One evening in 1872, in Kansas state (USA), Julia Hestler visited the Bender family. The carriage left them alone on the steppe in front of a ramshackle, lonely cottage.
Before that, Kate Bender had called herself a “psychologist” and invited Julia to her planned party. Upon entering the house, Miss Julia was disgusted by the strong stench and the many buzzing flies. She sat across from Kate. Two people holding hands.
The subjects were sought after revealing the murder of 8 people. Photo: Kansas State Historical Society
When she closed her eyes, Julia suddenly felt dizzy. She looked up and saw three Bender family members suddenly appear quietly behind Kate. Pa Bender held a large weapon that flashed in the candlelight. Terrified, Julia jumped up and ran away. She fell down the steps in front of the house before continuing to run for her life into the dark.
Julia was lucky to survive. Those who heard her tell only felt horror without thinking that this was a crime. However, the following spring, Julia’s fears were confirmed when eight bodies were found buried under the Bender apple trees.
Inn “one go, no return”
In the mid-19th century, Kansas was a lawless place known as “Bloody Kansas” because of the brutal fighting between pro- and anti-slavery factions. The territory – which became a state in 1861 – is part of America but is poorly administered and supervised by often corrupt sheriffs or judges.
Kansas residents literally “do whatever they want”, most of them resolve disputes by violence, not negotiation.
Despite the chaos, Kansas is still a great place for refugees. In 1862, the United States introduced the Land Act that allowed people to pay a small fee to buy land to start a business. Thanks to that, refugees have flocked here to gain cheap land, even taking it as their own.
These people include the Bender family. They saw the potential for growth in Kansas, so they migrated here and opened a grocery store. This family consists of 4 people: Husband is Pa Bender, wife is Ma Bender, and son John and Kate are about 25-27 years old. They speak poor English and have German accents.
This family has turned their cabin into a boarding house. Spiritualism was popular at the time, and Kate also claimed that she could talk to the dead. Even when the Benders are accused of stealing from guests, the place is still attractive because of Kate’s ability.
Kate Bender seduces victims with the promise of helping them talk to the deceased. Photo: Nypost
In 1872, three men were found dead with serious injuries, no possessions on them, and the carriage disappeared. People assumed they were killed by a band of robbers on the road, so missing travelers were no longer a strange thing.
In 1873, the incident was pushed to a climax when the number of people missing reached 10, including a famous doctor William York. At this time, the doctor’s brother Alexander – a wealthy lawyer and politician, took advantage of all his connections and hired 75 people to find information about his brother. All clues lead back to the Bender family because this was the last place William visited.
Immediately, Alexander went to the Bender family to ask for information about his brother. He was greeted by two obedient brothers, Kate and John, who responded enthusiastically. After talking, he thought that these were just ordinary villagers, nothing suspicious, and that night he stayed for dinner with his family.
However, after Alexander left, the Benders suddenly loaded up on the carriage and ran away the same day. The people around did not know when the Benders escaped, until their livestock and poultry were severely starved.
At this time, neighbor Billy Tole felt pity, so he brought food to the Bender family’s pets. When he entered the house, he almost fainted because a strong stench hit his nose. Going to the back of the kitchen, he also discovered two hammers hidden behind a pile of firewood and a homemade sickle covered in blood.
Suspecting this to be the murder weapon, Billy informed the whole village and Alexander to conduct a search of the house. When they broke into the house, they discovered a secret tunnel under the bed. As soon as the cellar door opened, the horrible smell of death and long streaks of blood directed downwards.
There was no doubt that this was the scene of a murder case.
Horrible truth
Without delay, the villagers began to dig around the Bender estate. The results shocked everyone who knew: They found eight bodies buried under apple trees in Bender’s garden, including seven men and a one-year-old girl. The body of Dr. William was also discovered, the head and throat were destroyed.
The police reconstructed the method of killing the victim as follows: Mother and daughter Kate lured the traveler to sit on a chair, and John and father will use a hammer to smash the victim’s head from behind. After robbing all the property, the Bender family will bring their bodies to hide in the cellar under the bed, wait for nightfall to bring the body to the funeral garden.
As news of the murders spread across the plains, the governor of Kansas announced a $2,000 bounty to track down the Bender family. The amount was deemed too small and the pursuit was also too late. They had a whole month to run away.
The Benders traveled south of Kansas, through tribal lands – where whites were not prosecuted – to Denison, Texas. The place is even more lawless, populated mainly by horse thieves, herders and prostitutes.
At first, Kate and Ma dress as men and use aliases, but they soon don’t bother to conceal themselves as “Kansas devils” cursed by the nation, because the Denisons don’t care.
In the decades that followed, the Benders were seen throughout the Southwest, in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado. They lived on tribal lands, in outlaw camps, in barren canyons and faraway places only daredevils dare. They were always armed with heavy weapons, each carrying a rifle capable of taking down a buffalo.
In Oklahoma, a detective with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency tracks the Benders into the Wichita Mountains and then disappears, never to be heard from again. A Texas bounty hunter suffered the same fate, chasing the Bender family to Red River station and then disappearing without a trace.
The Benders were never brought to justice, nor is their ultimate fate known.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Eva.vn – Read the original article here
