Bloody Benders
Bloody Benders | |
|---|---|
From The Benders in Kansas (1913) | |
| Other names |
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| Details | |
| Victims | 11+ |
Span of crimes | 1871–1873 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kansas |
| Locations | Labette County, Kansas (7 miles NE of Cherryvale) |
The Bender family, more well known as the Bloody Benders, were a family of serial killers in Labette County, Kansas, United States, from May 1871 to December 1872. The family supposedly consisted of John Bender, his wife Kate Sr. (or Almira), their son John Jr. and their daughter Kate Jr.. Contemporary newspaper accounts reported that the Benders' neighbors claimed John Jr. and Kate were actually husband and wife, possibly via a common-law marriage.
In 1890, Elvira Hill and her daughter Mrs Sarah Davis, both of Michigan, were charged for being Ma and Kate Bender. They proved they were not and were released.
Estimates report that the Benders killed at least a dozen travelers and perhaps as many as 20 before they were discovered. The family's fate remains unknown, with theories ranging from a lynching to an escape. Much folklore and legend surround the Benders, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction.