1. By: Alex Sicilia

2.  The Benders were a family of four that seemed like average pioneers during the 19 th Century  They immigrated from Germany and moved to Labette County, Kansas  The family was very spiritual and were very cult-like  The family consisted of John Sr., Ma Bender, Kate and John Jr. Bender  The family purchased 160 acres of land

3.  Was 60 years old when he moved into Labette County, Kansas  Stood over six feet tall  Known for his big bushy beard  Many thought he was a giant who was widely feared.

4.  John was a tall slender man who had brown hair and a finely kept moustache  About 25 years old  Laughed aimlessly and during inappropriate times

5.  Daughter Kate was the "friendliest" of the family  She spoke good English with just a slight accent and had good social skills  About 23 years old  Was the first to start conversations with strangers  Attended Sunday School regularly and was accepted by the community

6.  Mrs. Bender was a very heavy woman who was very unfriendly  She was known as “she devil” by locals  She believed she could talk to the dead as preformed ritualistic acts

7.  They opened their store and inn in 1871  Many travelers would stop by and spend the night or stock on supplies  Travelers with larger sums of money started to go missing  Rumors began to spread that people were going missing and that the trail should be avoided  Dr. William H. York was the first missing man that raised great amounts of suspicion  A neighbor went over and found an empty cabin and unfed barn Land purchased by John Sr. present day

8.  The town put together a search party and searched the Bender’s land  In the empty cabin nothing was left, clothes, food and personal possessions  The townspeople smelled something horrible throughout the house coming from a trap door  The door was pried open and clotted blood was found causing the odor  There were no bodies in the 6ft deep hole  The town began to dig up and uncover bodies buried throughout the land  Dr. York was the first body found with a large head injury and throat sliced from ear to ear

9.  The benders had more than 20 victims  The way the victims were killed followed the same routine  They would hit the victim on the head with a hammer and slice the throat to assure death  The family would kill while the traveler was eating while their back was turned Re-creation of murders

10.  The Benders killed for one reason, which was for pure enjoyment and the rush  They did not make a substantial amount of money or other valuable items from the travelers to be a reason

11.  They disposed the bodies by either burying them around the homestead or near a local creek  All the bodies were buried in separate secluded graves  Mass graves did not occur here  There was little media attention, but a few cash reward no greater than $4,000 was put on their heads  The family’s actions were often changed or manipulated to make for an interesting spooky story.

12.  The Bloody Benders were each individually evil  They would all show some sort of hospitality to the victim, giving them shelter and food, but then would slit their throat  There is never confirmation if they believe that what they were doing was evil  To avoid being caught, they fled right after people started to take notice and raise suspicion about the family Slice view of the house they lived in

13.  The Bender family was not even a real family  The only two that were related was Ma and Kate  John Sr. was a remarry and John Jr. was believed to be Kate’s lover  Ma Bender had been believed to have married 2 other times, killing both husbands and murder some of the children to prevent them from testifying against her  The signs that the “family” would become serial killers was not likely, because many thought the family was kind hearted except for Ma Bender  They were a well respected family trying to make an honest living

14.  They were all killers who killed for the thrill and “joy” that it carried with each kill  There were no specific motives for each of the killings other than for the sheer “enjoyment” that they believed in  The Bender’s have been long dead  Since they disappeared from Kansas, Ma and Kate were never discovered  John Sr. was found dead up near Michigan which gave clues that Kate and Ma killed him  John Jr. was found dead along the Mexico border and showed signs of a stroke or apoplexy

15.  http://www.leatherockhotel.com/BloodyBenders.htm http://www.leatherockhotel.com/BloodyBenders.htm  http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-benders.html http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-benders.html  http://www.prairieghosts.com/bender.html http://www.prairieghosts.com/bender.html  http://www.skyways.org/history/bender2.html http://www.skyways.org/history/bender2.html  http://murderbygasslight.blogspot.com/2010/11/bloody- benders.html http://murderbygasslight.blogspot.com/2010/11/bloody- benders.html  http://www.truewestmagazine.com/jcontent/entertainment/ent ertainment/in-the-works/4419-the-bloody-benders http://www.truewestmagazine.com/jcontent/entertainment/ent ertainment/in-the-works/4419-the-bloody-benders  http://americanserialkillers.com/articles/the-bloody-benders/ http://americanserialkillers.com/articles/the-bloody-benders/