Monroe was Elvira Bender. Judge Calvin dismissed Mary Gardei's affidavit as she was a "chip off the old block"; he found that other affidavits supporting Gardei's were sufficient proof that the women could never be convicted, however, and he discharged them both. The affidavits and other papers are missing from the file in LaBette County, so further examination is impossible. A number of researchers question the ready acceptance of the affidavit's authenticity and suggest that the county was unwilling to accept the expense of boarding the two women for an extended period. While the two women were certainly criminals and liars, as their own defense attorney admitted, the charges were weak and many people doubted their identification as the Benders. Victims 1) May 1871: Mr. Jones. Body found in Drum Creek with a crushed skull and throat cut. 2–3) February 1872: Two unidentified men found on the prairie in February 1872 with crushed skulls and throats cut. 4) December 1872: Ben Brown. From Howard County, Kansas. $2,600 (: $) missing. Buried in the apple orchard. 5) December 1872: W.F. McCrotty. Co D 123rd Ill Infantry. $38 (: $) and a wagon with a team of horses missing. 6) December 1872: Henry McKenzie. Relocating to Independence from Hamilton County, Indiana. $36 (: $) and a matched team of horses missing. 7) December 1872: Johnny Boyle. From Howard County, Kansas. $10 (: $), a pacing mare, and an $850 (: $) saddle missing. Found in the Benders' well. 8-9) December 1872: George Newton Longcor and his 18-month-old daughter, Mary Ann. Contemporary newspapers reported his name as either "George W. Longcor" or "George Loncher," while Mary Ann is similarly reported as being either eight years old or 18 months old. According to the 1870 census, George and his wife, Mary Jane, were neighbors of Charles Ingalls and family in Independence, while his wife's parents lived two houses away. After the deaths of his infant son, Robert, from pneumonia in May 1871 and his 21-year-old wife, Mary Jane (née Gilmore), following the birth of Mary Ann several months later, George was likely returning to the home of his parents, Anthony and Mary (Hughes) Longcor, in Lee County, Iowa. In preparation for his return to Iowa, George had purchased a team of horses from his neighbor, Dr. William Henry York, who later went looking for George and was also murdered; both were Civil War veterans.