Who is Mollie Burkhart from the nonfiction book, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI?

Mollie Burkhart was a member of the Osage tribe and the wife of Ernest Burkhart. Grann states that Mollie often took charge in her family, caring for her aging mother with limited help from her surviving sisters Anna and Rita. After Anna’s death, Mollie originally sought justice by hiring private investigators, but withdrew from the community as other members of her family were killed. Agent White determined that William Hale, with the assistance of Ernest and Bryan Burkhart, were killing members of Mollie’s family to channel their headrights into Ernest’s control. He also suspected that Mollie was being poisoned by her doctors. After Ernest’s arrest, Mollie initially denied that her husband could be capable of involvement in the murderous conspiracy. Only as the trial progressed did she recognize Ernest’s horrifying acts and choose to divorce him.