Bloody Benders
The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who owned a small general store and inn in Labette County, Kansas from 1872 to 1873. The inn was a dingy place called the Wayside Inn. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife, son, and daughter Kate. Kate was very attractive and outgoing, and thus became a large draw for the Benders' establishment. She proclaimed herself to be a healer and psychic who could cure sickness and contact the dead. Kate is believed to be the driving force behind the Bender family killings.
The Bender killing method
The Bender family home had a large room that was divided by a curtain. If a guest appeared to be wealthy, they would give him a seat of honor, with his back to the curtain. Kate would distract the guest, while John Bender or his son would come from behind the curtain and strike the guest on the skull with a hammer. The victim's throat was then cut to ensure his death. The body was moved behind the curtain and thrown through a trap door that led down into a cellar. Once in the cellar, the body would be stripped and later buried somewhere on the property, often in the orchard.[1]
The downfall of the Benders
In the spring of 1873, Dr. William York, who was returning from the western Fort Scott to his home at Independence, Missouri[2], arrived at the Benders' Inn, which he had visited on his trip westward. York had told his brother, Colonel Ed York, about the inn prior to the trip. Dr. York never returned home.
On May 4, 1873, a short time after Dr. York's disappearance, Colonel York arrived at the inn, explained to the Benders that his brother had gone missing, and asked if they had seen him. They said they had not and suggested the possibility that he had run into trouble with the Indians. Colonel York agreed that this was possible and was served dinner.
One story goes [3] that after dinner, Colonel York was sitting in the front room when he noticed a gold locket under one of the beds. He opened it and was surprised to see his brother's wife and daughter looking at him. He slipped out and returned the next morning with the sheriff and several deputies, only to find that the Benders had fled. After a search of the Bender property, 11 mounds of earth were found among the trees and as many as two dozen bodies were reported to have been found. The first grave revealed the body of Dr. William York, who had been buried head downward with his feet nearly exposed[4].
The search of the home resulted with the recovery of three hammers that had been used as murder weapons, these hammers were gifted to a museum by the family of a victim in 1967. The hammers were displayed at the Bender Museum in Cherryvale, Kansas from 1967 to 1978[5].
It is not known what happened to the Benders after they fled. Colonel York used his military status to organize an extensive search but found nothing. Several groups of vigilantes were formed to search for them as well. Many stories say that one vigilante group actually caught the Benders and shot all of them but Kate, whom they burned alive.[6]
The story spread and the search continued on and off for the next fifty years. Often groups of two travelling women were accused of being Kate Bender and her mother. Two women in Detroit were reportedly extradited on this charge, but the case was never brought to court.
References
- The New Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers by Brian Lane and Wilfred Gregg. Headline Book Publishing, 1996. ISBN 0-7472-5361-7
External links
- 'The Bloody Benders'
- Bloody Benders: Mass Murderers of Kansas An excellent resource with many pictures.
- The WB/CW Show Supernatural has an episode in its first season loosely based on the Benders' descendants.
The novel,Cottonwood, by Scott Phillips(2004)features Kate Bender in a supporting role.The second half of the book takes place with a trial of two alleged surviving members of the Bender Family taking place.