The Kelly Family was a family of serial killers who operated near a Kansas town called Oak City between August and December 1887. The family consisted of William Kelly (55); his wife Kate; his son Bill, also called 'Billy' (20) and daughter, Kit (18). Originally from Pennsylvania, the family is believed to have murdered 11 wealthy travelers, akin to the Bloody Benders a decade earlier. Vigilantes hunted down and killed the fleeing family in order to make an example of them. William confessed to all of the family's crimes before being hanged from a tree. Move to Kansas According to 55-year-old William Kelly's confession, he and his family moved from the Pennsylvania mountains to Kansas in 1869. They moved around to different places along the southern border until eventually settling in No Man's Land, around 25 miles away from Beaver, Oklahoma. Initially dealing with cattle, the Kellys soon opened a tavern, where they housed fellow cattlers and travelers. Although illiterate, they were regarded as an ordinary working family, with nobody harboring any suspicion towards them. Discovery of crimes In the span of a few months, a number of people had disappeared mysteriously along the road leading to the Kelly tavern. Despite this, nobody suspected the family of doing anything until around December 1887, when the occupants suddenly left the house without notifying anybody. A short while after, a traveller from St. Louis named S. T. Gregg, who had visited the tavern before, decided to stop by and check the house. Upon entry, a foul stench overtook him, coming from a hidden cellar underneath the house. The bodies of three men, already in an advanced state of decomposition, were discovered, as well as a trap door under the tavern's floor. Gregg immediately notified authorities of the matter. Shortly after, search parties came into the house, one of them led by a cowboy named "Texy". While digging around the barn in search of any other corpses, the men's attention was drawn to some loosened dirt to the left of the barn door. When dug up, a body with a broken skull was discovered, evidently murdered with an axe. Further digging revealed seven other bodies, two of them women. Although the majority of the victims were decomposed beyond recognition, three were identified from their clothing: Jim Coven, a cattleman whose business covered that area and Texas; J. T. Taylor, a missing wealthy drummer