OK OK - E.C. Mullendore, 32, Osage County, 26 Sept 1970

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Last known witness in 40-year-old unsolved slaying dies

Damon “Chub” Anderson died in November taking with him the answers to who killed millionaire rancher E.C. Mullendore. Although some say it was Anderson who killed Mullendore.

The lifeless body was slumped on a living room couch. E.C. Mullendore III looked like a dirty rag doll, only it wasn't red earth from the millionaire rancher's spread that camouflaged his face.

It was his blood, and lots of it, retired Osage County Sheriff George Wayman said.

“He suffered a bad beating and was shot,” Wayman said. “His whole skull was caved in.”

Death, money and mystery

Mullendore's killing is one of the most publicized crimes in Oklahoma history. Newspapers for years put ink to every aspect of the story that was dug up. The true-crime book, “The Mullendore Murder Case,” by Wall Street Journal writer Jonathon Kwitny, was published in 1974.

Mullendore grew up on his family's Cross Bell Ranch, a massive cattle ranching operation near Hulah in northeast Oklahoma. He married his college sweetheart, Linda, who had a pageant-queen figure even after giving him four children. The young couple lived in a spacious modern home with a horseshoe-shaped swimming pool not far from his parents' mansion.

Even the wealthiest are not immune to tragedy, and Mullendore III's seemingly attractive life wasn't as charmed as it appeared. Upon his death, investigators found the Cross Bell Ranch was $11 million in debt, his marriage was spiraling and he was drinking heavily.

Perpetuating the mystery, the rancher had taken out a $15 million life insurance policy a few weeks before he was killed. It was reported to be the largest policy written at that time on an individual in the United States.
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much more at
http://newsok.com/last-known-witnes...ed-slaying-dies/article/3526542#ixzz19EzPyKdr

Fascinating case - the one that got the ball rolling in terms of OK being thought of as a place where murders stay unsolved.

Also much more online about this, especially about Chub Anderson, the suspected killer.
 
I read a book about the case years ago and came away with the impression that his wife hired a hitman to do the job. I believe she was the one who took out the huge insurance policy on her husband. The implication was she wanted to continue to live a wealthy life-style and Mullendore was cutting her way back financially.
 
A trio of articles from this year:

Scaring Up Old Ghosts (Urban Tulsa Weekly)

New light could be shed on Mullendore murder (Montgomery County Chronicle)

Mullendore Murder Mystery May Be Solved Soon (NewsOn6)

Apparently the bullet that hit Anderson went thru or just grazed his shoulder from the rear. Where was that bullet recovered from? In the NewsOn6 story & video you can see 3 bullet holes thru the sliding glass door (2 are visible in the picture; a 3rd can be seen in the video). I assume those are the return shots from Anderson’s .25 cal but one of the articles said that either Mullendore or Anderson opened the sliding glass door when they returned home (which one opened the door?) and that Anderson said that the two perps left thru that open door. If Anderson intentionally shot at the perps thru the glass of the open sliding door with a .25 cal he was wasting the effort. Was the sole purpose of Anderson’s shots to the glass just to substantiate his story?

Was there blood splatter of any kind on the divan where Mullendore sat from him being struck twice on the head before being shot? I am sure that by leaning across in front of Mullendore Anderson’s clothing was contaminated with Mullendore’s blood. Was that the sole purpose for Anderson to lean across in front of Mullendore; to hide the fact that Anderson’s shirt was already splattered with Mullendore’s blood? To aid in the placement of the shoulder shot to Anderson by Anderson’s accomplice, if he had one? Anderson certainly didn’t go on to live a life of luxury and wealth from a share of the life insurance policy if he was part of a conspiracy to kill Mullendore. And he apparently didn’t end up with Mrs. Mullendore if that was a motive.

Was the 1972 GJ being controlled to the point that they didn’t even make the effort to extradite Anderson from Kansas to testify when he was such an important witness and a possible suspect? The GJ certainly knew where he was living.
 
Since Anderson was upstairs running bath water was he even wearing a shirt when he responded to hearing a shot? Since he served as a manservant to Mullendore was the bath water to be for himself or Mullendore?

It was said that Anderson had quite a temper. Did Mullendore’s mother recall any argument or event during the time the three of them spent at the races together that night that could have set Anderson’s temper off?

The life insurance policy for $15 million was finally settled for $8 million. It is odd that Mullendore was seeking a loan in the amount of $8 million. Was Mrs. Mullendore or the Cross Bell Ranch the beneficiary? Did collecting on the policy stave off the ranch from going into receivership and secure it for the Mullendore family?

And a correction to my earlier post. There are actually 4 visible shots to the sliding glass door that can be seen in the video on the NewsOn6 link.
 
From February 2014:

http://newsok.com/article/3937129

Since 2010, two arrest affidavits have been sitting on Osage County District Attorney Rex Duncan's desk. Both have been sworn, signed and notorized. But neither has ever been filed, and the men listed on the documents aren't likely ever to be charged with the crimes in question.

One of the two affidavits is for the arrest of Damon “Chub” Anderson, the bodyguard of slain Osage County rancher E.C. Mullendore. Anderson, who confessed to a Tulsa private investigator that he'd shot and killed Mullendore, died in 2010.

The other affidavit authorizes the arrest of the Lonnie Joe Brown, the ranch hand who Anderson said helped him stage the scene of the murder to look like a group of unknown intruders killed Mullendore and fled.
 
http://www.miamiok.com/news/20170106/coleman-presents-documentary-on-unsolved-mullendore-murder

The tale twists and turns like an Oklahoma tornado. The true story of the 1970 unsolved murder of a multimillionaire Oklahoma rancher, E.C. Mullendore, intrigued Oklahoma author and newspaper columnist Dale R. Lewis.

Lewis became fixated with telling the story of the lead suspect, ranch hand Damon 'Chub' Anderson when encountering him in a Kansas courtroom after Anderson had been a fugitive on the run for 16 years...

In his non-fiction book, "Footprints in the Dew," Lewis details his years of interviews with Anderson and others and his research of Anderson's life and possible involvement in the rancher's unsolved death...

The author has also completed a documentary, "Footprints in the Dew: The Last Ten Tapes," based on his extensive interviews conducted for the book.
 

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