The Unsolved Murder in Room 1046

On January 4, 1935, the President Hotel in Kansas City became the scene of what would later be dubbed "America's strangest and perfect murder crime." The victim, Roland T. Owen (an alias), was found brutally assaulted in Room 1046, yet the circumstances surrounding his death remain shrouded in mystery, baffling police and true crime enthusiasts for decades.

The Discovery of the Crime

The morning of January 4 began with a seemingly innocuous issue: the telephone in Room 1046 was off the hook. Bellboy Randolph Propst was dispatched to the room twice, first at 7:00 AM and again at 11:00 AM. On his first visit, he heard a deep voice from inside but found the door locked. Assuming the guest was intoxicated, he left. However, when another bellboy, Harold Pike, visited at 8:30 AM, he noticed something peculiar: the door was locked from the outside. Inside, Pike found a naked man, breathing heavily, with a dark stain on the sheets that he mistook for a shadow. He simply rehung the phone and locked the door from the outside.

Propst's second visit at 11:00 AM revealed a horrifying scene. Upon entering, he found the naked man crouched on his knees and elbows, head in hands. Turning on the light, Propst discovered blood splattered across the walls, bed, and bathroom. The man had a severe head wound. Frightened, Propst alerted the assistant manager, Mr. M.S. Weaver, who, along with a doctor and another staff member, returned to the room. They found the man, still alive but barely conscious, sitting on the edge of the bathtub with his arms and head draped over the sink. He was bound at the neck, ankles, and wrists with a clothesline. The doctor noted stab wounds to the chest, a fractured skull from multiple blows, and strangulation marks. The wounds were 6-7 hours old, and the blood had already dried.