THE BLOODY BENDERS

By: Alex Sicilia

Who are the Bloody Benders?

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

John Bender Sr. 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.

John Bender Jr. 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

Kate Bender 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

Ma Bender 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

The Bender’s Operation 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

Bender Findings 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

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

Bender Findings (cont.) 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

Why did the Family Murder?

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

Body Disposal and Media 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

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.

How are They Evil 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

Adolescence 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

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

Killer Profile 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

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

Work Cited 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/bloody-benders.html

http://www.truewestmagazine.com/jcontent/entertainment/entertainment/in-the-works/4419-the-bloody-benders

http://americanserialkillers.com/articles/the-bloody-benders/