USA, Labette County, Kansas. In the prairie, where towns are few and far between, travelers search for a homestead to rest and restore their energy. In the area, already a decent amount of people have gone missing on Osage Mission Trail. It’s only when the suspicion is put on the Osage Community and the abandonment of the Benders Inn when the bodies of the missing start to resurface to reveal the cruel deeds of a family of serial killers.

The Kansas Bloody Benders

From May 1871 to December 1872, the Benders, a family of serial killers, went on a killing spree. As a family of four, consisting of John Bender, his wife Kate Sr. (or Almira), their son John Jr. and their daughter Kate Jr. , the Benders offered their cabin as a semi-regular stop for travelers to stop by, get supplies and stay the night.

Bender’s cabin

However, in early May 1873, their homestead was discovered to be completely and suspiciously abandoned. On their property, bodies were later found. It turned out that the Benders had at least killed a dozen travelers and perhaps as many as 20 people before they were discovered.

Their strategy was to lure travelers in and host them in order to rob them. One family member hid behind a curtain, bashing victims unconscious with a hammer at a given opportunity. The other would cut their throats to ensure death. Afterwards, the victims were dumped through a trap door into the cellar, where they would be stripped and later buried somewhere on the property, often in the orchard

Introducing: The Benders?

John Bender Sr. was assumed to be around sixty years old and spoke poor English. His wife, Elvira Bender, aged fifty-five years old, spoke little English as well and was reported to be unfriendly to neighbours which earned her the nickname “she-devil”. Their son, John Bender Jr., who was around twenty-five years old and handsome, with auburn hair and a moustache, spoke fluent English with a German accent. He was known to laugh randomly, which was why many considered him a “half-wit”. Kate Bender, around twenty-three, was cultivated, attractive and spoke English well, with little accent. She was a self-proclaimed healer and psychic and advertised with flyers that she could cure illness. Additionally, she claimed to have supernatural powers, conducted séances and advocated for free love. While Kate and her brother regularly attended Sunday school in nearby Harmony Grove, their parents rather liked to stay at home.

Bender Family: John Bender Senior, Kate Bender Senior, John Bender Junior, Kate Bender Junior.

It is likely that the Benders did not use their real names and fabricated their identities. Even at the time, some neighbors suspected that John Jr. and Kate were not brother and sister, but rather husband and wife. Today, it is widely believed that the Benders were German immigrants. Yet, no evidence has ever been found to confirm their true origins or whether they were actually related.

The Start of a Killing Spree and the Benders Downfall

The killing spree supposedly began in May 1871, when the body of a man named Jones was discovered in Drum Creek. His throat had been cut and his skull crushed. In February 1872, the bodies of two men were found with the same injuries as Jones. By 1873, reports of missing people who had passed through the area had become so frequent that travelers began to avoid the trail. In general, the area was already widely known for horse thieves and villains. Vigilance committees opted to “arrest” some for the disappearances, only for them to be later released by the authorities. Many innocent men under suspicion were also run out of the county by these committees.

The Benders’ downfall began in 1873. Dr. William Henry York went looking for his friend and friend’s daughter who went missing the year prior, but Dr. York never returned from his search. York had two brothers, one of which was Colonel Alexander M. York, a member of the Kansas State Senate. Colonel York used his position to question travelers and visit the homesteads around the area, which resulted in him arriving at the Benders’ inn on March 28, 1873 to question the family. On April 3rd, he returned after a woman had fled the inn, claiming Elvira Bender had threatened her with knives. Elvira defended herself by claiming the woman was a witch who had cursed her coffee.

Soon after, a township meeting was held, which Colonel York attended. Due to many communities suspecting that the Osage community was responsible for the murders, it was agreed upon to get a warrant to search every homestead. This is when the Benders probably took the opportunity to escape. Their disappearance was not noticed immediately. Only three days after the meeting, it was noted that the inn had been abandoned as the animals had not been fed.

A search party of volunteers including Colonel York went to investigate and found the cabin empty of food, clothing and possessions. A bad odor could be traced to a trap door underneath a bed, where the search party only found clotted blood on the floor, but no bodies. They searched the ground of the surrounding property and later that evening, found Dr. York’s body. He had been buried face down with his feet barely below the surface near the vegetable garden and orchard.

Eight bodies in total were found around the area. One body was discovered in the well along with other body parts. All but one had their heads bashed with a hammer and their throats were cut. The body of a young girl was also found, but the victim had no injuries sufficient enough to cause death. It was theorized that she had either been strangled or buried alive.

Never Caught

What remains known about the Benders’ escape boils down to a few confirmed facts. The Benders’ abandoned wagon was discovered by detectives in a city north of the inn. It was confirmed that the family on the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad to head to Humboldt. From there, they separated and fled in two pairs. John Jr. and Kate caught the MK&T train in Red River County near Denison, Texas to travel to an outlaw colony in the border region between Texas and New Mexico, where law enforcement would have difficulties to pursue them. The elder Bender pair traveled to Kansas City, possibly heading for St. Louis, Missouri.

Their ultimate fate remains unknown. Over the years, many people argued to have seen the Benders to the point that false arrests occurred. In 1880, two men were arrested in Nebraska, as the confessed to the Kansas murders. Later, they were discharged when it came out they were just impostors. In November 1889, two women in Niles, Michigan were alleged to be the Bender women. Arrests were also made but by december that year, it became clear that those two couldn’t be the criminals authorities were searching for. At the time of the murders, the two women were proven to have stayed in Michigan, which ruled them out for the case.

Apart from that, several vigilante groups claimed to have killed the Benders, their stories ranging from shooting and burning them to death. Despite these claims, no one had collected the $3,000 reward for their apprehension. As of 2020, the Bender estate has been bought by a man named Bob Miller, who has allowed archaeological digs on the property in hopes to uncover more information about the Benders.

Sources:

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Bloody_Benders
https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2024/10/bloody-benders
https://www.kctv5.com/2024/07/04/kansas-bloody-benders-digging-clues-century-old-murders