When a dark haired man showed up at the Hotel President one January afternoon in 1935, the hotel staff couldn’t help but take note. He showed up without luggage. He seemed nervous. He said his name was Roland T. Owen and that he was from Los Angeles, but he spoke with a southern accent.

At one point, the hotel maid overheard him speak on the phone with a man named Don. She spotted a note he’d written to a man named Don. Several times, she walked into his room, only to discover him sitting alone in the dark. Once, she discovered that he’d been locked in his room – from the outside.

On the second day of his stay, hotel staff found him alone in his room, badly beaten. He’d been stabbed multiple times. Clothesline had been wrapped around his wrists, ankles and neck. As he clung to life, he refused to name his attackers. After he died, investigators discovered that Roland T. Owen had been an alias. They couldn’t immediately identify the man, but someone seemed to care for him. Someone called the local funeral home, anonymously, to pay for his funeral and burial. A similar call came in to a local florist. The person requested 13 American roses to be sent to Roland T. Owen’s funeral. The card attached read, “Love forever, Louise.”

“The Mystery of Room 1046” John Arthur Horner for KChistory.org

“The Owen Case,” by Martin Cizmar for Kansas City Magazine

“The bizarre murder of Roland T. Owen in the Kansas City Hotel” for historicmysteries.com

“The mystery of what was in the box: Alabama man found dead 83 years ago,” by Leada Gore for Alabama.com

“Birmingham boy victim in ‘rose murder’,” The Birmingham Post, Nov. 2, 1936

“Mystery murder in room 1046,” The Newcastle Sun, May 22, 1943

“Youth killed in hotel here from Birmingham, Ala.,” The Kansas City Times, Nov. 2, 1936

“Owen’ slaying up again,” The Kansas City Star, Aug. 23, 1937

“Room 1046” episode of the Unresolved podcast

“The bizarre murder of Roland T. Owen in the Kansas City Hotel” for historicmysteries.com

“The story of Tom Pendergast,” kcyesterday.com

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