More than a half-century after 6-year-old Bobby Greenlease was kidnapped and murdered, the story still is recalled in the Missouri cities and towns where the chilling crime left a lasting impact.
The son of a millionaire Cadillac dealer in Kansas City was snatched from a Roman Catholic elementary school by Bonnie Heady, a disguised prostitute playing the convincing role of a Greenlease relative on a mission of mercy for the family.
Heady had told a nun at the school that the boy’s mother had been hospitalized with a heart attack and that she desperately wanted to see her son. The scheme worked for Heady and her slick accomplice, Carl Austin Hall, recently discharged from the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City.
Actually, Hall had dreamed up the entire plot as he whiled away time in his cell.
In return for the $600,000 ransom, the couple promised that boy would be swiftly returned. In fact, he was dead and buried in a shallow backyard grave before the kidnappers even contacted the distraught family.
John Heidenry, founding editor of St. Louis Magazine, has written a riveting account of that infamous crime that initially shocked much of the heartland and, eventually, captured attention across the nation.
Dozens of books were produced in the wake of the killing and the massive hunt for the kidnappers and more than $200,000 of the ransom money that mysteriously disappeared within hours of the arrests.
Aside from the conniving couple, this bizarre case involved a motley crew, from a roguish St. Louis police lieutenant and the mobsters that controlled crime in that city to pimps, prostitutes and a cross-section of unsavory characters.
Heidenry’s account answers virtually all the puzzling questions, except, “Where did all the money go?” To this day, many familiar with the case believe the police officer, Louis A. Shoulders, stuffed his own pickets shortly after arriving on the scene.
In retrospect, such a case is unlikely to ever surface again. The odds are staggering, especially in this ultra-security-conscious age, that anyone in charge of a school — public or private — would release a child to a “distant relative” because of illness in the family.
In the end, Heady and Hall, quickly apprehended and convicted, died within minutes of each other in a double execution at the Jefferson City penitentiary. Their lives were snuffed out shortly before Christmas, just 81 days after the brutal slaying.
Contact Don Glynn at 282-2311, Ext. 2246.
IF YOU READ
• WHAT: “Zero at the Bone: The Playboy, The Prostitute and the Murder of Bobby Greenlease.”
• BY: John Heidenry
• DETAILS: Published by St. Martin’s Press, New York, 230 pages
• GRADE: A-
Lifestyle
BOOK REVIEW: Book recounts fascination with Greenlease kidnapping
- Lifestyle
-
-
Someone's gotta do it
Even though it's Christmas, emergency and health personnel still have to work
-
Celebrating another winter holiday, with lights
Jewish community observing fifth day of eight-day festival of Hanukkah.
-
FORGIONE: 'New Rick' is getting a little crazy
The “old Rick” would never have woken up at 4 a.m. Let’s face it, it wasn’t too many years ago that fun son of a gun would still be out at 4 a.m., probably devouring steak, eggs and homefries somewhere in Buffalo following an Elmwood Avenue bar crawl.
-
BOOK NOOK: “The Bestest, Specialist Christmas Ever”
• WHAT: “The Bestest, Specialist Christmas Ever”
• BY: Priscilla Y. Hill; illustrations by Anwar Morse
• GRADE: B+ -
DELUCA: Keeping Christmas ... all through the year
It was a holiday behavior my husband brought into our lives from his family. Santa always delivered his family Christmas tree. -
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Kids, Christmas presents and a certain wisdom
To quote John Lennon, “And so this is Christmas.”
-
HOMEWARD BOUND
Kenmore native’s note found on bottom of bunk canvas in Vietnam-era transport ship, included in traveling exhibit
-
BOOK NOOK: A complicated relationship with our hometown, in quotes
As we all remember from fourth grade, owning property out here goes back to the Holland Land Company. So does making remarks about the area.
-
HAYNES: Eliminating the Cheez Whiz from a favorite Christmas dish
Ah, it’s nearly time for round two of holiday dinners and as you read this, I’ll be sitting down to enjoy my annual family Christmas feast in Texas.
-
HAYNES: Patriotic streak showed on July 4 as child
I think the Fourth of July is probably one of my mother’s favorite holidays because it gives her an excuse to tell one of the more embarrassing — if a bit charming — stories from my childhood.
- More Lifestyle Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
