Despite its sweeping cast and ambitious runtime, Martin Scorsese’s film “Killers of the Flower Moon” cuts one of the most consequential characters — and murders — from David Grann’s book. According to Grann, an altruistic former prosecutor named W. W. Vaughan tried to get to the bottom of the Osage Reign of Terror and lost his life in the process. In 1923, yet another Osage was poisoned. This time, it was George Bigheart, a prominent and well-respected community member, whose uncle had been the tribe’s last traditional acting chief. A friend of Bigheart contacted Vaughan and told him to meet them urgently, as they had information about the murders that could, at long last, lead to justice.
Vaughan left at once, but not before telling his wife about the location of the documents in question. He’d also left money for her in case anything happened to him. He arrived in time to find Bigheart alive, but the Osage succumbed to the poison and died hours later. Nevertheless, Vaughan alerted the local sheriff that he’d solved the case … Bigheart’s and the rest. He left via train with the evidence in hand. Tragically, he never arrived at his destination. Vaughan was found 36 hours later. His neck had been broken, his clothes had been stripped, and his body had been thrown from the train. The evidence was gone, as was the money he’d hidden away for his wife and children.
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It’s Vaughan’s murder that, in part, enabled Grann to write his book. His granddaughter, Martha, was one of Grann’s most valuable sources, and she filled in blanks that FBI files and court records couldn’t.
