Like others, he was hit over the head as he sat at the table. The Benders remained silent when most of the attendees volunteered to have their premises searched. Their downfall was the murder of a father and daughter named Loncher, and Dr. William York, who had come looking for the missing pair. Daughter Kate was the friendliest of the bunch, speaking good English with just a slight accent and bore cultivated social skills. 6) December 1872: Henry McKenzie. The owner of the Drum Creek claim was suspected, but no action was taken. Dr. York had two brothers, one living in Fort Scott and the other in Independence. Though he allegedly committed suicide in 1884 in Lake Michigan, others believed that Ma and Kate murdered him because he had fled Cherryvale with all the cash and valuables they had taken from their victims. 0 coins. Some say they escaped, others that the were executed by a vengeful posse. Of the discovery of her remains, the Kansas City Times reported: The little girl was probably eight years of age and had long, sunny hair and some traces of beauty on a countenance that was not yet entirely disfigured by decay. [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. Unresolved: Release in which this issue/RFE will be addressed. [1][2][3], The area was already widely known for "horse thieves and villains, and vigilance committees often "arrested" some for the disappearances, only for them to be later released by the authorities. Fargo recap: The future is now! - yahoo.com Some say that they escaped, others that they were executed by a vengeful posse. The filling station attendant tells Omie that this is the only place for gas for miles, and that if Calamita hasnt been through yet, he definitely will. A roadside sign now marks their murderous exploits. Home surveillance camera captures domestic violence, then murder Outside the door is a plaque that reads: KANSAS It isnt a kill shot, though, and Calamita whips around to put Omie down. 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. As they enter the location, named The Barton Arms, the clerk eventually gives Rabbi keys for the west side, though she lets him know that the sisters don't care much for Coloreds. 1315) December 1872: Various body parts. Senator Samuel C. Pomeroy's bribery of state legislators in his bid for re-election. It was speculated that she had been strangled or buried alive. The next day, Rabbi goes back to the appliance store and recovers his remaining cash from the brothers at gunpoint. 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. The victim was then dispatched from behind with a hammer, the body was dropped into a basement pit, later to be buried in an orchard. The plaque in the show refers to fictional murderers--the Mellons--while the reference implicit in that is to their real-life inspiration, the Benders. 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." In retaliation, the vigilantes killed all of the members of the Bender family, buried them where they died, and took the wagon to town, where they left it. York reached Fort Scott, and on March 9 began the return journey to Independence, but never arrived. On October 31, 1889, it was reported that a Mrs. Almira Monroe (a.k.a. When the party arrived at the inn they found the cabin empty of food, clothing, and personal possessions. By the way, said clerk is a Colored. It first seems like Rabbi might escape, but ultimately he raises his hands in surrender and flies up into the clouds. Serial killer music is a genre unto itself. 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. Four other bodies with crushed skulls and slit throats were also found outside the property in Drum Creek and on the surrounding prairie. Inside the wooden cabin, the area was partitioned with a large canvas, creating living quarters in the back and a small inn and store in the front. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self proclaimed healer and spiritualist. She is fun enough. The Bloody Benders Historical Marker the mellon mounds kansas murders - segiteknoloji.com 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. John was prone to laughing aimlessly, which led many to consider him a "half-wit." Often two women traveling together were accused of being Kate Bender and her mother.[10]. [5], When York repeated the claim, Elvira became enraged, said the woman was a witch who had cursed her coffee, and ordered the men to leave her house, revealing for the first time that "her sense of the English language" was much better than was let on. At Chanute, JohnJr. and Kate left the train and caught the MK&T train south to the terminus in Red River County near Denison, Texas. [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. After following a fresh trail of wagon tracks, a search party found that the Benders had gone to the town of nearby Thayer, some twelve miles to the north. 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. "[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. Records of the incarceration back up this affidavit. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Nice, in all my research on serial killers, I can't name many examples of a full family of murderers, and two of them were female, another rarity. All had been involved in disposing of the victims' stolen goods with Mit Cherry, a member of the vigilance committee, implicated for forging a letter from one of the victims, informing the man's wife that he had arrived safely at his destination in Illinois. Benders Mounds Cemetery Labette County , Kansas , USA - *Estimated location First Name Middle Name Last Name (s) Search this cemetery More search options Search tips About Photos 0 Map About No location information available Add Location Cemetery ID: 2728705 Members have Contributed 6 Memorials 100% photographed A place to discuss Lawrence Kansas happenings and news. Subreddit for the FX original TV series, Fargo. 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. If not accosted by road agents, travelers also had to be concerned about Indian attacks. The museum remained a popular tourist destination until it closed in 1978 when a fire station was built. Fact or fiction, no one knows, but Ive always enjoyed the tale and hope you will as well. They admitted Dr. York had stayed with them and suggested the possibility that he had run into trouble with Indians. Tole reported the fact to the township trustee, but due to inclement weather, several days lapsed before the abandonment could be investigated. (AP) - A man already in prison . Finally, the men physically moved the entire cabin to the side and began to search beneath, but no bodies were found there either. melon mounds liberal kansas The Benders were undoubtedly surprised to find that the man wasnt dead. The township trustee called for volunteers, and several hundred turned out to form a search party that included Colonel York. As more and more travelers vanished, suspicion began to circle the Mellons. The Mellons are believed to have killed over a dozen people, including a child. She was 20 at the time of her death. Buried in the apple orchard. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self-proclaimed healer and spiritualist. Though the pair were jailed, the case was dropped for lack of evidence. Both knew of William's travel plans and, when he failed to return, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. melon mounds kansas murders [7], They then probed the ground around the cabin with a metal rod, especially in the disturbed soil of the vegetable garden and orchard, where Dr. York's body was found later that evening, buried face down with his feet barely below the surface. mellon mounds kansas murdersduskull evolution arceus. RELATED: Missed the last episode? Catch up here! A Catholic priest claimed to have seen one of the Bender men concealing a large hammer, at which point he became uncomfortable and quickly departed. They purchased tickets on the northbound Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Train to Humboldt. They set up an inn, lured people into staying, then either hit them with a hammer or cut there throats with a knife before burying them in an apple orchard. Mrs. Almira Griffith) and Mrs. Sarah Eliza Davis had been arrested in Niles, Michigan (often misreported as Detroit) several weeks earlier for larceny. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. kansas historical marker the mellon mounds Orchard Park Police Blotter 2021 , Fran Mccaffery Daughter , How Much Does Bronny Average? 18701873", Sheriff Saves the Neck of a Man Who Murdered His Own Daughter, "Dr William H. York (1840-1873) - Find a Grave", "The Bloody Benders: 140-year-old crime scene still fascinates today", "Selective Omissions, or, What Laura Ingalls Wilder left out of LITTLE HOUSE", "Little House on the Prairie, serial killers, and the nature of memoir", "They Bite: Anthony Boucher's Weirder Western", "Hitchcock's Birds, Hope Diamond, Phineas Gage", "One Red Dead Redemption 2 Side Quest Is Based On An Actual Serial Killer", 1873 map of Bender claim in Osage township of Labette County, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloody_Benders&oldid=1142480623, "The old man was a repulsive, hideous brute, without a redeeming trait, dirty, profane and ill-tempered. The family quickly ran away in the middle of the night never to be seen. Relocating to Independence from, 7) December 1872: Johnny Boyle. If you live in that town in Kansas today, oh yeah you know about it. At her hearing, Mrs. Monroe denied any knowledge of Shearer or the manslaughter charge and remained incarcerated with her daughter. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. Her tag says her name is Rabbit. [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. The body of a young girl was found with no injuries sufficient to cause death. A trap door, nailed shut, was discovered on the cabin floor. melon mounds liberal kansas python list memory allocation In the winter of 1872, Mr. Loncher and his daughter had left Independence for Iowa but were never heard from again. She soon found the lecture circuit profitable by distributing circulars that proclaimed her skills, including supernatural powers and the ability to cure illnesses and infirmities. melon mounds liberal kansas They then began to follow a wagon trail left by the Benders that took them down as far south as Tulsa, Oklahoma, before circling back into Kansas. In her lectures she publicly declared that murder might be a dictation for good; that in what the world might deem villainy, her soul might read bravery, nobility, and humanity. So yeah, kind of obscure. Fortunately, Omie appears behind Calamita and gets him with his last bullet. Site of 1870s 'Bloody Benders' serial killings is for sale | The [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. Donald's family owns successful McDonald's franchises in their home town of Phoenix, Arizona. The old Bender property was haunted, and the rumors of the locals began to fly. In the spring of 1873, Longcor's former neighbor, Dr. William Henry York, went looking for them and questioned homesteaders along the trail. One of these families was the Benders, comprised of John Bender, Sr.; his wife, Almira; son, John, Jr.; and daughter, Kate. NEW YORK The Occupy Wall Street movement has close to $300,000, as well as storage space loaded with donated supplies in lower Manhattan. The desk clerk who shows them to their room warns them that the sisters dont care for colored people, a refrain echoed repeatedly through this episode. [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. Calamita is swept up into the funnel, along with the filling station and the bodies littering its floors. We are, in fact, in Kansas. 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?) From the first grayscale frame, its clear that were arent in Kansas City anymore. Carrie Nelson was beaten to death during an apparent robbery at Blue Mounds State Park in May 2001. Despite the lack of identification, the man's skull was displayed as that of "Pa Bender" in a Salmon saloon until Prohibition forced its closure in 1920 and the skull disappeared. Also one of the victims was the neighbor of the person who wrote Little House on the Prarie. Shortly thereafter, the family disappeared. When the vigilantegroup approached, the Benders fired on them, at which time, the judge lost part of his ear to a flying bullet. One of those places was the Bender Inn. Tonights episode made a wonderfully quick reference to obscure Kansas Whether the stuff of folklore or fact, many believe that the trapped souls of these century-old ghosts continue to lurk at the site today. [3] Also in 1884, an elderly man matching John Bender Sr.'s description was arrested in Montana for a murder committed near Salmon, Idaho, where the victim had been killed by a hammer blow to the head. In 1884, it was reported that John Flickinger had committed suicide in Lake Michigan. Wikizero - Bloody Benders This one would make a great show/movie, but we keep seeing remakes and reboots. what happened to johnny rodriguez country singer William Pickering said that when he had refused to sit near the wagon cloth because of the stains on it, Kate Bender had threatened him with a knife, whereupon he fled the premises. sdsu basketball recruiting 2021 - boztepeyapi.net Several weeks after the discovery of the bodies, Addison Roach and his son-in-law, William Buxton, were arrested as accessories. Hunza Guides is Pakistan's top mountain destination management company offering full board tours, trekking and expeditions services in Pakistan. This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 16:54. A decade after the gruesome killings, nothing was left of the cabin and outbuildings on the property. When the visitors stopped for a meal, they were seated at a table with their backs to the large canvas separating the inn from the living quarters. 2014. Marker is in this post office area: Cherryvale KS 67335, United States of America. When he refused to sit with his back to the canvas because of its disgusting stains, Pickering said that Kate Bender threatened him with a knife, so he fled the premises. melon mounds liberal kansascrank arm length calculator sheldon browncrank arm length calculator sheldon brown When attempts were made to relocate the museum it became a point of controversy, some locals objecting to the town being known for the Bender murders. Advertisement Coins. The real one reads as follows: Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family--John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate--who settled here in 1871. He leaves Satchel in the car with Rabbit while hes doing this, and the boy is approached by a nervous policeman who prepares to draw his weapon as he asks Satchel to leave the car. Kate was purportedly Elvira's fifth daughter. One arm was broken. This tugs his heartstrings, inspiring him to leave the boardinghouse in search of some kind of birthday treat for his ward. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. In 1870, five families of spiritualists settled in western Labette County, about seven miles northeast of where Cherryvale would be platted a year later. The two were known to have had a relationship, and further tales abounded that when Kate became pregnant, they would simply bash in the babys head once it was born. Kate was the fifth child of Ma Bender and was born Eliza Griffith. Suspect charged in 2001 state park killing | MPR News When friends and family began to look for them, they could trace them as far as the Big Hill Country of southeast Kansas before finding no trace of the lost traveler. After a cabin, a barn with a corral, and a well were built, in the fall of 1871, Elvira Bender and daughter Kate arrived, and the cabin was divided into two rooms by a canvas wagon-cover. styled components as prop typescript; indie bands from austin, texas; dr pepper marketing strategy; barking and dagenham hmo register; famous belgian chocolate brands 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. Calamita notices him and shoots twice out the window. A beautiful girl of about 23, she was quick to laugh and talk to strangers. Buried in the apple orchard. Rounding out the boardinghouse crew (west side) is a young man on his way to make it rich on the Texas oil fields. As Calamita advances on him, Rabbi tries to grip his gun well enough to shoot. It declares, THE FUTURE IS NOW.. Telling the story of his near-death, Jesse quickly retold it to a nearby doctor and judge, who formed a vigilante group to go after the Benders. Speaking English fluently with a German accent, he was said to have been social, but he was prone to laughing aimlessly, which led many people to think of him as a half-wit. 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. The texts read "Johannah Bender. The digging continued the next day; nine other bodies and numerous dismembered body parts were found, including a woman and a little girl. Standing over six feet tall, John was a giant of a man who, because of his piercing black eyes set deeply under huge bushy brows, earned him the nickname of old beetle-browed John. His ruddy face, mostly covered by a heavy beard, sullen expression, and long hair often led to him being described as a wild and wooly-looking man.. I'd need to check but my gut feeling is that its real. John Bender, Jr. was actually a man named John Gebhardt. [9], More than a dozen bullet holes were found in the roof and sides of the cabin. When he pulls into the drive, he spots Calamitas empty car at the pump immediately. Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family ~~ John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate ~~ who settled here in 1871.