The Bender family, more well known as the Bloody Benders, were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, United States, from May 1871 to December 1872. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife Elvira and their son John Jr. and daughter Kate. While popular retelling of the story holds that John Jr. and Kate were siblings, contemporary newspapers reported that several of the Benders' neighbors had stated that they claimed to be married, possibly in a common law marriage. While there is no definitive number, estimates report that the Benders killed at least a dozen travelers before their crimes were discovered. The fate of the family remains unknown, with theories ranging from a lynching of the family to a successful escape. Much folklore and legend surrounds the Benders, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction. Background In October 1870, five families of spiritualists homesteaded in and around the township of Osage in northwestern Labette County, approximately northeast of where Cherryvale was established seven months later. One of the families was John Bender Sr. and John Bender Jr., who registered of land located adjacent to the Great Osage Trail, which was then the only open road for traveling farther west. After a cabin, a barn with a corral, and a well were built, in the fall of 1871, Elvira Bender and daughter Kate arrived, and the cabin was divided into two rooms by a canvas wagon-cover. The Benders used the smaller room at the rear for living quarters, while the front room was converted into a "general store" where a few dry goods were sold. The front section also contained the kitchen and dining table, where travelers could stop for a meal or even spend the night. Elvira and Kate Bender also planted a vegetable garden and apple orchard north of the cabin. Bender family John Bender, Sr. was around 60 years old and spoke little English. What little he did speak was so guttural that it was usually unintelligible. According to the May 23, 1873 edition of The Emporia News, he was identified with the name of William Bender. Elvira Bender, who also allegedly spoke little English, was 55 years old and so unfriendly that her neighbors took to calling her a "she-devil." John Bender Jr. was around 25 years old and handsome, with auburn hair and a mustache, and spoke English