KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A mystery that has remained unsolved for more than half a century surrounds a historic hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. More than 89 years ago, a murder occurred in room 1046 at the Hilton President, formerly known as President Hotel, the case of which remains unsolved to this day. Artemus Ogletree, a young man, checked into the hotel in 1935 but never checked out.
According to an article from the Kansas City Public Library, on January 4, 1935, a bellboy named Randolph Propst went to the tenth floor to check the room’s phone. The room was rented by a guest named Roland T. Owen.
When Propst arrived at the door, he noticed a ‘Don’t Disturb’ sign on the handle. After knocking and hearing no response, he entered the room. What he saw inside made him seek his assistant manager.
Propst found Ogletree naked, slumped forward on the edge of the bathtub, covered in blood. According to a news article from The San Francisco Examiner on May 19, 1935, Ogletree had been stabbed multiple times in the chest, stomach, and legs, with his wrists slashed and the back of his head bludgeoned. A rope was tied around his neck, indicating an attempted strangulation.
Despite his injuries, Ogletree was still conscious when a doctor and a detective arrived and began questioning him. They mistakenly assumed Ogletree was Roland T. Owen, the registered guest.
When asked about his injuries, Ogletree claimed to have fallen against the bathtub and denied any attempt at self-harm. He soon collapsed and was taken to Kansas City General Hospital, where he later died.
Weird Circumstances:
The detectives found Ogletree’s belongings missing, including his clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, and shaving items. They also discovered what they assumed to be a woman’s fingerprint on one of the two drinking glasses in the room.
The room had been locked from the outside, and the key was missing. A note on the desk read, “Don, I will be back in 15 minutes – wait.”
Attempts to identify Ogletree failed. Police hoped a barber might recognize a scar on his head, but this attempt fell through as well.
For weeks, Ogletree’s body remained in a Kansas City funeral home as police sought to unravel the mystery surrounding his death and identify him.
An identification but also still a mystery:
Finally, Ruby Ogletree, Artemus’s mother, identified her son through a newspaper article that showed his picture. She revealed that her son had left their family in Birmingham, Alabama, in April 1934, when he was 19 years old.
She also explained that the scar on his scalp above his ear was the result of an accident during his childhood, where he was burned by hot grease.
The mystery of Ogletree’s murder remains unsolved. No clear motive or suspect has been identified.
Currently, there is still no solution to why Ogletree was murdered, why there was a mysterious donor paying for Ogletree’s funeral, or why roses showed up at Ogletree’s grave site with a note that said, “Love for ever, Louise.”
No one has been connected to the fingerprints on the glass in the room, and no one has been charged with the crime.
The Kansas City Magazine published an extensive article on the murder, including detailed police reports, but the case remains open.
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