1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,720 Speaker 1: This mind boggling episode is an old timey true crimey. 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:07,920 Speaker 1: It concerns one of the worst families to ever set 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: up shop in Kansas, which is really saying something. In 4 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: the early eighteen seventies, the Bender family surreptitious killings pree 5 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: carried out in their own home no less, resulted in 6 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: the murders of at least twenty one people which are 7 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 1: in the family, the nicknamed the Bloody Benders. This episode 8 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: will knock your socks off, assuming they're still on your 9 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: feet after the other episode so far. Welcome to Stuff 10 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey, and welcome 11 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck and Jerry's 12 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: here too, So this is Stuff you Should Know. The 13 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 1: Murder Family edition. 14 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, Halloween right around the corner. 15 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: I've always liked to think of you, me and Jerry 16 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: as a kind of murder family. 17 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 2: As in, you and I and Jerry. Right. We always 18 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 2: have to correct that because people think you're talking about 19 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 2: you and your wife, right, Okay, yes, you me kamma 20 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 2: you kamma me kamma No. 21 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: No, I mean me, my wife, Umi and Jerry. I've 22 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: always thought of this as just you know, I'm kidding. 23 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 2: I miss what you said though. 24 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: You thought of this as what a murder murder family? 25 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, sure, in the kindest possible way. 26 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: Exactly, exactly. No, we're no murder family. And after everybody 27 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,119 Speaker 1: learns about the Bloody Benders, they'll be like, yeah, Josh 28 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: and Chuck and Jerry are no murder family, and we 29 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: wouldn't want to be either, because it turns out murder 30 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 1: families are not so great. 31 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 2: Chuck, right, And can we shout out a listener who 32 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 2: submitted this topic? Oh yeah, definitely, that's I feel like 33 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 2: that's happening more and more like a lot. 34 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: Yeah. 35 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 2: As our world gets smaller, our listeners are reminding us 36 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 2: that it is quite large. And we got this one 37 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 2: from a Canson. 38 00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: Oh that's very appropriate. 39 00:01:59,240 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 2: Is that how you say it? 40 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: I think it's Kanzinia Knight. 41 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 2: Okay, Kenzinia Knight named Star White. And apparently Starr was 42 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 2: traveling with the family through Kansas and saw signs in 43 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 2: Montgomery County for the Benders, the Bloody Benders and things 44 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 2: commemorating this and said, I'm a Kenzania Knight and I 45 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 2: had no idea that this was a thing. I got 46 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:29,639 Speaker 2: to learn more about this, So we're doing one. You know, 47 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 2: we like to keep it spooky in October where we 48 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 2: can for sure, and there's nothing spookier than a serial 49 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 2: killing family. 50 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: Interestingly, too, this past I think March, what I'm taking 51 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: to be is one of the definitive books on the 52 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: Benders came out. It's called Hell's half Acre and it 53 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: is by an author. 54 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:54,679 Speaker 2: Named named a drum roll. 55 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: Named Susan Joe Nosis. That's how I'm going with her 56 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: last name. But it came out in March called Hell'shead Figure, 57 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 1: and it does look pretty awesome, so I figured that 58 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,519 Speaker 1: had to do with this, But no, it's just completely 59 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: off the cuff from a listener from Kansas. 60 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 2: Huh, just driving through. 61 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: Great name too, by the way, Star White, what a 62 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: great name. It's almost like star wipe. 63 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 2: No one, do you like it? It's your favorite transition? 64 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: That's right. 65 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 2: I do know a bender actually, but this is I 66 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 2: don't think there's any relation. 67 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,519 Speaker 1: Yeah, because it's not entirely clear that that was even 68 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: their names too, so we should tell a good point. 69 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: We're talking about a family that lived in Kansas in 70 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: the eighteen seventies at a time when Kansas was like 71 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: the front Tier, maybe even beyond the front Tier. The 72 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: Trail of Tears had happened by this time. So the 73 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: O Sage people who had lived there previously have been 74 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 1: forced off their land and moved further west to Oklahoma, 75 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: and the federal government said, come anybody, all you criminals, 76 00:03:56,720 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: you unsavory characters, people escaping your past, come and settle 77 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: here in Kansas. It's like Australia, but in the center 78 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: of the United States. That's right. 79 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 2: Did you do bad things back east? Just pick up 80 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 2: your bags and head west. 81 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: That's precisely right. And so a lot of them stopped 82 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: in Kansas. Again, this was the frontier, but people were 83 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: still going west too. So as we'll find out, this family, 84 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: the Bender family, kind of put up a claim or 85 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: set down a claim. They did something with a claim. 86 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,600 Speaker 1: I'm not quite up on my old prospect or terminology. 87 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 1: They claimed something, yeah, on this road that kind of 88 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 1: kept leading west, and they set up a tavern in 89 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: for people to stop in, which is neither here nor 90 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 1: there quite yet, but I just kind of wanted to 91 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: foreshadow that there's going to be a tavern coming in 92 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: the future. 93 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 2: That's right, And that's probably a generous term for what 94 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 2: they set up. Yeah, it was a pretty remote well, 95 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 2: I guess, you know, not to make too many Kansas jokes, 96 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 2: but it was a pretty remote part of Kansas and 97 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 2: southeastern Kansas in eighteen seventy. It was not cherry Bell yet, 98 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 2: but it would eventually become cherry Vale, right. And at 99 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 2: first the two gentlemen arrived John benderr. He was around 100 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 2: sixty years old. People called him Pa. He didn't talk 101 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 2: a lot. When he did talk, it was mostly in German. 102 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 2: And then he was with a younger guy in his twenties. 103 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 2: And you know, we're going to say things like identified 104 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 2: as his son or you know, may or may not 105 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 2: have been the daughter. Like this is because of a 106 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 2: lot of things, partially just you know, a lot of 107 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 2: record keeping back then wasn't super solid, especially when it 108 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:36,280 Speaker 2: turns out you may be using aliases and you may 109 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 2: be faking that you're a family or you may actually 110 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 2: be a family. Like no one really knows for sure 111 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,039 Speaker 2: the facts of this, but John Bender Junior was with him, 112 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 2: and he also occasionally went by an alias put a 113 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 2: pin in this one named John Gebhart, Chris Gebhart. He's 114 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 2: a comedian, he's great. 115 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: But apparently John Gephart or John Bender Junior, was a 116 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:08,839 Speaker 1: bit of a comedium's himself, but from some reports, he 117 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 1: was his own audience and no one else was. So 118 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: to put it in another way, he apparently laughed at stuff 119 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:19,600 Speaker 1: like inappropriately, like Doctor Hibbert, and also at times when 120 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: exactly that was a great John Bender Junior impression, by 121 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,160 Speaker 1: the way, but at times where people were like, this 122 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 1: guy ain't quite right. And he also talked a lot, 123 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: so he was kind of an odd fixture as well, 124 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:35,279 Speaker 1: as we'll find out the whole family was. 125 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, he had a German accent, but did speak fluent English, 126 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 2: and some people think he may have been intellectually disabled 127 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:46,039 Speaker 2: looking at kind of some of the things that happen, 128 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:49,719 Speaker 2: it seems like I don't know about clear, but you know, 129 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 2: at a time in eighteen seventy, they wouldn't have been 130 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:55,160 Speaker 2: categorizing people as such anyway, you. 131 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: Know, no for sure, but from the articles of the time, 132 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:03,799 Speaker 1: that's what I'm going from now on. They nobody said 133 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: anything even remotely like that. I saw it on one, 134 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: I think a Crime Reads article, and that was about it. 135 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: I just got the impression that was really kind of 136 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: weird and almost like a Jethro Clampet type. That's who 137 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: he reminds me of. 138 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 2: Okay, so what they built on their one hundred and 139 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 2: sixty acres was you called it a tavern. I call 140 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:27,679 Speaker 2: it just a big room, kind of like a bunk 141 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 2: of a bunk house. Maybe they called it. Or Olivia, 142 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 2: who helped us with this, called it a foothouse. But 143 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 2: it was sixteen feet wide twenty four feet long. So 144 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 2: what they eventually did was they would put up a 145 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 2: canvas sheet kind of splitting it into They lived in 146 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 2: the back, and then they called you know, they called 147 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 2: it an inn. You called it a tavern. It was 148 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 2: really just a room with some can goods and supplies 149 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 2: and I think a couple of beds, sort of like 150 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 2: a bunk house. It was not fancy at all. 151 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: No, but I'm guessing like as you were passing through 152 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: Kansas then and maybe even today, it was pretty appealing. 153 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: You think, well, I mean it was better than sleeping 154 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: out on the open prairie with the bedroll, right. You know, 155 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: there was a hot meal. You know, they probably had tobacco, 156 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: and yeah, I mean it was better than nothing. And 157 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: I think I get the impression also one of the 158 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 1: things that made it better than nothing was the daughter 159 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: who I say, we meet right now. Her name was Kate, 160 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: and she showed up after this this tavern, this house 161 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: had been built. 162 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 2: That's right. The two ladies were sent for after everything 163 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 2: was done, and it was Ma Bender who everyone just 164 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 2: sort of assumed was the wife and the matriarch of 165 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 2: the family. She went by Elvira sometimes. She was maybe 166 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 2: in her fifties and led on like she didn't speak 167 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 2: any if very little, if any English at all, but. 168 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 1: I had like a terrible temper. She was widely reputed 169 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: from anybody that met her that she was just a 170 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: terrible cuss of a person from when I gather. 171 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, in fact, I think she may have been the 172 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 2: one sort of leading this whole charge that we'll get to. 173 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,200 Speaker 1: I've seen both. I've seen her or I've seen Kate 174 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: and Kate. Kate was the daughter. She was in her twenties. 175 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: But I think more than anything, she kind of attracted 176 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: passers by with flyers advertising her mediumship like she was 177 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:26,560 Speaker 1: into spiritualism and free love apparently too. 178 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 2: And who knows what that means. In eighteen seventies Kansas, 179 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,680 Speaker 2: she's shown a little ankle I don't know, like, I 180 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 2: have no idea what free love means in that context, 181 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,079 Speaker 2: but it was unusual at least and got attention. Some 182 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 2: people thought she may have been the daughter. Other people 183 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 2: thought that they presented she and John Junior as a couple. 184 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 2: So it was just sort of one of those things. 185 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 2: It's loose out there in eighteen seventies Kansas, right. 186 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: So one other thing I read, Chuck that Livia didn't 187 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: quite hit on was that this family, they weren't like 188 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: exactly act, you know, fading into the woodwork or the 189 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 1: prairie like. They were well known in their little community, 190 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 1: mainly because there were only like eight or ten other 191 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: settlements around them at the time, but also because I 192 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,680 Speaker 1: think they were the only ones running a tavern and 193 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: they had an orchard That will factor in later, but 194 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: apparently their cherries and apples and peaches were like really 195 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 1: prized out there at the time. So they were part 196 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: of the community, but they were known to be weird 197 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 1: and maw in particular, which you just kind of avoided 198 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:29,199 Speaker 1: her as best as you could. 199 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:32,960 Speaker 2: Right. So they have this thing set up. It's on 200 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 2: the edge of the Great Osage Trail, which is, like 201 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 2: you mentioned, earlier, where a lot of people continued westward 202 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:40,680 Speaker 2: and it was a good place to have a little 203 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 2: bunk house that, you know, sold a few things. What's 204 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:45,959 Speaker 2: the word, I'm looking for. 205 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 1: A general store, Ali's, bargain houses. 206 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 2: Rations, Oh okay, yeah, selling rations and things like that. 207 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 1: They sell rations at Ali's. 208 00:10:58,000 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 2: What is Ali's. 209 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:02,160 Speaker 1: It's like a deep discount liquid or like if you 210 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: stole a truck, you just drive it over there and 211 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:07,079 Speaker 1: they'll buy everything and then turn around and sell it. 212 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 1: I don't think they actually do that, but it's the 213 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: appearance of that kind of thing. 214 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, we should be clear, like, I've never heard of Ali's, 215 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 2: so I'm innocent of this. 216 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:20,079 Speaker 1: You should go wander around one. You'd be like, okay, 217 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 1: I gotcha. Here's an oriental rug. Here's some off brand 218 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: bleach on the next stile. Like it's just just that, yes, 219 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 1: oh yeah, it's like that places all over the place, 220 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:35,320 Speaker 1: in every strip mall, in every city, in every in 221 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: every country in the world. 222 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:39,200 Speaker 2: It may be one of those things. It's so ubiquitous. 223 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 2: I've just never noticed it. Yeah, right under my nose. 224 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 2: It's possible, all right. So they set up an Ali's 225 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 2: right there on the grade o Sage Trail and maybe 226 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 2: this is a good place to take our first break. 227 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,559 Speaker 1: Oh, I wasn't expecting that. Let me see. Okay, that 228 00:11:53,679 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: sounds good, okay, chuck. So one of the things that 229 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: made the Benders made us call the Benders of murder 230 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 1: families that they started murdering people pretty shortly after they 231 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 1: set up this homestead along the Osage Trail. And one 232 00:12:37,679 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: of the things about Kansas at the time was it 233 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:45,480 Speaker 1: was really really violent, not just in the wars against 234 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 1: the Native Americans. There there were also pro slavery and 235 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 1: anti slavery factions that committed atrocities against one another. The 236 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,680 Speaker 1: Civil War eyebrid kind of broke out thanks to Kansas 237 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 1: struggling which kind of state it was going to be. 238 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: So it was a really violent place. And it was 239 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,679 Speaker 1: with that kind of violent backdrop that a family could 240 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: just kill a bunch of travelers without anyone really taking notice. 241 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: Because it was also just the kind of place where 242 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: people just went missing. It just happened. It was a 243 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: really dangerous place to travel. So when it happened, it 244 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 1: didn't exactly like set off the media and search parties 245 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: didn't usually come out for people. 246 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, However, when they start turning up in regular 247 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 2: order around town, then you've got a problem. And that's 248 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,720 Speaker 2: what happened. In May of eighteen seventy one, the body 249 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 2: of a man was found in local Drum Creek there's 250 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 2: the southeast of the Bender's house. And this is very 251 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 2: key here. He'd been brained, he had his skull bashed 252 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,679 Speaker 2: in and had his throat cut, which, as you will see, 253 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 2: becomes the recurring mo of this family. 254 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 1: Yep. Two more men were found shortly after, I think 255 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: a few months later. A few months after that, another 256 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,079 Speaker 1: body was found all in the creek, and apparently they 257 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 1: all had that same kind of mortal wound or that 258 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 1: combination of injuries. And one of the bodies was identified 259 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 1: as a man named William Jones, and he had been 260 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: carrying known to have been carrying about two hundred and 261 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: fifty dollars, which at the time was like a lot 262 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: of money to today six close to it, okay, And 263 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 1: he was going to pay off his mortgage for his homestead, 264 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: which is something people did at that time too. It's 265 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:37,600 Speaker 1: another thing that made it dangerous. A lot of people 266 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: were walking around with a lot of cash because they 267 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: were going to buy land payoff mortgages do god knows what, 268 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 1: and there weren't banks, so they were traveling with cash 269 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: and this guy was exactly that. And there was a 270 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 1: farmer whose land he was found on that was initially 271 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: accused but they were like, I don't think it was him, 272 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: so he got off but I'm sure he was like 273 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: wait what what? No, it wasn't me. 274 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, And the way he got off to was kind 275 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 2: of frustrating as a like a crime enthusiast reader, because 276 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,840 Speaker 2: they investigated it and they found that the wagon that 277 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 2: dropped him had a very distinctive track, that one of 278 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 2: the back wheels was off center, and I kept waiting 279 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 2: for that to come back as like, remember that wagon, 280 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 2: that's what eventually led to the killers. But spoiler alert, 281 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 2: that does not happen. So don't put a pin in it. 282 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:29,040 Speaker 2: Take the pin out of that. 283 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, just take throw that pin away, break in two. 284 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: So the thing about I think one of the reasons 285 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 1: why people started getting hot under the collar about these 286 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:41,080 Speaker 1: murders too, is that this area got a really bad 287 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:44,120 Speaker 1: reputation really fast. Like it was like you avoid the 288 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:46,360 Speaker 1: spot as best you can, like maybe go out of 289 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: your way to avoid this area. On the Osage Trail 290 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 1: because people just wind up missing there and that kind 291 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: of got people aware of like the whole, the whole 292 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: problem that the area was facing, but they didn't know 293 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: who it was, and they certainly hadn't centered on the benders. 294 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 1: The benders just had a reputation as being odd and 295 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:14,520 Speaker 1: possibly a little maybe violently unusual, but not murderers by 296 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: any stretch. They just weren't suspected for a really long time. 297 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 2: Violently unusual. Yeah, what a reputation. 298 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's pretty serious. 299 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,560 Speaker 2: Here's another story too that you do need to get 300 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:29,520 Speaker 2: that pen out, put it back together, that you Josh 301 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 2: told you to break an eye. Sorry everybody, and put 302 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,840 Speaker 2: a pin in this story because this was chronologically speaking. 303 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:40,800 Speaker 2: February eighteen seventy three, a woman who didn't really have 304 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:44,160 Speaker 2: any money apparently stopped at the home, asked to rest, 305 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 2: asked for some food, fell asleep on a bed in 306 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 2: the back, and then when she woke up, there was 307 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 2: mo bender and she pointed to a table covered in 308 00:16:56,160 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 2: pistols and knives and said, there, your supper's ready. So 309 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 2: this lady somehow apparently manages to stay composed and not 310 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,680 Speaker 2: like react with alarm. 311 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: Like waking up fiddlesticks. 312 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 2: Yeah exactly, and said I just need to step outside 313 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,280 Speaker 2: for a minute to do something. Just apparently made a 314 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 2: private excuse, is what the Kansas City Time said. Yeah, 315 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:26,399 Speaker 2: and and ran and took off, running barefoot, basically, you know, 316 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 2: in her sleeping clothes, ran for a couple of miles 317 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:31,919 Speaker 2: to find help. And it's hard to parse together what 318 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 2: this sentence from the Times even means, but I'm taking 319 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,119 Speaker 2: it to mean that it didn't. Really, it still didn't 320 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:39,000 Speaker 2: set off alarm bells for this family. 321 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: It didn't. And that, by the way, is a classic 322 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:47,439 Speaker 1: example of being violently unusual. Right, Okay, you know, if 323 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 1: you're violently unusual, you have the kind of house that 324 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:53,520 Speaker 1: people run two miles away from in their bare feet. 325 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,439 Speaker 2: Yeah, where guns and knives are presented as supper. 326 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,840 Speaker 1: Exactly, right. So this is just kind of going along. 327 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:02,920 Speaker 1: The benders are homing along doing the murdering thing. People 328 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: don't really suspect them, but the area's got a bad reputation. 329 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,280 Speaker 1: But there was a series of murders, actually a combo 330 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: won two punch of murders that finally led to their 331 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:17,679 Speaker 1: discovery as a murder family. And the first thing started 332 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 1: with the guy named George Newton long Core, who left Independence, Kansas, 333 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:26,119 Speaker 1: which was just to the west of Cherry Vale along 334 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:28,600 Speaker 1: the O Sage Trail, and he was on his way 335 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,440 Speaker 1: to Iowa, so he would have passed through Cherry Vale 336 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:35,440 Speaker 1: along with his eighteen month old daughter, Mary Anne, and 337 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: he never made it to Iowa. And that caught the 338 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,120 Speaker 1: attention of another man, a physician named William Yorke, who 339 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,080 Speaker 1: was his neighbor and was concerned enough that he started 340 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:47,640 Speaker 1: traveling around inquiring about him to see if he could 341 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 1: figure out what happened to George and his daughter mary Anne. 342 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 2: Yeah. Good neighbor, Yeah, really good neighbor, like to do 343 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 2: such a thing to take this trip. So starts investigating, 344 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:03,120 Speaker 2: finds out that the horror wagon team was abandoned near 345 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 2: Fort Scott, Kansas and in the spring. I mean, I 346 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:09,919 Speaker 2: think that's what led him to go out there. So 347 00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:12,800 Speaker 2: he's out there in the spring, he gets to Fort Scott, 348 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 2: all that stuff is still there. Basically all of their 349 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 2: stuff had been abandoned. They were nowhere to be found. 350 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,119 Speaker 2: So he's like, something is going on. I need to 351 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:24,159 Speaker 2: go back to Independence. And then he disappears. 352 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, and that really caught the attention to people because 353 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: it turned out doctor William York. And if I said 354 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,119 Speaker 1: Edward the first time, please forgive me. His name was William, 355 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:35,240 Speaker 1: and he was a doctor, and he was a York, 356 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 1: and there were two other Yorks. He had a brother 357 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 1: named Edward who was neither here nor there, but he 358 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: had a really important brother named Alexander York who was 359 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,160 Speaker 1: a colonel from the Civil War and also a Kansas senator. 360 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,680 Speaker 1: So they had murdered the brother of a Kansas senator 361 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: who was known to be out looking around the area 362 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 1: of Cherryvale for somebody else who had gone missing. And 363 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: that really got people's antenna. 364 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:01,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, big time, enough to wear They got a search party, 365 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,560 Speaker 2: Colonel Alexander. I think that about seventy five men set 366 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:09,439 Speaker 2: off and they were, you know, they were scouring around. 367 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,679 Speaker 2: They were They basically kind of figured out at one 368 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 2: point that they definitely went by the Bender's house. So 369 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 2: let's go by and talk to these people, see what's 370 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:22,080 Speaker 2: going on when they do this mob Bender you know, 371 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 2: claims to not speak English, which seems like her main jam. 372 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,840 Speaker 2: Her big joke besides, here's your supper of guns and knives? 373 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,880 Speaker 2: Was I also don't speak English, Kate Young Kate says, 374 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 2: I don't know anything about this guy, and then John 375 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:40,879 Speaker 2: Junior said, hey, listen, I was shot at when I 376 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,160 Speaker 2: was out there at Drum Creek where all these bodies 377 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,119 Speaker 2: have been found, and I can take you out there, 378 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,639 Speaker 2: and like, maybe the people that shot at me killed 379 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 2: your friends as well. 380 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, and again, just imagine just throw Clampet saying this 381 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:56,920 Speaker 1: and taking people out to look at a place where 382 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: he claims to have been shot at. Right, Just that 383 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: bit so so, but he's also just kooky. You know. 384 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 1: Did you watch The Beverly Hillbillies? I did, like a lot. 385 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:13,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I watched it a lot. 386 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 1: So do you remember the time or the period? I 387 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: guess it was a phase where Jethrow ended up becoming 388 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:21,080 Speaker 1: like a movie producer in Hollywood. 389 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was got a little weird later 390 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:24,440 Speaker 2: in that show. 391 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:27,200 Speaker 1: It really did get weird. So it's not clear whether 392 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: this is that Hollywood producer of Jethrow or the original 393 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,880 Speaker 1: mountaineer son of Jethrow. Either way, it works pretty good, 394 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 1: but he takes Alexander and the search party out there. 395 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,679 Speaker 1: I guess he gave enough of an explanation and was 396 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,359 Speaker 1: you know, pointing out different spots well enough that they're 397 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: like either they believed him or they just didn't really care, 398 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: and they kind of headed on basically. 399 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean he showed bullet holes in a tree, 400 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:57,400 Speaker 2: or not holes, but bullet markings, which you know Kansas 401 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 2: in the eighteen seventies, about half the tree said bullets 402 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 2: in them. So that doesn't prove anything, but like you said, 403 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,920 Speaker 2: it was enough at least to sniff him slightly off 404 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:09,919 Speaker 2: the case, at least temporarily. But they came back a 405 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,639 Speaker 2: few days later said, listen, we heard about this lady 406 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:17,399 Speaker 2: over the past few days who came here and I 407 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:21,040 Speaker 2: don't want to really start anything, but she said that 408 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 2: you said, here's your supper, and it. 409 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:28,119 Speaker 1: Was guns and knis there's something about a pistol supper 410 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:28,840 Speaker 1: or something like. 411 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:33,200 Speaker 2: That, and that's weird. She ran away barefoot for two miles 412 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:34,680 Speaker 2: and no one made a big deal out of it, 413 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 2: But now we kind of want to know. This is 414 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 2: where mob Bender all of a sudden starts speaking English. 415 00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:43,960 Speaker 2: Apparently the quote is she flew into a violent passion 416 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,119 Speaker 2: and went off saying, you know that that lady was 417 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:51,960 Speaker 2: a witch and she has you know, cursed Kate's coffee 418 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:55,160 Speaker 2: that she was going to drink, and if she ever 419 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 2: comes back here, I'm going to kill her. We got 420 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:58,160 Speaker 2: her out of here. She was a witch. 421 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 1: Yes, she converted Kate's coffee into that mushroom coffee, and 422 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: now Kate refuses to drink it. 423 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:05,960 Speaker 2: What's mushroom coffee? 424 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: It's exactly what it sounds like, exactly doesn't actually have coffee. 425 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 2: No, oh, it's made out of mushrooms. 426 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, you should try it sometimes just to say 427 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: you tried it. 428 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 2: Now. That's what on those survival shows. They get like 429 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,399 Speaker 2: roots and twigs and boil that stuff down. They're like, 430 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:24,480 Speaker 2: here's my morning coffee. 431 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:24,960 Speaker 1: Coffee. 432 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 2: Have fun with that. 433 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 1: So they so again still like they were kind of like, Okay, 434 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,880 Speaker 1: this family's really weird, but we don't really have anything 435 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,400 Speaker 1: on them. But it was enough that Alexander York kind 436 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:42,679 Speaker 1: of stuck around town and they held a meeting with 437 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:47,200 Speaker 1: basically the whole town that Pa and John Junior even attended, 438 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 1: and they said, hey, this place has a bad reputation. 439 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,600 Speaker 1: Something's going on. These two people at the very least 440 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 1: have been have turned up missing. We need to just 441 00:23:55,080 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 1: search everyone's homestead and apparently very brassly. At least one 442 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 1: neighbor said, I've got nothing to hide, search my homestead, 443 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 1: and Pa said the same thing. He said, I don't either, 444 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,159 Speaker 1: You guys search my homestead. And so I guess they 445 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,119 Speaker 1: kind of did a slow motion search, because it was 446 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:15,880 Speaker 1: at least a week I saw, if not a couple 447 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,439 Speaker 1: of weeks before they finally made it out to search 448 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,440 Speaker 1: the Bender's place. And when they showed up, they realized 449 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,840 Speaker 1: very quickly that the Benders weren't there and probably hadn't 450 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:26,919 Speaker 1: been there since the night of that meeting. 451 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, when they realized, they told people to come search 452 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:34,159 Speaker 2: their house. You said, what my favorite part about Kate's 453 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:36,400 Speaker 2: jam is that they asked her to do the seance 454 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:38,880 Speaker 2: to like give some more information, like, well, if you're 455 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,479 Speaker 2: so good at that, and she said, now, it's like 456 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:44,399 Speaker 2: it's it's daytime. There's too many people around, Like, have 457 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 2: you ever seen a seance? She's like, why don't you 458 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,080 Speaker 2: come back tomorrow night, just the two of you and 459 00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:51,800 Speaker 2: we'll do one. And they were like, no, thank you, right, 460 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 2: I think I'll take the zero in that one. 461 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what I'm saying, doctor, Colonel. No, Colonel, Alexander 462 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:01,320 Speaker 1: York was a sharp dudeasically. 463 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, but the townspeople weren't sharp enough to go. I 464 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 2: don't know if they were searching other places. I know 465 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 2: there was a weather issue, but like you said, by 466 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,600 Speaker 2: the time they got there, they were Gonzo's. They left there. 467 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,159 Speaker 2: They took a train because they found their horse and 468 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 2: wagon and even their dog just on a public street 469 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 2: near the train station. And they got the heck out 470 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 2: of Dodge, well not out of Dodge, out of what 471 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:27,760 Speaker 2: would become Cherryvale. 472 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: Very close, very close. So the volunteers were like, well, 473 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:32,359 Speaker 1: I guess since they left, we can just go ahead 474 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 1: and go on in. And apparently they found very quickly 475 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:37,920 Speaker 1: that there was a trap door in the floor. And 476 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,800 Speaker 1: when they opened the trap door, I guess a lot 477 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 1: of them gagged because it smelled like decaying human remains. 478 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: And even though they looked in there and there weren't 479 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:52,159 Speaker 1: actual bodies, there was so much blood and gore in 480 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:55,439 Speaker 1: this cellar rotting that it was enough to make a 481 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,800 Speaker 1: person gag even without a full body decomposing. There. 482 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,919 Speaker 2: It's a great place for our second break. Oh okay, 483 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 2: the height of suspense. 484 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:05,439 Speaker 1: Let's do it. 485 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:07,840 Speaker 2: We'll be back and talk about what was making that 486 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:39,080 Speaker 2: smell right after this. All right, So they have a 487 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:42,680 Speaker 2: stone cellar under the house covered in blood and stinks 488 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,400 Speaker 2: like dead bodies even though there's no dead bodies. And 489 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:48,119 Speaker 2: we said we were going to get to the bottom 490 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,240 Speaker 2: of the smell. The bottom of it is there were 491 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,119 Speaker 2: dead bodies in there previously. Yeah, so they had this 492 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:55,760 Speaker 2: pretty easy. 493 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,119 Speaker 1: They had the trap set up, the trap door set up, 494 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:02,320 Speaker 1: so it led to a hole in the cellar, and 495 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 1: then there was a like a way outer I guess, 496 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:09,359 Speaker 1: a way in from the foundation and they would kill people, 497 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:11,840 Speaker 1: put them in the trap door through the trap door 498 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,040 Speaker 1: to the cellar, and they'd retrieved them at night when 499 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:15,600 Speaker 1: there weren't prying eyes around. 500 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:20,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, pretty good system they had going. They started searching around. 501 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 2: They did eventually find bodies. They found William Yorke's body 502 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:29,200 Speaker 2: buried in the orchard. They found a Lonker's body buried 503 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 2: along with young Mary Anne, who the two gentlemen had 504 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:36,120 Speaker 2: the head wounds in the throat wounds. Maryanne, I've seen 505 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:42,520 Speaker 2: variously was either suffocated or suffocated from being buried alive 506 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:48,240 Speaker 2: man but not brained in throat slit at least tragic 507 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:52,359 Speaker 2: either way, of course, sure, but very very sad case. 508 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,200 Speaker 2: Eventually they would go on to find about a dozen 509 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:59,240 Speaker 2: bodies and were eventually implicated in as many as twenty 510 00:27:59,280 --> 00:27:59,880 Speaker 2: one murders. 511 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, they found it. Yeah, I saw eleven I think, 512 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:09,119 Speaker 1: including Mary Anne. A bunch of them were in the orchard. 513 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,720 Speaker 1: They looked around the property and realized that there were 514 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:14,320 Speaker 1: a bunch of depressions in the orchard, and they're like, 515 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,160 Speaker 1: I wonder if those are graves, And they turned up 516 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:19,439 Speaker 1: people in the graves. They found somebody in the well, 517 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:21,679 Speaker 1: and then yeah, when you add them together with all 518 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:23,840 Speaker 1: the people dumped in Drum Creek, I guess it comes 519 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:27,199 Speaker 1: to about twenty one. And they developed this theory of 520 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:30,320 Speaker 1: what had happened, in part based on some people who 521 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 1: had narrowly escaped with their lives and hadn't realized it 522 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:39,320 Speaker 1: until after the Benders became national news. But that curtain 523 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 1: that they had dividing the tavern, the Olie's bargain bin 524 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:50,240 Speaker 1: from the rest of the house was right behind the 525 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: seat where they would have travelers and guests sit when 526 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 1: they were eating a meal. 527 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:58,680 Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, And they would have them sit there, and 528 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:01,240 Speaker 2: you know, from the other side it would you know. 529 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 2: They would be silhouetted by the candlelight so they could 530 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:08,080 Speaker 2: see clearly where they were, and then Paw or John 531 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,240 Speaker 2: Junior would either use like the butt of an axe 532 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 2: or a hammer to brain them. They would put them 533 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,440 Speaker 2: in the cellar and rob them and then slit their throat. 534 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:23,040 Speaker 2: And that's how it was sort of a I don't 535 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 2: know the fact, like, all right, let's go ahead and 536 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,600 Speaker 2: tell the stories about the other guys. Because after this 537 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:31,360 Speaker 2: came out, people started coming forward, like you said, a 538 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:33,560 Speaker 2: guy named mister Wetzel said, hey, wait a minute. They 539 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:35,440 Speaker 2: tried to get me to sit right by that curtain 540 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,320 Speaker 2: and I wouldn't sit by the curtain, and mob Bender 541 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 2: got really mad about that, and so we got the 542 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 2: heck out of there. And then another guy named William 543 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:45,760 Speaker 2: Pickering said, yeah, I didn't want to sit by that 544 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:50,160 Speaker 2: curtain because it was dirty and gross, and I took 545 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 2: a different seat and they got in a big fight 546 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 2: and Kate came at me with a knife. So I 547 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 2: don't know why they just didn't come up behind them 548 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 2: and brain them like the Maybe the felt the curtain 549 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 2: offered some sort of cover. It just seems very like stubborn. 550 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:08,560 Speaker 1: Oh, like they had to follow procedure or else the person. 551 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, like allowed you have to sit there. I'm like, well, 552 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:12,840 Speaker 2: you can't murder a guy in another chair. 553 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:15,640 Speaker 1: Well I don't. Yeah, I don't think it would have 554 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:17,520 Speaker 1: been as easy to come up behind him from the 555 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:19,320 Speaker 1: from the curtain, you know what I'm saying. 556 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:23,080 Speaker 2: Maybe it sounds a little I mean, I guess they 557 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:24,920 Speaker 2: got away with it for a little while, so but 558 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:29,480 Speaker 2: I don't know, it sounds a little amateurish. 559 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,960 Speaker 1: Sure, or they were such professionals they just stuck to 560 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,160 Speaker 1: the script and if the script deviated it, they didn't 561 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:36,080 Speaker 1: take chances. And there's there's actually a good suggestion of 562 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:39,920 Speaker 1: why they didn't take chances, because there were later discovered 563 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: in the house bullet holes in the walls and in 564 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,000 Speaker 1: the door frames, and that was taken to be from 565 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 1: people who had tried to fight back when they realized 566 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 1: what was going on. But I guess they had ultimately 567 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,760 Speaker 1: been unsuccessful, because nobody escaped that house saying they had 568 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:57,560 Speaker 1: shot at everyone because they tried to brain them, you know. 569 00:30:58,160 --> 00:30:59,120 Speaker 2: Or maybe it was just supper. 570 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 1: I guess sol pistol suffer, You're right. 571 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:08,520 Speaker 2: Who knows? So the story gets out becomes, you know, 572 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 2: for the eighteen seventies, becomes a pretty big media storm 573 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 2: whatever that looked like back then, and that people, you know, 574 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 2: it became like a bit of a tourist stop. Like people. 575 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:21,719 Speaker 2: It sounds like people essentially showed up there and kind 576 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:24,600 Speaker 2: of looted the place. Over time, we're just kind of, 577 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:28,360 Speaker 2: you know, breaking up pieces of the cellar and breaking 578 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:30,840 Speaker 2: up the bed frame and kind of just taking whatever 579 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:31,640 Speaker 2: they wanted with them. 580 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,120 Speaker 1: Yeah. And one of the reasons it became such a 581 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:37,200 Speaker 1: media frenzy is they were the first serial killers in 582 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: America that America ever produced, at least as far as 583 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:44,400 Speaker 1: the media could tell. A decade later, Austin would have 584 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 1: what's frequently referred to as the first serial killer in 585 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:51,240 Speaker 1: America with the Servant Girl Annihilator, which is pre uh. 586 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:54,680 Speaker 2: I don't even know if I want to do a 587 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:55,560 Speaker 2: podcast on that. 588 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: No, I don't know that name alone. It's like, yeah, 589 00:31:58,160 --> 00:31:58,960 Speaker 1: that's all right. 590 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 2: That stopped me called. I mean, this was ten years 591 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 2: before Jack the Ripper even right exactly. 592 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:06,760 Speaker 1: And HH Holmes, who's also often referred to as America's 593 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:10,840 Speaker 1: first serial killer, he wasn't until the eighteen thirties or 594 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:13,520 Speaker 1: eighteen nineties, so he was like a good twenty years on. 595 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:16,600 Speaker 1: So it was a big deal. So not only do 596 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:19,560 Speaker 1: we have America's first serial killer, we had America's first 597 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,400 Speaker 1: dark tourists show up at their house and take everything 598 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:25,160 Speaker 1: they possibly could as a memento. But one of the 599 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:27,560 Speaker 1: things that happened about this being such a huge media 600 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:33,000 Speaker 1: sensation is that, like the country was following this and 601 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:36,240 Speaker 1: everyone was basically looking for the Benders because don't forget, 602 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:39,480 Speaker 1: they'd vanished. No one knew which way they went. All 603 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:42,000 Speaker 1: they knew was that somewhere not too far off, they'd 604 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,280 Speaker 1: ridden their wagon to that train station, and the train 605 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:49,560 Speaker 1: ticket person had said, yeah, those four people definitely bought tickets, 606 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,160 Speaker 1: but I can't tell you where. Yeah, And they said, 607 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:54,840 Speaker 1: they said, you can tell us, so I'm a doctor. Right. 608 00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:03,000 Speaker 2: They did arrest twelve men. This sounds a little bit like, hey, 609 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:05,680 Speaker 2: we've got to kind of do something. So they arrest 610 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:10,120 Speaker 2: these guys who they alleged maybe were involved as far 611 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:13,360 Speaker 2: as receiving stolen goods, because they never really found a 612 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,040 Speaker 2: super clear motive. I mean, it seemed like a lot 613 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,480 Speaker 2: of them may have had like traveling money, or like 614 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:20,600 Speaker 2: the guy who had the two hundred and fifty bucks, 615 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:24,000 Speaker 2: which was a lot of money at the time, but 616 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:27,040 Speaker 2: it was never like one hundred percent established, like their 617 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:30,080 Speaker 2: motive was just to rob people. But they implicated these 618 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:32,160 Speaker 2: twelve guys as guys who may have helped them move 619 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:37,240 Speaker 2: stolen items and money and stuff like that. And apparently 620 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:40,520 Speaker 2: one of the guys was a member of a vigilanti 621 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 2: committee who tried to get on to help lead the 622 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:48,720 Speaker 2: investigation with Colonel Yorke, but was denied and rejected, and 623 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:51,680 Speaker 2: I think that kind of hurt his feelings. And I 624 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:53,920 Speaker 2: think what it came down to was these guys, they 625 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:57,720 Speaker 2: were known as the regulators, these vigilanties. They were throat cutters. 626 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:00,360 Speaker 2: They would cut people's throat instead of like bringing them 627 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:02,880 Speaker 2: back to face trial. And then they just sort of 628 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,440 Speaker 2: tied it to these people because of the throat cutting. 629 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:07,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, and a lot of pretty innocent a lot of 630 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:10,000 Speaker 1: well a lot of innocent people died as a result. 631 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,400 Speaker 1: So these people were bad dudes. But I saw that 632 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:14,799 Speaker 1: it was more than just the throat cutting, that there 633 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:18,239 Speaker 1: was a way that they would particularly leave bodies like you. 634 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,960 Speaker 1: They would put the right hand against the right breast 635 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:25,160 Speaker 1: and the left hand down like just by their side. 636 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:26,640 Speaker 2: Like a pledge of allegiance. 637 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:29,400 Speaker 1: Almost, but you're you're like as if you don't know 638 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:31,560 Speaker 1: which side of your chest to put your hand and 639 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:35,360 Speaker 1: you got it wrong, kind of like that. And apparently 640 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:38,240 Speaker 1: they found a lot of the bodies in the orchard 641 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:43,839 Speaker 1: at the Bender's place posed like this basically almost like 642 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:46,000 Speaker 1: this was this is the sign, like this is what 643 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,440 Speaker 1: this gang did. So I don't think they were like 644 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:52,120 Speaker 1: in the gang, but it's possible that gang of vigilantes 645 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:54,239 Speaker 1: were fencing this stuff for them, and that they were 646 00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 1: at least tangentially related. 647 00:34:56,239 --> 00:35:01,160 Speaker 2: You know, sure, it's possible. Sure, when it comes down 648 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:04,399 Speaker 2: to who these people really were, we're not exactly sure. 649 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:08,399 Speaker 2: There's been a lot of modern investigation about who they were, 650 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:12,520 Speaker 2: and they think that Ma was a woman named Almira 651 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:18,680 Speaker 2: Meek and was from upstate New York near the Adirondack Mountains, 652 00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:24,400 Speaker 2: so not German at all. There were some pretty sketchy accounts, 653 00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:27,600 Speaker 2: not super well researched, that said she had been married 654 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:31,440 Speaker 2: before and that her husbands had all met violent deaths 655 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,279 Speaker 2: from head wounds. So, you know, I don't know if 656 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,840 Speaker 2: that's just the internet running with something, or if that's true. 657 00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:43,160 Speaker 1: Apparently, out of all of the four, the Ma and 658 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:46,520 Speaker 1: Kate seemed to have actually been related, although I don't 659 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:49,000 Speaker 1: know how. I didn't see how did. 660 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:51,880 Speaker 2: You like how they were related? 661 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:54,200 Speaker 1: No? No, no, like they were supposed to be mother 662 00:35:54,239 --> 00:35:56,439 Speaker 1: and daughter. But how did how did that ever get 663 00:35:56,440 --> 00:35:59,280 Speaker 1: turned up? Like? Where was that? How was that ever defined? 664 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,560 Speaker 2: I think just people doing like modern research on lineage 665 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,359 Speaker 2: and stuff like that. Okay, because they think they turned 666 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,320 Speaker 2: up her original name too, that Ma was married to 667 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:12,560 Speaker 2: a man named Griffith, and that Kate was really Eliza Griffith. 668 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:13,720 Speaker 1: Okay. 669 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:20,479 Speaker 2: John Senior apparently was John Flickinger and was either from 670 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:25,240 Speaker 2: Germany or the Netherlands. And then John Junior apparently israel 671 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:27,759 Speaker 2: name was the alias that he was using that I 672 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:30,120 Speaker 2: said to put up in in John Gerhart. 673 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:31,719 Speaker 1: And now you can take that pin out and break 674 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:32,960 Speaker 1: in half and throw it away. 675 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:35,920 Speaker 2: Yeah. So if he was using his real name as 676 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:39,200 Speaker 2: an alias, then I'm not sure what was going on 677 00:36:39,239 --> 00:36:39,880 Speaker 2: with John Jr. 678 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:45,880 Speaker 1: No, No, he's a Jettro type, don't forget. So there 679 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:47,880 Speaker 1: were people who are like, oh, we've seen the benders. 680 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:49,520 Speaker 1: Who saw the benders here, they went this way, they 681 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:52,400 Speaker 1: went that away for years and years and years. It 682 00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:56,680 Speaker 1: was like like people would would report on their whereabouts, 683 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:00,279 Speaker 1: and it's unclear to this day whether people did or 684 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:04,600 Speaker 1: didn't know where they went. I saw there was one 685 00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:08,160 Speaker 1: kind of article I guess from the time that was 686 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,280 Speaker 1: basically like, yeah, everybody knows where they are and there's 687 00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:13,720 Speaker 1: just nothing anyone can do. They made it to another 688 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:16,640 Speaker 1: state and everybody just kind of leaves everybody else alone 689 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:20,200 Speaker 1: out there. Other people have always reported like, no, they 690 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:21,920 Speaker 1: have no idea where they went. They just kind of 691 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:24,520 Speaker 1: vanished in the thin air. And then there were reports 692 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:28,319 Speaker 1: that were usually incorrect, that they'd either been captured or 693 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:31,600 Speaker 1: that they'd been killed, or there was one report that 694 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,879 Speaker 1: Pod died by suicide in Lake Michigan in eighteen eighty four. 695 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:41,000 Speaker 2: Right Another one said John Junior and Kate went to 696 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:46,560 Speaker 2: New Mexico like sort of Texas New Mexico border and 697 00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:51,080 Speaker 2: John died of a stroke. Some people said that vigilantes 698 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:54,480 Speaker 2: got them and they burned Kate alive and shot and 699 00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:57,440 Speaker 2: killed the other ones and buried him in the prairies, 700 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:01,319 Speaker 2: but no one ever claimed the substantial reward, you know, 701 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:05,359 Speaker 2: close to seventy grand today, So it seems like none 702 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:09,000 Speaker 2: of these stories were probably true, or maybe who knows, 703 00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:10,680 Speaker 2: maybe one of them was. It's just no way to know. 704 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:15,319 Speaker 1: So Laura Ingalls Wilder actually had a family story that 705 00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:18,560 Speaker 1: I read that her daughter basically said, hey, you should 706 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:21,440 Speaker 1: weave this into our family story. So it's almost certainly 707 00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:24,839 Speaker 1: not true. That she and her family, on their way 708 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:29,600 Speaker 1: to homestead passed by the Bender's tavern, but they didn't 709 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:31,480 Speaker 1: have enough money to go in for food or to 710 00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:34,640 Speaker 1: stay there, but they settled in a close enough area 711 00:38:34,719 --> 00:38:38,560 Speaker 1: that after the Benders were found out her father, there 712 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:40,439 Speaker 1: was a knock on her family's door and her father 713 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:42,920 Speaker 1: was summoned outside with his gun and he didn't come 714 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:45,960 Speaker 1: back till morning. But that anytime you ever asked him 715 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:49,480 Speaker 1: about the Benders, he would say, they'll never be found again. 716 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:52,960 Speaker 1: Right again, this isn't true. And one of the other 717 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:57,200 Speaker 1: things that really undermines the Vigilanti theories again, seventy thousand 718 00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:01,000 Speaker 1: and today's dollars was offered as a reward. Somebody from 719 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:03,640 Speaker 1: that group of Vigilanes would have stepped up and taken it, 720 00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:06,840 Speaker 1: or even if they didn't, how could a group of 721 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:09,920 Speaker 1: vigilanes keep that secret for all that time? That it's 722 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:12,759 Speaker 1: still to this day, never came out because that would 723 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:14,920 Speaker 1: be something to boast about that you were among the 724 00:39:15,239 --> 00:39:18,360 Speaker 1: group of vigilanes that caught and killed the bloody benders, 725 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:23,200 Speaker 1: you know. Sure, So I think the vigilane thing is get. 726 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:27,360 Speaker 2: A book deal at the very least for sure these days. 727 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:29,319 Speaker 2: I think it's the kind of thing where a lot 728 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:36,040 Speaker 2: of Kansas Citianites know about it. You know, they celebrated 729 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:39,480 Speaker 2: Bender Days for a while. They had a replica at 730 00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:43,680 Speaker 2: Cherry Vale at one point of the Bendor House. More recently, 731 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:47,440 Speaker 2: in fact, just a couple of years ago, a gentleman 732 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:51,879 Speaker 2: named Bob Miller, who was a financial advisor from Independence 733 00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:55,120 Speaker 2: and a historian and who knows maybe a bit of 734 00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:59,160 Speaker 2: a murder junkie, bought the land and basically said, like, Hey, 735 00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:03,239 Speaker 2: the people that own this land never did anything with it. 736 00:40:03,239 --> 00:40:06,840 Speaker 2: They never searched for the location of the murder sites 737 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:09,120 Speaker 2: or the house, and I want to do that. I 738 00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:13,040 Speaker 2: want to like have like professional expert investigations done on 739 00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:17,640 Speaker 2: the property. I don't know if he plans to put 740 00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:21,319 Speaker 2: up like a Lizzie boardenhouse or something, but he wants 741 00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:22,919 Speaker 2: to get to the bottom of what he can, at. 742 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:25,719 Speaker 1: Least right Yeah, he said he's going to try to 743 00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:28,799 Speaker 1: get with UK or K state. I don't remember which 744 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:31,200 Speaker 1: one to do, like ground penetrating surveys, But I don't 745 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:33,200 Speaker 1: know what his endgame is either. But it's pretty neat 746 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:34,880 Speaker 1: that he bought it, And one of the reasons why 747 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:38,120 Speaker 1: he's feeling good about finding something is the family that 748 00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:40,560 Speaker 1: he bought it from owned the land for like the 749 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:44,600 Speaker 1: last sixty five previous years, and they showed zero interest 750 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:48,000 Speaker 1: whatsoever in finding the actual site, and they just turned 751 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:50,399 Speaker 1: it all into crop land. So there's a good chance 752 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:53,880 Speaker 1: that there's something like the foundation, maybe even that gastro 753 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:56,400 Speaker 1: seller the well that the one guy was found in 754 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:59,360 Speaker 1: remnants of the orchard. Who knows, there could be plenty 755 00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:03,240 Speaker 1: of stuff left there. I don't know if they're gonna 756 00:41:03,320 --> 00:41:06,000 Speaker 1: I believe they exhumed all of the bodies that they found, 757 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,000 Speaker 1: but that's not to say that they found everybody. 758 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:12,560 Speaker 2: You know, Yeah, absolutely. There was a movie made in 759 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:17,839 Speaker 2: twenty sixteen called Bender that does not look great. Did 760 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:18,640 Speaker 2: you see the trailer? 761 00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:21,840 Speaker 1: I know, I didn't. I just saw. Livia quoted a 762 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:24,600 Speaker 1: user from IMDb that said it had some of the 763 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:26,120 Speaker 1: worst acting I've ever seen. 764 00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:31,880 Speaker 2: What was the trailer like uh not, I mean, it 765 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:33,799 Speaker 2: didn't look great. I read some other reviews that said 766 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:38,960 Speaker 2: it was okay, but it wasn't like U super murdery 767 00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:42,160 Speaker 2: or super scary, so it kind of fell too much 768 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:43,800 Speaker 2: toward like historical drama. 769 00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:47,480 Speaker 1: They talked a lot about like raising in harvesting grain. 770 00:41:48,320 --> 00:41:52,160 Speaker 2: Maybe I don't know, but there was a thing that 771 00:41:52,719 --> 00:41:55,560 Speaker 2: in Red Dead Redemption two that is funny because I 772 00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:57,680 Speaker 2: kind of forgot about this. I played that game a 773 00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:03,000 Speaker 2: couple of years ago, and there's a pig farm where 774 00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:07,000 Speaker 2: your character shows up and there's a creepy old lady 775 00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:10,360 Speaker 2: and a creepy old man and they're like trying to 776 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:14,280 Speaker 2: get you to stay for dinner. And apparently it's modeled 777 00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:16,080 Speaker 2: after this, and you don't really know, and you know, 778 00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:18,319 Speaker 2: when you're in those games, you don't know quite what 779 00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:21,399 Speaker 2: to do, Like I feel like I should leave. It's 780 00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:24,879 Speaker 2: kind of like real life. But they offer you libations, 781 00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:28,799 Speaker 2: and you need libations. So if you just I don't 782 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:30,360 Speaker 2: all right, If you want to play this game and 783 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:32,479 Speaker 2: you haven't, it's pretty old, don't listen to this part. 784 00:42:33,120 --> 00:42:36,040 Speaker 2: But if you don't care, like most people, don't drink 785 00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:38,240 Speaker 2: the drink because as soon as you drink the drink, 786 00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:41,600 Speaker 2: the screen goes woozy, and you wake up the next day, 787 00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:44,560 Speaker 2: and I'm not sure that good things happened overnight. 788 00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:46,080 Speaker 1: Okay, but you're not dead. 789 00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:47,759 Speaker 2: Huh, you're not dead. 790 00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:51,000 Speaker 1: That's not very bendery, No, it's not. 791 00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:54,160 Speaker 2: I think they were inspired by the Vendors a little bit, 792 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:55,799 Speaker 2: but I don't know supposedly. 793 00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:59,320 Speaker 1: Also, I've never read American Gods, the Neil game and book. 794 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:00,880 Speaker 1: Have you? Have you read any of his stuff? 795 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:01,759 Speaker 2: Never have. 796 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:04,200 Speaker 1: I've read some of his short stories and they're amazing, 797 00:43:04,239 --> 00:43:06,520 Speaker 1: so I'm surprised I've never read his novels. But in 798 00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:10,760 Speaker 1: American Gods, one of the characters is a Slavic god 799 00:43:11,239 --> 00:43:15,799 Speaker 1: named Zunborg, so that I'm going with. And every time 800 00:43:15,880 --> 00:43:20,200 Speaker 1: the Benders killed somebody, he gained strength from their sacrifice, 801 00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:22,439 Speaker 1: which is a pretty neat little take on the whole thing. 802 00:43:22,480 --> 00:43:25,040 Speaker 1: You know, because we're so like we have the blinders 803 00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:27,080 Speaker 1: on here on Earth, we don't even realize this murder 804 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:29,880 Speaker 1: family is actually contributing to the well being of a 805 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:31,239 Speaker 1: Slavic god. 806 00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:33,560 Speaker 2: I thought you were going to say, whenever they killed someone, 807 00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:35,080 Speaker 2: they would yell Zunberg. 808 00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:39,960 Speaker 1: Well they did that. Too, but that was never captured 809 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,920 Speaker 1: in the articles from the time, Chuck, which, by the way, 810 00:43:43,239 --> 00:43:44,960 Speaker 1: if you're like I need to know more about the 811 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,400 Speaker 1: bloody Benders, and I will not have it filtered through history. 812 00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:52,120 Speaker 1: I need the original stuff. There's a website called Genealogytrails 813 00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:54,840 Speaker 1: dot com and if you search that and Bender Family 814 00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:57,000 Speaker 1: and your favorite search engine, it will bring up the 815 00:43:57,040 --> 00:44:00,880 Speaker 1: crime related news articles from the time about the Bender family. 816 00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:03,920 Speaker 1: And it's awesome because it has a bunch of other details. 817 00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:06,719 Speaker 1: But also it's got like that old timey nineteenth century 818 00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:10,480 Speaker 1: you know, crime reporting too write It's just worth reading, 819 00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:10,960 Speaker 1: for sure. 820 00:44:11,200 --> 00:44:11,919 Speaker 2: It's always fun. 821 00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:13,640 Speaker 1: You got anything else about the Benders? 822 00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:15,240 Speaker 2: Nothing else? 823 00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:19,160 Speaker 1: Well, that said about the Benders for now everybody. And 824 00:44:19,239 --> 00:44:21,920 Speaker 1: since Chuck said nothing else, that means it's time for 825 00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:22,560 Speaker 1: a listener. Man. 826 00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:27,919 Speaker 2: Hey, guys, stumbled across you in the summer of twenty 827 00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:33,120 Speaker 2: twenty when I was employed as a USPS Rural Carrier associate, 828 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:38,040 Speaker 2: not a rural juror. I heard it. 829 00:44:38,120 --> 00:44:40,160 Speaker 1: Wait wait, now, I need to know what was that. 830 00:44:40,239 --> 00:44:41,560 Speaker 1: I can't remember what that's. 831 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:43,080 Speaker 2: From thirty Rock. 832 00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:46,239 Speaker 1: I still can't place it, but I'll think about it 833 00:44:46,239 --> 00:44:47,600 Speaker 1: and I'll say Eureka later. 834 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:50,560 Speaker 2: Okay, well, what's funny is after we talked a little 835 00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:54,360 Speaker 2: bit about thirty Rock on our Sitcoms episode and Emily 836 00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:56,520 Speaker 2: went out of town for a week and I barreled 837 00:44:56,520 --> 00:44:59,800 Speaker 2: through season one of thirty Rock while she was gone, 838 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:01,800 Speaker 2: and it was so good. 839 00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:03,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, just really do it again. 840 00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:09,040 Speaker 2: What a show god. Alec Baldwin Yeah, and Tracy Morgan Yeah. 841 00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:10,320 Speaker 1: And don't forget Liz Lemon. 842 00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:14,040 Speaker 2: She was great. But uh oh boy, Baldwin and Tracy 843 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:16,120 Speaker 2: Morgan just slavey on the show. I mean, everyone on 844 00:45:16,160 --> 00:45:17,040 Speaker 2: that show was really funny. 845 00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:22,400 Speaker 1: Yeah. Tracy Morgan's best quote was somebody offered him cash 846 00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:24,439 Speaker 1: who's and he said, I'm glad you said that, because 847 00:45:24,440 --> 00:45:26,360 Speaker 1: I thought it was a bowl of baby penises. 848 00:45:28,200 --> 00:45:31,040 Speaker 2: His other a good one that I got was you're 849 00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:33,040 Speaker 2: talking about how they go together, like peanut butter, and 850 00:45:33,080 --> 00:45:35,880 Speaker 2: he said, or like chicken and the chicken container. 851 00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:40,680 Speaker 1: That's pretty good. So. 852 00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:46,440 Speaker 2: Rural Juror though, was the movie that Jane Krakowski was in, 853 00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:48,960 Speaker 2: and the joke is she goes Rure Duror and like, 854 00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:51,080 Speaker 2: no one knows what the title of the movie. He is, 855 00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:54,799 Speaker 2: but it had gone so long they couldn't really ask her, uh, 856 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:56,120 Speaker 2: what the name of the movie was. 857 00:45:56,239 --> 00:45:56,720 Speaker 1: I don't. 858 00:45:57,000 --> 00:45:59,920 Speaker 2: I mean, I'm gonna keep watching it. She's so funny too, however, okay, 859 00:46:00,239 --> 00:46:03,360 Speaker 2: all right, back to the email. I have heard a 860 00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:05,880 Speaker 2: podcasts before, but never gave it much thought until a 861 00:46:05,920 --> 00:46:08,600 Speaker 2: friend insisted started to listen to some and they got 862 00:46:08,600 --> 00:46:10,120 Speaker 2: to the point of stuff you should Know, where I'd 863 00:46:10,120 --> 00:46:13,319 Speaker 2: talk to some much about y'all. My husband finally came 864 00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:16,239 Speaker 2: and said, who the Hecker Josh and Chuck, and when 865 00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:19,799 Speaker 2: you're going to introduce me to your new friends? But 866 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:22,400 Speaker 2: now the show is our go to for family road trips. 867 00:46:22,560 --> 00:46:23,040 Speaker 1: Awesome. 868 00:46:23,640 --> 00:46:25,120 Speaker 2: One neat thing I wanted to write about, though, was 869 00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:27,480 Speaker 2: my last dental appointment in February. I decided to bring 870 00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:30,359 Speaker 2: along earbuds so I could listen to y'all while getting 871 00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:33,400 Speaker 2: some feelings done. I asked the dentist and the assistant 872 00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:36,000 Speaker 2: if it would be okay to listen to the podcast 873 00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:37,800 Speaker 2: while they work, and the dentist said it was okay, 874 00:46:38,200 --> 00:46:40,120 Speaker 2: but asked me what I was going to listen to first. 875 00:46:40,560 --> 00:46:42,840 Speaker 2: I told her it was stuff you should Know and 876 00:46:42,920 --> 00:46:44,759 Speaker 2: how much I enjoyed it. And I was listening to 877 00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:49,799 Speaker 2: the Chowchilla Bus kidnapping episode. My dentist lit up and 878 00:46:49,840 --> 00:46:53,040 Speaker 2: told me how awesome that episode was. Her assistant had 879 00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:56,080 Speaker 2: never heard of the show, but the dentist was happily 880 00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:59,799 Speaker 2: talking about your show so much that my entire visit 881 00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:03,239 Speaker 2: I didn't get to listen to the episode because I 882 00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:06,040 Speaker 2: was half chatting to my dentist about stuff. You should know. 883 00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:06,960 Speaker 1: That's awesome. 884 00:47:07,680 --> 00:47:10,439 Speaker 2: Thank you for saving me while I was delivering people's mail, 885 00:47:10,480 --> 00:47:13,719 Speaker 2: and for keeping company during my commutes with love from 886 00:47:13,719 --> 00:47:19,000 Speaker 2: the Land of ten Thousand Lakes. That is Tanya Vanderpool 887 00:47:19,320 --> 00:47:23,960 Speaker 2: from Texas. Ten thousand Lakes, Texas has like two lakes. 888 00:47:24,239 --> 00:47:27,480 Speaker 1: What is that Minnesota? Minnesota? 889 00:47:28,600 --> 00:47:30,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, right, a thousand lakes. 890 00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:35,799 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's gotta be Michigan. No, Minnesota, Yeah, it's Minnesota 891 00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:38,520 Speaker 1: for sure. She really didn't say, you're not toying with me. 892 00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:41,840 Speaker 2: I don't know. I mean, I'm saying I'm not toying 893 00:47:41,880 --> 00:47:44,040 Speaker 2: with you, but I'm also on the verge of saying 894 00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:47,320 Speaker 2: so many things that are wrong about lakes and states 895 00:47:47,400 --> 00:47:48,520 Speaker 2: that I'm just stopping. 896 00:47:48,840 --> 00:47:52,160 Speaker 1: That's fine, that's fine, But can you imagine the audacity 897 00:47:52,280 --> 00:47:55,000 Speaker 1: of just signing off with the Land of ten Thousand 898 00:47:55,040 --> 00:47:58,120 Speaker 1: Lakes and not putting in parentheses. What state you're talking about? 899 00:47:59,239 --> 00:48:01,600 Speaker 2: I mean, I like my email's Chuck of the Peach State. 900 00:48:03,080 --> 00:48:06,680 Speaker 1: Okay, well that is pretty audacious. Chuck, it's violently unusual. 901 00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:13,760 Speaker 2: What was the person's name again, Minnesota? 902 00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:16,719 Speaker 1: You're in fine form today, aren't you. You're being playful. 903 00:48:17,080 --> 00:48:19,080 Speaker 2: I'm kidding. It was Tanya Vanderpool. 904 00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:21,640 Speaker 1: Okay, thanks a lot, Tanya. We appreciate that, and we're 905 00:48:21,640 --> 00:48:23,839 Speaker 1: glad we can keep you company and that we made 906 00:48:23,840 --> 00:48:27,120 Speaker 1: your dentist's appointment so special. If you want to get 907 00:48:27,120 --> 00:48:29,400 Speaker 1: in touch with us like Tanya did and tell us 908 00:48:29,440 --> 00:48:32,520 Speaker 1: about your dental visits, why not, You can send it 909 00:48:32,560 --> 00:48:38,520 Speaker 1: in an email to Stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 910 00:48:39,440 --> 00:48:42,319 Speaker 2: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 911 00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:46,560 Speaker 2: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 912 00:48:46,680 --> 00:48:48,480 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.