Last week, we cousins learned of the tragic and mysterious death of John Gorrell Jr, Thanksgiving Night 1934. When we left off, Flyod Huff, of Kansas, had just finished telling KCPD Chief Higgins a story straight from movies…He knew who had killed this young man in Tulsa, OK…

Philip Millholland Kennamer, born on July 26, 1915, in Madill, OK, grew up in Tulsa during the 1920s and 30s. The youngest son of District Judge Franklin E. Kennamer and Lillie Kennamer, Phil was often described as a “peculiar” child with an exceptional ability to learn but socially awkward. His childhood was marked by rebellious behavior and attempts to escape his home life. After moving to Tulsa, his family sent him to the New Mexico Military Institute, where he ran away multiple times. Phil's infatuation with Virginia Wilcox, a wealthy girl he met in Tulsa, dominated his teenage years, leading to a deep obsession that left him depressed when she rejected him. 

As Phil transitioned into adulthood, he struggled to find direction in his life, dropping out of school and quitting various jobs, leading to a heavy drinking problem. He became involved with the High Hat Club, an exclusive social group for wealthy teens. His fixation with wealth led him into a dangerous circle, culminating in a plot with John Gorrell Jr. to kidnap Virginia for ransom. The plan evolved into a scheme to extort money through threats of kidnapping. Despite sharing a long history with Virginia, Phil's desperation intertwined with criminal intentions, ultimately leading to a tragic confrontation with Gorrell that would seal their fates.

Join us for Part 2 of the High Society Murder. 

• Sources:

• Voices of Oklahoma Podcast

• Murder in the Name of Love: The Phil Kennamer Trial by Jim Freese

• Justia US Law

• Tulsa World; 2015;2024;  

• Deadly Hero: The High Society Murder that Created Hysteria in the Heartland by   Jason Lucky Morrow

• Okemah Daily Leader, Vol. 17, No. 64, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 3, 1942

• Morbid: A True Crime Podcast

• American War Memorials Overseas Inc