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F Memorandus for the Attorney Ceneral ~6B-+ 1<9-36 saab © five-gallen beg of aitreglyoerin exploded under it, killing Rite ae : Quithe cife of william Be saath, ana bettie Brockabice, a white servant vi, instantansously, and horribly mangling the body of ‘belief that Bale hed hed hin killed. \ dav @] It was developed through investigation Bureau Agente that Wilites K. Haie had hired John Rameesy end Aga ‘firby to murder William &. Smith and his wife and had subseyuently paid Rereey approxi- mately $1600.00 for performing the murders These facts were proven by a confession obtained from John Reaneey bimeelf, ae well as the ecnfession of Ernest Burkhart, who pointed out faith's house to Ramsey end Kirby, acting under instruetions fram Hale, and who scught “4 out Remeey on the day of tiie murder to igfare hig thet Willies &. we Bale end Henry Grammer, in order to allay suspicion, were going te Fort Werth, Texas, te a cattlesen's eonfersnce, and that Willies ©. Buith and his wife should be murdered that night. It developed further - that William XK. Hale had attexpted to hire the notorious cutlew, Al: Spenser, to commit this murder. He refused and Fale then attennted to hire "Blackie” Thompson, Dick tregz, and hie father, Jehy tree, saree menbers of the Al. Spenser gan, to murder Filliear £. Sith and his femily, all ef whom refused. William KX. Hale became afraid that “Ace” Firby, who partisi- : pated in the muscer of the Suith farily and who actually placed the five-gallon can ef nitroglyceeria under the Snith house and eet it off, would make known Eale's connection with these murders, and accordingly pereunded kirby to attempt the robbery of a grocery store nesr the Kensas-Oklahoma State line, aseuring Kirby that the owner of the grosery store poseessed certain waluable gers. The omer of the store wae in tum informed cf the exact hour ef the contemplated robbery end as Kirby fereed entrance into the grocery store through the window, greeted him with several loadsa of buckshot from a shotgun, thereby resoviag a witsees who could have implicated Hale and his associates. During their intensive investigetion of this case the Ayents So . reeeived confidential infermation to the effect thet Blackie Thompsecn, a @ netorious benk robber frow the Osage eountry, eonfined in the State annem Penitentiary at YoAlester, knew something of the eetivities of Bale. Thonpsor wes sccordingly interviewed, and hinted that frnest Burkhart, 3/86