On March 28, 1873, Colonel York arrived at the Benders' inn with a Mr. Johnson, explaining to them that his brother had gone missing and asking if they had seen him. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. Judge Calvin dismissed Mary Gardei's affidavit as she was a "chip off the old block"; he found that other affidavits supporting Gardei's were sufficient proof that the women could never be convicted, however, and he discharged them both. One of the searchers identified the body of his brother, with the back of his skull smashed in and his throat slit. The "Bloody Benders" were a German family of four that settled a claim in southeastern Kansas in Labette County in 1871. Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. Several groups of vigilantes were formed to search for the Benders. On the high prairie by the nearby Mounds which bear the name, the Bender family ~ John, his wife , son, and daughter Kate ~ in 1871 built a small house. The Bender family home was a one-room house that was divided in half by a curtain. From Howard County, Kansas. 16 Feb 1888. While Bender mythology holds that John Jr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported that several of the Benders' neighbors had stated that they claimed to be married, possibly a common law marriage. Washington, D.C.: Photoduplication Service, Library of Congress,1913. No documentation or definitive proof of their relationships to one another, or where they were born, has ever been found. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Mrs. Bender (later referred to as Kate, Sr., since no one knew her given name), son John, Jr., and daughter Kate. She maintained carnal relations with her brother, and boldly proclaimed her right to do so, in the following words found in her lecture manuscript: "Shall we confine ourselves to a single love, and deny our natures their proper sway?...Even though it be a brother's passion for his own sister, I say it should not be smothered. "Prior to their ownership, which took place in the 1950s, there could have been an excavation that I'm not aware of.". 13-15) December 1872: Various body parts. No one ever claimed the $3,000 reward ($64,025 as of 2021), however. "The old man was a repulsive, hideous brute, without a redeeming trait, dirty, profane and ill-tempered." Another of Mrs. Monroe's daughters, Mary Gardei, later provided an affidavit claiming that her mother (then Almira Shearer), under the name of Almira Marks, was actually serving two years in the Detroit House of Corrections in 1872 for the manslaughter of her daughter-in-law, Emily Mark. [2] Ma and Pa Bender did not leave the train at Humboldt but instead continued north to Kansas City, where it is believed they purchased tickets for St. Louis, Missouri.[1]. John Bender, Sr. was from either Germany or the Netherlands and is thought by some[by whom?] Buried in the apple orchard. The owner of the Drum Creek claim was suspected, but no action was taken. According to the 1870 census, George and his wife, Mary Jane, were neighbors of. It is unknown if the Bender family committed any other murders there. Season 1, episode 15 (2006) of the TV series, The "Hitchcock's Birds, Hope Diamond, Phineas Gang" episode of the Travel Channel's show, The Bender Family is mentioned in episode 94 of the podcast. [9], More than a dozen bullet holes were found in the roof and sides of the cabin. The inn was a simple one room house divided into living quarters and the kitchen and store area. [5], Three days after the township meeting, Billy Tole was driving cattle past the Bender property when he noticed that the inn was abandoned and the farm animals were unfed. [1][2][3], The area was already widely known for "horse thieves and villains", and vigilance committees often "arrested" some for the disappearances, only for them to be later released by the authorities. From those who knew them and have written about them, we gather the following: Dr. York had two brothers: Colonel Ed York living in Fort Scott, and Alexander M. York, a member of the Kansas State Senate from Independence who, in November 1872, had been instrumental in exposing U.S. [7] Brockman would be arrested again 23 years later for the rape and murder of his own 18-year-old daughter.[8]. Elvira and Kate Bender also planted a 2-acre (0.81 ha) vegetable garden and apple orchard north of the cabin.[1][2][3]. After a cabin, a barn with a corral, and a well were built, in the fall of 1871, Elvira Bender and daughter Kate arrived, and the cabin was divided into two rooms by a canvas wagon-cover. With the exception of McKenzie and York,[17] who were buried in Independence; the Longcors, who were buried in Montgomery County; and McCrotty, who was buried in Parsons, Kansas, none of the other bodies were claimed, and they were reburied at the base of a small hill 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the Benders' orchard, one of several at the location now known as "The Benders Mounds". She advocated "free love," and denounced all social regulations for the promotion of purity and the prevention of carnality, which she called "miserable requirements of self-constituted society." Provides commercial,industrial and residential Pest Control Services at exterminator in nyc. [1][11][12][13][14][15][16], By including the recovered body parts not matched to the bodies found, the finds are speculated to represent the remains of more than 20 victims. The Sally House was built in Atchison,… The approximately 152 acres of land that was once the property of the "Bloody Benders," who may be the first serial killer family in America, is up for auction. On May 17, Kansas Governor Thomas A. Osborn offered a $2,000 ($42,683 as of 2021) reward for the apprehension of all four. The parts did not belong to any of the other victims found and are believed to belong to at least three additional victims. By the time a deputy from Cherryvale arrived, identification was impossible due to decomposition. The Bloody Benders. They were not pursued, as lawmen following outlaws into this region often never returned. CS1 maint: ref=harv ; Ibbetson, Paul A. John was prone to laughing aimlessly, which led many to consider him a "half-wit". [1][2][3] Despite York's strong suspicions regarding the Benders since his visit several weeks earlier, no one had watched them, and it was not noticed for several days that they had fled. The Bloody Benders were a German Immigrant family who lived in Southeast Kansas from 1869–1872. CS1 maint: ref=harv ; Gibson, Dirk C. (19 November 2009). Photo credit: The Lineup. [8] A Roman Catholic prayer book was found in the house with notes inside written in German, which were later translated. Later, she married William Stephen Griffith. (CNN)Ever wanted to own a gruesome piece of American history? ... One location that became a killing spot for him was Emigration Canyon, Utah. Its floor was covered in pools of blood. Kate then became abusive toward them, and a short while later the two Bender men emerged from behind the cloth. In the spring of 1873, Longcor's former neighbor, Dr. William Henry York, went looking for them and questioned homesteaders along the trail. Some say that they escaped, others that they were executed by a vengeful posse. A message requesting positive identification was sent to Cherryvale, but the suspect severed his foot to escape his leg irons and bled to death. A historical marker erected near the site says, "Although stories abound, the ultimate fate of the murderous Bender family is uncertain. ", according to the Kansas Historical Society (KHS), Miniature murders: Unsolved crimes recreated in dollhouses. They admitted Dr. York had stayed with them and suggested the possibility that he had run into trouble with Indians. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira Bender, son John, Jr., and daughter Kate. [1][2] Although some of the victims had been quite wealthy, others had been carrying little of value on them, and it was surmised that the Benders had killed them simply for the sheer thrill. When a traveler was seated at the … The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who owned an inn and small general store in Labette County of southeastern Kansas from 1871 to 1873. In her lectures she publicly declared that murder might be a dictation for good; that in what the world might deem villainy, her soul might read bravery, nobility, and humanity. One might have been Jack Bogart, whose horse was purchased from a friend of the Benders after he went missing in 1872. It was in the nearby orchard field that the victims were found buried. Tole reported the fact to the township trustee, but because of inclement weather, several days lapsed before the abandonment could be investigated. The Bender Family—Some New Light on Their Mysterious Disappearance. The men then physically lifted the cabin and moved it to the side so they could dig under it, but no bodies were found. Several weeks after the discovery of the bodies, Addison Roach and his son-in-law, William Buxton, were arrested as accessories. ISBN 978-1-5368-9341-0. She mentioned stopping at the inn, as well as recounting the rumors of the murders spreading through their community. The Bender cabin was destroyed by souvenir hunters who took everything, including the bricks that lined the cellar and the stones lining the well.[1][2]. [1][3] On April 3, Colonel York returned to the inn with armed men after being informed that a woman had fled from the inn after being threatened with knives by Elvira Bender. Page 1. that when a guest would stay at the Benders' bed and breakfast inn, the hosts would give the guest a seat of honor at the table which was positioned over a trap door that led into the cellar. In 1923 it was donated to the Kansas Museum of History by York's wife but is not on display; still bearing reddish-brown stains on the blade, it can be seen upon request. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. Her face was a fit picture of the midnight hag that wove the spell murderous ambition about the soul of Macbeth." It was speculated that she had been strangled or buried alive. 10) December 1872: John Greary. Locals began scouring the area after reports of people who had gone missing in their community began to surface. Mrs. Monroe resisted, declaring that she would not be taken alive, but was subdued by local deputies. Records of the incarceration back up this affidavit. [5][18] In 1992, Fern Morrow Wood, a Cherryvale teacher, wrote The Benders, Keepers of the Devil's Inn. Vol. [7], A bad odor was noticed and traced to a trap door underneath a bed, nailed shut. [1][2] A knife with a four-inch tapered blade was reportedly found hidden in a mantel clock in the Bender house by Colonel York. The women's identities were later confirmed by two Osage township witnesses from a tintype photograph. Although the elder Benders kept to themselves, Kate and her brother regularly attended Sunday school in nearby Harmony Grove. 20) May 1873: Dr William York. Bloody Benders Home Location Bad photo shooting into the sun, but this is the location of where the old bender house set in the 1870's, I will get a better one soon..... STOREY. This is a direct reference to the Benders. All four had crushed skulls and throats cut. The township trustee called for volunteers, and several hundred turned out to form a search party that included Colonel York. Coordinates: 37°20′56″N 95°29′10″W  /  37.349°N 95.486°W  / The Bloody Benders were an alleged family of serial killers who owned a small general store and inn in Osage township, Labette County, Kansas from 1871 to The inn was a simple one room house divided into living quarters and the kitchen and store area. When attempts were made to relocate the museum it became a point of controversy, some locals objecting to the town being known for the Bender murders. to have been born John Flickinger. The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who owned an inn and small general store in Labette County of southeastern Kansas from 1871 to 1873. The stone slab floor was broken up with sledgehammers but no bodies were found, and it was determined that the smell was from blood that had soaked into the soil. The probing continued until midnight, with another nine suspected grave sites marked before the men were satisfied they had found them all and retired for the night. [1], One detective later claimed that he had traced the pair to the border, where he had found that John Jr. had died of apoplexy. In 1937 she gave a speech at a book fair, which was later transcribed and printed in the September 1978 Saturday Evening Post and in the 1988 book A Little House Sampler. Kate's popularity became a large attraction for the Benders' inn. The body was then dropped through the trap door. With the Benders gone, neighbors searched their property. [5], Detectives following wagon tracks discovered the Benders' wagon, abandoned with a starving team of horses with one of the mares lame, just outside the city limits of Thayer, 12 mi (19 km) north of the inn. But morbid mementos of the crime may still linger beneath the surface of the land. Originally scheduled for February 1890, the trial was held over to May. Mrs. Monroe now admitted she had married a Mr. Shearer in 1872 and claimed she had previously denied it, as she did not want the court to know that her name was Shearer at that time and that she had a conviction for manslaughter.