This podcast contains graphic descriptions, explicit language, and audio clips that may be
disturbing to some audiences. Listener discretion is advised. The Apex and the Abyss
presents The Chasm Episode eighteen. Artemis Ogletree, Florida, nineteen fifteen. This
is where Artemus Ogletree was born. There isn't much known about Artemis during his
childhood. What we do know is that his parents are named Leon and Ruby
Ogletree, and that he had two older siblings. Artemis also had two distinguishing
features that were difficult to hide. On the left side of Artemis's head,
right above his ear, was a large, wedge shaped scar. When he
was a young boy, hot grease had burned him, and ever since then
the area on his head never grew hair. Artemis would actually do the best
to comb over the scar with his remaining hair. However, you could still
tell there was something there. Artemis also had something called cauliflower ear. This
is where a person's ear thickens due to damage to the cartilage. At some
point, the oakle Tree family have relocated from Florida to Birmingham, Alabama,
and around nineteen thirty four, when Artemis was in his late teens, he
would leave his home. He had his eyes set on the Golden Coasts and
wanted to hitchhike his way to California. Throughout his travels, he would stay
in contact with his family back home in 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 know that his mother received at least two to
three letters allegedly from her son from other states. However, there was something
odd about some of the letters that Ruby would receive. For one thing,
the letters were typed and Artemis did not know how to use a typewriter.
And also they were sent to his family after Artemis Ogletree had died. But
before we dive deeper into the letters sent to the Ogletree family, we need
to take a few leaps back. In January of nineteen thirty five, Artemus
Ogletree would meet a brutal end and still to this day, there are so
many questions surrounding the case. It was the early afternoon on January second,
nineteen thirty five, when Artemis entered the Hotel President in Kansas City, Missouri.
When he checked into room ten forty six. Artemis used the alias Roland
t Owen. He entered the hotel with no luggage or belongings. However,
it was later noted that he was well dressed and put together nicely. Nothing
seemed out of sorts. Yet Artemis would only pay for a one night stay,
and despite the fact that he brought in no luggage. The bell boy
Randolph Props, walked Artemis up to room ten forty six. While they made
their way, the pair had a brief conversation. Artemis told the bellhop that
he had stayed at another hotel the night before, but the nightly rate was
way too expensive for him. When they got to room ten forty six,
Randolph opened the door for Artemis and watched him as he emptied his pockets onto
the bathroom countertop. Artemis had with him a hairbrush, a toothbrush, and
a comb. The bellhop would then give 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 the room while he was present. Maid would
later stay that Artemis was acting very strangely. He seemed on edge, nervous,
and possibly afraid of something. While she cleaned the hotel room, she
noticed that he had the curtains drawn and a single light on, so the
room was rather dark. He would keep the room like this at all times.
Artemis would get himself together to leave while she was cleaning, and when
he went to leave the room, he told Mary to leave the door unlocked
because he was expecting a friend to arrive. Mary would do so and leave
to tend to her other responsibilities during her shift. Around four pm, Mary
would return to Oagletree's room to bring him fresh towels. When she entered his
room, she came across an odd sight. Artemis was laying on the bed
fully dressed. There was a note on the table by his bed that read
Dawn, I will be back in fifteen minutes. Wait. Other than Artemis
lying on the bed and the note, nothing else about the room had changed
Mary. He would leave the room and she would not return until the next
morning. At around ten thirty am, Mary went to clean room ten forty
six. Now there was something a little different about this hotel. You were
actually able to lock the doors from the outside, so if you didn't have
a key, you were stuck in the room until you were let out,
or you called the front desk on the off chance you lost your key.
When Mary got to room ten forty six, she noted that the door was
locked. Thinking that Artemis or Roland t Owens, the name that she knew
him as, was not in the room, she used her master key to
enter ten forty six to clean. To her surprise, she found Artemis in
the room. He was sitting in the dark. He seemed to be waiting
for something, though she didn't know what. The phone would ring while she
was in the room, and she heard Artemis say, no, don I
do not want to eat. I'm not hungry. I just had breakfast.
No, I'm not hungry. While she cleaned her an, Artemis made small
talk. He spoke about the hotel he was at before this one and how
their rates were high. He also inquired about her job in the hotel itself.
Just like the previous day, Mary returned to ten forty six around four
pm to bring fresh towels. From outside 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 rougher voice responded to her. When she told
the occupants that she had brought fresh towels, the voice, whom she believed
was not Artemises, told her that they didn't need them. Mary had cleaned
the room a few hours before and knew 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 would later state to authorities that they heard
men and women speaking on their floor. However, it is uncertain if these
voices came from Artemis's room or a party that was occurring in a nearby room
on the same evening. The following morning, around seven a m. A
switchboard operator named Della Ferguson was prepping to go through the list of wake up
calls for the morning. Della saw that room ten forty six His phone was
off the hook and she was unable to make the requested wake up call.
Della would inform the front desk and it just so happens that the bellhop that
met Artemis the first day of his stay 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 disturb sign on the door and the handle to
the room was locked. Ignoring the sign on the door, the bellhop bang
loudly to alert the occupant inside while he knocked. A voice from inside the
room told him to enter, but Randolph was unable due to the fact that
the door was locked and he did not currently have the key on him.
Eventually, the bellhop yelled through the door for Artemis to hang up the phone,
and then he left. About an hour would go by and the phone
to room ten forty six was still off the hook. Another bellhop named Harold
decided to make an attempt to figure out what was going on in room ten
forty six. Harold, unlike Randolph, had a key and was able to
enter the room. Harold would find Artemis laying on his bed naked, and
he appeared to be very drunk. Harold would note that on the bed there
were dark stains around Artemis, but he never turned on the lights to inspect
further. On this, he simply went over to the phone, placed it
on the hook, and then Harold exited the room. At about ten thirty
am, the phone in room ten forty six would once again be off the
hook. Randolph went this time and came prepared with a key. After knocking
and attempting to rouse Artemis, he unlocked the door and entered the room.
Randolph would find Artemis on his hands and 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 turned on the lights in the room. He
would see that there was blood on the ceiling, walls, bed, and
in the bathroom. Panicking, Randolph ran to get help. By the time
he returned with a manager, Artemis had fully collapsed on the floor and they
had difficulty getting the door open because he was pressed up against it. Struggling,
Artemis was able to get up and the two hotel workers were able to
enter the room. Finally, Artemis would prop himself up on the edge of
the bathtub while the police and a doctor arrived to help him. It appeared
as though Artemis had endured a night of torture. He had been tied up
with a cord around his wrists, ankles, and neck. He also had
bruising around his neck that looked as though someone tried to strangle him. Even
more shocking, Artemis had been stabbed multiple times and had a fractured skull from
a bludgeoning. As the doctor began to 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 of these injuries, he would state that he
had fallen and hit his head on the bathtub. Finally, the doctor asked
Artemis if he was attempting to kill himself, and he told him no.
Soon after the questioning, Artemis would pass out and they would race him to
the hospital. Before we continue on this story, let's take a quick break.
Artemis Ogletree would never regain consciousness. He would die from his injuries after
midnight on January fifth, nineteen thirty five. The police were able to rule
out that the man in ten forty six had tried to commit suicide rather quickly.
He had clear knife wounds, and there was no knives in the room,
which means they were taken with Whoever caused these injuries. Also, the
fact that he had been bound with a cord pointed to the fact that someone
else had inflicted the injuries on to Artemis. The police didn't find much in
the room apart from the tag of a necktie, an unsmoked cigarette, a
hairpin, a safety pin, and a bottle of sulfuric acid. Fingerprints would
also be found on the phone in room ten forty six. Police would note
that they appeared to belong to someone with smaller hands than Artemis. The fingerprints
were not matched to anyone at the hotel who had been in the room either.
Police would eventually reach out to the public for their help with this case.
They believed it to be a homicide and they knew someone else was involved.
Everything pointed to him being attacked, but the police clearly needed more information.
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 be noted 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 driving in his car about a mile from the
hotel. He would later state that he saw a man dressed in pants,
shoes, and an undershirt run in front of him. It was January in
Kansas City. Looking at the average temperature for that time of the year all
those years ago, it was cold out. No one would be caught outside
at night without the proper outerwear if they could help it anyway. This unknown
man would flag mister Lane down and ask for a ride. He thought mister
Lane's car was a taxi, despite not being one. Mister Lane agreed to
take him somewhere where he could find an actual taxi. Lane would also note
that this man was disheveled and that he had a large scratch on his arm.
He had also been holding his arm as if it was injured. Eventually,
Lane would drop this unknown man out at an intersection and watch him walk
off towards a taxi. After Artemis had died, Lane would come forward with
his information on Artemus. Ogletree's arm was a deep scratch resembling the one on
the unknown man Lane had driven with that fateful night. You can decide whether
or not you believe that this man was Artemis or it was merely a coincidence
that mister Lane came across a similar man. Hotel staff would state that they
never saw the man in ten forty six leave the hotel, but that doesn't
mean that he didn't. Someone matching Artemius's description was seen also at a liquor
store, but again this could not be proven to be him with certainty.
Eventually, after not being able to id who this man truly was, Artemus's
fingerprints were sent to the FBI to see if there was a match amongst their
files. Turning up little to no leads, it seemed as though the world
was going to never know who this man in ten forty six truly was.
But then a thought struck officials they remember to comment the bellhop Randolph made in
regards to the unknown man's timeline. He had said multiple times that he had
stayed at an another hotel but thought that their rates were outrageous. Police would
head over to this hotel and ask about Roland t Owens Artemissus alias. However,
no one had ever checked in under that name, but when they described
him to the hotel workers, they said that that man checked in under the
name Eugene Hey Scott. He would also give an address in Los Angeles,
California. When authorities looked up the name and address given to the hotel,
they came up empty. No one named Eugene K. Scott lived in LA
Time would pass, and it seemed as though this man, Roland t Owens
Eugene K. Scott, would never regain his true name. Things never ceased
to be odd when it came to this case. The body would be kept
in a local funeral home in early March. The body was supposed to be
buried in a potter's field. Now a 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 funeral home and the person on the line
asked if they would be able to send money to have a proper burial at
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 informing the 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 caller very bluntly stated that the unknown man had
been having an affair and that cheaters get 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 had promised, wrapped in a newspaper. More
money would be sent anonymously to cover the expenses of things like flowers. The
flowers that were anonymously paid for had a card sent with them. It read
Love Forever Louise. The funeral would be 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 the man from Room ten forty six. During
all of this, fogus taken of Artemis while he was deceased would make the
rounds thanks to new circulation. Officials would take a photo of his very noticeable
scar on his head in the hopes that in the hopes that someone would recognize
him. Finally, his face was seen in Birmingham, Alabama. A friend
of Artemus's mother, Ruby, would see the image and bring her the paper.
Ruby Ogletree had a hard time believing that this was her son, despite
the fact that it looked just like him, but it didn't make any sense.
They were still receiving letters from him ever since he left. In nineteen
thirty four, Artemis's mother would reach out 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 Ogletree finally regained his name. How police were
still scratching their heads. Why the secrecy, why the aliases, and more
importantly, who was contacting the Ogletree family on Artemis's behalf After he had died,
law officials began looking at all the letters that the Ogletree family had received.
They came from Chicago and New York to name a few places. In
one of his letters, whoever was writing them to Ruby stated that Artemis was
going to travel to Europe, but clearly this was untrue because Artemis was already
dead. Clearly they were trying to plant 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 from a man in Memphis, Tennessee. This
man would state that Artemis had helped him in a fight and that Artemis was
living in Cairo, Egypt. He would 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 anywhere that Artemis actually ever made it to
Egypt at any point in his life, so this makes no sense. In
nineteen thirty seven, there seemed to be a break in the case. A
man who went by the name of Joseph Martin was arrested on a murder charge.
During their investigation, police would discover that this man had many aliases,
one of which was Donald Kelso when Artemis was in room ten forty six,
the maid Mary had heard him on the phone with a man named Don,
and there was that bedside note. This seemed to be a coincidence at best.
However, police were able to match Joseph 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
when it came to the murder of Artemis Ogletree. The case has remained open
and cold ever since. So who killed Amis? Did it have to do
with a lover's quarrel or was Artemis involved in a deeper and darker life of
crime that we will ever know about. We may never know the answer to
those questions. What we do know is that Artemis Ogletree lived a life of
mystery and it ended tragically. Thank you for listening to this episode of The
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