The Crimes of the Bloody Benders
Background
In the early 1870s, the Bender family—John Bender Sr., his wife Elvira, their son John Jr., and daughter Kate—settled in Labette County, Kansas. They established a small inn and general store along the Great Osage Trail, a popular route for westward-bound travelers. While offering meals and lodging, the Benders harbored a sinister secret: they lured guests into their home to rob and murder them.
Modus Operandi
The Benders' cabin was divided into two sections by a canvas curtain. Visitors were seated at a place of honor, with their backs to the partition. While Kate engaged the guest in conversation, one of the male Benders would strike the victim's skull from behind the curtain with a hammer. Elvira or Kate would then slit the person's throat to ensure death. The body was dropped through a trapdoor into the cellar until it could be buried at night in the family's orchard or garden.
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