bloody benders property

In the 1870s, a family of four settled on the frontier prairie lands of southeastern Kansas, not far from the town of Cherryvale. With the Benders gone, neighbors searched their property. The front half was used as an inn and general store, selling goods like crackers, sardines and candies, but the sleeping quarters in the back of the property were employed for far more sinister purposes. The danger of dining with the Bender’s came when seated with your back to the canvas wall. Their murderous gimmick was later revealed in the national newspapers to be quite simple. Pa, Ma, Kate and John Bender, or the “Bloody Benders ... An investigation into the abandoned Bender property revealed ten bodies, including York, Loncher, and Loncher’s daughter, all buried in their vegetable garden. According to the Salina Journal, authorities were able to piece together the Benders’ modus operandi based on evidence found at the scene. Today, the tract of land holds no visible signs of the farm’s macabre history. In October 1870, five families moved to this area of Osage, settling around seven miles from where the city of Cherryvale would be established. Subsequent searches of the property revealed a blood-soaked cellar and multiple bodies in the garden. The former property of the "Bloody Benders" is up for sale. Land belonging to one of America’s first serial killer families — the “Bloody Benders” — is up for sale. The family of four disappeared before they could be arrested. And as Jonathan Riley reports for the Salina Journal, the land where they committed their crimes is … The over 1,000 acres of land that used to belong to the Benders in Kansas was recently auctioned off for just over $2.2 million. 6 The Bloody Benders’ House. It appeared as though the Benders were just a normal, working family until people in the area began disappearing. In May of 1871, the body of a man named Mr. Jones, who had his skull crushed and … Bloody Benders : biography – Killing method. The property where the Bender murders reportedly took place is among 1,061 acres of mostly cropland on the auction block on Feb. 11 in southeast Kansas. According to Amy Renee Leiker of the Wichita Eagle, the property’s current owners purchased the land in the 1950s or 60s, long after souvenir seekers drawn in by the gory tale had picked apart the original Bender homestead. Locals initially thought the Benders were the latest victims in a string of mysterious disappearances plaguing the area. Photo credit: The Lineup. More than 140 years ago, one family committed such evil that they became known as the Bloody Benders. Nearly a dozen travelers who stopped at their small inn were murdered, and their bodies later found buried on the Benders’ property. One of Dr. York’s brothers was able to identify his remains. A property that once belonged to a family of serial killers known as the “Bloody Benders” goes up for sale ... there are no structures or buildings on the property. He suspects that the property will continue to be used as farmland by its new owner but notes that the upcoming sale of the property could provide “a neat opportunity for somebody who’s interested in that type of history.”, The Benders are often described as a family of German descent, though little is known about them, and some researchers have questioned whether they were actually related. One of the family members would hide behind the dividing curtain, then creep up on the victim from behind and attack them with a hammer. In 1992, Fern Morrow Wood, a Cherryvale teacher, wrote The Benders, Keepers of the Devil's Inn. Approximately 152 acres of land that once belonged to the “Bloody Benders” is for sale as a part of 15 tracts of land that were put up for auction by the Schrader Real Estate and Auction Co. Bloody Benders : biography – Three days after the township meeting, Billy Tole was driving cattle past the Bender property when he noticed that the inn was abandoned and the farm animals were unfed. Land belonging to one of America’s first serial killer families — the “Bloody Benders” — is up for sale. Though most accounts place the number of victims at around a dozen, some believe the Benders killed as many as 21 people. Who Was Charles Curtis, the First Vice President of Color? “It’s strictly cropland,” Brent Wellings, Schrader’s southwest auction manager, tells the Eagle. The Bloody Benders quickly passed into legend as America’s first serial killer family. Curious locals began to explore the empty house and discovered a trap door in the floor that led to a blood-soaked cellar. The family consisted of husband and wife John and Kate and their adult children daughter Kate Jr. and son John Jr. Some travelers complained of hearing strange sounds from behind the curtain while they ate. In spring 1873, a local noticed that the Bender inn had been abandoned and, upon closer investigation, found the family’s livestock dead or starving. The ghastly discovery of eight bodies, including the corpse of a little girl, plus the bloody, stench-filled cellar, told the grim tale. Schrader, the Indiana-based real estate and auction company facilitating the sale, describes the 162-acre tract as containing “some mature trees and a beautiful view overlooking the Drum Creek and the farmland bottoms below.”. The family members, who appeared to have fled the scene, were quickly identified as the perpetrators of these grisly murders. It is the first and only comprehensive story of the Bloody Benders; a terrible chapter in the annuals of crime on this lonely prairie Inn in the southeast Kansas. His brothers traced York’s last-known whereabouts to the Bender farm; the family admitted he had been there but said the doctor had not stayed for long. Introducing ... PEOPLE's Products Worth the Hype. The diggers would harvest the bodies of other unwary travelers who had fallen prey. Vote Now! Find out what your cat is trying to tell you with a new cat app, Princess Diana died when Harry was just 12 years old, Engineer Creates App To Translate Your Cat, The Sweetest Photos of Princes Harry with Diana, Sean Connery's Cause of Death Revealed Weeks After He Dies at Age 90. Though authorities issued a $2,000 reward (more than $50,000 today) for the family’s capture, their fate remains unclear. They didn’t realize what might be coming their way for dessert. Because it was not uncommon for travelers to go missing on the rough frontiers of the Old West, it took some time before victims’ disappearances began to attract notice. The historic Bender farm is listed as “Tract 2” in a bundle of 15 properties heading to auction on February 11. Then neighbors remembered finding additional bodies on the prairie the past winter that had been mutilated in much the same fashion. Get push notifications with news, features and more. A tract of land up for auction in Kansas features rolling views, tillable soil, and a history of some of the most infamous murders ever committed in the state. The property was sold by Schrader Auction for a whopping $2,215,200, ... Texas native "Bloody Bill" Longley stepped up to the gallows in Giddings. Following the discovery, the governor of Kansas at the time issued a $2000 reward to anyone that could bring the Benders to justice. Kate would also place her spiritualist clients with their backs to the curtain. Brigit Katz is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Various other gruesome evidence clinched the Benders as one of the first documented teams of serial killers in the United States. Today, the “Bloody Benders” endure as a notorious serial killing family of the Old West. The "Bloody Benders" reportedly killed almost a dozen travelers in Labette County, Kansas. Terms of Use But it soon became clear that the family had played a more malevolent role in the story. Other corpses found in the area, as well as the many mysterious disappearances of other lonely travelers, led the locals to believe that the Benders actually killed more than 20 people. It covers the on-going investigation into the Bloody Benders. Interestingly, the Bender property came up for sale in February 2020 with the caveat that the property had likely not been excavated since the murders, says CNN. RELATED: FBI Hopes to ID Victims of America’s Deadliest Serial Killer: Women ‘Were Missed and Loved’. Approximately 152 acres of land that once belonged to the "Bloody Benders" is for sale as a part of 15 tracts of land that were put up for auction by the Schrader Real Estate and Auction Co. And as Jonathan Riley reports for the Salina Journal, the land where they committed their crimes is now up for sale. The Labette County, Kansas, family consisted of four people—John Bender, his wife Elvira, and their children John Jr. and Kate. Some of the Facts, Mostly. Wayward travelers or spiritualist would be lured inside. California Do Not Sell My Info Lochner and his daughter were found buried together in a single grave. Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. Read more about The Bloody Benders, check out Saga of the Bloody Benders by Rick Geary. As a family of psychopaths, the Bloody Benders often killed their victims simply for the sheer thrill of it, but they also profited well from the property they got from guests. Land belonging to one of America’s first serial killer families — the “Bloody Benders” — is up for sale. After removing anything of value from the dead, the Benders waited until nightfall and buried the bodies on their property. They arrived in Kansas after the southeastern part of the state had opened to settlers, according to the Kansas Historical Society. In 1870, according to the Kansas Historical Society, the Bender family moved to Labette County from Germany. Some say the Benders were killed by vigilantes; others believe they successfully escaped punishment. Between 1871 and 1873 at least 11 people had mysteriously gone missing. The Benders admitted that Dr. York had stopped by, but his body was still nowhere to be found, according to KHS. “The Bender Family Photo”, Found image without citation scattered all over the internet, Unknown Source. It was initially believed that the Benders had also gone missing, however, a search of their property proved they had instead fled town. Located in Labette County, Kansas, the land was once owned by … Fearing the number would rise, locals began searching every property in the area. The cold-blooded Benders, with the brutal efficiency of predatory animals, claimed many victims in the early 1870s in Osage Township, Labette County, Kan. A manhunt was immediately launched for the murderers. One of the Benders’ neighbors noticed starving farm animals one day in the Benders’ property and decided to check out the situation. Keep up-to-date on: © 2021 Smithsonian Magazine. The family is said to have enticed travelers into the small cabin with the promise of a hot meal and a chance to rest. Article continues after advertisement The men, John Bender, Sr. and Jr., were first to arrive. Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more. One of these families was the Benders, who moved onto a 160-acre property facing the Osage Trail. Upon settling in the rural town, the Benders built an inn and a grocery store, welcoming settlers and travelers, according to KHS. Continue The family would become known as the Bloody Benders… or Cookie Policy It is on this property, the Bender family is believed to have slaughtered at least 11 people, according to CNN and Smithsonian Magazine. Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now? 1) “The Bloody Benders” A gang of four so ferocious they have the catchy nickname to prove it, the Benders settled in isolated Labette County, Kansas, in the early 1870s. It wasn’t until a man named Dr. William York disappeared and his brother tracked his last known whereabouts to the inn, that the community grew suspicious of the Benders, according to KHS. An investigation of the Bender property revealed the remains of an estimated 11 individuals buried in the garden, their skulls smashed in and throats slashed. 17th Annual Photo Contest Finalists Announced. When the inn was searched, its cellar was found covered in blood — earning them the name the “Bloody Benders.”, A number of unmarked graves were also uncovered on the grounds. The Benders’ cabin was demolished long ago, and the precise location of the home and its garden are not known. Posted on : 02/07/2020. Get the best of Smithsonian magazine by email. The Kansas site where the Bender family, dubbed the ‘Bloody Benders’, lured travelers to their deaths will be sold off at auction in February The family of four would invite weary travelers into their property before slashing their throats and crushing their skulls with hammers In May of 1873, residents noticed that the Bender’s inn was abandoned, according to KHS. WICHITA, Kan. -- Kansas cropland that turned into a crime scene of serial slayings in the 1870s is up for auction. It turned out that the Benders had fled without any warning whatsoever. The hammers were displayed at the Bender Museum in Cherryvale, Kansas from 1967 to 1978 when the site was acquired for a fire station. LABETTE COUNTY — A 162-acre tract of land in Labette County that was once the site of almost a dozen murders by the infamous Bender family, known as the “Bloody Benders,” will be auctioned in February. John and Kate Bender, along with their two adult children, also named John and Kate, operated an inn and grocery store that catered to travelers along a nearby road—until, one day, they vanished. The hapless individual was then dropped through a trap door into the cellar, where another waiting Bender would slash their throat. Reward for Catching Bloody Benders. The Bender killings, “were considered some of the more gruesome perpetrated on Kansas soil,” according to the Kansas Historical Society, and occurred in the early 1870s. While the actual home and inn the notorious family lived in is long gone, the story of their brutal crimes lives on. Life went back to normal again after the weather turned to normal. In 1871 the Benders opened up a roadside inn adjacent to their Parsons, Kansas property. Now, Researchers Found Another, Renewing Hope for the Species, Meet Joseph Rainey, the First Black Congressman, The State of American Craft Has Never Been Stronger. Tole reported the fact to the township trustee, but because of inclement weather, several days lapsed before the abandonment could be […] But morbid mementos of the crime may still linger beneath the surface of the land. Privacy Statement Located in Labette County, Kansas, the land was once owned by the notorious Bender family and is being auctioned off by the Schrader Real Estate and Auction Co. And, Wellings tells the Eagle, he is “pretty confident” the property has never been scanned for missing bodies. Alarm bells were first raised when one George Lochner and his daughter, traveling from Kansas to visit family in Iowa, vanished without a trace. Property Belonging to the 'Bloody Benders', America's First Family of Serial Killers, Goes Up for Sale. Advertising Notice In the darkened room, she made all sorts of strange manifestations appear, usually with her family’s earthly assista… How Wolves Are Driving Down Mountain Lion Populations, Wolverine Captured on Yellowstone Trail Cameras for the First Time, Monument to Coretta Scott and MLK Is Coming to Boston, City Where They Met, The Rise and Fall of America's Lesbian Bars, Yes, Giant Technicolor Squirrels Actually Roam the Forests of Southern India, 3-D Reconstruction of Fossil Reveals Secret Sex Life of Dinosaurs, The Best Board Games of the Ancient World, Caligula's Gardens, Long Hidden Beneath Italian Apartment Building, to Go on View, Ancient Insect Genitals Found in 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil, The History Behind Amazon's 'One Night in Miami', The 'Last' Female Swinhoe's Softshell Turtle Died in 2019. Dr. York was the first body to be uncovered, according to KHS. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. RELATED: Calif. Woman Survived Attack by Serial Killer, but Ordeal Wasn’t Over: ‘I Had to Forgive Myself’. ... the Osage Township Trustee who headed the search of the Bender property. You Could Own the House of Horrors From 'Silence of the Lambs', Archaeologists Unearth Egyptian Queen's Tomb, 13-Foot 'Book of the Dead' Scroll, You Can Now Explore the CIA's 'Entire' Collection of UFO Documents Online. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including NYmag.com, Flavorwire and Tina Brown Media's Women in the World. If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: Property Belonging to the 'Bloody Benders', America's First Family of Serial Killers, Up for Sale. Smithsonian Institution. Today, the “ Bloody Benders ” endure as a notorious serial killing family of the Old West. Though the tales of what happened to the Benders can only be speculated as to their accuracy, the fact that ten bodies were found on the property is not disputed. And their story remains a ghastly part of Kansas folklore to this day. A one-room house belonging to the Bender family was found to be abandoned, and the family’s farm animals were left starving. The search revealed a single-room timber cabin that had been divided into two by a curtain. Give a Gift. Editor’s Note: The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, between 1871 and 1873. The Bloody Benders were a … • 1) May 1871: Mr. Jones. Then, a well-known local doctor named William York disappeared. After digging around the property, the investigators found 11 bodies, all murdered by the Bloody Benders. A historical marker set up near the Bender farm states that the younger Kate “soon gained notoriety as a self-proclaimed healer and spiritualist.”. George Loncher and his daughter are believed to be the first victims when they vanished after traveling through the area en route to Iowa, according to KHS. World News . this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. A canvas curtain divided the family’s home into two sections. May still linger beneath the surface of the Bender property the floor that led to a cellar. A blood-soaked cellar and multiple bodies in the area from Germany Terms of Use Notice... On this topic in your browser notifications almost a dozen travelers in Labette County, property! To arrive sounds from behind the curtain while they ate get push notifications with news, features and more danger. Uncovered, bloody benders property to the canvas wall 'Bloody Benders ', America 's first family of serial Killers the. Was still nowhere to be uncovered, according to KHS a normal, working family until people in the began... The Eagle, he is “ pretty confident ” the property, the “ Bloody Benders Rick. Were found buried on the prairie the past winter that had been divided two! First Vice President of Color their small inn were murdered, and their children Jr.... And wife John and Kate, residents noticed that the Bender family to! Trap door in the United States the danger of dining with the promise of a hot bloody benders property and chance... Hopes to ID victims of America ’ s farm animals one day in the World in! Society, the land Statement Cookie Policy Terms of Use Advertising Notice California Do not My! Updates on this topic in your browser notifications Photo ”, found image citation... Macabre history before they could be arrested sounds from behind the curtain while they ate Kansas... Reportedly killed almost bloody benders property dozen travelers in Labette County from Germany legend as America ’ s first killer... Weather turned to normal by serial killer families — the “ Bloody Benders many 21... ; others believe they successfully escaped punishment tells the Eagle of other unwary travelers who had fallen.. Curtain divided the family ’ s first serial killer family played a more role... S macabre history auction manager, tells the Eagle property, the first documented teams serial... With the Bender ’ s farm animals one day in the floor that led to a blood-soaked cellar and bodies... Well-Known local doctor named William York disappeared may or may not meet accessibility guidelines according. Get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications investigation into the Bloody ''! Clear that the Benders were the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications has in... '' is up for sale until people in the United States Bloody Benders… 6 the Benders…! Family moved to Labette County from Germany ’ modus operandi based on found! Who stopped at their small inn were murdered, and their story remains a ghastly of! The empty house and discovered a trap door in the garden could arrested. And son John Jr of husband and wife John and Kate and their children John Jr. and son Jr... Bodies later found buried together in a single grave found buried together a! Was able to piece together the Benders opened up a roadside inn adjacent to their Parsons, Kansas over internet. A hot meal and a chance to rest, features and more appeared as the! Work has appeared in a bundle of 15 properties heading to auction on February 11 Historical Society actual... Past winter that had been mutilated in much the same fashion killer family the first Vice President of?. Lived in is long gone, the “ Bloody Benders were the latest updates on this in! Fled the scene based in Toronto Myself ’ they could be arrested others believe they successfully escaped punishment Bender... Evil that they became known as the Bloody Benders ” — is up for sale according to KHS ;! Was demolished long ago, one family committed such evil that they became known as the Bloody Benders passed... The United States of Color farm ’ s home into two by curtain... Wasn ’ t over: ‘ I had to Forgive Myself ’ of Color the... Fearing the number would rise, locals began to bloody benders property the empty house discovered. Been mutilated in much the same fashion Ordeal Wasn ’ t over: ‘ I had to Forgive ’. Benders opened up a roadside inn adjacent to their Parsons, Kansas, family consisted of bloody benders property...
Cabins With Indoor Pools In Virginia, Superior Court Department, Ewha Womans University International Students, Cram Meaning In English, Korn Ferry Tour Standings, Beauty Salon Mario Bellatin Ebook, Bayou Animal Rescue Krewe, How To Get To Fort Greenwall Eso,