mellon mounds kansas murders

In 1967, three of the Bender hammers were gifted to the museum by the Dick family. Attempts to capture the bloodthirsty family were immediately made by both law officers and vigilantes alike. THE KANSAS MURDER TRILOGY by Melvin Litton offers three stand-alone novels that spring from the heartland and mark three pivotal moments in our nation's life: the fall of Saigon and the loss of faith in the post-war construct, 1975; the brink of the Space Age and Civil Rights era, 1960; and the Great Depression, 1934. the mellon family kansas. Location. When his father (my great grandfather), Frank Smalley, was a boy, he was hiding in the hayloft of the family barn when he overheard a group of men below talking and laughing. As more and more travelers disappeared, suspicion began to center on the Benders. Calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and copper are especially concentrated in sunflower seeds. Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family--John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate--who settled here in 1871. the mellon mounds kansas murders Blakeslee, 75, became intrigued by Etzanoa after scholars at UC Berkeley retranslated in 2013 the often muddled Spanish accounts of their forays into what is now Kansas . Guess well have to wait to find out . That is a Kansas historical society sign. Press J to jump to the feed. Finally, the men physically moved the entire cabin to the side and began to search beneath, but no bodies were found there either. sdsu basketball recruiting 2021vice president internal student council. On May 17, Kansas Governor Thomas A. Osborn offered a $2,000 ($45,239 as of 2023) reward for the apprehension of all four. 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. They were not pursued, as lawmen following outlaws into this region often never returned. One of these families was the Benders, comprised of John Bender, Sr.; his wife, Almira; son, John, Jr.; and daughter, Kate. John BenderJr. was around 25 years old and handsome, with auburn hair and a mustache, and spoke English fluently with a German accent. HISTORICAL MARKER [5][18] $10 (2023: $226), a, 8-9) December 1872: George Newton Longcor and his 18-month-old daughter, Mary Ann. , Fedmyster Google Doc , Gladiator Lucilla Character Analysis , Fran Mccaffery Daughter , The Ranches At Royal Pines Livingston Tx , Crooked Stick Golf Club Membership Cost , Mart Bus Fitchburg To Gardner . They disappeared in the spring of 1873, shortly before inquisitive neighbors discovered the victims' bodies. The lonely hills meander across what is now U.S. Highway 400, where travelers whoosh by in comfort at 65 mph. "[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. When neighboring communities started to make slanderous insinuations, the Osage Township called a meeting held at the Harmony Grove schoolhouse in March to see what, if anything, could be done. Along with her desire for fame, she also craved wealth and position. Buried in the apple orchard. The 4th United States Colored Infantry, 1863-1866, A History of the Ninth New Jersey Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War, How . Donald, his wife Karen and their three kids live a nice, comfortable life. [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. 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. January 23, 2021. 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. I have heard my grandfather tell of this story since I was a boy and Grandpa swears that this is the real story of what happened to the Benders. Their murders were carried out by use of a canvas curtain that divided the house into two rooms. Instead, we downshift hard into the side story ofSatchel (Rodney L Jones III) andRabbi (Ben Whishaw) on the lam, withConstant Calamita (Gaetano Bruno) on their tail. Fortunately, Omie appears behind Calamita and gets him with his last bullet. At the site of a freshly stirred depression in the earth, they found the first body, buried head downward with its feet scarcely covered. Will this theme continue next week? [7] Brockman would be arrested again 23 years later for the rape and murder of his own 18-year-old daughter.[8]. The Bloody Benders - Serial Killers of Kansas Bender Mounds, Kansas by Kathy Alexander. As Active Shooter incidents have increased, employers are tasked with training employees on how to escape, hide, or fight. The group is believed to be one of the first serial killer families in America. Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. Secretly, the four made a living through murder and robbery., Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. After bearing him a dozen children, including Kate, Mr. Griffith suddenly died; some said of a bad place on his head, resembling a dent that might be made with a hammer. Yep the Abberdeens are very clearly based on the Benders, specifically Kate and John Jr. , Near here are the Bender Mounds, named for the infamous Bender family ~~ John, his wife, son, and daughter Kate ~~ who settled here in 1871. One of the women would cut the victim's throat to ensure death, and the body was then dropped through the trap door. 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." He finally gets to eat that evening at a bizarre dinner of fish sticks and potatoes. His son chose a narrow piece of land just north of his fathers; however, he never lived on his claim nor made any improvements. My grandfather, who is approaching 80 years old, is always full of great stories, but he assured me that his father, who passed this on to him, knew what happened. Inicio; mellon mounds kansas murders; Sin categorizar; mellon mounds kansas murders In the end, the artifacts, including the hammers, photos, and newspaper clippings, were placed in the Cherryvale Museum and can still be seen today at 215 East 4th Street. The next morning, another eight bodies were found in seven of the nine suspected graves, while one was found in the well, along with a number of body parts. Kate was the fifth child of Ma Bender and was born Eliza Griffith. When he wakes alone again in the morning, Satchel takes Rabbit for a walk down the lane to where a man has finished building a cryptic billboard featuring a white man in a suit and hat smiling expectantly in front of a ranch style house. 23) February 1872: Two unidentified men found on the prairie in February 1872 with crushed skulls and throats cut. Also, sleep with one eye open. This is blatantly a reference to the Bender Family, a family of serial killers from late 1800s Kansas. Many stories say that one vigilante group actually caught the Benders and shot all of them but Kate, whom they burned alive. Game got that right. We are, in fact, in Kansas. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self proclaimed healer and . The legend was debunked on June 8, 1966, when an EF-5 twister churned its way across the city, cutting a diagonal swath of destruction from S.W. 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. literally thought of red dead redemption 2 when i saw this episode, and saw that scene. 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. Later, Satchel awakens to find that hes fallen asleep and doesnt know where his friend has gone. 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. While there is no definitive number, estimates report that the Benders killed at least a dozen travelers before their crimes were discovered. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. One weird oversight. Mrs. McCann's story came from dreams about her father's murder, which she discussed with Sarah Eliza. From the first grayscale frame, its clear that were arent in Kansas City anymore. Leona Laurie is a Senior Contributor for Geek Girl Authority and co-host of the Marvel-Us podcast. 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. 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. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders. 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. [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. Graves of the many who the Benders killed. All but one had their heads bashed with a hammer and throats cut, and newspapers reported that all were "indecently mutilated. Kate then became abusive toward them, and shortly afterward the Bender men emerged from behind the cloth. Before York left, Kate asked him to return alone the following Friday night, and she would use her clairvoyant abilities to help him find his brother. Next to their room is a hospital man, an obese white man with bandages all over him and some kind of skin condition that makes him look monstrous to the passing child. It first seems like Rabbi might escape, but ultimately he raises his hands in surrender and flies up into the clouds. The wall wherein he hid his cash is gone, and he knows with certainty that the brothers found it. 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. Kate Bender, who was around 23, was cultivated and attractive and spoke English well, with little accent. 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. A terrible smell inside the abandoned inn also met them. But if your not from Kansas it's a fairly obscure story. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/washingtonhistor0014unse The CAashington Historical . For all these deaths, the Benders gained only about $4,600, two teams of horses and wagons, a pony, and a saddle. From there, they traveled to an outlaw colony thought to be in the border region between Texas and New Mexico. . [1], One detective later claimed that he had traced the pair to the border, where he had found that JohnJr. had died of apoplexy. 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. Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., December 18, 2011, The Bloody Benders. In the end, it was Kate who was primarily blamed for the numerous bloody murders that, even at her young age, was the inspiration for the crimes. The women's identities were later confirmed by two Osage township witnesses from a tintype photograph. I wouldn't have imagined a crazier hotel story other than H H Holmes and The Murder Castle. As Calamita advances on him, Rabbi tries to grip his gun well enough to shoot. Fact or fiction, no one knows, but Ive always enjoyed the tale and hope you will as well. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. "[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. [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. 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. This is blatantly a reference to the Bender Family, a family of serial killers from late 1800s Kansas. Finally, unsolved murders in Shawnee County, Kansas, can be found among these lists. read the excerpt from part 1 of the odyssey Continuing, they began to dig around the cabin, especially in an area the Benders had utilized as a vegetable garden and orchard. As more and more travelers vanished, suspicion began to circle the Mellons. ", "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. 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). He then cautiously looks through a window, where he sees Calamita standing over a wounded Omie, gun drawn. In 1884, it was reported that John Flickinger had committed suicide in Lake Michigan. 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. 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. This one would make a great show/movie, but we keep seeing remakes and reboots. By the time a deputy from Cherryvale arrived, identification was impossible due to decomposition. ", "Old Mrs. Bender was a dirty old Dutch crone. The petite auburn-haired beauty desired notoriety and often advocated free love and justification for murder in her lectures. So weird, this last weekend I was just reading about the Benders due to a similar encounter in Red Dead Redemption 2. [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. The Bender cabin was ripped apart by gruesome souvenir hunters right down to the bloody bricks that lined the cellar. [11] Whether John Flickinger was really John Bender is unknown. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders while escaping to the south and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. This historical marker was erected by Kansas State Historical Society and Kansas Department of Transportation. In February 1872, the bodies of two men were found with the same injuries as Jones. The property was located directly on the Osage Mission-Independence Trail that operated from Independence to Fort Scott. The right knee had been wrenched from its socket, and the leg doubled up under the body. 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. The little store carried a few supplies such as powder, shot, groceries, liquor, and tobacco, sold meals, and provided a safe overnight resting place to the strangers along the road. (AP) - A man already in prison . 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. Colonel A.M. York, leading a contingency of some 50 men, began questioning every traveler along the trail and stopping at the area homesteads. In the 19th century, Kansas was a bloody place, especially before the Civil War, as " Free-Soilers " and slavery advocates "duked" it out for control of the new territory. It is conjectured[by whom?] [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. 215 East 4th Street 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 John was prone to laughing aimlessly, which led many to consider him a "half-wit." Find links to our programs, locations, partners, staff members, and communications. Each season of Fargo stands alone - you can watch them all out of order and still be able to understand what's going on. Thanks for putting this up I knew the story sounded familiar..the was on an episode of Lore. The 162-acre tract of cropland known as the "Bender Farm" will be sold off to. After Colonel Yorks visit and the meeting at the Harmony Grove schoolhouse, the Bender family fled. There is a lot of weird details, like the two children, Kate and John Jr Bender possibly being husband and wife, or the parents Elvira and John Sir being two nobodies who merely said they were family. It isnt a kill shot, though, and Calamita whips around to put Omie down. Good info. In total, 12 men "of bad repute in general" would be arrested, including Brockman. Both knew of William's travel plans and, when he failed to return, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. When the party arrived at the inn they found the cabin empty of food, clothing, and personal possessions. In 1870, five families of spiritualists settled in western Labette County, about seven miles northeast of where Cherryvale would be platted a year later. 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. Yet another claimed to have killed the Benders during a gunfight and buried their bodies on the prairie. 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.". Several groups of vigilantes were formed to search for the Benders. 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. And everything is in color! They were never found and later I formed my own conclusions why. If you live in that town in Kansas today, oh yeah you know about it. From these depths allegedly came the souls of those murdered on the site, wandering about the property and making moaning sounds that passersby could hear. Seventy-five locals attended the meeting, including Colonel York and both John BenderSr. and John BenderJr. After discussing the disappearances, including that of William York, they agreed to obtain a warrant to search every homestead between Big Hill Creek and Drum Creek. Carrie Nelson was beaten to death during an apparent robbery at Blue Mounds State Park in May 2001. I remember that song. 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. Nothing like this sickening series of crimes had ever been recorded in the whole history of the country.. $2,000 (2023: $45,239) missing. Legends of America founder Kathy Weiser-Alexander hams it up for Discovery Channel producers for the show Evil Kin, episode 2, season 2, The Bloody Benders, original air date August 12. Johnny Boyles body was found in the well. Though no one ever collected the rewards offered, rumors of several parties who had captured and killed the Benders began to fly. Markers of the Kansas state historical markers program administered by the Kansas Historical Society and Kansas Department of Transportation. Relocating to Independence from, 7) December 1872: Johnny Boyle. It said the plaque was erected by the Kansas City historical society. Bloody Benders - The Forgotten Story of a Family of Pioneer Kansas Serial Killers By: Justin Nobel | Date: Sat, November 16th, 2013 The Bender family lived in southeastern Kansas and murdered pioneers headed west during the late 1800s. Many innocent men under suspicion were also run out of the county by these committees.[5]. Donald's family owns successful McDonald's franchises in their home town of Phoenix, Arizona. Fargo is a critically acclaimed series created by Noah Hawley, who is also the creator of FX's Legion. ", In May 1871, the body of a man named Jones, whose skull had been crushed and throat cut, was discovered in Drum Creek. [1][2][3], John Bender, Sr. was around 60 years old and spoke little English. 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. Daughter Kate was the friendliest of the bunch, speaking good English with just a slight accent and bore cultivated social skills. The texts read "Johannah Bender. They return to their room, where Rabbi informs Satchel that theyll be leaving that night as he counts his money. 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 has a white man in his trunk, an informant who has helped him track Calamita to the Liberal, Kansas, area. 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. The body of a young girl was found with no injuries sufficient to cause death. The violence at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 was the watershed event which led to the creation of our current day active shooter response programs. 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. By the way, said clerk is a Colored. The only thing remaining an empty hole that had once been the cellar. The Benders were widely believed to be German immigrants. The probing continued until midnight, with another nine suspected grave sites marked before the men were satisfied they had found them all and retired for the night. As word of the grisly murders spread, more and more travelers came forward to tell their own stories of a narrow escape, including one gentleman named William Pickering. After the Benders escape, one detective, who had closely followed all the leads, said that he had traced Gebhardt to the outlaw country along the Texas/New Mexico border, where he had found that the criminal had died of apoplexy. He does not deliver his usual parting words to Satchel. [2] The elder Benders did not leave the train at Humboldt, but instead continued north to Kansas City, where it is believed they purchased tickets for St. Louis, Missouri.[1]. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. Often two women traveling together were accused of being Kate Bender and her mother.[10]. Ten bodies were found in the Benders apple orchard, including Dr. York and the people he had been searching for Mr. Loncher and his daughter, just seven or eight years old. 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. Other corpses found in the area and the many mysterious disappearances of other lonely travelers led the locals to believe that the Benders killed more than 20 people. Premium Powerups . Upon further investigation, Captain James B. Phone: 620-624-3885 Fax: 620-626-7629 Manager: Nora Rubio Email: Email Mead Lumber of Liberal Hours: Cemetery. This unnamed man was one of the many who made the mistake of stopping at the Bender Inn. Fargo has won multiple Emmy Awards and Golden Globes Awards for outstanding work in television. 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. 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. Kate soon gained notoriety as a self-proclaimed healer and spiritualist. Serial killer music is a genre unto itself. A message requesting positive identification was sent to Cherryvale, but the suspect severed his foot to escape his leg irons and bled to death. A cult-like group, the families, chose from several available claims and began to make their homes. James, John Towner; The Benders of Kansas; Kan-Okla Publishing, Wichita, KS, 1913, reprinted 1995. Dismembered parts of several other victims were also discovered but could never be identified. In the winter of 1872, Mr. Loncher and his daughter had left Independence for Iowa but were never heard from again. The men then physically lifted the cabin and moved it to the side to dig under it, but no bodies were found. While popular retelling of the story holds that John Jr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported . One of the families was John BenderSr. and John BenderJr., who registered 160 acres (65ha) of land located adjacent to the Great Osage Trail, which was then the only open road for traveling farther west. Rewind one day, to Rabbi and Satchel driving past the same station. 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. Secretly, the four made a living through murder and robbery. Touch for map. that when a guest stayed at the Benders' bed and breakfast inn, the hosts would give the guest a seat of honor at the table that was positioned over a trap door into the cellar. Everywhere Satchel and Rabbi appear together, someone calls out the color of Satchels skin and questions their connection. Rounding out the boardinghouse crew (west side) is a young man on his way to make it rich on the Texas oil fields.