Seventy years have passed since the abduction of Bobby Greenlease, a six-year-old boy, caused a stir in Missouri and other parts of the country.
In 1953, a young boy was kidnapped from his school by a woman who pretended to be his aunt. The boy’s father, Robert Cosgrove Greenlease, Sr., was a wealthy Cadillac dealer from Kansas City, MO at the time. Following the abduction, the family received numerous ransom demands. The story of this tragic event is chronicled on the FBI’s website under the famous cases section.
As per the FBI, the initial ransom demand made by the kidnappers was for $600,000, requested in $20 and $10 bills. This amount is equivalent to almost $7 million in 2023. The Greenlease family received several ransom notes and over twelve phone calls between September 28 and October 5 concerning their son.
Carl Hall and Bonnie Heady, who were later identified as the kidnappers, confirmed on October 5 that they had received the full $600,000 ransom and assured the Greenlease family that their son Bobby was safe and would soon be returned home. However, only a part of their message turned out to be true. Although Hall and Heady had indeed received the massive ransom, tragically, the Greenlease family never saw their beloved son alive again.
On October 6, Hall, aged 34, was apprehended at a hotel in St. Louis, Missouri, while Heady, aged 41, was arrested later that evening at an apartment nearby. Following interrogation, Hall broke down and confessed to the kidnapping plot, confirming the worst fears; Bobby was dead. The FBI discovered Bobby’s remains on October 7 in Heady’s yard in St. Joseph, Missouri, after Hall revealed the location to authorities.
After the young boy’s tragic death, Hall initially denied any wrongdoing, but after being questioned for several days, he eventually confessed to fatally shooting Bobby. The confession came after Bobby was taken from his school by Heady, and Hall ultimately took responsibility for the tragic incident.
Hall hailed from a prosperous family, but he squandered his inheritance after losing both his parents. He turned to a life of crime and saw the abduction plan as a quick path to wealth. After being released from prison for robbery, Hall crossed paths with Heady, who also came from an affluent background, according to a 1953 report by TIME.
According to TIME, it was revealed that the kidnapping was not the only plan of the deadly duo. In fact, Hall confessed that they had also planned to murder the young boy. Shockingly, Bobby’s grave had already been dug before Heady arrived at his school on the tragic day in September 1953.
During the hearing held on October 30, 1953, Hall and Heady pleaded guilty to the abduction and murder of Bobby and were promptly handed the death sentence.
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According to the FBI, Judge Albert L. Reeves, who presided over the case, expressed his belief that the verdict was appropriate based on the evidence presented. He went on to describe the murder as the most heinous and merciless he had ever encountered in his career as a judge.
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The terrible case was wrapped up promptly, but a mystery remains: What happened to the ransom money? Despite recovering half of it, the whereabouts of the remaining sum is unknown. The FBI reported that Lieutenant Louis Ira Shoulders and Patrolman Elmer Dolan, both from St. Louis, were accused of giving false testimony regarding the money.
After being charged and convicted of perjury, Shoulders and Dolan received respective prison sentences of three and two years. Following their release, they returned to St. Louis. Unfortunately, Shoulders passed away in 1965. However, Dolan was pardoned by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the same year after confessing to perjury brought on by fear of Shoulders. As reported by St. Louis True Crime Report, the $300,000 sum (equivalent to almost $3.5 million dollars today) remains missing to this day.
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