Termed as the major contestant to win Oscars 2024, Killers of the Flower Moon will be released in theaters on October 20, 2023 worldwide. Features critically-acclaimed actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Rober De Niro, Brendan Fraser, Lily Gladstonem, Tantoo Cardinal, Jesse Plemons, and more, Killers of the Flower Moon is among the most awaited Hollywood movies of the year. Directed by Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon is among those rare movies that features such big star casts who have already won Academy Awards. Killers of the Flower Moon is a true story based on a book by David Grann that probes the murders of dozens of Osage people in Oklahoma in the 1920s especially Mollie Burkhart Cobb's family.
Since you have landed on this page, True Scoop News believes that you are aware about Killers of the Flower Moon True Story and therefore eager to know more about 'real-life' Ernest Burkhart and his Osage wife Mollie Burkhart. Below is everything you need to know about Mollie Burkhart and her husband Ernest Burkhart.
Who was Ernest Burkhart?
In the movie, Academy Award Winner Leonardo Di Caprio plays the character of Ernest Burkhart and actress Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart. Talking about 'real-life' Ernest Burkhart, he was apparently nephew of William Hale, a White man convicted of murdering Osage Tribal people in order to overtake their massive wealth.
On suspicion that Hale was responsible for many of the deaths of Osage people, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior sent four agents to act as undercover investigators. Working for two years, the agents discovered a crime ring led by Hale, known in Osage County as the "King of the Osage Hills".
As per information available, William Hale and his nephews, Ernest and Bryan Burkhart, had migrated from Texas to Osage County to find jobs in the oil fields. Once there, they discovered the immense wealth of members of the Osage Nation from royalties being paid from leases on oil-producing lands. Hale's goal was to gain the headrights and wealth of several tribe members, including his nephew's Osage wife, the last survivor of her family.
As a result, Hale persuaded his nephew Ernest to marry Mollie Kyle, a full-blooded Osage. Therefafter, Hale arranged for the murders of Mollie's sisters, her brother-in-law, her mother, and her cousin, Henry Roan, to cash in on the insurance policies and headrights of each family member. After the death of her family members, Mollie and Ernest Burkhart inherited all of the headrights from her family. However, investigators found out that Mollie was being slowly poisoned by her husband at home.
However, Mollie sensed that her husband is poisoning her and hence she informed this to a priest. The priest then informed the FBI. Foretunately, Mollie recovered from the poison she had already consumed and after the trials, she divorced Ernest. Ultimately, Mollie Burkhart Cobb died in June 1937. Her children inherited all of her wealth.
What happened to Ernest Burkhart?
William Hale, his nephews, and one of the ranch hands they hired were charged with the murder of Mollie Kyle's family. In 1926, Ernest pleaded guilty to being part of the conspiracy. Ultimately, Ernest was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour in the case of the Smith murders.
However, despite being sentenced to life imprisonment, Ernest was paroled in 1937. In 940, he and a woman named Clara Mae Goad robbed the Osage home of Lillie Morrell Burkhart, his former sister-in-law, stealing $7,000 in valuables. In 1941, Ernest and Clara were both found guilty of federal burglary charges. Clara was sentenced to 5 years in prison, while Ernest was sentenced to 7 years in prison and his parole was also revoked.