By 1873, reports of missing people who had passed through the area had become so common that travelers began to avoid the trail. 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. 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 . The book "All the Blood We Share: A Novel of the Bloody Benders of Kansas", by Camilla Bruce, published in 2022. The owner of the Drum Creek claim was suspected, but no action was taken. The notorious "Bloody Benders" were a German immigrant family who owned both a general store and small inn in the early 1870s in Labette County. Her tag says her name is Rabbit. The right knee had been wrenched from its socket, and the leg doubled up under the body. 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. Donald's family owns successful McDonald's franchises in their home town of Phoenix, Arizona. The story of the Benders' escape spread, and the search continued on and off for the next 50 years. She learns something new about herself every time she watches an episode of Wonder Woman. This unnamed man was one of the many who made the mistake of stopping at the Bender Inn. Look for these with their cute sunflowers. . mellon mounds kansas murders In the spring of 1894, the victims bodies were discovered, sending the town into hysteria. In 1884, it was reported that John Flickinger had committed suicide in Lake Michigan. While there is no definitive number, estimates report that the Benders killed at least a dozen travelers before their crimes were discovered. Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. Upon further investigation, Captain James B. Marker is in this post office area: Cherryvale KS 67335, United States of America. The texts read "Johannah Bender. melon mounds liberal kansas 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. Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2022. She also claimed to possess psychic powers, including communicating with the dead. More gruesomely, though the little girls body was found to have multiple injuries, none of them would have caused death, and it was speculated that the poor lass may have been buried alive. Eyewitness testimony was given that Mrs. Monroe was Elvira Bender. melon mounds liberal kansaspython list memory allocationpython list memory allocation On October 31, 1889, it was reported that a Mrs. Almira Monroe (a.k.a. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/washingtonhistor0014unse The CAashington Historical . Rounding out the boardinghouse crew (west side) is a young man on his way to make it rich on the Texas oil fields. The burial site was christened Hells Half-Acre, and another brother of Dr. York, a lawyer and State Senator residing in Independence offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the Bender familys arrest. Senator Samuel C. Pomeroy's bribery of state legislators in his bid for re-election. It was reported at the time that Kate was into free love, telling fortunes, and being a little too close to her brother. 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. Much folklore and legend surrounds the Benders, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction. Game got that right. They were never caugnt. 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. 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. 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. 10) December 1872: John Greary. kansas historical marker the mellon mounds Some believe justice came to them in the end. ", In May 1871, the body of a man named Jones, whose skull had been crushed and throat cut, was discovered in Drum Creek. The parts did not belong to any of the other victims found and are believed to belong to at least three additional victims. Discover something new every day from News, Sports, Finance, Entertainment and more! While not actually on the old Bender property, the marker sits on the high prairie about a mile northwest of Bender Mounds at the US-400 and US-169 interchange at the Montgomery County Rest area, north of Cherryvale. In the winter of 1872, George Newton Longcor left Independence, Kansas with his infant daughter Mary Ann to resettle in Iowa; they were never seen again. Their downfall was the murder of a father and daughter named Loncher, and Dr. William York, who had come looking for the missing pair. 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]. HISTORICAL MARKER , Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family ~~ John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate ~~ who settled here in 1871. Kate then became abusive toward them, and shortly afterward the Bender men emerged from behind the cloth. As they break for a Coke, Calamita arrives. Colonel York agreed that this was possible and remained for dinner. They return to their room, where Rabbi informs Satchel that theyll be leaving that night as he counts his money. Prying it open, the men found a six-foot-deep hole filled with clotted blood, causing a terrible odor. why i quit civil engineering; goo goo gaga family net worth; how to make homemade biscuits without baking powder; noah hester restaurant; A mysterious murder site has a new owner. He's - Kansas Reflector 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 Fargo is a critically acclaimed series created by Noah Hawley, who is also the creator of FX's Legion. No documentation or definitive proof of their relationships to one another, or where they were born, has ever been found. From there, they traveled to an outlaw colony thought to be in the border region between Texas and New Mexico. Records of the incarceration back up this affidavit. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self-proclaimed healer and spiritualist. As the boy listened, the men continued to talk, relating the tale of how the judge had lost his ear. In Rabbis absence, Satchel discovers a Jack Russel terrier hiding in the wardrobe in his room. All four had crushed skulls and throats cut. [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. State Senator Alexander York offered a $1,000 ($22,619 as of 2023) reward for the family's arrest. [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. A self-proclaimed healer and psychic, she distributed flyers advertising her supernatural powers and her ability to cure illnesses. Benders Mounds Cemetery in Kansas - Find a Grave Cemetery 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. The Bender artifacts were eventually given to the Cherryvale Museum, where they remain in a wall-mounted display case. Her face was a fit picture of the midnight hag that wove the spell murderous ambition about the soul of Macbeth. 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. The body would then be buried in the garden behind the house during the night. At this point the customers felt uneasy and decided to leave, a move that almost certainly saved their lives. Shortly thereafter, the family disappeared. We are, in fact, in Kansas. As Calamita advances on him, Rabbi tries to grip his gun well enough to shoot. McCrotty, and John Geary, as well as an unidentified male and female. 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. In 1923 it was donated to the Kansas Museum of History by York's wife but is not on display; still bearing reddish-brown stains on the blade, it can be seen upon request. 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. Also one of the victims was the neighbor of the person who wrote Little House on the Prarie. As Active Shooter incidents have increased, employers are tasked with training employees on how to escape, hide, or fight. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. They broke up the stone slab floor with sledgehammers, but found no bodies, and determined that the smell was from blood that had soaked into the soil. He steps out of his car, gun drawn, and discovers the filling station attendants body in a doorway. Quickly, the scavengers were frightened away by the dead souls to spread their ghostly tales. Along with an old episode of Death Valley Days. She was 20 at the time of her death. One may have been Jack Bogart, whose horse was purchased from a friend of the Benders after he went missing in 1872. Mrs. Monroe now admitted she had married a Mr. Shearer in 1872 and claimed she had previously denied it, as she did not want the court to know that her name was Shearer at that time and that she had a conviction for manslaughter. 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 corpse was that of Dr. William H. York, his skull bludgeoned and his throat cut from ear to ear. [1][2][3], John Bender, Sr. was around 60 years old and spoke little English. Uncovered: Unsolved Kansas Murders Today, Smalley descendants continue to live in the Neodosha and Cherryvale area. 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. A decade after the gruesome killings, nothing was left of the cabin and outbuildings on the property. One arm was broken. mellon mounds kansas murders. The "Bloody Benders" were a German family of four that settled a claim in southeastern Kansas in Labette County. 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. 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. There is a LOT to unpack in the latest episode of Fargo, some of which will likely be easier when we see what happens next. 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. Home TV & Streaming Recaps & Reviews FARGO Recap: (S04E09) East/West, Posted by Leona Laurie | Nov 16, 2020 | Recaps & Reviews, TV & Streaming | 0. All Rights Reserved. The body of a young girl was found with no injuries sufficient to cause death. 37 20.932 N, 95 31.668 W. Marker is in Morehead, Kansas, in Montgomery County. John Bender, Jr. was actually a man named John Gebhardt. 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. The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential American family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Almira Griffith) and Mrs. Sarah Eliza Davis had been arrested in Niles, Michigan (often misreported as Detroit) several weeks earlier for larceny. Many innocent men under suspicion were also run out of the county by these committees.[5]. They werent even a true family the only ones related were Ma and Kate Bender. The Mellons are believed to have killed over a dozen people, including a child. From those who knew them and have written about the Benders:[4], She professed to be a medium of spiritualism, and delivered lectures on that subject. sdsu basketball recruiting 2021 - boztepeyapi.net Elvira Bender, who also allegedly spoke little English, was 55 years old and so unfriendly that her neighbors took to calling her a "she-devil.". Shortly after theyve settled, Rabbi leaves Satchel alone with his usual goodbye of, If I dont come back, Im dead or in jail. He drives into Liberal to see about the money he left behind, only to discover that the feed store was sold at auction and has been converted to an appliance store by a pair of brothers. It is conjectured[by whom?] Fortunately, Rabbi returns in time to shut down the likely police shooting and receives a warning from the officer about keeping his colored boy out of sight in a town like that. Fargo: The True Story - Image Journal According to the 1870 census, George and his wife, Mary Jane, were neighbors of. Franks father, Jesse P. Smalley, and several men were joking with a local judge, teasing him about his missing ear. About 75 people attended the gathering, including both Bender men. mellon mounds kansas murders - lavamusic.is However, as more time passed, the disappearances became more frequent, and by the spring of 1873, the region had become strife with rumors, and travelers began to avoid the trail. 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. This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 16:54. Calamita notices him and shoots twice out the window. Later, Satchel awakens to find that hes fallen asleep and doesnt know where his friend has gone. Calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and copper are especially concentrated in sunflower seeds. The for the guy who discovered Pluto? Though no one ever collected the rewards offered, rumors of several parties who had captured and killed the Benders began to fly. Continuing, they began to dig around the cabin, especially in an area the Benders had utilized as a vegetable garden and orchard. Like others, he was hit over the head as he sat at the table. They admitted Dr. York had stayed with them and suggested the possibility that he had run into trouble with Indians. On May 17th, Governor Thomas Osborn added to that amount by offering a $2,000 reward for the apprehension of all four. The affidavits and other papers are missing from the file in LaBette County, so further examination is impossible. Season 4 Episode 22 (1961) of the TV series, Season 1, episode 15 (2006) of the TV series, The "Hitchcock's Birds, Hope Diamond, Phineas Gang" episode of the Travel Channel's show, The Bender Family is mentioned in episode 94 of the podcast, The story was recounted on Investigation Discovery's, The metal pioneers Macabre have a song about the Benders, who are said to be of Norwegian ancestry -. Another of Mrs. Monroe's daughters, Mary Gardei, later provided an affidavit claiming that her mother (then Almira Shearer), under the name of Almira Marks, was actually serving two years in the Detroit House of Corrections in 1872 for the manslaughter of her daughter-in-law, Emily Mark. Though most were led to believe John and Kate were sister and brother, others said that they sometimes passed as man and wife. "[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. Fargo has won multiple Emmy Awards and Golden Globes Awards for outstanding work in television. Calamita is swept up into the funnel, along with the filling station and the bodies littering its floors. Several groups of vigilantes were formed to search for the Benders. Finally, the men physically moved the entire cabin to the side and began to search beneath, but no bodies were found there either. "[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. 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. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. She watches (and recaps) a lot of TV, sees every Marvel movie on opening night and reads voraciously. John was prone to laughing aimlessly, which led many to consider him a "half-wit." The Six Most Terrifying Serial Killer Families In History - Gizmodo RELATED: Keep up with our Fargo Season Four recaps here! As more and more travelers vanished, suspicion began to circle the Mellons. At her hearing, Mrs. Monroe denied any knowledge of Shearer or the manslaughter charge and remained incarcerated with her daughter. Nothing like this sickening series of crimes had ever been recorded in the whole history of the country.. The Bloody Benders - Serial Killers of Kansas Bender Mounds, Kansas by Kathy Alexander. Thomas Jefferson was one of the first to excavate into a Native American burial mound, citing the disappearance of the "noble" Indianscaused by violence and the corruption of the encroaching white. Fargo recap: The future is now! - yahoo.com Both knew of his travel plans, and when he failed to return home, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. Catch up here! The Benders were undoubtedly surprised to find that the man wasnt dead. Rabbi would not have been one of the Mellons.). By the time a deputy from Cherryvale arrived, identification was impossible due to decomposition. Whenever he is asked a question about himself, Satchels response is that he is hungry.