Bender family murders victims of a multiple-murdering frontier family that has gone down in history as Their crimes were discovered when a widespread search was conducted in the area, ending at the Bender farm. They’re considered America I've recently stumbled across the story of the Bender family and wanted to learn more. The Bender Family Murders. Surely, he must have known what was going on and had forewarned the Benders. The family of four disappeared before they could be arrested. They’re suspected of killing about a dozen travelers and burying them in The family of the four people who died in a murder-suicide incident on March 23 on a farm near Neudorf, Sask. Bender was sixty-three years of The Benders family farm sign outside of Neudorf, Sask. The event seeks to separate myth and lore from what is known about the murders committed 150 years ago by the Bender family – nicknamed the Bloody Benders by newspapers to sensationalize the tragic story. Share SERIAL KILLERS: The Bender Family. As authorities were closing in The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers in 19th century Kansas who lured travelers to their inn and murdered them, leaving a chilling legacy that continues to fascinate and horrify. Contemporary newspaper See more Today, the “ Bloody Benders ” endure as a notorious serial killing family of the Old West. Delivering to Bender would pass information to the Matusiewicz family that she had gathered from Belford, with whom she had established a friendship when David Matusiewicz was out of the country with the girls. (KCTV) - An archeological dig in southeastern Kansas and a Topeka-based author have uncovered new clues in a century-old murder mystery that rocked the Kansas frontier in the According to a speech given by acclaimed author Laura Ingalls Wilder at a book fair back in 1937, she claimed to have kept a story of her family’s encounter with the notorious murderers out of the Little House books because In the 1870s, John (60) and Elvira (55) Bender and their two adult children (also named John, 25, and Kate, 23), made a home for themselves on the frontier prairie lands of southeastern Kansas. Story The Bender family was one of many homesteading families moving west after the Civil War. At least 11 people were murdered. With the help of criminal psychologist Richard Walter, forensic artist Frank Bender presented a clay bust that looked remarkably like List It is also possible to rent "Bender" on Amazon Video online. Photo by Bob Johnson During its first year on the air, the TV show “America’s Most Wanted” revisited the List family murders and asked a forensic sculptor to create an age-progressed clay bust of the family killer. Those are the murders at Thanatos you didn't have here. A search party In all, the Benders may have committed as many as 21 murders. More about the Benders and their murders here: The Bloody Benders. However, over the course of two years, from 1871–1873, the family of four was also the cause of at least eleven The mystery of the Bloody Benders, a family infamous for their murderous spree in the late 1800s, has intrigued historians for over 150 year. 9, 1957, his wife Joanne Lorene Bender born Nov. Nearly a dozen travelers who stopped at their small inn were murdered, and their bodies later found buried on the Benders’ property. The Bender family was a German immigrant family who lived in Labette County in the 1870s. RCMP say two men, ages 67 and 30, and a woman, age 58, were victims of a homicide. us. Thứ ba, 29/4/2025. Years later, in 1870, the Bender family were one of five families that settled in the area. A woman, Almira Monroe, had accused her adult daughter Sarah Eliza Davis of larceny, specifically of having In 1872, after reports of alarming encounters at the Benders’ home, eight corpses were found buried beneath the family’s apple trees. Over the years various newspapers reported sightings of Bender family members. , and their lovely daughter Kate. When another family in Kansas, the Kellys, duplicated the Benders’ crimes The Bender family was comprised of an older German couple and a young man and woman surmised to be their grown children. While popular retelling of the story holds that John Jr. William York, who was murdered in 1873 at the “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Gary Clifford Bender born Dec. " AllThatsInteresting. Within its pages, a chapter called “The Bloody Benders” introduced me to the family who committed a series of murders in southeast Kansas that caught the attention of the entire United States. KPR Presents: The Bender Family Murders of the 1870s Search Query Show Search The Bender family's crimes were considered some of the more gruesome perpetrated on Kansas soil. A dispatch Susan Jonusas is the author of Hell's Half Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, a Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier. It's said that they scattered the body parts throughout the county. In April, 1873 on a homestead in Labette County, Kansas, another of these stories was unfolding—one that would leave a local family with a nickname that remains infamous almost 150 years later. The Benders had fled to parts unknown, so residents singled out Rudolph Brockman, who had courted Kate Bender, for vilification. We kick of another year of Kansas Notable Books with Hell's Half Acre, the story of the infamous Bender family murders of southeast Kansas. who now owns the property the Bender family called home. In 1871 the bodies of dead men were discovered nearby and the disappearance of a prominent doctor soon lead his family and the surrounding community to suspect that all was not right at The Bender Inn. Desperate for answers, the search for the missing leads to the farm of the unassuming Bender family and exposes the horrors they’d hidden for years Between 1871 and 1872, the Bender family of Labette County, Kansas became known as the Bloody Benders after killing at least 11 travelers at their inn. Elvira Bender was known to have married several times and it was rumored that she murdered her husbands. The Kelly Family was an American family of serial killers who operated between August and December 1887 near a town called Oak City, just south of the Kansas state border in "No Man's Land", now the Oklahoma Panhandle. According to legend, the family of four gruesomely murdered at least 11 patrons of the inn. And as Jonathan Riley reports for the Salina Journal, the land where they committed their crimes is Authorities ultimately accused the Benders of committing 11 murders between 1870 and 1873. A troubled doctor searches for patients swallowed by the prairie and encounters the Benders, homesteaders trapped by a life of unspeakable sin. John Bender, Jr. Over the space of three years, the Bender family killed at least About two miles south of this town, on the main wagon road, stood a small frame tavern, having a room in front where meals were served to wayfarers by William Bender and his family, who moved into the house in March, 1871. , the wife Elvira Bender, the son John Bender Jr. The Bender house where the Bender family murdered and buried their victims, Labette County, Kansas. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. What Happened to the Bloody Benders? No one knows what happened to the Bender family after they escaped. The unsettling true story of America's first serial-killing family. They also murdered at least a dozen travelers. , May 5 - It is not known how many murders the notorious Bender family committed while living in Labette County, Kansas, but after they fled nine bodies were found on the place. , was named John Gebhardt. 22, 1889, a strange trial got underway in the town of Niles, Michigan. Dick tells the story of the Bender murders, the gruesome discovery of their victims, the escape and pursuit of the family across the American West, and the bizarre events 16 years later when the purported “Bender women” were arrested and brought to trial in Michigan. Dưới vỏ bọc nhà trọ và trạm dừng chân, gia đình Bender lần lượt sát hại 7 người đàn ông và một em bé để cướp tiền. The fate of the “Bloody Benders” remains a mystery to this day. York who was not part of the search party offered a $1,000 reward for the arrest of the Bender family. and their daughter Kate. Investigators later pieced together the group In the 1870s the people of Kansas were outraged by the crimes of the Benders, a family of four who welcomed weary travelers then murdered and robbed them. 22, 1965, and their two sons, Andrew Gary Bender born A brother of Dr. But when they vanished, their farm was revealed as an abattoir. While most people believe John and Kate were brother and sister, the two There is a small element of the core story of the Benders within - a group of apparently related people (who definitely are a family in the film version) open an inn in the American Wild West during late XIX century, and proceed to entrap and murder lonely travellers who stop by in the night - but it is very far away from the known facts of the The story of the Bloody Benders is one Miller has heard for a long time, visiting the former museum in Cherryvale dedicated to the serial-killing family with a replica of the famous cabin. Source: Triplett, Frank. Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family ~~ John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate ~~ who settled here in 1871. John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate operated an inn outside of Parsons from 1871 to 1873. Investigators later pieced together the The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who murdered at least 20 unsuspecting travelers in their small Kansas home and then vanished without a trace. traveler that went missing while searching for his missing friend, starting an intense search that led to the end of the bender family killings. and the daughter Kate Bender. Ma Bender was Almira Meik Griffith, and Kate Bender was Eliza Griffith, the fifth of Ma’s twelve children. Kate Bender – Kansapedia; Bloody Benders murders Kansas City, Mo. Visitors were lured to their farmhouse where they operated a small restaurant. " Posted by Robert Wilhelm One of NPR's "Books We Love" New York Times Book Review's "The Best True Crime of 2022" "Rich in historical perspective and graced by novelistic touches, grips the reader from first to last. The Benders family murders had sent a shockwave across the country and high a reward was declared for anyone, who could bring the Bloody Benders to justice. Piper Here's one you've missed: The Keller Family, Auburn, New York. Jan 25 1894. Coberly, now a laborer of this city, tells a remarkable story of the fate of the famous Bender family of Kansas, and claims' that he was one of the hundred vigilantes who hunted down the Benders and after riddling them with bullets left their bodies unburied on the hillside to be Murder — The Family Business. The bodies were then tossed into the cellar until The Bender family — Kansas’ first known serial killers — murdered at least 11 people at their Labette County homestead in the 1870s. Originally from Pennsylvania, the family The Bender Family got their name as "The Bloody Benders" because back in the 1870s, many travelers who stopped by never left. , his wife Elvira, their son John, Jr. The Benders were active long before H. From October 1870 until April 1873, a German family consisting of Ma and Pa Bender and their two grown children, quiet John and vivacious Katie, ran a murder inn seven miles northeast of Cherryvale in Labette County. However, by December evidence had been gathered to place the women in Michigan during the 1873 murders. The Benders were a cute family who ran a bed-and-breakfast inn from their cabin in Labette County, Kansas. The family consisted of the husband John (Pa) Bender Sr. The alleged family consisted of John Bender, his wife Kate, son John Jr. After the gruesome murders, it’s believed that the Benders had fled the area and were never found, according to the KHS. Updated: May 29, 2024 / 07:31 PM CDT. The family supposedly consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira (or Almira), their son John Jr. Skip to content NOWCAST KMBC 9 First News at 8AM Sunday Mark Bender was sentenced today to 80 years in prison for the 1980 hatchet murders of his wife and two sons, whose bodies were discovered last summer in a Federal Way storage locker. SERIAL KILLERS: The Bender Family. Pa Bender was thought to be either from Germany or Netherlands and had a different name. When York’s brother Colonel Edward York knocked on the Amazon. Archeologists and a geophysicist updated the public Saturday in the Parsons Municipal Auditorium about the surveying and excavating of a portion of the land where the Bender family ran a grocery store in the early 1870s. Redd, Wyatt. It was the disappearance of Dr. The unsettling true story of America's first serial killing family. With Bruce Davison, Linda Purl, James Karen, Buck Taylor. John Bender, Sr. 12, 1906. Editor’s Note: The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, between 1871 and 1873. 400 on Chase Road where the Bender family murdered numerous pioneers between 1872-1873. In 1873, Bender family members were revealed to be serial killers having murdered many people who had stopped at their Week of December 4, 2022: 150 years ago, the people of Labette County, Kansas, made a grisly discovery: the remains of numerous bodies buried in an orchard belonging to the Bender Family. Holmes, Austin’s Servant One of the most intriguing mysteries of the Old West concerns the disappearance of the Kansas murder family known as the Benders. The family vanished before a private detective and posse could close in on them. Posted: May 28, 2024 / 04:40 PM CDT. The Benders managed to escape before their crimes were discovered and, by most accounts, they were never captured. The Benders operated a modest “inn” on the Osage Trail northeast of Cherryvale in the 1870s. Headline News Get the latest The family is accused of killing the travelers and dumping their bodies into a cellar to be buried later. . Their story is the focus of Susan Jonusas’s Hell’s Half-Acre: The Untold Story of the On Oct. The Bender family, more well known as the Bloody Benders, were a family of serial killers in Labette County, Kansas, United States, from May 1871 to December 1872. As the 1870s unfolded, the Bender family’s secluded homestead, located along the Great Osage Trail in Kansas, became the epicenter of a The Bender family was responsible for at least ten murders in the 19th century, with several believing the number far higher. Since no member of the Bender family was ever caught, the true number of murders may never come to light. The property, now cropland, is up for auction next month. The Bender Family: A Trail of Blood and Murder The Immigrants In 1870, the Bender family arrived in America from Germany. After the Homestead Act of 1862, the Osage were forced to move from their land, now known as Labette County, Oklahoma, and settlers from Europe came to live where the displaced tribe was forced from. While rumors circulated about where they ended up after their The book also works to clear the names of those implicated in the Bender murders: people who shared the family’s name or who bore a resemblance to them and were accused of being the Bender’s Authorities set the reward for the family at $2,000 (about $50,000 today), but no one came forward to collect the money. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self proclaimed healer and spiritualist. Kansas Governor Thomas Oborn offered a $2,000 reward for the group’s arrest on May 17. (KOAM) — The “Bloody Benders” were a family who lured travelers along the Osage Trail to their Inn near Cherryvale, only to brutally murder and rob them then hide the bodies in shallow graves. H. Some believe the Benders may have committed as many as 21 murders. Illustration of the Kansas home where the Bloody Benders murdered The lonely Bender cabin was advertised as a place to sleep for weary travelers. THE MURDEROUS BENDER FAMILY. Bender, 50, stared blankly downward and slowly stroked his beard as King County Superior Court Judge Anne Ellington imposed the sentence. robbery. It has been speculated that the The investigation passed several times through the cabin of the Benders, a family of German immigrants who ran a small grocery store and restaurant outside of Cherryvale, Kansas, but the Benders appeared completely innocent. what was the likely motive behind the bender family murders. In 1873, the Osage Trail had become known for one thing: the disappearance of some of the travelers who used it. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Kate, their son John Jr. The Benders robbed, murdered and buried from eight to 11 people in or near a young orchard near their home. KPR Presents: The Bender Family Murders of 1873 150 years ago, the people of Labette County, Kansas, made a grisly discovery: the bodies of a dozen victims of the Bender Family. The Bender family, more well known as the Bloody Benders, were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, United States, from May 1871 to December 1872. com: Bender Murders 1873 NThe Bender Shanty The Home Of The Bender Family Of Serial Killers In Kansas Wood Engraving After A Photograph By George R Gamble 1873 Poster Print by (24 x 36): Posters & Prints. While travelers were eating their meals, the Bender men would hit them from behind with sledgehammers. Wichita Eagle (Wichita, KS), November 26, 1889. , was actually John Flickinger. The Bloody Benders included: John, Sr. On this week's program, a conversation with Susan Jonusas, the author of Hell's Half Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, A Serial Killer Family on the The Chilling Discoveries: Unraveling the Bender Murders. 5 - N. and daughter Kate. Their motive for the grisly acts? All anyone could guess Between 1871 and 1872, the Bender family of Labette County, Kansas became known as the Bloody Benders after killing at least 11 travelers at their inn. , has announced a private funeral to take place on Friday. Los Angeles, Nov. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. "The Bloody Benders, The 19th-Century Kansas Family Who Murdered At Least 11 Travelers At Their Inn. The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who owned a small general store and inn in Osage township, Labette County, Kansas from 1872 to 1873. This book is written by Mary York who is the widow of one of the Bender victims, Dr. 1875: Thomas W. by: Jeremiah Cook. The Bender family soon established a general supply store and inn for weary travelers. com, March 2, 2025, https://allthatsinteresting. Finally, there's the Pasons, murdered near Success MO on Oct. The Bender family left an ominous stain on Cherryvale and the surrounding area. Each Bender played their role to perfection. Their terrible work garnered the family only a few thousand dollars and some livestock. They settled in Osage, Labette County, Kansas, where they operated a general store and roadside inn from 1872 to 1873. Then there's the Porter kids, axe murdered by their father in Ohio in 1872. Synopsis. A “Kansas Historical Marker” of the Bender murders is displayed at the US-400 and US-169 interchange at the Montgomery County Oct 28, 2024 Oct 28, 2024 Updated Oct 28, 2024 LABETTE COUNTY, Kan. Secretly, the four made a living through murder and robbery. Andrew Benson / Global News “This is a sad thing and not just for that family but for the whole town,” Hanowski explained. The Benders' gruesome crimes and mysterious escape have inspired numerous theories and legends, making them a haunting part of American folklore and a But the Benders’ hospitality belied nefarious intent: The family robbed and brutally murdered at least 11 patrons of their modest inn between 1871 and 1873. William York, who was murdered in 1873 at the hands of the Benders. Mary wrote the book in 1875, so the factual points of the murder and investigation are relevant to the time. Word about The Bloody Benders The Benders lived seventeen miles on the other side of Independence, not between the town and the Ingalls home; they arrived in the area only a few months before Laura’s family left Kansas; they did not open their home as a “tavern” until more than a year later; and—where her story really unravels—the discovery of the murders and the A stereoscope postcard shows the Bender cabin, the scene of a series of killings of travelers in rural Labette County, Kansas. Kansas, when first hearing of the horrible murders by the fiendish Bender family. The four, whose bodies were discovered Sunday evening, were all members of the same family, RCMP say. what were the commonalities in the causes of death of the travelers (bender family murders) rushed skulls and slashed throats. , and daughter Kate. A troubled doctor searches for patients swallowed by the prairie and encounters the Benders, homesteaders trapped by a life of unspeakable Police found their bodies on March 24 while conducting a wellness check at the Bender family’s property near the village, roughly 135 kilometres northeast of Regina. Someone had to pay for those vile murders. While guests dined, the male Benders would hit them from behind with hammers, rob them and bury their bodies in the yard. Some claimed that John Gebhardt and Eliza Griffith were lovers even as they Bender Family: The “Bloody Benders” murdered at least 10 people in Kansas between 1870 and 1873. Nothing was known about the family’s past. The Benders’ true identities were finally unmasked. S. The foursome was never caught. As guests disappeared, suspicion arose and a search party converged on the Bender property to discover a gruesome crime scene with the family of four having fled. The inn was a dingy place called the Wayside Inn. On November 9, 1971, he killed his wife, mother, and three children at their home in Westfield, New Jersey, and then In 1871 the Bender family — father John, mother Almira, Kansas, the family had made murder an art form. SHARE. This is the story of While 10 intact bodies were found, the unidentifiable body parts coupled with reports of missing travelers led many to conclude that the Benders murdered over 20 people. com It is unknown if the Bender family committed any other murders there. Since the formation of the union, nothing of so foul and revolting a nature has occurred as the murders committed by the Bob Miller, owner of the Labette County acreage where the infamous Bender family robbed, murdered, and buried multiple travelers in the 1870s, has been working with archeology experts from KU for the past two Bender: Directed by John Alexander. The murdering “Bender Family of Cherryvale” consisted of a mother, a father, a son and a daughter who settled into the infinitesimal prairie community back in 1870. The Benders’ dark deeds came to light only when Alexander York, a Kansas state senator, set out to retrace the last known steps of his missing brother, William. Ma and Pa Bender were middle-aged and spoke broken English with thick The murders were a media sensation, one of the first truly national serial killer stories to grip America’s consciousness. First published in 1944, this is an unusual little edition concerning the infamous Kate Bender and her family, also known as the “Bloody Benders,” who owned an inn and small general store in Labette County of southeastern Kansas from 1871 to 1873 and systematically murdered at least a dozen travellers that passed through their hotel and store, with Kate luring LABETTE COUNTY, Kan. The 1873 murder-mystery has THE BENDER FAMILY CONTINUED. William York, believed to have been one of their victims, that drew suspicion to the Benders. The post-mortem photo is beautiful. Mới nhất Tin theo khu vực The Untold Story of the Benders, a Serial Killer Family on American Frontier. The Benders were a family of serial killers living in Kansas in the 1870s where they ran a general store and restaurant out of their home. In all, the Benders may have committed as many as 21 murders. Kate Bender professed to be a magnetic healer. and Kate were siblings, The search for the murdered York would eventually lead back to the Benders and they were forced to flee. Register reporter Trevor Hoag surveys the pasture northeast of Cherryvale off U. The Benders settled A family of four German immigrants settled on the Kansas plains along the Osage Trail in 1870. Soon a massive hunt for the Bloody Bender family was started by both law enforcement agents & vigilantes. These sketches represent the Bender family, of rural Labette County, Kansas. Skip to main content. The family consisted of William Bender, aged 60; his wife, aged 55; Kate, aged 25 and John aged 23. John Emil List (September 17, 1925 – March 21, 2008) was an American mass murderer [1] and long-time fugitive. The family owned both a general store and a small inn. It was I've recently stumbled across the story of the Bender family and wanted to learn more. The Bender killing method It was speculated that if a guest appeared to be wealthy, the Benders would give him a seat of honor at the table which was positioned over a trap door that led down into the cellar, with his back to the curtain. At the heart of the case was Kate Bender, an enigmatic young woman whose involvement in the crimes catapulted them into notoriety. ” —Wall Street Journal A suspense filled tale of murder on the American frontier—shedding new light on a family of serial killers in Kansas, whose horrifying crimes The story of the Bender’s is a Kansas family who owned an inn and general store in Labette County from 1871 to 1873. The family consisted of William Kelly (55); his wife Kate; his son Bill, also called 'Billy' (20) and daughter, Kit (18). It was a simple matter to murder the victim with a sledge hammer kept on hand for just that purpose. nxys zpypst xhi roli ttmrd ktx tqwajc gksttm ipyioxk xzbpg jwlgwh bgs kgrfmmxe dixecet vofk