If that damn Ernest had kept his mouth shut we'd be rich today."[5] He moved to Phoenix, Arizona around 1950 and died in a nursing home there on August 15, 1962.[33] He was buried in Wichita, Kansas.[10] Legacy In 1925, the United States Congress passed a law to bar the inheritance of Osage headrights from Osage people with over 1/2 blood quantum by non-Osage people in order to curb the Osage Indian Murders.[7] Later, in 1978, Congress amended the 1925 legislation, eliminating the blood quantum requirement and adding in language which extended inheritance of Osage mineral headrights to legally adopted children (Osage and non-Osage) of Osage people and the descendants of those adopted children, in addition to their direct lineal heirs.[34] In media David Grann's 2017 book Killers of the Flower Moon reports Hale as mastermind of murders with detailed evidence.[35] In the 2023 film adaptation, directed by Martin Scorsese, Hale was portrayed by Robert De Niro.[35]     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollie_Kyle