May 1, 2020 • 20 mins
Artemus Ogletree lived a life a mystery. He would travel the country under different aliases for reasons unknown to us still to this day. When he turned up severely injured in a hotel room authorities had no clue who he was and it took them years to find out...
This episode was written, researched and produced by Erika Gwynn
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twitter: @apexandabyss
instagram: @apexandabyss
email: apexandabyss@gmail.com
Website: apexandabyss.com
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Links:
patreon.com/apexandabyss
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Music:
Matt Clarke - Conspirators
Ars Sonor - Efterdyningen
Broke For Free - Budding
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-apex-the-abyss--4303840/support.
This episode was written, researched and produced by Erika Gwynn
----
twitter: @apexandabyss
instagram: @apexandabyss
email: apexandabyss@gmail.com
Website: apexandabyss.com
----
Links:
patreon.com/apexandabyss
https://www.teepublic.com/user/apexandabyss?utm_source=designer&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=GrKlkl5b82M
----
Music:
Matt Clarke - Conspirators
Ars Sonor - Efterdyningen
Broke For Free - Budding
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-apex-the-abyss--4303840/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This podcast contains graphic descriptions, explicitlanguage, and audio clips that may be
disturbing to some audiences. Listener discretionis advised. The Apex and the Abyss
presents The Chasm Episode eighteen. ArtemisOgletree, Florida, nineteen fifteen. This
(00:35):
is where Artemus Ogletree was born.There isn't much known about Artemis during his
childhood. What we do know isthat his parents are named Leon and Ruby
Ogletree, and that he had twoolder siblings. Artemis also had two distinguishing
features that were difficult to hide.On the left side of Artemis's head,
(00:56):
right above his ear, was alarge, wedge shaped scar. When he
was a young boy, hot greasehad burned him, and ever since then
the area on his head never grewhair. Artemis would actually do the best
to comb over the scar with hisremaining hair. However, you could still
tell there was something there. Artemisalso had something called cauliflower ear. This
(01:19):
is where a person's ear thickens dueto damage to the cartilage. At some
point, the oakle Tree family haverelocated from Florida to Birmingham, Alabama,
and around nineteen thirty four, whenArtemis was in his late teens, he
would leave his home. He hadhis eyes set on the Golden Coasts and
(01:41):
wanted to hitchhike his way to California. Throughout his travels, he would stay
in contact with his family back homein Alabama, and every so often they
would wire him money to sustain him. It is unclear how far and wide
Artemis's travels were. We do knowthat his mother received at least two to
three letters allegedly from her son fromother states. However, there was something
(02:06):
odd about some of the letters thatRuby would receive. For one thing,
the letters were typed and Artemis didnot know how to use a typewriter.
And also they were sent to hisfamily after Artemis Ogletree had died. But
before we dive deeper into the letterssent to the Ogletree family, we need
(02:27):
to take a few leaps back.In January of nineteen thirty five, Artemus
Ogletree would meet a brutal end andstill to this day, there are so
many questions surrounding the case. Itwas the early afternoon on January second,
nineteen thirty five, when Artemis enteredthe Hotel President in Kansas City, Missouri.
When he checked into room ten fortysix. Artemis used the alias Roland
(02:51):
t Owen. He entered the hotelwith no luggage or belongings. However,
it was later noted that he waswell dressed and put together nicely. Nothing
seemed out of sorts. Yet Artemiswould only pay for a one night stay,
and despite the fact that he broughtin no luggage. The bell boy
Randolph Props, walked Artemis up toroom ten forty six. While they made
(03:15):
their way, the pair had abrief conversation. Artemis told the bellhop that
he had stayed at another hotel thenight before, but the nightly rate was
way too expensive for him. Whenthey got to room ten forty six,
Randolph opened the door for Artemis andwatched him as he emptied his pockets onto
the bathroom countertop. Artemis had withhim a hairbrush, a toothbrush, and
(03:38):
a comb. The bellhop would thengive the room keyed Artemis, and they
both exited. At this point,Artemis would leave the hotel for some time.
No staff recalls seeing him return.However, when one of the maids,
Mary Soptic, went into his room, she found Artemis in there.
Artemis would allow her to clean theroom while he was present. Maid would
(04:00):
later stay that Artemis was acting verystrangely. He seemed on edge, nervous,
and possibly afraid of something. Whileshe cleaned the hotel room, she
noticed that he had the curtains drawnand a single light on, so the
room was rather dark. He wouldkeep the room like this at all times.
Artemis would get himself together to leavewhile she was cleaning, and when
(04:23):
he went to leave the room,he told Mary to leave the door unlocked
because he was expecting a friend toarrive. Mary would do so and leave
to tend to her other responsibilities duringher shift. Around four pm, Mary
would return to Oagletree's room to bringhim fresh towels. When she entered his
room, she came across an oddsight. Artemis was laying on the bed
(04:45):
fully dressed. There was a noteon the table by his bed that read
Dawn, I will be back infifteen minutes. Wait. Other than Artemis
lying on the bed and the note, nothing else about the room had changed
Mary. He would leave the roomand she would not return until the next
morning. At around ten thirty am, Mary went to clean room ten forty
(05:08):
six. Now there was something alittle different about this hotel. You were
actually able to lock the doors fromthe outside, so if you didn't have
a key, you were stuck inthe room until you were let out,
or you called the front desk onthe off chance you lost your key.
When Mary got to room ten fortysix, she noted that the door was
(05:28):
locked. Thinking that Artemis or Rolandt Owens, the name that she knew
him as, was not in theroom, she used her master key to
enter ten forty six to clean.To her surprise, she found Artemis in
the room. He was sitting inthe dark. He seemed to be waiting
for something, though she didn't knowwhat. The phone would ring while she
(05:48):
was in the room, and sheheard Artemis say, no, don I
do not want to eat. I'mnot hungry. I just had breakfast.
No, I'm not hungry. Whileshe cleaned her an, Artemis made small
talk. He spoke about the hotelhe was at before this one and how
their rates were high. He alsoinquired about her job in the hotel itself.
(06:11):
Just like the previous day, Maryreturned to ten forty six around four
pm to bring fresh towels. Fromoutside the door, she could hear the
voices of two men in conversation.She later stated that when she knocked on
the door, a deeper and roughervoice responded to her. When she told
the occupants that she had brought freshtowels, the voice, whom she believed
(06:31):
was not Artemises, told her thatthey didn't need them. Mary had cleaned
the room a few hours before andknew that she had taken the soiled towels
and that there was none in there. She took the hint that whoever was
inside the room didn't want her intruding, so she left a few hours later.
Occupants of room ten forty eight wouldlater state to authorities that they heard
(06:53):
men and women speaking on their floor. However, it is uncertain if these
voices came from Artemis's room or aparty that was occurring in a nearby room
on the same evening. The followingmorning, around seven a m. A
switchboard operator named Della Ferguson was preppingto go through the list of wake up
calls for the morning. Della sawthat room ten forty six His phone was
(07:15):
off the hook and she was unableto make the requested wake up call.
Della would inform the front desk andit just so happens that the bellhop that
met Artemis the first day of hisstay was on duty. Randolph made his
way up to room ten forty six, and when he arrived, he saw
that there was a do not disturbsign on the door and the handle to
(07:35):
the room was locked. Ignoring thesign on the door, the bellhop bang
loudly to alert the occupant inside whilehe knocked. A voice from inside the
room told him to enter, butRandolph was unable due to the fact that
the door was locked and he didnot currently have the key on him.
Eventually, the bellhop yelled through thedoor for Artemis to hang up the phone,
(07:57):
and then he left. About anhour would go by and the phone
to room ten forty six was stilloff the hook. Another bellhop named Harold
decided to make an attempt to figureout what was going on in room ten
forty six. Harold, unlike Randolph, had a key and was able to
enter the room. Harold would findArtemis laying on his bed naked, and
(08:20):
he appeared to be very drunk.Harold would note that on the bed there
were dark stains around Artemis, buthe never turned on the lights to inspect
further. On this, he simplywent over to the phone, placed it
on the hook, and then Haroldexited the room. At about ten thirty
am, the phone in room tenforty six would once again be off the
(08:41):
hook. Randolph went this time andcame prepared with a key. After knocking
and attempting to rouse Artemis, heunlocked the door and entered the room.
Randolph would find Artemis on his handsand knees a few feet from the door,
and his head was covered in blood. Randolph to the phone and placed
it back on the hook and turnedon the lights in the room. He
(09:03):
would see that there was blood onthe ceiling, walls, bed, and
in the bathroom. Panicking, Randolphran to get help. By the time
he returned with a manager, Artemishad fully collapsed on the floor and they
had difficulty getting the door open becausehe was pressed up against it. Struggling,
Artemis was able to get up andthe two hotel workers were able to
(09:24):
enter the room. Finally, Artemiswould prop himself up on the edge of
the bathtub while the police and adoctor arrived to help him. It appeared
as though Artemis had endured a nightof torture. He had been tied up
with a cord around his wrists,ankles, and neck. He also had
bruising around his neck that looked asthough someone tried to strangle him. Even
(09:48):
more shocking, Artemis had been stabbedmultiple times and had a fractured skull from
a bludgeoning. As the doctor beganto release Artemis from his bind he asked
him who had done this to him, to which Artemis replied nobody. When
asked how he had gotten all ofthese injuries, he would state that he
(10:09):
had fallen and hit his head onthe bathtub. Finally, the doctor asked
Artemis if he was attempting to killhimself, and he told him no.
Soon after the questioning, Artemis wouldpass out and they would race him to
the hospital. Before we continue onthis story, let's take a quick break.
(10:31):
Artemis Ogletree would never regain consciousness.He would die from his injuries after
midnight on January fifth, nineteen thirtyfive. The police were able to rule
out that the man in ten fortysix had tried to commit suicide rather quickly.
He had clear knife wounds, andthere was no knives in the room,
which means they were taken with Whoevercaused these injuries. Also, the
(10:56):
fact that he had been bound witha cord pointed to the fact that someone
else had inflicted the injuries on toArtemis. The police didn't find much in
the room apart from the tag ofa necktie, an unsmoked cigarette, a
hairpin, a safety pin, anda bottle of sulfuric acid. Fingerprints would
also be found on the phone inroom ten forty six. Police would note
(11:18):
that they appeared to belong to someonewith smaller hands than Artemis. The fingerprints
were not matched to anyone at thehotel who had been in the room either.
Police would eventually reach out to thepublic for their help with this case.
They believed it to be a homicideand they knew someone else was involved.
Everything pointed to him being attacked,but the police clearly needed more information.
(11:43):
When Artemis would leave the hotel,it was a mystery as to what
he did. There is, however, one encounter that seemed to match his
description. However, it should benoted that this run in has never been
a hundred percent confirmed to be Artemis. Oakletree. The night in which Artemis
was attacked, Robert Lane was drivingin his car about a mile from the
(12:03):
hotel. He would later state thathe saw a man dressed in pants,
shoes, and an undershirt run infront of him. It was January in
Kansas City. Looking at the averagetemperature for that time of the year all
those years ago, it was coldout. No one would be caught outside
at night without the proper outerwear ifthey could help it anyway. This unknown
(12:26):
man would flag mister Lane down andask for a ride. He thought mister
Lane's car was a taxi, despitenot being one. Mister Lane agreed to
take him somewhere where he could findan actual taxi. Lane would also note
that this man was disheveled and thathe had a large scratch on his arm.
He had also been holding his armas if it was injured. Eventually,
(12:50):
Lane would drop this unknown man outat an intersection and watch him walk
off towards a taxi. After Artemishad died, Lane would come forward with
his information on Artemus. Ogletree's armwas a deep scratch resembling the one on
the unknown man Lane had driven withthat fateful night. You can decide whether
or not you believe that this manwas Artemis or it was merely a coincidence
(13:11):
that mister Lane came across a similarman. Hotel staff would state that they
never saw the man in ten fortysix leave the hotel, but that doesn't
mean that he didn't. Someone matchingArtemius's description was seen also at a liquor
store, but again this could notbe proven to be him with certainty.
Eventually, after not being able toid who this man truly was, Artemus's
(13:35):
fingerprints were sent to the FBI tosee if there was a match amongst their
files. Turning up little to noleads, it seemed as though the world
was going to never know who thisman in ten forty six truly was.
But then a thought struck officials theyremember to comment the bellhop Randolph made in
regards to the unknown man's timeline.He had said multiple times that he had
(13:58):
stayed at an another hotel but thoughtthat their rates were outrageous. Police would
head over to this hotel and askabout Roland t Owens Artemissus alias. However,
no one had ever checked in underthat name, but when they described
him to the hotel workers, theysaid that that man checked in under the
name Eugene Hey Scott. He wouldalso give an address in Los Angeles,
(14:22):
California. When authorities looked up thename and address given to the hotel,
they came up empty. No onenamed Eugene K. Scott lived in LA
Time would pass, and it seemedas though this man, Roland t Owens
Eugene K. Scott, would neverregain his true name. Things never ceased
to be odd when it came tothis case. The body would be kept
(14:46):
in a local funeral home in earlyMarch. The body was supposed to be
buried in a potter's field. Nowa potter's field is designated for such things
a burial site for the unknown.However, Artemis would not be buried there.
A call would be placed the funeralhome and the person on the line
asked if they would be able tosend money to have a proper burial at
(15:07):
a memorial Park cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas, so that the unknown man
could be closer to his relatives.The funeral home director told the person on
the line that they would be informingthe police of this conversation, and the
caller said that that was fine.The funeral director boldly asked the caller why
was this man killed. The callervery bluntly stated that the unknown man had
(15:31):
been having an affair and that cheatersget what is coming to them, before
he abruptly hung up the phone.A few weeks later, the funeral home
received the money that the caller hadpromised, wrapped in a newspaper. More
money would be sent anonymously to coverthe expenses of things like flowers. The
flowers that were anonymously paid for hada card sent with them. It read
(15:54):
Love Forever Louise. The funeral wouldbe held, but no one apart from
the minister and lease officials attended.Even when they staked out the grave.
No one ever came to visit theman from Room ten forty six. During
all of this, fogus taken ofArtemis while he was deceased would make the
rounds thanks to new circulation. Officialswould take a photo of his very noticeable
(16:15):
scar on his head in the hopesthat in the hopes that someone would recognize
him. Finally, his face wasseen in Birmingham, Alabama. A friend
of Artemus's mother, Ruby, wouldsee the image and bring her the paper.
Ruby Ogletree had a hard time believingthat this was her son, despite
the fact that it looked just likehim, but it didn't make any sense.
(16:38):
They were still receiving letters from himever since he left. In nineteen
thirty four, Artemis's mother would reachout to the police and gave them information
about her son, specifically identifying marks, all of which matched the man from
Room ten forty six. Artemis Ogletreefinally regained his name. How police were
(17:00):
still scratching their heads. Why thesecrecy, why the aliases, and more
importantly, who was contacting the Ogletreefamily on Artemis's behalf After he had died,
law officials began looking at all theletters that the Ogletree family had received.
They came from Chicago and New Yorkto name a few places. In
(17:21):
one of his letters, whoever waswriting them to Ruby stated that Artemis was
going to travel to Europe, butclearly this was untrue because Artemis was already
dead. Clearly they were trying toplant the seed that Artemis may never return
home if he was in another country. In August of nineteen thirty five,
Ruby would receive a phone call froma man in Memphis, Tennessee. This
(17:42):
man would state that Artemis had helpedhim in a fight and that Artemis was
living in Cairo, Egypt. Hewould also tell her that he was married
to a woman who was well off, and that they were happy and healthy.
However, there is no record anywherethat Artemis actually ever made it to
Egypt at any point in his life, so this makes no sense. In
(18:04):
nineteen thirty seven, there seemed tobe a break in the case. A
man who went by the name ofJoseph Martin was arrested on a murder charge.
During their investigation, police would discoverthat this man had many aliases,
one of which was Donald Kelso whenArtemis was in room ten forty six,
the maid Mary had heard him onthe phone with a man named Don,
(18:25):
and there was that bedside note.This seemed to be a coincidence at best.
However, police were able to matchJoseph Martin's handwriting to a letter that
had been sent to Ruby Ogletree.So was this the same Don that Artemis
was speaking to. If it was, we now know that he is capable
of murder. Despite the handwriting match, no charges were brought against Joseph Martin
(18:49):
when it came to the murder ofArtemis Ogletree. The case has remained open
and cold ever since. So whokilled Amis? Did it have to do
with a lover's quarrel or was Artemisinvolved in a deeper and darker life of
crime that we will ever know about. We may never know the answer to
(19:10):
those questions. What we do knowis that Artemis Ogletree lived a life of
mystery and it ended tragically. Thankyou for listening to this episode of The
Apex and the Abyss. If youwould like to reach out to the show,
please feel free to write an emailto Apex and Abyss at gmail dot
(19:32):
com. You can also find theshow on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
if you prefer to communicate that way. You can also submit episode suggestions,
as well as find links to everythingmentioned above in the show notes and at
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(19:55):
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listening to the show and for yoursupport in telling these stories. Until next time,
This podcast contains graphic descriptions, explicitlanguage, and audio clips that may be
disturbing to some audiences. Listener discretionis advised. The Apex and the Abyss
presents The Chasm Episode eighteen. ArtemisOgletree, Florida, nineteen fifteen. This
(00:35):
is where Artemus Ogletree was born.There isn't much known about Artemis during his
childhood. What we do know isthat his parents are named Leon and Ruby
Ogletree, and that he had twoolder siblings. Artemis also had two distinguishing
features that were difficult to hide.On the left side of Artemis's head,
(00:56):
right above his ear, was alarge, wedge shaped scar. When he
was a young boy, hot greasehad burned him, and ever since then
the area on his head never grewhair. Artemis would actually do the best
to comb over the scar with hisremaining hair. However, you could still
tell there was something there. Artemisalso had something called cauliflower ear. This
(01:19):
is where a person's ear thickens dueto damage to the cartilage. At some
point, the oakle Tree family haverelocated from Florida to Birmingham, Alabama,
and around nineteen thirty four, whenArtemis was in his late teens, he
would leave his home. He hadhis eyes set on the Golden Coasts and
(01:41):
wanted to hitchhike his way to California. Throughout his travels, he would stay
in contact with his family back homein Alabama, and every so often they
would wire him money to sustain him. It is unclear how far and wide
Artemis's travels were. We do knowthat his mother received at least two to
three letters allegedly from her son fromother states. However, there was something
(02:06):
odd about some of the letters thatRuby would receive. For one thing,
the letters were typed and Artemis didnot know how to use a typewriter.
And also they were sent to hisfamily after Artemis Ogletree had died. But
before we dive deeper into the letterssent to the Ogletree family, we need
(02:27):
to take a few leaps back.In January of nineteen thirty five, Artemus
Ogletree would meet a brutal end andstill to this day, there are so
many questions surrounding the case. Itwas the early afternoon on January second,
nineteen thirty five, when Artemis enteredthe Hotel President in Kansas City, Missouri.
When he checked into room ten fortysix. Artemis used the alias Roland
(02:51):
t Owen. He entered the hotelwith no luggage or belongings. However,
it was later noted that he waswell dressed and put together nicely. Nothing
seemed out of sorts. Yet Artemiswould only pay for a one night stay,
and despite the fact that he broughtin no luggage. The bell boy
Randolph Props, walked Artemis up toroom ten forty six. While they made
(03:15):
their way, the pair had abrief conversation. Artemis told the bellhop that
he had stayed at another hotel thenight before, but the nightly rate was
way too expensive for him. Whenthey got to room ten forty six,
Randolph opened the door for Artemis andwatched him as he emptied his pockets onto
the bathroom countertop. Artemis had withhim a hairbrush, a toothbrush, and
(03:38):
a comb. The bellhop would thengive the room keyed Artemis, and they
both exited. At this point,Artemis would leave the hotel for some time.
No staff recalls seeing him return.However, when one of the maids,
Mary Soptic, went into his room, she found Artemis in there.
Artemis would allow her to clean theroom while he was present. Maid would
(04:00):
later stay that Artemis was acting verystrangely. He seemed on edge, nervous,
and possibly afraid of something. Whileshe cleaned the hotel room, she
noticed that he had the curtains drawnand a single light on, so the
room was rather dark. He wouldkeep the room like this at all times.
Artemis would get himself together to leavewhile she was cleaning, and when
(04:23):
he went to leave the room,he told Mary to leave the door unlocked
because he was expecting a friend toarrive. Mary would do so and leave
to tend to her other responsibilities duringher shift. Around four pm, Mary
would return to Oagletree's room to bringhim fresh towels. When she entered his
room, she came across an oddsight. Artemis was laying on the bed
(04:45):
fully dressed. There was a noteon the table by his bed that read
Dawn, I will be back infifteen minutes. Wait. Other than Artemis
lying on the bed and the note, nothing else about the room had changed
Mary. He would leave the roomand she would not return until the next
morning. At around ten thirty am, Mary went to clean room ten forty
(05:08):
six. Now there was something alittle different about this hotel. You were
actually able to lock the doors fromthe outside, so if you didn't have
a key, you were stuck inthe room until you were let out,
or you called the front desk onthe off chance you lost your key.
When Mary got to room ten fortysix, she noted that the door was
(05:28):
locked. Thinking that Artemis or Rolandt Owens, the name that she knew
him as, was not in theroom, she used her master key to
enter ten forty six to clean.To her surprise, she found Artemis in
the room. He was sitting inthe dark. He seemed to be waiting
for something, though she didn't knowwhat. The phone would ring while she
(05:48):
was in the room, and sheheard Artemis say, no, don I
do not want to eat. I'mnot hungry. I just had breakfast.
No, I'm not hungry. Whileshe cleaned her an, Artemis made small
talk. He spoke about the hotelhe was at before this one and how
their rates were high. He alsoinquired about her job in the hotel itself.
(06:11):
Just like the previous day, Maryreturned to ten forty six around four
pm to bring fresh towels. Fromoutside the door, she could hear the
voices of two men in conversation.She later stated that when she knocked on
the door, a deeper and roughervoice responded to her. When she told
the occupants that she had brought freshtowels, the voice, whom she believed
(06:31):
was not Artemises, told her thatthey didn't need them. Mary had cleaned
the room a few hours before andknew that she had taken the soiled towels
and that there was none in there. She took the hint that whoever was
inside the room didn't want her intruding, so she left a few hours later.
Occupants of room ten forty eight wouldlater state to authorities that they heard
(06:53):
men and women speaking on their floor. However, it is uncertain if these
voices came from Artemis's room or aparty that was occurring in a nearby room
on the same evening. The followingmorning, around seven a m. A
switchboard operator named Della Ferguson was preppingto go through the list of wake up
calls for the morning. Della sawthat room ten forty six His phone was
(07:15):
off the hook and she was unableto make the requested wake up call.
Della would inform the front desk andit just so happens that the bellhop that
met Artemis the first day of hisstay was on duty. Randolph made his
way up to room ten forty six, and when he arrived, he saw
that there was a do not disturbsign on the door and the handle to
(07:35):
the room was locked. Ignoring thesign on the door, the bellhop bang
loudly to alert the occupant inside whilehe knocked. A voice from inside the
room told him to enter, butRandolph was unable due to the fact that
the door was locked and he didnot currently have the key on him.
Eventually, the bellhop yelled through thedoor for Artemis to hang up the phone,
(07:57):
and then he left. About anhour would go by and the phone
to room ten forty six was stilloff the hook. Another bellhop named Harold
decided to make an attempt to figureout what was going on in room ten
forty six. Harold, unlike Randolph, had a key and was able to
enter the room. Harold would findArtemis laying on his bed naked, and
(08:20):
he appeared to be very drunk.Harold would note that on the bed there
were dark stains around Artemis, buthe never turned on the lights to inspect
further. On this, he simplywent over to the phone, placed it
on the hook, and then Haroldexited the room. At about ten thirty
am, the phone in room tenforty six would once again be off the
(08:41):
hook. Randolph went this time andcame prepared with a key. After knocking
and attempting to rouse Artemis, heunlocked the door and entered the room.
Randolph would find Artemis on his handsand knees a few feet from the door,
and his head was covered in blood. Randolph to the phone and placed
it back on the hook and turnedon the lights in the room. He
(09:03):
would see that there was blood onthe ceiling, walls, bed, and
in the bathroom. Panicking, Randolphran to get help. By the time
he returned with a manager, Artemishad fully collapsed on the floor and they
had difficulty getting the door open becausehe was pressed up against it. Struggling,
Artemis was able to get up andthe two hotel workers were able to
(09:24):
enter the room. Finally, Artemiswould prop himself up on the edge of
the bathtub while the police and adoctor arrived to help him. It appeared
as though Artemis had endured a nightof torture. He had been tied up
with a cord around his wrists,ankles, and neck. He also had
bruising around his neck that looked asthough someone tried to strangle him. Even
(09:48):
more shocking, Artemis had been stabbedmultiple times and had a fractured skull from
a bludgeoning. As the doctor beganto release Artemis from his bind he asked
him who had done this to him, to which Artemis replied nobody. When
asked how he had gotten all ofthese injuries, he would state that he
(10:09):
had fallen and hit his head onthe bathtub. Finally, the doctor asked
Artemis if he was attempting to killhimself, and he told him no.
Soon after the questioning, Artemis wouldpass out and they would race him to
the hospital. Before we continue onthis story, let's take a quick break.
(10:31):
Artemis Ogletree would never regain consciousness.He would die from his injuries after
midnight on January fifth, nineteen thirtyfive. The police were able to rule
out that the man in ten fortysix had tried to commit suicide rather quickly.
He had clear knife wounds, andthere was no knives in the room,
which means they were taken with Whoevercaused these injuries. Also, the
(10:56):
fact that he had been bound witha cord pointed to the fact that someone
else had inflicted the injuries on toArtemis. The police didn't find much in
the room apart from the tag ofa necktie, an unsmoked cigarette, a
hairpin, a safety pin, anda bottle of sulfuric acid. Fingerprints would
also be found on the phone inroom ten forty six. Police would note
(11:18):
that they appeared to belong to someonewith smaller hands than Artemis. The fingerprints
were not matched to anyone at thehotel who had been in the room either.
Police would eventually reach out to thepublic for their help with this case.
They believed it to be a homicideand they knew someone else was involved.
Everything pointed to him being attacked,but the police clearly needed more information.
(11:43):
When Artemis would leave the hotel,it was a mystery as to what
he did. There is, however, one encounter that seemed to match his
description. However, it should benoted that this run in has never been
a hundred percent confirmed to be Artemis. Oakletree. The night in which Artemis
was attacked, Robert Lane was drivingin his car about a mile from the
(12:03):
hotel. He would later state thathe saw a man dressed in pants,
shoes, and an undershirt run infront of him. It was January in
Kansas City. Looking at the averagetemperature for that time of the year all
those years ago, it was coldout. No one would be caught outside
at night without the proper outerwear ifthey could help it anyway. This unknown
(12:26):
man would flag mister Lane down andask for a ride. He thought mister
Lane's car was a taxi, despitenot being one. Mister Lane agreed to
take him somewhere where he could findan actual taxi. Lane would also note
that this man was disheveled and thathe had a large scratch on his arm.
He had also been holding his armas if it was injured. Eventually,
(12:50):
Lane would drop this unknown man outat an intersection and watch him walk
off towards a taxi. After Artemishad died, Lane would come forward with
his information on Artemus. Ogletree's armwas a deep scratch resembling the one on
the unknown man Lane had driven withthat fateful night. You can decide whether
or not you believe that this manwas Artemis or it was merely a coincidence
(13:11):
that mister Lane came across a similarman. Hotel staff would state that they
never saw the man in ten fortysix leave the hotel, but that doesn't
mean that he didn't. Someone matchingArtemius's description was seen also at a liquor
store, but again this could notbe proven to be him with certainty.
Eventually, after not being able toid who this man truly was, Artemus's
(13:35):
fingerprints were sent to the FBI tosee if there was a match amongst their
files. Turning up little to noleads, it seemed as though the world
was going to never know who thisman in ten forty six truly was.
But then a thought struck officials theyremember to comment the bellhop Randolph made in
regards to the unknown man's timeline.He had said multiple times that he had
(13:58):
stayed at an another hotel but thoughtthat their rates were outrageous. Police would
head over to this hotel and askabout Roland t Owens Artemissus alias. However,
no one had ever checked in underthat name, but when they described
him to the hotel workers, theysaid that that man checked in under the
name Eugene Hey Scott. He wouldalso give an address in Los Angeles,
(14:22):
California. When authorities looked up thename and address given to the hotel,
they came up empty. No onenamed Eugene K. Scott lived in LA
Time would pass, and it seemedas though this man, Roland t Owens
Eugene K. Scott, would neverregain his true name. Things never ceased
to be odd when it came tothis case. The body would be kept
(14:46):
in a local funeral home in earlyMarch. The body was supposed to be
buried in a potter's field. Nowa potter's field is designated for such things
a burial site for the unknown.However, Artemis would not be buried there.
A call would be placed the funeralhome and the person on the line
asked if they would be able tosend money to have a proper burial at
(15:07):
a memorial Park cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas, so that the unknown man
could be closer to his relatives.The funeral home director told the person on
the line that they would be informingthe police of this conversation, and the
caller said that that was fine.The funeral director boldly asked the caller why
was this man killed. The callervery bluntly stated that the unknown man had
(15:31):
been having an affair and that cheatersget what is coming to them, before
he abruptly hung up the phone.A few weeks later, the funeral home
received the money that the caller hadpromised, wrapped in a newspaper. More
money would be sent anonymously to coverthe expenses of things like flowers. The
flowers that were anonymously paid for hada card sent with them. It read
(15:54):
Love Forever Louise. The funeral wouldbe held, but no one apart from
the minister and lease officials attended.Even when they staked out the grave.
No one ever came to visit theman from Room ten forty six. During
all of this, fogus taken ofArtemis while he was deceased would make the
rounds thanks to new circulation. Officialswould take a photo of his very noticeable
(16:15):
scar on his head in the hopesthat in the hopes that someone would recognize
him. Finally, his face wasseen in Birmingham, Alabama. A friend
of Artemus's mother, Ruby, wouldsee the image and bring her the paper.
Ruby Ogletree had a hard time believingthat this was her son, despite
the fact that it looked just likehim, but it didn't make any sense.
(16:38):
They were still receiving letters from himever since he left. In nineteen
thirty four, Artemis's mother would reachout to the police and gave them information
about her son, specifically identifying marks, all of which matched the man from
Room ten forty six. Artemis Ogletreefinally regained his name. How police were
(17:00):
still scratching their heads. Why thesecrecy, why the aliases, and more
importantly, who was contacting the Ogletreefamily on Artemis's behalf After he had died,
law officials began looking at all theletters that the Ogletree family had received.
They came from Chicago and New Yorkto name a few places. In
(17:21):
one of his letters, whoever waswriting them to Ruby stated that Artemis was
going to travel to Europe, butclearly this was untrue because Artemis was already
dead. Clearly they were trying toplant the seed that Artemis may never return
home if he was in another country. In August of nineteen thirty five,
Ruby would receive a phone call froma man in Memphis, Tennessee. This
(17:42):
man would state that Artemis had helpedhim in a fight and that Artemis was
living in Cairo, Egypt. Hewould also tell her that he was married
to a woman who was well off, and that they were happy and healthy.
However, there is no record anywherethat Artemis actually ever made it to
Egypt at any point in his life, so this makes no sense. In
(18:04):
nineteen thirty seven, there seemed tobe a break in the case. A
man who went by the name ofJoseph Martin was arrested on a murder charge.
During their investigation, police would discoverthat this man had many aliases,
one of which was Donald Kelso whenArtemis was in room ten forty six,
the maid Mary had heard him onthe phone with a man named Don,
(18:25):
and there was that bedside note.This seemed to be a coincidence at best.
However, police were able to matchJoseph Martin's handwriting to a letter that
had been sent to Ruby Ogletree.So was this the same Don that Artemis
was speaking to. If it was, we now know that he is capable
of murder. Despite the handwriting match, no charges were brought against Joseph Martin
(18:49):
when it came to the murder ofArtemis Ogletree. The case has remained open
and cold ever since. So whokilled Amis? Did it have to do
with a lover's quarrel or was Artemisinvolved in a deeper and darker life of
crime that we will ever know about. We may never know the answer to
(19:10):
those questions. What we do knowis that Artemis Ogletree lived a life of
mystery and it ended tragically. Thankyou for listening to this episode of The
Apex and the Abyss. If youwould like to reach out to the show,
please feel free to write an emailto Apex and Abyss at gmail dot
(19:32):
com. You can also find theshow on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
if you prefer to communicate that way. You can also submit episode suggestions,
as well as find links to everythingmentioned above in the show notes and at
apex and abyss dot com, aswell as a link to another show a
co host called Monster Madness. Ifyou'd like to support the show, you
can do that in many ways.You can head on over to Apple Podcasts
(19:55):
and submit a rating and review.This costs you nothing but a few moments
of your time and it is greatappreciated. You can also become a Patreon
at patreon dot com or purchase showmerchandise at tepublic dot com All the links
will be provided in the show notes. Again, thank you so much for
listening to the show and for yoursupport in telling these stories. Until next time,
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