John Bender Sr.

Serial Killer

John Bender Sr. and the Bloody Benders

John Bender Sr. and His Family

John Bender Sr. was the older male member of the group remembered as the Bloody Benders, a family of serial killers who operated a small inn and grocery store in southeastern Kansas during the early 1870s. The group consisted of John Sr., his wife, commonly called Ma Bender or Kate, John Bender Jr., and Kate Bender. Although later accounts have produced conflicting stories about their true names, origins, and even whether all four were actually related, Kansas historical records identify them as the Bender family and describe them as responsible for at least eleven murders between 1871 and 1873. John Sr. and John Jr. established themselves near Cherryvale in Labette County, Kansas, along a route used by travelers moving through the region. They constructed a one-room cabin containing a trap door leading into a stone cellar. A canvas curtain divided the building, with the front portion serving as a combination grocery store, dining area, and roadside inn. Travelers could purchase food and supplies, eat a meal, or stop for rest. The isolated location also gave the Benders an opportunity to encounter strangers carrying money, horses, wagons, and other valuable possessions.

The Bender Murder Method

Accounts from investigators and people who had visited the Bender establishment helped reconstruct how the murders were apparently committed. A traveler was encouraged to sit at the dining table in a particular position with his back against the canvas curtain dividing the room. From the opposite side of the curtain, the victim's head created an easy target. One of the Bender men was believed to strike the traveler from behind with a hammer. The victim's throat was then cut, apparently to make certain that death occurred. The body could then be moved through the trap door into the cellar beneath the cabin. Money and possessions were taken, and the remains were later carried outside and concealed. Several victims were buried in the orchard and garden surrounding the house. Others were associated with a nearby well or with remains discovered elsewhere in the vicinity. Investigators found hammers inside the abandoned Bender residence, and the injuries to recovered victims were consistent with the method described by people familiar with the property. It is impossible to establish which individual Bender personally committed each murder. John Sr. has frequently been described as one of the men who delivered the hammer blows, but surviving evidence does not permit individual responsibility to be assigned for every victim. The murders are therefore most accurately described as crimes committed by the Bender family as a group rather than as killings conclusively proved to have been carried out by John Sr. alone. ...

Confirmed Victims: (13)

Mr. Jones , Date of Death: 1871

Who Were the 1870s Serial Killing 'Family' Known as the 'Bloody ...