By: Alex Sicilia
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The Benders were a family of
four that seemed like average
pioneers during the 19th
Century
They immigrated from
Germany and moved to Labette
County, Kansas
The family was very spiritual
and were very cult-like
The family consisted of John Sr.,
Ma Bender, Kate and John Jr.
Bender
The family purchased 160 acres
of land
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Was 60 years old
when he moved into
Labette County,
Kansas
Stood over six feet tall
Known for his big
bushy beard
Many thought he was
a giant who was
widely feared.
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John was a tall slender
man who had brown
hair and a finely kept
moustache
About 25 years old
Laughed aimlessly
and during
inappropriate times
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Daughter Kate was the
"friendliest" of the family
She spoke good English
with just a slight accent
and had good social skills
About 23 years old
Was the first to start
conversations with
strangers
Attended Sunday School
regularly and was
accepted by the
community
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Mrs. Bender was a
very heavy woman
who was very
unfriendly
She was known as
“she devil” by locals
She believed she
could talk to the dead
as preformed
ritualistic acts
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They opened their store and inn
in 1871
Many travelers would stop by
and spend the night or stock on
supplies
Travelers with larger sums of
money started to go missing
Rumors began to spread that
people were going missing and
that the trail should be avoided
Dr. William H. York was the
first missing man that raised
great amounts of suspicion
A neighbor went over and
found an empty cabin and
unfed barn
Land purchased by John Sr. present day
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The town put together a
search party and
searched the Bender’s
land
In the empty cabin
nothing was left,
clothes, food and
personal possessions
The townspeople
smelled something
horrible throughout the
house coming from a
trap door
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The door was pried
open and clotted blood
was found causing the
odor
There were no bodies in
the 6ft deep hole
The town began to dig
up and uncover bodies
buried throughout the
land
Dr. York was the first
body found with a large
head injury and throat
sliced from ear to ear
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The benders had more than
20 victims
The way the victims were
killed followed the same
routine
They would hit the victim on
the head with a hammer and
slice the throat to assure
death
The family would kill while
the traveler was eating while
their back was turned
Re-creation of murders
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The Benders killed for
one reason, which
was for pure
enjoyment and the
rush
They did not make a
substantial amount of
money or other
valuable items from
the travelers to be a
reason
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They disposed the
bodies by either
burying them around
the homestead or near
a local creek
All the bodies were
buried in separate
secluded graves
Mass graves did not
occur here
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There was little media
attention, but a few
cash reward no
greater than $4,000
was put on their
heads
The family’s actions
were often changed or
manipulated to make
for an interesting
spooky story.
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The Bloody Benders were
each individually evil
They would all show some
sort of hospitality to the
victim, giving them shelter
and food, but then would slit
their throat
There is never confirmation
if they believe that what they
were doing was evil
To avoid being caught, they
fled right after people started
to take notice and raise
suspicion about the family
Slice view of the house they lived in
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The Bender family was
not even a real family
The only two that were
related was Ma and
Kate
John Sr. was a remarry
and John Jr. was
believed to be Kate’s
lover
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Ma Bender had been
believed to have married 2
other times, killing both
husbands and murder some
of the children to prevent
them from testifying against
her
The signs that the “family”
would become serial killers
was not likely, because many
thought the family was kind
hearted except for Ma
Bender
They were a well respected
family trying to make an
honest living
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They were all killers
who killed for the thrill
and “joy” that it carried
with each kill
There were no specific
motives for each of the
killings other than for
the sheer “enjoyment”
that they believed in
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The Bender’s have been
long dead
Since they disappeared
from Kansas, Ma and
Kate were never
discovered
John Sr. was found
dead up near Michigan
which gave clues that
Kate and Ma killed him
John Jr. was found dead
along the Mexico border
and showed signs of a
stroke or apoplexy
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http://www.leatherockhotel.com/BloodyBenders.htm
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-benders.html
http://www.prairieghosts.com/bender.html
http://www.skyways.org/history/bender2.html
http://murderbygasslight.blogspot.com/2010/11/bloodybenders.html
http://www.truewestmagazine.com/jcontent/entertainment/ent
ertainment/in-the-works/4419-the-bloody-benders
http://americanserialkillers.com/articles/the-bloody-benders/