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. At this point the customers felt uneasy and decided to leave, a move that almost certainly saved their lives. So yeah, kind of obscure. 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. On May 17th, Governor Thomas Osborn added to that amount by offering a $2,000 reward for the apprehension of all four. 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. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. They broker an arrangement wherein Omie and his captive paint the building in exchange for being allowed to lie in wait. 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 . The Benders used the smaller room at the rear for living quarters, while the front room was converted into a "general store" where a few dry goods were sold. Fixed: Release in which this issue/RFE has been fixed.The release containing this fix may be available for download as an Early Access Release or a General Availability Release. It was confirmed that the family had bought tickets on the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad for Humboldt. John Bender, Jr. was a tall, slender man of about 25 who was handsome with auburn hair and a mustache. Franks father, Jesse P. Smalley, and several men were joking with a local judge, teasing him about his missing ear. 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 . mellon mounds kansas murders. In the winter of 1872, Mr. Loncher and his daughter had left Independence for Iowa but were never heard from again. 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). Quickly, the scavengers were frightened away by the dead souls to spread their ghostly tales. Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., December 18, 2011, The Bloody Benders. We are, in fact, in Kansas. Later, Satchel awakens to find that hes fallen asleep and doesnt know where his friend has gone. 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. His son chose a narrow piece of land just north of his fathers; however, he never lived on his claim nor made any improvements. (In case you wondered after reading that, like I did, what year The Mulligan Concern arrived in Kansas City, it was 1920. "The Bender Family Some New Light on Their Mysterious Disappearance". However, there were no bodies in the hole. but many still live in fear of their bloody hammer. McCrotty, and John Geary, as well as an unidentified male and female. The men with York were convinced the Benders and a neighboring family, the Roaches, were guilty and wanted to hang them all, but York insisted that evidence must be found. Some of the Benders' neighbors claimed that John and Kate were not brother and sister, but actually husband and wife. 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. Some say they escaped, others that the were executed by a vengeful posse. After Colonel Yorks visit and the meeting at the Harmony Grove schoolhouse, the Bender family fled. Finally, the men physically moved the entire cabin to the side and began to search beneath, but no bodies were found there either. mellon mounds kansas murdersduskull evolution arceus. 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. melon mounds liberal kansaspython list memory allocationpython list memory allocation They buried their victims in a neighboring orchard, unbeknownst to the townspeople. Thanks for putting this up I knew the story sounded familiar..the was on an episode of Lore. $2,000 (2023: $45,239) missing. 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. . Copyright20062023,Somerightsreserved. York reached Fort Scott, and on March 9 began the return journey to Independence, but never arrived. sdsu basketball recruiting 2021vice president internal student council. I wouldn't have imagined a crazier hotel story other than H H Holmes and The Murder Castle. He steps out of his car, gun drawn, and discovers the filling station attendants body in a doorway. I'd need to check but my gut feeling is that its real. Their murders were carried out by use of a canvas curtain that divided the house into two rooms. was harry hibbs married; waterloo central railway wedding. The next day, Rabbi goes back to the appliance store and recovers his remaining cash from the brothers at gunpoint. 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. 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. From there, they traveled to an outlaw colony thought to be in the border region between Texas and New Mexico. A trap door, nailed shut, was discovered on the cabin floor. She is fun enough. Legend has it that the family of four gruesomely murdered at least 11 patrons, scattering the bodies throughout their property and county. Press J to jump to the feed. Marker is on the grounds of the rest area located northeast of the intersection of US Highways 189 and 400, about three miles south of Morehead. Good info. Cherryvale, Kansas Museum by Kathy Alexander. 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. In the spring of 1873, Longcor's former neighbor, Dr. William Henry York, went looking for them and questioned homesteaders along the trail. The petite auburn-haired beauty desired notoriety and often advocated free love and justification for murder in her lectures. 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. 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. He pointed out that both families' modus operandi, family unit numbers and other evidence proved that they are one and the same. Menu 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. Keeping mostly to themselves, the Benders appeared to simply be struggling homesteaders who worked hard to earn their living like the other area pioneers. Cherryvale, Kansas Museum The two arrive at The Mellon Mounds- a historical marker in Kansas. This unnamed man was one of the many who made the mistake of stopping at the Bender Inn. A Catholic priest said he fled when he saw one of the Bender men concealing a large hammer. All four had crushed skulls and throats cut. 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. Also one of the victims was the neighbor of the person who wrote Little House on the Prarie. Inicio; mellon mounds kansas murders; Sin categorizar; mellon mounds kansas murders The corpse was that of Dr. William H. York, his skull bludgeoned and his throat cut from ear to ear. 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. When the party arrived at the inn they found the cabin empty of food, clothing, and personal possessions. 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. East/West is a cunningly timed bottle episode. After the third hanging, they released him and he staggered home "as one who was drunken or deranged. ", "Young Bender, seen when excited, recalled the grave-robbing hyena at once to mind. The for the guy who discovered Pluto? This historical marker was erected by Kansas State Historical Society and Kansas Department of Transportation. Born July 30, 1848," "John Gebhardt came to America on July 1 18? Prying it open, the men found a six-foot-deep hole filled with clotted blood, causing a terrible odor. Both knew of his travel plans, and when he failed to return home, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. However, by the time the men arrived at the Benders cabin very early the next morning, they found them gone. No documentation or definitive proof of their relationships to one another, or where they were born, has ever been found. [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. Satchel asks to keep Rabbit, and Rabbi refuses until he learns that its the boys birthday. Along with her desire for fame, she also craved wealth and position. 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 tugs his heartstrings, inspiring him to leave the boardinghouse in search of some kind of birthday treat for his ward. His family was from the Cherryvale, Kansas area, and the story involves a group of men that found the Benders and were in a gunfight with them, one of whom was a judge that lost part of his ear in the gun battle. [1], One detective later claimed that he had traced the pair to the border, where he had found that JohnJr. had died of apoplexy. 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. They disappeared in the spring of 1873, shortly before inquisitive neighbors discovered the victims' bodies. 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. Attempts to capture the bloodthirsty family were immediately made by both law officers and vigilantes alike. Several weeks after the discovery of the bodies, Addison Roach and his son-in-law, William Buxton, were arrested as accessories. The fate of the family remains unknown, with theories ranging from a lynching of the family to a successful escape. Several days later, the Benders team and wagon were found a short distance away, and the horses nearly starved. A piece of land where Kansas' first known serial killers murdered at least 11 people in the 1870s is up for auction. Kate's popularity became a large attraction for the Benders' inn. The Carr brothers were convicted of capital murder in a crime spree in Wichita in 2000 that included robbery, rape, forced sex and four fatal shootings in a snow-covered soccer field. [2], Two men who had traveled to the inn to experience Kate Bender's psychic powers stayed for dinner, but had refused to sit at the table next to the cloth, instead preferring to eat their meal at the main shop counter. 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. "[8] A Roman Catholic prayer book was found in the house with notes inside written in German, which were later translated. 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. 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. In October 1870, five families of spiritualists homesteaded in and around the township of Osage in northwestern Labette County, approximately 7mi (11km) northeast of where Cherryvale was established seven months later. [1][11][12][13][14][15][16], By including the recovered body parts not matched to the bodies found, the finds are speculated to represent the remains of more than 20 victims. The museum remained a popular tourist destination until it closed in 1978 when a fire station was built. Graves of the many who the Benders killed. 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. 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. For all these deaths, the Benders gained only about $4,600, two teams of horses and wagons, a pony, and a saddle. They were never caugnt. According to the 1870 census, George and his wife, Mary Jane, were neighbors of. What little he did speak was so guttural that it was usually unintelligible. 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. That is a Kansas historical society sign. Everywhere Satchel and Rabbi appear together, someone calls out the color of Satchels skin and questions their connection. ASSOCIATED PRESS. Buried in the apple orchard. 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. 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. Many innocent men under suspicion were also run out of the county by these committees.[5]. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/washingtonhistor0014unse The CAashington Historical . Satchel walks down the road with his dog. Moyra Melons (or Moyra Mounds) is a well-endowed mature model famous for saucy poses in revealing clothing and lingerie. Cherryvale, Kansas HISTORICAL MARKER This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 16:54. The "Bloody Benders" were a German family of four that settled a claim in southeastern Kansas in Labette County. Later she married William Stephen Griffith. One of these families was the Benders, comprised of John Bender, Sr.; his wife, Almira; son, John, Jr.; and daughter, Kate. 215 East 4th Street 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. It is in Morehead in Montgomery County Kansas. The plaque was created for the show. Their downfall was the murder of a father and daughter named Loncher, and Dr. William York, who had come looking for the missing pair. [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. [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. Hey babe, nice melon mounds. It was speculated that she had been strangled or buried alive. 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. 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. Though most of us know of Dodge Citys wicked ways, the deadly gunfight of the Daltons in Coffeyville, and the many outlaws and gunfighters who spent time in the Sunflower State, few are aware of a family of mass murderers, living a supposed quiet life near the small town of Cherryvale. why i quit civil engineering; goo goo gaga family net worth; how to make homemade biscuits without baking powder; After opening the trap, the party found clotted blood on the floor of the empty room underneath, 6 feet (1.8m) deep and 7 feet (2.1m) square at the top by 3 feet (0.9m) square at the bottom. When the Benders opened their store and inn in 1871, many travelers would stop for a meal or supplies. Will this theme continue next week? Her face was a fit picture of the midnight hag that wove the spell murderous ambition about the soul of Macbeth. From Howard County, Kansas. In tonight's episode, there's a plaque at the Barton Arms, the hotel Rabbi and Satchel stay at. Like others, he was hit over the head as he sat at the table. Although stories abound, the ultimate fate of the murderous Mellon family was never discovered. They werent even a true family the only ones related were Ma and Kate Bender. Hes connected to a medical machine and has a hovering attendant with goggles on, ministering to him with a hypodermic needle. The affidavits and other papers are missing from the file in LaBette County, so further examination is impossible. It takes an English sentence and breaks it into words to determine if it is a phrase or a clause. 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. 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. 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. Buried in the apple orchard. 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. Carrie Nelson was beaten to death during an apparent robbery at Blue Mounds State Park in May 2001. 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. Outside the door is a plaque that reads: KANSAS The right knee had been wrenched from its socket, and the leg doubled up under the body. 620-336-3576. It was reported at the time that Kate was into free love, telling fortunes, and being a little too close to her brother. Southeast Kansas, in particular, was known as a rough area. Hunza Guides is Pakistan's top mountain destination management company offering full board tours, trekking and expeditions services in Pakistan. 2023 Geek Girl Authority. Discover something new every day from News, Sports, Finance, Entertainment and more! Rewind one day, to Rabbi and Satchel driving past the same station. They were never found and later I formed my own conclusions why. This one would make a great show/movie, but we keep seeing remakes and reboots. 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. East/West may *look* like a detour into surrealist Midcentury Italian cinema when it opens, but the minute the wind starts blowing through black and white Kansas you know where you are. Dr. York had two brothers, one living in Fort Scott and the other in Independence. While popular retelling of the story holds that John Jr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported . As they make their way up to the top floor, they peer in the open rooms of the other tenants. Bit by bit, the story of the Benders was pieced together. 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. The victim was then dispatched from behind with a hammer, and the body was dropped into a basement pit, later to be buried in an orchard., As more and more travelers disappeared, suspicion began to center on the Benders. It is conjectured[by whom?] Kate soon gained notoriety as a self proclaimed healer and . In addition to the museum, southeast Kansas may be the only place where a state historical marker celebrates mass murder. I haven't heard Macabre in years. They killed as many as 26 people, I believe there is a museum that stills has a bloody knife they used. 5) December 1872: W.F. 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. 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. Rounding out the boardinghouse crew (west side) is a young man on his way to make it rich on the Texas oil fields. From the first grayscale frame, its clear that were arent in Kansas City anymore. 11) December 1872: Red Smith. Although the elder Benders kept to themselves, Kate and her brother regularly attended Sunday school in nearby Harmony Grove. 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. The men then physically lifted the cabin and moved it to the side to dig under it, but no bodies were found. Their story is unresolved, and remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the old West. The Bloody Benders - Serial Killers of Kansas Bender Mounds, Kansas by Kathy Alexander. Another group claimed they had caught the Benders while escaping to the south and lynched them before throwing their bodies into the Verdigris River. Yep that's the one from a book I have. 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. So provocative was the Bender family tale that the Bender Museum was created in Cherryvale in 1961. Each season of Fargo stands alone - you can watch them all out of order and still be able to understand what's going on. Yep the Abberdeens are very clearly based on the Benders, specifically Kate and John Jr. Both knew of William's travel plans and, when he failed to return, an all-out search began for the missing doctor. The family soon built a small one-room framed cabin, a barn, and a corral and dug a well. In Rabbis absence, Satchel discovers a Jack Russel terrier hiding in the wardrobe in his room. Secretly, the four made a living through murder and robbery., Located on a main road, the Benders sold meals and supplies to travelers. Kate then became abusive toward them, and shortly afterward the Bender men emerged from behind the cloth. For years, sightings of Ma Bender and Kate were reported, and in 1889, two women were extradited from Michigan on the charge. Shortly thereafter, the family disappeared. As more and more travelers disappeared, suspicion began to center on the Benders. A decade after the gruesome killings, nothing was left of the cabin and outbuildings on the property. The Benders were widely believed to be German immigrants. Kate was purportedly Elvira's fifth daughter. 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. As more and more travelers vanished, suspicion began to circle the Mellons. Her husband and son were said to have feared her as she ran the household with an iron hand. Then Kate would begin to charm the men with her social skills, flirting, or revealing her psychic gifts. As the men gave their full attention to the alluring Kate, Pa and John Bender, hiding behind the canvas, would strike the unsuspecting traveler in the skull with a hammer. 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. The Benders then stripped him of his clothes and went to bury him when the man suddenly awoke. Gabe Gibson, Effingham, Illinois, as told to him by his grandfather, Emerson Smalley, January 2011. 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. 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. 0 coins. He has a white man in his trunk, an informant who has helped him track Calamita to the Liberal, Kansas, area. She also conducted sances and gave lectures on spiritualism, for which she gained notoriety for advocating free love. With the exception of McKenzie and York,[17] who were buried in Independence; the Longcors, who were buried in Montgomery County; and McCrotty, who was buried in Parsons, Kansas, none of the other bodies were claimed, and they were reburied at the base of a small hill 1 mile (1.6km) southeast of the Benders' orchard, one of several at the location now known as "The Benders Mounds". The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential American family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A crude sign was hung above the front door that advertised Groceries to the many travelers along the Osage Trail. Mrs. Monroe resisted, declaring that she would not be taken alive, but was subdued by local deputies. 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. It declares, THE FUTURE IS NOW.. Donald, his wife Karen and their three kids live a nice, comfortable life. 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. Though the pair were jailed, the case was dropped for lack of evidence. Calamita is swept up into the funnel, along with the filling station and the bodies littering its floors.