The book "All the Blood We Share: A Novel of the Bloody Benders of Kansas", by Camilla Bruce, published in 2022. Kate's popularity became a large attraction for the Benders' inn. Rabbi retreats to take cover behind his vehicle, and Calamita catches him with a bullet in the arm before hes in the clear, making it difficult to return fire. She and her brother John often attended Sunday School nearby Harmony Grove and were readily accepted in the community. , Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family ~~ John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate ~~ who settled here in 1871. They were never found and later I formed my own conclusions why. On deer antler shedding, pocket gopher mounds, eagle breeding and As the haunting legend continued, people began to say that Kate Bender had returned to the property, doomed to roam the very land where she had committed so many atrocities. As the boy listened, the men continued to talk, relating the tale of how the judge had lost his ear. CHERRYVALE The chain of low hills known as the Bender Mounds extends in a diagonal seven miles northeast of here, islands of limestone and scrubby trees over level fields where this time of year soybeans have just been harvested. [1][3] On April 3, Colonel York returned to the inn with armed men after being informed that a woman had fled from the inn after Elvira Bender had threatened her with knives. The search of the cabin resulted in the recovery of three hammers: a shoe hammer, a claw hammer, and a sledgehammer that appeared to match indentations in some of the skulls. literally thought of red dead redemption 2 when i saw this episode, and saw that scene. Ma Bender was born Almira Meik in the Adirondacks and married as a teenager to a man named George Griffith. They were never caugnt. Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. The book "Hell's Half-Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, a Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier", by Susan Jonusas, published in 2022. If the terrible story of the Bender murders was not legend enough, another tale began to circulate regarding the property upon which the Benders had once lived. Each season of Fargo stands alone - you can watch them all out of order and still be able to understand what's going on. His family was from the Cherryvale, Kansas area, and the story involves a group of men that found the Benders and were in a gunfight with them, one of whom was a judge that lost part of his ear in the gun battle. The sensational tales and rumors of the Benders continued well into the 20th century, but what happened to them remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the Old West. All of the bizarre characters in the house sit around the table, except the hospital man and his companion, and the table (like the whole house) is split into two meals, two styles of dcor and two serving staffs in accordance with the sisters feud. When a traveler was seated at the table, his head was outlined against the curtain. Eyewitness testimony was given that Mrs. Monroe was Elvira Bender. Fargo: The True Story - Image Journal THE KANSAS MURDER TRILOGY by Melvin Litton offers three stand-alone novels that spring from the heartland and mark three pivotal moments in our nation's life: the fall of Saigon and the loss of faith in the post-war construct, 1975; the brink of the Space Age and Civil Rights era, 1960; and the Great Depression, 1934. the mellon family kansas. This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 16:54. Rounding out the boardinghouse crew (west side) is a young man on his way to make it rich on the Texas oil fields. what happened to johnny rodriguez country singer Also a great song by Macabre about the Benders: https://youtu.be/NJpbxpbI8FA. According to the May 23, 1873 edition of The Emporia News, he was identified with the name of William Bender. One may have been Jack Bogart, whose horse was purchased from a friend of the Benders after he went missing in 1872. Bloody Benders - Wikipedia And everything is in color! When the men arrived at the property, they found the cabin empty of food, clothing, and personal possessions. This is blatantly a reference to the Bender Family, a family of serial killers from late 1800s Kansas. A pity, it has quite a few quirks. The group is believed to be one of the first serial killer families in America. If not accosted by road agents, travelers also had to be concerned about Indian attacks. betty crocker net worth 2020; vietnamese culture relationships; pastillas para dormir durante el embarazo; what does modern fit mean in men's shirts? The Bloody Benders Historical Marker Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/washingtonhistor0014unse The CAashington Historical . A decade after the gruesome killings, nothing was left of the cabin and outbuildings on the property. The reason theyre heading toward Liberal is that Rabbi spent enough time there at some point to have stashed $5000 in a feed store in case he needed it. It was speculated that she had been strangled or buried alive. Kate Bender, who was around 23, was cultivated and attractive and spoke English well, with little accent. This historical marker was erected by Kansas State Historical Society and Kansas Department of Transportation. 620-336-3576. By 1873, reports of missing people who had passed through the area had become so common that travelers began to avoid the trail. Bender Mounds, Kansas by Kathy Alexander. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders while escaping to the south and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. why i quit civil engineering; goo goo gaga family net worth; how to make homemade biscuits without baking powder; KANSAS HISTORICAL MARKER THE MELLON MOUNDS On this spot stood the Mellon Mounds, named for the infamous Mellon family, who lured unsuspecting travelers into their home, fed them and then dispatched them with a hammer. Game got that right. Daughter Kate was the friendliest of the bunch, speaking good English with just a slight accent and bore cultivated social skills. Though he reached Fort Scott unscathed and started to return to Independence on March 8, he never reached home. He returns his attention to Rabbi, who has noticed something behind the Italian: a bona fide Wizard of Oz tornado. The lonely hills meander across what is now U.S. Highway 400, where travelers whoosh by in comfort at 65 mph. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders. Some say they escaped, others that the were executed by a vengeful posse. In mid-October, Deputy Sheriff LeRoy Dick, the Osage Township trustee who had headed the search of the Bender property, arrived in Michigan and arrested the couple on October 30, following their release on the larceny charges. While the two women were certainly criminals and liars, as their own defense attorney admitted, the charges were weak and many people doubted their identification as the Benders. "[20][21] Some have cast doubt on the story, saying that Laura would have been only 4 when her family moved away from the area, and that the Benders were exposed in 1873, two years after the Ingalls family left. They admitted Dr. York had stayed with them and suggested the possibility that he had run into trouble with Indians. The violence at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 was the watershed event which led to the creation of our current day active shooter response programs. Moyra Melons (or Moyra Mounds) is a well-endowed mature model famous for saucy poses in revealing clothing and lingerie. However, some of those men, who frequently carried large sums of cash with the intention of settling, buying stock, or purchasing a claim, began to go missing. [19], The Ingalls family, made famous in the books and television series Little House on the Prairie, lived near Independence, and Laura Ingalls Wilder mentioned the Bender family in her writing and speeches. melon mounds liberal kansas Hes connected to a medical machine and has a hovering attendant with goggles on, ministering to him with a hypodermic needle. that when a guest stayed at the Benders' bed and breakfast inn, the hosts would give the guest a seat of honor at the table that was positioned over a trap door into the cellar. "[7], Word of the murders spread quickly, and more than three thousand people, including reporters from as far away as New York City and Chicago, visited the site. Then Kate would begin to charm the men with her social skills, flirting, or revealing her psychic gifts. As the men gave their full attention to the alluring Kate, Pa and John Bender, hiding behind the canvas, would strike the unsuspecting traveler in the skull with a hammer. A place to discuss Lawrence Kansas happenings and news. $2,000 (2023: $45,239) missing. Cherryvale, Kansas Museum by Kathy Alexander. He does not deliver his usual parting words to Satchel. Kansas Historical Society Historical Markers - hmdb.org Yep the Abberdeens are very clearly based on the Benders, specifically Kate and John Jr. When his father (my great grandfather), Frank Smalley, was a boy, he was hiding in the hayloft of the family barn when he overheard a group of men below talking and laughing. The Bender family, more well known as the Bloody Benders, were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, United States, from May 1871 to December 1872. Copyright20062023,Somerightsreserved. The man further elaborated that all the stories of the latter's capture were made up, supposedly by a group of Confederates, who have also helped the Benders dispose of the murdered victims' horses and wagons. Many innocent men under suspicion were also run out of the county by these committees.[5]. The Bender artifacts were eventually given to the Cherryvale Museum, where they remain in a wall-mounted display case. Site of 1870s 'Bloody Benders' serial killings is for sale | The One arm was broken. Menu She advocated "free love," and denounced all social regulations for the promotion of purity and the prevention of carnality, which she called "miserable requirements of self-constituted society." On May 17th, Governor Thomas Osborn added to that amount by offering a $2,000 reward for the apprehension of all four. He finally gets to eat that evening at a bizarre dinner of fish sticks and potatoes. The story of the Benders' escape spread, and the search continued on and off for the next 50 years. was harry hibbs married; waterloo central railway wedding. Satchel walks down the road with his dog. rpp program apartments newport news. Props to Noah Hawley for referencing a lot of forgotten crimes, from Jane Toppan, the Kansas City Massacre, and now the Bloody Benders. A number of researchers question the ready acceptance of the affidavit's authenticity and suggest that the county was unwilling to accept the expense of boarding the two women for an extended period. what is the best response to an active shooter event The fate of the family remains unknown, with theories ranging from a lynching of the family to a successful escape. Press J to jump to the feed. Satchel decides to keep her, without asking anyone in the building whose she is, and Rabbis only objection to this when he meets her is that she makes noise. Hell the first album from the Smiths included a song about the Moors Murderers. They were released after being found not guilty, but were then immediately re-arrested for the Bender murders. York reached Fort Scott, and on March 9 began the return journey to Independence, but never arrived. ia904708.us.archive.org [18], A historical marker describing the Benders' crimes is located in the rest area at the junction of U.S. Route 400 and U.S. Route 169 north of Cherryvale. While popular retelling of the story holds that JohnJr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported that several of the Benders' neighbors had stated that they claimed to be married, possibly in a common law marriage. Many of these minerals play a vital role in bone mineralization, red blood cell production, enzyme secretion, hormone production, as well as in the regulation of cardiac and skeletal muscle activities. Ma Bender and Kate would then rifle the body for money, pushing him through the trap door into the hole below the cabin, where Kate would slit his throat. 29th and Gage through [] . Along with her desire for fame, she also craved wealth and position. This tugs his heartstrings, inspiring him to leave the boardinghouse in search of some kind of birthday treat for his ward. Kate was the fifth child of Ma Bender and was born Eliza Griffith. The little store carried a few supplies such as powder, shot, groceries, liquor, and tobacco, sold meals, and provided a safe overnight resting place to the strangers along the road. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self-proclaimed healer and spiritualist. A cult-like group, the families, chose from several available claims and began to make their homes. [7], A Kansas newspaper reported that the crowd was so incensed after finding the bodies that a friend of the Benders named Brockman, who was among the onlookers, was hanged from a beam in the inn until unconscious, revived, interrogated, then hanged again. As more and more travelers vanished, suspicion began to circle the Mellons. As Active Shooter incidents have increased, employers are tasked with training employees on how to escape, hide, or fight. In 1884, it was reported that John Flickinger had committed suicide in Lake Michigan. Contemporary newspapers reported his name as either "George W. Longcor" or "George Loncher," while Mary Ann is similarly reported as being either eight years old or 18 months old. Along with an old episode of Death Valley Days. THE LAST SKYWALKER Pays Tribute to the Ben Solo Legacy, Lynne Ramsay Tapped to Direct THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON, WANDAVISION Finale Recap: (S01E09) The Series Finale, WANDAVISION Recap: (S01E08) Previously On, WANDAVISION Recap: (S01E07) Breaking the Fourth Wall. In October 1870, five families of spiritualists homesteaded in and around the township of Osage in northwestern Labette County, approximately 7mi (11km) northeast of where Cherryvale was established seven months later. Rabbi would not have been one of the Mellons.). melon mounds kansas murders. Bloody Benders - The Forgotten Story of a Family of Pioneer Kansas [1][2] Although some of the victims were wealthy, others carried little of value on them, and it was surmised that the Benders had killed them simply for the sheer thrill. Graves of the many who the Benders killed. The family includes Andrew Mellon, one of the longest-serving U.S. Treasury Secretaries, along with prominent members in the judicial, banking, financial, business, and political professions, as well as a famous recluse, Cordelia Scaife May . Elvira was rumored to have murdered several husbands, but none of these rumors was ever proven. Rewind one day, to Rabbi and Satchel driving past the same station. but many still live in fear of their bloody hammer. On deer antler shedding, pocket gopher mounds, eagle breeding and murders of crows (that's the name of a flock of crows) They killed as many as 26 people, I believe there is a museum that stills has a bloody knife they used. In February 1872, the bodies of two men were found with the same injuries as Jones. It said the plaque was erected by the Kansas City historical society. Franks father, Jesse P. Smalley, and several men were joking with a local judge, teasing him about his missing ear. melon mounds liberal kansas The next morning, another eight bodies were found in seven of the nine suspected graves, while one was found in the well, along with a number of body parts. One of those places was the Bender Inn. So weird, this last weekend I was just reading about the Benders due to a similar encounter in Red Dead Redemption 2. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. Also in residence on the east is a hero of Wounded Knee (as if there was such a thing) and his niece, a minor girl whos relationship to the old man is likely not familial. According to the Pittsburgh Dispatch, the daughter of one of the Benders' victims, Mrs. Frances E. McCann, had reported the pair to authorities in early October after tracking them down. State Senator Alexander York offered a $1,000 ($22,619 as of 2023) reward for the family's arrest. Benders Mounds Cemetery in Kansas - Find a Grave Cemetery Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. I used to have their Dahmer album way back. The Benders remained silent when most of the attendees volunteered to have their premises searched. $38 (2023: $860) and a wagon with a team of horses missing. Satchel tries looking for Rabbi, but a short conversation with the hospital man and a glimpse of the preacher and his mother folding a flag in their underwear (night wear?) About 75 people attended the gathering, including both Bender men. The men then physically lifted the cabin and moved it to the side to dig under it, but no bodies were found. Uncovered: Unsolved Kansas Murders The Carr brothers were convicted of capital murder in a crime spree in Wichita in 2000 that included robbery, rape, forced sex and four fatal shootings in a snow-covered soccer field. John Bender, Sr. chose a 160-acre section on the western slopes of the mounds that continue to bear their name today. mellon mounds kansas murders. Both knew of William's travel plans and, when he failed to return, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. John Jr. was found to have been a man named John Gebhardt. In the end, it was Kate who was primarily blamed for the numerous bloody murders that, even at her young age, was the inspiration for the crimes. [5][6], Around the same time, neighboring communities began to make accusations that the Osage community was responsible for the disappearances, and Osage township arranged a meeting in the Harmony Grove schoolhouse. Anyway just had to mention this, bizarre crimes and female killers are my specialty and outside appearing in Red Dead 2, the Bloody Benders don't get a lot of attention. [11] Whether John Flickinger was really John Bender is unknown. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. Four other bodies with crushed skulls and slit throats were also found outside the property in Drum Creek and on the surrounding prairie. Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., December 18, 2011, The Bloody Benders. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders. [2], Two men who had traveled to the inn to experience Kate Bender's psychic powers stayed for dinner, but had refused to sit at the table next to the cloth, instead preferring to eat their meal at the main shop counter. Yes it was. Continuing, they began to dig around the cabin, especially in an area the Benders had utilized as a vegetable garden and orchard. [7], A bad odor was noticed and traced to a trap door underneath a bed, nailed shut. Their downfall was the murder of a father and daughter named Loncher, and Dr. William York, who had come looking for the missing pair. Their murders were carried out by use of a canvas curtain that divided the house into two rooms. In the spring of 1873, Dr. York took it upon himself to look for the Lonchers, stopping at the homesteads along the trail to ask questions. Is Rabbi really dead? The breastbone had been driven in. The Vicious Harpes First AmericanSerial Killers, The Bloody Benders White Settlers Buried the Truth About the Midwest's Mysterious Mound January 23, 2021. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. [1][11][12][13][14][15][16], By including the recovered body parts not matched to the bodies found, the finds are speculated to represent the remains of more than 20 victims. These hammers were given to the Bender Museum in 1967 by the son of LeRoy Dick, the Osage Township trustee who headed the search of the Bender property. Though many wanted to relocate the building, it had become a controversy in Cherryvale, with locals objecting to the town being known for the Bender atrocities. They were never caugnt. Sunflower seeds are incredibly rich sources of many essential minerals. A trap door, nailed shut, was discovered on the cabin floor. Whenever he is asked a question about himself, Satchels response is that he is hungry. Both knew of his travel plans, and when he failed to return home, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. 23) February 1872: Two unidentified men found on the prairie in February 1872 with crushed skulls and throats cut. Allegedly, while working at the Bender Inn, she earned her keep as a prostitute, adding an additional amount to the travelers bill for the privilege of laying with her. [2] The elder Benders did not leave the train at Humboldt, but instead continued north to Kansas City, where it is believed they purchased tickets for St. Louis, Missouri.[1]. mellon mounds kansas murders - lavamusic.is The Bender cabin was destroyed by souvenir hunters who took everything, including the bricks that lined the cellar and the stones lining the well.[1][2]. Afterward, she reportedly remarried several times, killing those husbands and three of her older children so they could not testify against her. They werent even a true family the only ones related were Ma and Kate Bender. In the first season, Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman), daughter of former state trooper, now diner owner, Lou Solverson (Carradine), must overcome the good-natured goofery of her department as she tracks the unparalleled malevolence of Loren Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), who in serpent-like fashion enters the ear of persecuted loser Lester . Although stories abound, the ultimate fate of the murderous Bender family is uncertain.