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Bloody Benders

The Bender family, more popularly 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 family consisted of John Bender and his wife, Elvira; their son, John Jr.; and daughter Kate. While popular retelling of the story holds that John Jr. 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. While there is no definitive number, estimates report that the Benders killed at least a dozen travelers before their crimes were discovered. The fate of the family remains unknown, with theories ranging from a lynching of the family to a successf… more »