Before HH Holmes there was the lesser known Bender family…
Show Notes
In the late 19th century, the Bender family terrorized early Kansas travelers, working together as one of America’s first recorded family of serial killers.
References
Kim, Allen (Feb. 6, 2020). “A property that once belonged to a family of serial killers known as the ‘Bloody Benders’ goes up for sale,” CNN, retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/us/bloody-bender-house-trnd/index.html
Editors (April 2019 – update). “Bender Knife,” Kansapedia, retrieved from: https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/bender-knife/10106.
Editors (September 2012 – modified). “Kate Bender,” Kansapedia, retrieved from: https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kate-bender/11980
Staff (Dec. 12, 2019 – reviewed), “The National Homestead Act of 1962,” National Archives, retrieved from: https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/homestead-act#:~:text=President%20Abraham%20Lincoln%20signed%20the,pay%20a%20small%20registration%20fee
Muse, Willie (Nov. 18, 2020). “The Tale Of The Bloody Benders: America’s Original Serial Killing Family,” Cracked, retrieved from: https://www.cracked.com/article_29004_the-tale-bloody-benders-americas-original-serial-killing-family.html
O’Brien, Liam (Jan. 29, 2015). “Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Bloody Benders: truth or fiction?,” Melville House, retrieved from: https://www.mhpbooks.com/laura-ingalls-wilder-and-the-bloody-benders-truth-or-fiction/
Kate (April 8, 2010). “LAURA INGALLS WILDER AND THE BLOODY BENDERS,” Kathlit.com, retrieved from: https://kathlit.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/laura-ingalls-wilder-and-the-bloody-benders/
Staff (May 16, 1873). “Den of Murderers,” The Oswego Independent
Staff (May 17, 1873). “The Thayer Head Light, The Traveller’s Last Inn,” The Oswego Independent
Siese, April (Oct. 4, 2015). “Who Was The First Serial Killer Ever?,” Bustle, retrieved from: https://www.bustle.com/articles/107094-the-first-serial-killer-ever-was-actually-a-woman
Case, Nelson (1901). “History of Labette County, Kansas, and representative citizens,” Internet Archive, retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/historyoflabette00case/page/74/mode/2up
Cappello, Nile (Aug. 19, 2019). “The Bloody Benders: America’s First Family of Serial Killers,” CrimeReads, retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/historyoflabette00case/page/74/mode/2up
de la Garza, Phyllis (Sep. 3, 2013). “History Mystery Solved? Hiding in Plain Sight,” True West, The History of the American Frontier, retrieved from: https://truewestmagazine.com/history-mystery-solved-hiding-in-plain-sight/
York, Mary (Dec. 1, 2017). “The Bender Tragedy,” Independently Published
Schechter, Harold (June 28, 2018). “Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie,” Amazon Original Publishing
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Researched & Written by Kim Douthit
Edited & Produced by Gabi Fiore
Music by Dan Moretti