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Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

American gangster George Kelly Barnes (1895 – 1954), aka Machine Gun Kelly, with his wife Kathryn at their trial for the kidnapping of businessman Charles F. Urschel, at the Federal Court in Oklahoma City, 9th October 1933. Kelly has a bump on his head after being hit with a pistol butt during an altercation on his arrival at court. Kelly and his wife pleaded guilty and were sentenced to life imprisonment. 

“Chris Enss is one of the finest writers ever. She has created a powerful brand writing about women who made history a subject that has been sorely lacking. Her portrayal of Machine Gen Kelly and Kathyrn reads like a novel with characters that are hard to believe but every word is true. She brings us into the Great Depression and the age of gangsters vividly and accurately with superb character development and fast paced action. I have loved all of her books but this is a favorite. A must read of a tragic couple who were comically flawed.”

Bestselling Author David Crow

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Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

Kathryn Kelly, wife of gangster George “Machine Gun” Kelly (Original photo has no negative date or photo credit, published 08/03/1986 in The Daily Oklahoman)

The Urschel kidnapping was the first prominent case in which FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover exercised his control of the print media and laid the groundwork for building his legendary status. He not only recruited talented individuals to help develop scientific methods to solve crimes and track offenders but hired publicists to feed information to the press that highlighted the Bureau’s accomplishments and the methods employed by relentless agents to apprehend notorious outlaws. Throughout the investigation into Charles Urschel abduction, Director Hoover turned every lead, either uncovered by his men or reported by a civilian, into an opportunity to promote the agency as a superior crime-fighting force.

Much of what the Bureau reported about the capture of Machine Gun Kelly and Kathyrn Thorne was accurate, but some of the events they claimed occurred were fiction. Kelly pointed out the discrepancies to newspaper reporters, but journalists were disinclined to take the gangster’s word, and Hoover counted on that. Kathryn Kelly had a flair for manipulating the press as well, but her talent was discovered too late to improve her circumstances. News of the Kellys’ crimes and various law enforcement agencies pursuits of the pair appeared in newspapers across the country. Hoover and his staff painted Kathryn as a materialistic femme fatale who drove her husband to commit the crimes he did. She tried to change the public’s opinion of her by giving interviews with respected journalists and candidly sharing her truth about her relationship with Kelly and how he misled her.

George’s upper-middle-class background was in sharp contrast to Kathryn’s depressed past. She referred to the difference in their upbringing often when she spoke with reporters and was quick to tell them that it was Kelly who intimidated her into breaking the law and not the other way around. “The first time I ever saw a machine gun was when Kelly had one at my house in Fort Worth,” Kathryn told Pulitzer Prize–winning Scripps-Howard staff writer Lee Hills in mid-October 1933. “It is being told that I provided my husband with weapons and that he taught me how to use them. He never taught me to use a machine gun or any other kind. I wouldn’t know what to do with one. This talk about him being about to write his name on a wall with machine gun bullets may be so, but I don’t know whether he even can shoot.”

Kathryn herself circulated the rumor about his shooting prowess long before she and Kelly embarked on their first kid napping. That kind of promotion had served its purpose well when they were deciding to graduate from robbing banks to abducting the wealthy, but once they were caught, Kathryn denied it all to the press. To avoid life in prison, it was important potential jurors saw her as a naïve young woman with ordinary wants and dreams who was taken advantage of by the man she loved.

To learn more about the woman behind the gangster read Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathyrn Thorne

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Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

Kathryn Kelly was reclining on an oversize sofa at the Texas home she shared with her husband. It was the fall of 1932. Magazines and newspapers were scattered about the coffee table in front of her and music from a Philco cabinet radio filled the room. She sang along with the tune “Everything I Have Is Yours” by Art Jarrett while circling items of interest found in issues of the Fort Worth Star- Telegram. The story she highlighted in the October 18, 1932, edition of the publication was about the marriage of widow Berenice Slick to widower Charles F. Urschel. Both were reported to be prominent, wealthy oil personalities.

According to the article, the couple planned to leave immediately for an extended tour in Europe, then return to the mansion they purchased in Oklahoma on December 15. The article circled in the October 21, 1932, edition of the newspaper pertained to the appraisal of the estate of Berenice’s late husband, wildcatter Thomas B. Slick. His Oklahoma holdings alone were worth more than six million dollars. Throughout November and December, Kathryn collected every newspaper article she could find on the Urschels. She read about the newlyweds’ time in France and Italy and sailing to New York after their honeymoon. She learned the exact day they were to arrive in the States and the address of their home in Oklahoma City, 326 NW 18th Street, the names of their teenage children and where they attended school, and the bridge club luncheon scheduled to be held at the Urschel home in early December.

The December 15, 1932, edition of the Oklahoma News, featured a story inviting readers to visit the Urschel’s residence to see the beautiful table settings the bride and groom possessed. “I want to suggest to you that you drive by the Charles F. Urschel home at 18th Street and Hudson Avenue some night and take a look at the window of the dining room that faces on Hud son,” the article read. “Mrs. Urschel has a passion for beautiful china and glass and in this window are shelves upon which stand glasses of various sizes, all in the ruby Venetian glass, through which the lamps of the dining room shine warmly out to the street at night and through which the setting sun pours gorgeous hues into the dining room, near the close of day.”

Kathryn discussed the Urschels with her husband George Kelly over the holidays and into the new year and suggested they kidnap Charles. She estimated they could ask for a $250,000 ransom and get it.

Meet the Kellys

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To learn more about the kidnapping of Charles Urschel read

Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne.

Enter now to win a copy of

Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

“Enss presents the true history of one of America’s great criminal romances in this nonfiction work. . . . This propulsive and thoroughly researched true-crime account will especially please fans of Depression-era gangster stories as it helps to elevate George and Kathryn to the same iconic strata as Bonnie and Clyde. A pulpy true-crime account of one of America’s most infamous kidnappings.” —Kirkus Reviews on Meet the Kellys

Meet the Kellys:

The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

is available everywhere books are sold.