Deadly hosts: Family robbed and murdered at least 11 at their small southeast Kansas inn

The Topeka Capital-Journal ^ | August 25, 2013 | Tim Hrenchir

[Timber Rattler]

Kate Bender loved to flirt.

The beautiful young woman smiled and batted her eyes at male travelers who stopped during the early 1870s at the tiny inn where she lived in southeast Kansas.

But those travelers were flirting with death.

Kate and the inn's other keepers -- thought to be her father, mother and brother -- would rob and murder at least 11 people.

Often, as a lone visitor sat at a dinner table with his back to a canvas curtain, a Bender man behind the curtain would use a hammer to bash the visitor's skull.

The Benders would slash the victim's throat, take his money, open a trap door in the floor and dump the body into a pit, to be removed and buried later.

[Timber Rattler]

Old story, but I had never heard of the Benders before.

[Vaquero]

Saw this on ‘History’ a few years ago. Probably Bush’s fault.

[Vigilanteman]

Gives a different twist to the phrase “gone on a Bender.”

[FlingWingFlyer]

They’re probably lucky Earp, Masterson and Holliday didn’t spend the night there. That could have been a real hoot.

[dynachrome]

Some o’ yer relatives?

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Earp, Masterson and Holliday are lucky they didn’t stay there.

[The_Media_never_lie]

Wow, what service. At least guests didn’t have to worry about waking up with bedbugs.

[Crazieman]

Welcome to Kansas, please avoid the serial murderers.

[The Duke]

Wondering if this inspired a very similar scene in “How the West was.Won”?

[SaveFerris]

Great. I was just in SE KS. Passed through Cherryvale just a couple weeks ago. Never knew the history of the area.

[mowowie]

[JPG]

[BusterBear]

But that’s what happens in Rigoletto.

[Joe Boucher]

Neither had I,
Thanks for the touchy feely, feel good story this fine morning.

[Tax-chick]

Also similar to the history of the famous Claflin sisters, although they were only accused of robbery, prostitution, and poisoning, not throat-cutting.

[Kanzan]

Since this is the Capitol Journal, it’s only bringing up this story to, somehow someway, blame it on Governor Brownback. Stay tuned to speeches from the Democrat leadership...like, may the Benders didn’t pay enough taxes.

[Tupelo]

Pretty common story from back in our frontier past.
Meriwether Lewis, of Lewis & Clark fame may have met the same fate while traveling on the Natchez Trace in 1809. His death was ruled a suicide even though he suffered two gunshot wounds while staying at Grinders Stand (Inn) . Two gunshot wounds in an era of single shot firearms.

[BobL]

Sounds like the Democrat Party.

[Vaquero]

They did a good take on the murder on Brad Meltzers decoded

http://www.rightpundits.com/?p=7856

[Tax-chick]

LOL!