Ep. 51 - The Kidnapping of Bobby Greenlease

 In 1953, a horrific kidnapping and murder captured the attention of the nation. The perpetrators were Carl Austin Hall and Bonnie Emily Brown Heady and the victim was a sweet and innocent six-year-old boy named Bobby Greenlease. Bonnie and Carl were put to death in the gas chamber at the Missouri State Penitentiary for their crime. And it would seem that although their bodies left the prison, their spirits have not and they continue to haunt the abandoned halls of death row.

The 1930s in America was the heyday of kidnapping for ransom with rich families as the target. In Kansas City alone, three high-profile kidnappings occurred that included a city manager, the owner of a drug company and the manager of a garment firm. The most famous 1930 case was the Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping, which involved the son of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh and his wife Anne had retreated to a 390-acre estate to privatize their lives a bit. Their 20-month-old son, Charles Jr., was kidnapped on the evening of March 1, 1932. The toddler was taken from his nursery on the second floor. A ransom note demanding $50,000 was found on the window sill of the nursery. A ladder had been used to enter the nursery via that window and been left broken. No evidence was left. No fingerprints. no clear footprints, no blood, nothing. Another ransom note was sent on March 6th, demanding $70,000. There would be more notes finalized plans for exchanging money for baby. A baby's sleeper was sent to prove that they had the baby. The Lindbergh's paid $50,000, but no baby was delivered to them and unfortunately, Charles Jr. was found dead on May 12, 1932. The baby had been dead for at least two months and died from a blow to the head. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was eventually arrested in September of 1934 and was found guilty and executed in Old Sparky. The case prompted passage of the Federal Kidnapping Act. This act gave the FBI jurisdiction in interstate kidnappings. NBC News reported in 2006 that "Some who work in the Hunterdon County Courthouse in Flemington, New Jersey say the ghost of Bruno Hauptmann is flipping on the courthouse's lights each night. The peculiar happenings have been going on since renovations started months ago to make the courthouse look like it did in 1935, when Hauptmann was convicted there of kidnapping and killing the toddler son of Charles Lindbergh. "It's Hauptmann's ghost," county Administrator Cindy Yard told the Sunday Star-Ledger." 

Robert C. Greenlease, Sr. was born to Charles and Julia Greenlease on the family farm in central Missouri. The family eventually moved to Kansas City and his interest in vehicles was sparked. He was fascinated with these "motorized horseless vehicles." He decided to open an auto repair business in downtown Kansas City. He even tried his hand at creating his own car, which he dubbed the "Kansas City Hummer." He named it that because it made a humming sound. He only made four before that venture wrapped up due to lack of interest. But Robert continued with his passion in vehicles and he soon found out about a automobile coming out of the east. That vehicle was the Cadillac. He bought the first Cadillac franchise west of the Mississippi and opened his small showroom in 1908. Soon, he was selling vehicles faster than he could get them delivered. He was one of the largest stockholders in General Motors and he was so wealthy, that he actually gave General Motors a loan, so that it could expand. He was married twice. His second wife was Virginia and she would give birth to Robert "Bobby" Greenlease, Jr. in 1947.

The Greenlease family was philanthropic and people said of Robert Sr. that he was the real deal. They doted on their children. Bobby was given two dogs and had a parrot. He was very good with animals. He also was given a custom made mini Cadillac car that he drove up and down the driveway. He was a sweet boy and he was all boy, climbing trees, playing sports and catching tadpoles. September 28th was a Monday in 1953 and a school day. Bobby excitedly got ready for school with the help of his mother and her maids. He pinned his Jerusalem Cross, adorned with a two-inch red ribbon, to the left side of his chest. He had been awarded it for exceptional school work. His father drove him to the exclusive Catholic school he attended, Notre Dame de Sion Catholic School located at 3823 Locust St. in Kansas City. Bobby was dropped off at 8:30am. Little did he or his father know that they were being watched from a distance. Two figures sat in a 1951 white Plymouth station wagon with kidnapping and money on their minds. Those people were Carl Austin Hill and Bonnie Emily Brown Heady.

Carl came from money. He was the pampered son of a wealthy St. Louis lawyer. His father died in 1946 and left him $200,000, which he quickly squandered on drugs and alcohol. The need to acquire more drugs turned him to a life of thievery and he started robbing taxicabs. He considered them easy pickings, but he soon was caught and arrested and sentenced to five years at the Missouri State Prison. He served sixteen months and was released on April 24, 1953.

Bonnie Brown married Dan Heady and she became his gun moll. Heady was a bank robber and he wound up in jail. Dan broke out of jail and made a break for where Bonnie was waiting to help him out. A sheriff's posse took off in pursuit and shot him down before he reached Bonnie. She was not real broken-hearted and moved on quickly. She liked her bad boys and soon heard about Carl Hall. She was intrigued by the crook and when he was released from prison, she was there to greet him. Carl had no idea who Bonnie was, but she walked up to him, hugged and kissed him and then introduced herself. She invited back to her home in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Bonnie and Carl were a match made in Hell. They both were alcoholics and Carl mainlined heroine. Most days were spent in drunken stupors. One day, Carl shared with Bonnie a plan he had hatched in prison. He knew of the local Greenlease family and he knew they were millionaires. He figured it would be easy to grab their young son and demand a ransom. So they started to plan their crime. As they talked, it soon became clear that they had no intention of keeping young Bobby alive. The idea of killing the boy made Bonnie quip, “Why, that’s better than sex!” The night before the kidnapping, they went out into the yard and dug a small grave. Then they went inside and got rip roaring drunk.

Bobby was writing his spelling words in his Big Chief tablet when Sister Morand came to the door of his classroom and spoke with his teacher. She toldher fellow nun that Bobby's auntie was downstairs waiting for him. It was around eleven in the morning, and Bonnie had presented herself to Sister Morand as Virginia Greenlease's sister. She had used chlorophyll tablets to get rid of the smell of whiskey that was always on her breath. She tole the nun that Bobby's mother had been rushed to the hospital with symptoms of a heart attack. She claimed she had been sent to get Bobby and bring him to the hospital. Bonnie even played the part to the point of following the nun to the chapel to participate in a prayer.

Even though Bobby had no idea who this woman was, he grabbed Bonnie's hand and followed her to a taxi cab waiting at the end of the driveway. Bonnie told the cab driver to drive to Katz's Drugstore at 40th St. and Main. Her Plymouth station wagon was sitting in the parking lot with Carl and his boxer named Doc, waiting inside. Bonnie led Bobby to the car and when Bobby got inside, Carl said, “Hello, Bobby. How are you?” Bobby responded, “Fine.” A nun called the Greenlease home later to inquire how Virginia was doing and it was then that everyone realized that something horrible had just occurred and that Bobby had most certainly been kidnapped.

Carl drove to the state line and crossed over into Kansas, making this a case that the FBI could pursue because of the Lindbergh Law. He drove south to Highway 50 and followed that to Highway 69. Never once did little Bobby wonder what was going on or where these people were taking him. The journey finally ended at a desolate wheat field near Overland Park off Highway 69 and 95th Street. The car pulled over and Bonnie got out. She walked away and was soon followed by the dog. She walked the dog about 100 feet from the car. Carl spread out plastic next to the back door, so he could wrap it around the body. Then Bonnie heard two loud gun shots. But that wasn't the whole story. Carl tried to strangle Bobby before he shot him. Bobby fought for his life, kicking and screaming. Carl punched him and knocked out several teeth. Carl said of the shooting, “I missed him on the first shot but the second one entered his head, causing him to bleed profusely and subsequently die. I do not remember exactly what position Bobby was in at the time of his death, but I believe I had pushed him down on the floor board of the Plymouth.” Then Carl wrapped him up in the plastic.

Bonnie ran over to the car slightly upset that Carl had used the gun. There was noise and a mess now and that had not been the plan. She helped with the clean up, using a Kleenex to wipe the blood off of Carl's face. They put Bobby's body in the back of the station wagon and put a comforter on top of him and the boxer slept on it. The couple drove back to St. Joseph, Missouri. They stopped along the way to buy a bottle of whiskey and they drank it for the duration of the ride. Back at Bonnie's house, they carried the body inside and removed the Jerusalem Cross from Bobby's jacket. They covered the body with lime and re-wrapped it in plastic. They put Bobby in the grave they had dug, covered it with dirt and Bonnie jumped up and down on it to pack the dirt. Then Carl cleaned the basement and rinsed the brain matter and blood out of the back of the station wagon.

The first ransom letter was sent to the Greenleases later that evening. It was postmarked 6:00 p.m.on September 28, 1953 and demanded $600,000 in $20 and $10 bills. They were instructed to put the money in a duffle bag. They letter promised that Bobby would be returned unharmed as long as no funny business occurred. These dirtbags had already killed Bobby, but they promised his parents that they would return him. Then the couple planted flowers on the grave to conceal it further. A second ransom note was sent the next day and it read, "You must not of got our first letter. Show this to no one. Get $600,000 in 10$ and 20$ federal reserve notes. $400,000 in $20s – $200,000 – $10s, you will not take numbers of treat bills in any way. When you have money, put ad in star personal "meet me in Chicago signed G." Call police off and obey instructions. Boy is ok, but homesick. Don’t try to stop us or pick up or boy dies. You will hear from us later. Put money in army duffle bag." Bobby's Jerusalem Cross was included with the letter.

Now that Robert Greenlease knew that these kidnappers were the real ones, he started to gather the ransom money. He and his business assistant, Robert L. Ledterman, hurriedly went to the Commerce Trust Company to get the money. Everything was done in secrecy. The Greenleases received 6 ransom notes and 15 phone calls by October 5th. This was eight days into the kidnapping. Carl would make the phone calls and cover the mouth piece with a cloth to help disguise his voice. He even talked to Virginia during one of the calls. The final call on the 5th gave directions on where to drop the money. Robert Sr. allowed the FBI to record the calls, but he asked them not to interfere as he feared for his son's life. The directions were convoluted, instructing the family to climb trees and look under rocks for further directions. Finally, Carl gave clear instructions that the business assistant was to drive east on 40 highway past Stephenson’s Café near Independence, Missouri. He was to continue east until he reached road 10 E. and then he was told to turn right and drive approximately one mile to a bridge. When he reached that spot, he was to toss the large moneybag to a nearby spot. Information on where to find Bobby would be waiting at the Western Union office in Pittsburg, Kansas

The ransom drop was made. It was the largest ransom paid up until that point in American history. Carl and Bonnie picked up the money and headed for St. Louis, Missouri. They had rented a Ford, which they ditched there. Carl transferred the money to two suitcases while Bonnie drank herself blind in a bar. They purchased a 1947 red Nash sedan and rented an apartment under the false names, Mr. and Mrs. Grant. Carl put the suitcases in the closet and left Bonnie passed out on the bed. When she awoke, she found the suitcases gone. She went to a store and got milk, food and whiskey. She returned to the apartment and soon was met by the St. Louis police. They sent a handcuffed Carl to the front door and she was arrested. Carl had gotten drunk earlier and went looking for a hooker. That prostitute was Sandra O'Day and she saw the money in the suitcases. As a side note, Carl made all these moves via a cab and he asked the driver to take a break-up note to Bonnie.

By the time Carl checked into a hotel room with O'Day, he had spent nearly $40,000. He asked her to fly to Los Angeles and mail a letter to his lawyer to throw the FBI off his trail. It would be too late though as the FBI showed up at his door on the night of October 6th on a tip from the cab driver. They confiscated the rest of the $560,000, but no one saw them bring it in. Carl immediately told the FBI about Bonnie and where they could find her and they used him to get her outside where she was arrested. No one knows what happened to $300,000 of the ransom money. It just disappeared, but a couple of officers were indicted on perjury charges. Some think Carl managed to hide it, others think the mob was involved and stole some of it.

The two lovers were interrogated and they wept. They admitted that Bobby was dead. Carl tried to blame another guy for shooting Bobby and Bonnie claimed she helped with the kidnapping, but was ignorant of the murder. The police found Bobby's body and took it to a funeral home where an autopsy was performed and where the family dentist identified the body. The United States v. Hall and Heady case lasted a mere three days from November 16 to November 19. Both criminals pleaded guilty and the hearing was held to decide on punishment. The jury consisted of twelve men and nine of them were fathers. The two were sentenced to die in the gas chamber. The judge set the execution date as December 18, 1953. They would die in the gas chamber at the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City.

The two held hands and kissed before entering the gas chamber. There were two chairs in the chamber, so the lovers were executed together. They were blindfolded and cyanide gas was released into the enclosure. Bonnie was the second woman executed in Missouri history. She died two minutes before Carl. And while their bodies were removed from the prison, it would seem that Bonnie and Carl are still at the Missouri State Penitentiary.

The Tennessee Wraith Chasers have investigated the prison and showed the results on their show, "Ghost Asylum." EVPs were caught on Death Row. The most distinct word heard was a female voice saying, "Love." This made the crew wonder if this was Bonnie referring to Carl. Ghost Adventures also investigated and caught a female voice in the gas chamber saying, "Sorry." Bonnie was the only female killed in that chamber. Ghost tours and overnight investigations are offered at the prison. Midwest Spirit Seekers Society investigated and during a dowsing session, they got interaction from the spirit of Carl they believe. They also believe that Bonnie was moving the rods based on answers to questions. I watched the videos and it did seem that something was moving the rods. Amy and Adam joined TAPS in 2024 to investigate the prison. They heard breathing in the gas chamber when they re-enacted knocking on the glass to indicate that the gas was coming. Is the Missouri State Penitentiary haunted by Bonnie and Carl? That is for you to decide!