THE BLOODY BENDERS: SERIAL KILLER FAMILY

Life in the old west was full of hardship, but also opportunity. One family seized their opportunity like no other. The Bender family banded together to take the lives of more than ten guests at their inn. For almost three years, the family preyed upon their patrons, showing no remorse and no mercy. When their deeds were discovered, the Benders packed up and got the hell out of dodge before the authorities could swoop in and arrest them. The Benders left a trail of blood and devastation in their wake. Like many legends of the old west, the line between myth and fact has been blurred beyond recognition. The fate of the Benders, and their exact body count remains a mystery. 

The Bender tale began in 1871. After the Civil War, the government began to relocate Indians to different regions. This freed up space for other homesteaders to establish themselves. The five families that arrived were all spiritualists of German descent. Among them were the Benders. 

The Benders settled into life in Labette County, Kansas, near the small town of Cherryvale. There they built a modest inn, general store, and farm. The patriarch, John "Pa" Bender was an immigrant believed to be from Germany or Holland. He was a heavy set man with a bushy beard. He and his wife Almira Mark Hill spoke only a small amount of English. Almira went by the nickname "Ma". She was known to be a cold woman. Her demeanor prompted neighbors to call her "She-Devil". It is believed that Ma Bender hailed from the Adirondack Mountains. Allegedly, Ma was a black widow. She went through a series of husbands and identities. She claimed to have twelve children. Rumors stated that her husbands were not her only victims. According to legend, she had a habit of claiming the lives of her offspring, as well. 

One of Ma’s daughters was Sarah Elizabeth Mark, also known as Kate Bender. Little is known about the origins of the family’s son, John Jr. He spoke with a German accent and his full name may have been John Gebhardt. This conclusion was drawn from a bible found in the home. Other entries included phrases like “big slaughter day” and “hell departed”. John was an attractive lad, but he wasn't the brightest bulb. John had an inexplicable habit of laughing at inappropriate times. Though, some have speculated that he may have been putting on the village idiot act. 

Act or not, John’s bizarre personality and the older Benders inability to speak English made the community wary of the family. However, Kate made up for the others with her charm and beauty. Kate was a delicate woman with red hair and a sweet disposition. She was always eager to meet new people, particularly men. All of the men who crossed her path became instantly smitten. Though, Kate never seemed to return their affections. Many took note of her close relationship with her brother. Neighbors found their bond a little too close for comfort. Rumors spread that they were actually husband and wife. 

Kate’s relationship with her brother wasn’t the only 2. indication that something about her was off. During this time period, the Spiritualist Movement was alive and thriving. Kate used this to her advantage. She promoted herself as a healer and a medium. Kate was able to profit from her "abilities". She enjoyed the attention and never turned down an opportunity to promote her talents.

While Kate charmed the local men, the inn business was thriving as well. The Benders' inn was positioned near the Great Osage trail. This trail had been in use by the Native Americans for a long time, and now white settlers were beginning to explore it. It was a path full to the brim with peril. To make the long trip, pioneers would need places to stop and recuperate. One of these rest stops was the Bender Inn. Many would check in, promised food and a good night’s sleep. Sometimes they never checked out. 

Those unlucky guests were almost always men who possessed money. They would present themselves as hospitable caretakers, luring the men into a false sense of security. From the second they arrived, Kate would use her feminine attributes to bewitch them. When it was time to eat, the men were always seated with their backs to the tarp that served as a divide between the inn and the Benders living area. Kate would sit across from the victims, keeping them distracted. Then, the male Benders would leap out from behind the curtain and attack. They used a hammer to bludgeon the men. Next, Ma or Kate would jump in and slit their throats. The bodies were dumped through a trap door beneath their seats. They would later be buried in the garden. 

As the bodies began to pile up near the Bender residence, the townsfolk were forced to acknowledge the multiple disappearances and murders. First, the battered corpse of a man was discovered at nearby Drum Creek. The following year two more bodies turned up. Fearing highwaymen and Indians, pioneers stopped traveling the Great Osage Trail. Though, by the spring of 1873, one father and daughter were eager to take their chances.

On their way to Iowa, widower, George Lochner and his young daughter made the unfortunate mistake of stopping at the Bender’s Inn. Like others, they met a cruel fate at the hands of the Bender clan.

The disappearances of Lochner and his daughter prompted citizens to hold a townhall. It was determined that the vast amount of missing persons cases could no longer be ignored. Lochner’s neighbor, Dr. William York set off on his own to search for them. He retraced the path they took, which led him straight to the Bender’s door. Like his poor neighbors, he never left.

When Dr. York didn’t return from his journey, his brothers began to worry. Dr. York came from a prominent family. His brother Ed was a Colonel, and his brother Alexander was a senator. Colonel York talked to witnesses who claimed to have seen William. All signs pointed to the Benders. He knew it was time to act.

Colonel York arrived at the Bender inn with an army of men in tow. Kate Bender welcomed the men with open arms. She showed concern and claimed to know nothing of Dr. York’s whereabouts. She suggested that he was killed by Indians. She even went as far as to offer to attempt to contact his ghost. As smart as Kate was, she wasn’t clever enough to fool the Colonel. Colonel York was convinced the 4. Benders were guilty. However he was a man of high character and he refused to act without evidence. The Colonel and his men left the home empty handed.

Meanwhile, the locals continued to search for answers. Farms and houses were examined. No stone was left unturned. Fearing their dirty deeds were about to be exposed, the Benders fled. Cowboy, Billy Tole noticed the inn had been abandoned. He informed officials and an investigation was arranged. The investigation included Colonel York.

Colonel York and a group of officers descended on the property. The first thing they noticed was the smell. An awful odor permeated the little wooden inn. They soon encountered the source of the foul stench. The body of Dr. York had been dumped in a shallow grave in the garden. They continued the search, ultimately uncovering ten bodies. Among them, were the bodies of Lochner and his daughter. The young child’s corpse had been wedged beneath her father’s.

After unearthing the horrors that took place at the Bender inn, the hunt was on. Officials put a large sum on their heads. The community became overwhelmed by paranoia. Citizens came forward with claims of Bender sightings. Conflicting reports from witnesses left police chasing their own tails. The only concrete lead the police had indicated that the Bender’s left town by train.

The family was last seen purchasing train tickets in the nearby town of Thayer. Kate and John Jr. were thought to have headed for one of the border towns near New Mexico or Texas. It is said that Ma and Pa fled in the opposite direction towards St. Louis.

Many claimed to have seen or captured the elusive Bender family. At one point, two women were even imprisoned after being identified as Ma and Kate. The women went by the names of Almira Monroe and Sara Eliza Davis. Davis threw Monroe under the proverbial bus, by telling authorities that she was Ma Bender. Davis confessed to being Kate Bender’s sister Sara. She denied any involvement in the Bender’s crimes.

Due to a lack of evidence the women were ultimately released. The woman who initially brought forth the claim was the daughter of one of the Bender’s victims, Mrs. Frances E. McCann. McCann’s accusations were fueled by nightmares she had about her father’s murder. Her relationship to the victim and her bizarre dream theory ruled her out as a credible witness.

In a baffling twist, another daughter of Monroe’s, tried to prove that her mother could not have been the infamous Ma Bender, because she had been serving time for a different murder. Monroe’s daughter, Mary, alleged that her mother had been incarcerated for the manslaughter of her daughter in law. Mary brought the appropriate documents, but Monroe refused to corroborate the story. Eventually Monroe relented, and acknowledged that she had been imprisoned in Detroit for killing her daughter-in law, Emily Mark. As for Sara Davis, her representation was able to prove that she was a married resident of Michigan during the Bender crimes.

Even with the evidence provided, people were divided over the release of Monroe and Davis. Some believed that the court was letting the real Bender women walk free. Others felt that though the women were dirty crooks, they 6. were not the legendary inn owners and murderers. The judge himself was not particularly fond of them. However, in the eyes of the law, the defendants are innocent until proven guilty.

After the exoneration of Monroe and Davis,rumors continued to circulate. There were the claims that the Benders had died at the hands of vigilantes. Tall tales of gunfights, lynchings, and being burnt at the stake floated around Kansas. Another legend claimed that Pa Bender had taken his own life in the state of Michigan. Despite the efforts, none of these stories were ever substantiated. The real fate of the Benders remains a mystery.

The whispers of the Bloody Benders hung in the air like a curse. The Bender property was avoided like the plague for years and years. Some claimed it was haunted by the Bender’s victims. The tormented spirits were said to walk the inn forever seeking a way out. Even Kate’s spirit was said to reside there. By 1886, the house had been reduced to rubble.

Though the location of their heinous acts is gone, the Bender legend is still live and well today. In 1961, a museum dedicated to the Benders and their crimes was erected. The museum built an exact replica of the Bender home. Some in the community took issue with the idea of commemorating a group of murderers, but that didn’t stop the curious public from purchasing tickets. The Bender museum was a popular tourist spot until it closed in 1978. Today the Cherryvale Museum still showcases a few of the Bender’s belongings, including the hammers they used to bash in their victim’s heads.

When it comes to the Benders, there are more questions 7. than answers. It is unknown if any of the Benders were in fact related. It is possible that somehow these psychopaths were strangers who found each other and banded together to shed the blood of the innocent. While the Bender’s did steal from their victims, the monetary gain was minimal at best. Researchers have concluded that the family were thrill killers, killing for sheer pleasure. The Bender’s perpetrated at least 10 murders, though it is likely they committed more. For their cruel acts, they will forever be remembered as The Bloody Benders, America’s first serial killing family.