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Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. Though most were led to believe John and Kate were sister and brother, others said that they sometimes passed as man and wife. Her face was a fit picture of the midnight hag that wove the spell murderous ambition about the soul of Macbeth. 12) December 1872: Abigail Roberts. why i quit civil engineering; goo goo gaga family net worth; how to make homemade biscuits without baking powder; Moyra Melons (or Moyra Mounds) is a well-endowed mature model famous for saucy poses in revealing clothing and lingerie. Rounding out the boardinghouse crew (west side) is a young man on his way to make it rich on the Texas oil fields. Mrs. Davis claimed that Mrs. Monroe was Elvira Bender, but that she herself was not Kate, but her sister Sarah; she later signed an affidavit to that effect, while Monroe continued to deny the identification and in turn accused Sarah Eliza of being the real Kate Bender. This is blatantly a reference to the Bender Family, a family of serial killers from late 1800s 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. Fargo has won multiple Emmy Awards and Golden Globes Awards for outstanding work in television. She is fun enough. In the spring of 1873, Longcor's former neighbor, Dr. William Henry York, went looking for them and questioned homesteaders along the trail. 1) May 1871: Mr. Jones. John and his raw-boned wife spoke with such guttural accents that few people could understand them. Fortunately, Omie appears behind Calamita and gets him with his last bullet. A roadside sign now marks their murderous exploits. 6) December 1872: Henry McKenzie. At a fork of the Fall and Verdigris Rivers, they found the Benders with their wagon backed up against a fallen tree with canvas over it for shelter. Records of the incarceration back up this affidavit. One of the women would cut the victim's throat to ensure death, and the body was then dropped through the trap door. The Benders tried to help by admitting that Dr. York had stopped at their place but convinced the search party that he had left and was probably waylaid by Indians. His habit of laughing aimlessly led to him being described as a half-wit, though many afterward believed this was simply a ruse to disguise his clever nature. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. Is Rabbi really dead? 5) December 1872: W.F. The Benders remained silent when most of the attendees volunteered to have their premises searched. Once in the cellar, the body would be stripped and later buried somewhere on the property, often in the orchard. The captive makes a run for it, and Omie shoots him dead and drags his body out of sight. Because some of the travelers were carrying nothing of value, it was widely speculated that the Benders killed simply for the bloody thrill of it. what happened to johnny rodriguez country singervice president internal student council. Four other bodies with crushed skulls and slit throats were also found outside the property in Drum Creek and on the surrounding prairie. 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. John Bender, Sr. was from either Germany, Norway, or the Netherlands and may have been born John Flickinger. Gabe Gibson, Effingham, Illinois, as told to him by his grandfather, Emerson Smalley, January 2011. [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. Find links to our programs, locations, partners, staff members, and communications. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. On March 28, 1873, Colonel York arrived at the Benders' inn with a Mr. Johnson, explaining to them that his brother had gone missing and asked if they had seen him. Attempts to capture the bloodthirsty family were immediately made by both law officers and vigilantes alike. The property was located directly on the Osage Mission-Independence Trail that operated from Independence to Fort Scott. The diggers were astounded to find what would become known as one of Americas first mass murder burial grounds as body after body was uncovered. Will this theme continue next week? Serial killer music is a genre unto itself. 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. The plaque was created for the show. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self proclaimed healer and . Meanwhile, Ma and Pa Bender continued on the train north to Kansas City, where it was believed they transferred to a train headed to St. Louis. The owner of the Drum Creek claim was suspected, but no action was taken. It was confirmed that the family had bought tickets on the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad for Humboldt. A Catholic priest said he fled when he saw one of the Bender men concealing a large hammer. What a uniquely weird unsolved mystery. barry mcguigan, daughter funeral; mellon mounds kansas murders 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. Although the elder Benders kept to themselves, Kate and her brother regularly attended Sunday school in nearby Harmony Grove. They buried their victims in a neighboring orchard, unbeknownst to the townspeople. 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. They were never caugnt. State Senator Alexander York offered a $1,000 ($22,619 as of 2023) reward for the family's arrest. [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 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. And then, in so many words, Scalia said that nothing in the Eighth Amendment requires that jurors considering "mitigating evidence" that could . [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. 23) February 1872: Two unidentified men found on the prairie in February 1872 with crushed skulls and throats cut. The episode opens with Omie Sparkman (Corey Hendrix) pulling into a filling station on a desolate road in Kansas. Elvira and Kate Bender also planted a 2-acre (0.81ha) vegetable garden and apple orchard north of the cabin. Historical Weather. He returns his attention to Rabbi, who has noticed something behind the Italian: a bona fide Wizard of Oz tornado. Later, Satchel awakens to find that hes fallen asleep and doesnt know where his friend has gone. 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. Of the family, Pa Bender was found to have been a man named John Flickinger, from either Germany or Holland. Eventually, she married and went by the name of Sara Eliza Davis. Bit by bit, the story of the Benders was pieced together. betty crocker net worth 2020; vietnamese culture relationships; pastillas para dormir durante el embarazo; what does modern fit mean in men's shirts? By 1873, reports of missing people who had passed through the area had become so common that travelers began to avoid the trail. At her hearing, Mrs. Monroe denied any knowledge of Shearer or the manslaughter charge and remained incarcerated with her daughter. 2014. These first few missing travelers did not raise an overall alarm in the area as it was not uncommon for men to continue their journey westward during those days. With the victim's back to the curtain, Kate would distract the guest while John Bender or his son came from behind the curtain and struck the guest on the right side of the skull with a hammer. According to a breathless Daily Mail report, nursery-school teacher Inessa Tarverdiyeva and her husband, dentist Roman Podkopayev, were behind "a six-year reign of terror including at least 30. The Benders are believed to have killed about a dozen people, including one child. 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. $38 (2023: $860) and a wagon with a team of horses missing. 0 coins. As Active Shooter incidents have increased, employers are tasked with training employees on how to escape, hide, or fight. When the war was over, pioneers began to head westward along the many trails through Kansas; murder and mayhem persisted as hardened men from the battlefields, grown used to the violence, continued their violent ways along the overland trails in the many cow towns. Across the hall from them, on the east side of the building, is an Old Testament preacher and his mother (whom the resident gabby salesman- west- mistakes for the preachers wife). 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. ", "Kate proclaimed herself responsible to no one save herself.". A decade after the gruesome killings, nothing was left of the cabin and outbuildings on the property. Finally, unsolved murders in Shawnee County, Kansas, can be found among these lists. Phone: 620-624-3885 Fax: 620-626-7629 Manager: Nora Rubio Email: Email Mead Lumber of Liberal Hours: Cemetery. 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. As they make their way up to the top floor, they peer in the open rooms of the other tenants. It was reported at the time that Kate was into free love, telling fortunes, and being a little too close to her brother. Kansas Muskmelon, 2 g. $2.75 Out of Stock Item #52106 (Orange flesh) 90 days. but many still live in fear of their bloody hammer. It was a story about the infamous Benders and about one man who got away. Calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and copper are especially concentrated in sunflower seeds. Fact or fiction, no one knows, but Ive always enjoyed the tale and hope you will as well. Also, sleep with one eye open. Bender Mounds, Kansas by Kathy Alexander. 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. John was prone to laughing aimlessly, which led many to consider him a "half-wit." Originally scheduled for February 1890, the trial was held over to May. mellon mounds kansas murders. This is blatantly a reference to the Bender Family, a family of serial killers from late 1800s Kansas. Once Kansas declared itself with the Union and the Civil War began, the bloody battles continued. 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. Yet another claimed to have killed the Benders during a gunfight and buried their bodies on the prairie. [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. As more and more travelers vanished, suspicion began to circle the Mellons. 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. Word of the gruesome murders spread fast, and thousands of people flocked to the site, including news reporters from as far away as New York and Chicago. Premium Powerups . We are, in fact, in Kansas. 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. John Jr. was found to have been a man named John Gebhardt. [2], Testimony from people who had stayed at the Benders' inn and managed to escape before they could be killed appeared to support the presumed execution method of the Benders. 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 . The texts read "Johannah Bender. 10) December 1872: John Greary. Buried in the apple orchard. He takes Satchel to a quirky (to say the least) boardinghouse, owned by feuding, deaf, elderly sisters. Colonel York, leading a company of some 50 men, questioned every traveler along the trail and visited all the area homesteads. These include the 2012 murder of Quan Donnell, the 1996 murder of Michelle Hutchinson, the 2013 murder of Juan Solis, and the 2016 murder of Robert Williams, among countless others. It is in Morehead in Montgomery County Kansas. 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. Several days later, the Benders team and wagon were found a short distance away, and the horses nearly starved. [5][18] This went on for years until they killed someone related to a Civil War hero and a senator. When the vigilantegroup approached, the Benders fired on them, at which time, the judge lost part of his ear to a flying bullet. The 4th United States Colored Infantry, 1863-1866, A History of the Ninth New Jersey Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War, How . [18] The hammers were displayed at the Bender Museum in Cherryvale, Kansas from 1967 to 1978, when the site was acquired for a fire station. The Bloody Benders - Serial Killers of Kansas Bender Mounds, Kansas by Kathy Alexander. A place to discuss Lawrence Kansas happenings and news. According to the May 23, 1873 edition of The Emporia News, he was identified with the name of William Bender. All but one had their heads bashed with a hammer and throats cut, and newspapers reported that all were "indecently mutilated. In honor of the Kansas state-wide Centennial Celebration, an exact replica of the Bender cabin was built that housed antiques and household items. 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]. In the winter of 1872, Mr. Loncher and his daughter had left Independence for Iowa but were never heard from again. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. Satchel asks to keep Rabbit, and Rabbi refuses until he learns that its the boys birthday. They disappeared in the spring of 1873, shortly before inquisitive neighbors discovered the victims' bodies. The vacated land was then made available to homesteaders, who, for the most part, were a group of hard-working pioneers farming the areas softly rolling hills and windswept prairies. Look for these with their cute sunflowers. The family quickly ran away in the middle of the night never to be seen. Mrs. Bender, a heavyset woman, was so unfriendly and had such sinister eyes that her neighbors began to call her a she-devil. To add to her fierce look, Ma Bender claimed to be a medium who could speak with the dead and boiled herbs and roots that she declared could be used to cast charms or wicked spells. $10 (2023: $226), a, 8-9) December 1872: George Newton Longcor and his 18-month-old daughter, Mary Ann. In 1937 she gave a speech at a book fair which was later transcribed and printed in the September 1978 Saturday Evening Post and in the 1988 book A Little House Sampler. Marker is in this post office area: Cherryvale KS 67335, United States of America. are enough to drive him back into his own room, where he bars the door with a chair and falls asleep again with gun in his hand. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self proclaimed healer and spiritualist. Some of the Benders' neighbors claimed that John and Kate were not brother and sister, but actually husband and wife. Nothing like this sickening series of crimes had ever been recorded in the whole history of the country.. 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. Continuing, they began to dig around the cabin, especially in an area the Benders had utilized as a vegetable garden and orchard. The family soon built a small one-room framed cabin, a barn, and a corral and dug a well. Tole reported the news to Leroy F Dick, the Township Trustee, and a search party was soon formed, which included Dr. Yorks brother, Colonel A.M. York, of Fort Scott. In addition to the museum, southeast Kansas may be the only place where a state historical marker celebrates mass murder. The Benders were not what they appeared. Franks father, Jesse P. Smalley, and several men were joking with a local judge, teasing him about his missing ear. The front section also contained the kitchen and dining table, where travelers could stop for a meal or even spend the night. From there, they traveled to an outlaw colony thought to be in the border region between Texas and New Mexico. Carrie Nelson was beaten to death during an apparent robbery at Blue Mounds State Park in May 2001. 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. Hunza Guides is Pakistan's top mountain destination management company offering full board tours, trekking and expeditions services in Pakistan. Co D 123rd Ill Infantry. 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. , Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family ~~ John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate ~~ who settled here in 1871. Last night, I listened to a story from my grandfather, Emerson Smalley, about the Benders and their supposed end. Judge Calvin dismissed Mary Gardei's affidavit as she was a "chip off the old block"; he found that other affidavits supporting Gardei's were sufficient proof that the women could never be convicted, however, and he discharged them both. Hes connected to a medical machine and has a hovering attendant with goggles on, ministering to him with a hypodermic needle. Cherryvale, Kansas [5], Three days after the township meeting, Billy Tole was driving cattle past the Bender property when he noticed that the inn was abandoned and the farm animals were unfed. 1619) December 1872: During the search, the bodies of four unidentified males were found in Drum Creek and the surrounds. On October 31, 1889, it was reported that a Mrs. Almira Monroe (a.k.a. Cherryvale, Kansas Museum by Kathy Alexander. 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. He does not deliver his usual parting words to Satchel. When he pulls into the drive, he spots Calamitas empty car at the pump immediately. 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. Location. Hell the first album from the Smiths included a song about the Moors Murderers. Along with an old episode of Death Valley Days. This historical marker was erected by Kansas State Historical Society and Kansas Department of Transportation.