The Evil & Tragic Case of 6-year-old Bobby Greenlease Jr.

a parent's worst nightmare happened to Robert in Virginia greenlee's in 1853 during a visit to the Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City I had a chance to revisit one of the most horrific crimes in the history of that City or of our country for that matter Daytona's history Hunters looks back to September 28 1953 on the tragic circumstances surrounding the murder of Robert greenlee's Jr an innocent six-year-old who was the center of a sick and demented plot to extort money from his parents laughs [Music] so this Mosley behind me is apparently called The Abbey and there's one particular young victim of a homicide that was very well known back in the days back in the 50s I got the key to go inside you have to get the key but they trusted me with it this is the Forest Hill Abbey and uh looking by the steps it's yeah severely neglected I have no idea what date this is but it looks pretty old ah let's unlock it oh [Music] so you come all the way to the end you see the grave of a Dr Sam Roberts right here is the grape we're looking for Robert C green lease Jr 1947-1953 and his parents are above Robert and Virginia now this is probably the most horrifying Ransom extortion plot you've ever heard of Robert was attending Notre Dame to Scion a Catholic Elementary School at 3823 Locust Avenue in Kansas City about an hour before the lunch bill a woman named Bonnie heatie came to the school claiming to be the aunt of Bobbies with a story that Bobby's mother had suffered a heart attack while shopping on the Country Club Plaza the woman told the nun in charge that she needed to take Bobby out of the class Haiti led the unsuspecting child to a cab and drove to Kat's drugstore at 40th and Main Street waiting there in Bonnie's 1951 Plymouth Station Wagon was boyfriend Carl Hall the three-headed West to a remote area of Overland Park Kansas where Carl Hall took the boy out of the car and attempted to strangle him with a short piece of rope little Bobby fought back so Hall struck him in the head and faced several times he then shot the boy in the head about 30 minutes after the school was tricked into releasing Bobby staff called the green lease home to inquire as to the condition of Virginia green leaves she happened to asked for the phone and was horrified when learning that her son had been kidnapped Paul and heedy drove the boy's body to Saint Joseph to the home of Bonnie heatie at 1201 South 38th Street they proceeded to bury the body in the backyard and planted about a dozen chrysanthemums over the grave to disguise it as a flower bed the body would remain there until it was discovered on October 7th the couple made their return to Kansas City to begin negotiations with the green leaves family for a six hundred thousand dollar Ransom staying first at the El Rancho Motel on highway 40. it's a pretty logical question you're probably asking yourself why were the green leases targeted Robert greenley's senior was a prominent businessman here in Kansas City owned a Cadillac dealership he was worth approximately 24 million dollars so the couple knew that and they thought they extort the money out of them unfortunately the little boy suffered at the hands of two evil people who valued money over valuable lives and children I don't fathom that kind of evil Behavior but yet there are people in this world to this day that are that evil the hall originally planned to kidnap the green Lisa's daughter here Virginia Sue greenlee's who was just six years older than Bobby but the couple decided to Target Bobby instead thinking he would put up less of a fight however struck when I saw a picture of The Grieving family leaving the mausoleum after they interred Bobby and how Virginia actually managed to smile with the photographers in that moment of grief apparently she has some resilience so Virginia soon married in 1962. she got divorced and she married a Randolph Paul sturrick in 1979 and he died a year later she had her fair share of tragedies in life she died at the age of 42 in 1984. Virginia is interred on the opposite wall facing her brother and her parents such a very tragic thing for any family to endure Hall The Mastermind of the plot was familiar with the successful greenlee's family get attended military school with Paul greenley's Bobby's older adopted brother to arrange for the rest of money Robert Greenlee senior contacted Arthur Eisenhower Executive Vice President of the Commerce Trust Company without knowing the boy was already dead The Ransom money was paid on October 4th 1953 and the suspects fled to St Louis on October 5th Hall transferred The Ransom cash from a duffel bag to two metal suitcases ditching the duffel bag in a Nash pit Hull then drove an intoxicated Bonnie Haiti to a quickly rented apartment on Arsenal Street in St Louis heedy passed out in her sleep and Hall deserted her leaving only two thousand dollars of the six hundred thousand dollar Ransom a short time later Hall hooked up with cab driver John Oliver Hager and prostitute Sandra O'Day and hid out at the coral Court Motel on route 66. hall drink heavily for days and carelessly threw around lots of money which Drew hager's suspicions that he was an embezzler Hager reported his suspicions to Joe Costello a local mobster and owner of the cab company who in turn reported Hall on October 6 to St Louis Police Lieutenant Louis shoulders of the 11th District Precinct station will attend his shoulders and officer Elmer Dolan arrested Hall that night to begin questioning his extravagant spending but the FBI was quick to link Hall to the kidnapping Paul gave up Petey's whereabouts and she was arrested that same night police had the grisly task of unearthing the body of Robert greenley's the following day a search of Bonnie Hades abandoned station wagon turned up two shells that were fired in the murder Hall and Haiti were indicted by a grand jury on October 30th 1953 and days later they had entered guilty pleas before 80-year-old U.S District Court Judge Albert L Reeves on November 16th they were tried and found guilty receiving the death sentence saying the verdict fit the evidence judge Reeves remarked quote it is one of the most cold-blooded brutal murders I have ever tried Justice was Swift on December 18 1953 just 81 days after the kidnapping and murder Hall in Haiti were executed side by side in the gas chamber of the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City apparently handling the money was too much Temptation for the two Kansas City police officers who arrested Hall Lieutenant Lewis Irish holders and patrolman Elmer Dolan stated that they had brought the suitcases of money to the 11th District Precinct station but over half the six hundred thousand dollars was missing both officers were convicted of perjury and spent years in jail some theorized that the police officials kept the missing money and another theory had the blood money going to Mobsters or even the prostitute herself it felt Eerie walking up the same steps that pallbearers carried the casket of little Bobby Greenleaf to his final resting place nearly 70 years ago they were the same steps of the grief-stricken parents took to return to a home filled with a huge void now all four members of the family are reunited inside the mausoleum the tragic death of a child can cause a community's grief to Ripple across the country the community of Kansas City was shocked and the green lease business was closed while the couple buried their dear child condolences poured in from across the world I found this metal plaque on the wall still in place after 70 years next to Bobby's Crypt it is an expression of grief from the community of larache Como Italy in delving into this case I relive the sorrow of a family I never knew and years before I was born I believe I felt the same anger as did the folks in Kansas City when they learned about this dastardly crime and I'm being honest when I say I'm glad that Carl Hall and Bonnie hidey received the just penalty for what they did and only wish our system of justice were a Swift and decisive today far too many evil Deeds are being carried out in part because consequences have been softened in this country [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: History Hunters

Views: 17,918

Keywords: Bobby Greenlease tragedy, Kansas City crimes, History Hunters

Id: VzA9ujbzAIk

Length: 9min 38sec (578 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 07 2023