The Bloody Benders

“The Bloody Benders” were America’s first serial killer family. In the wake of the Civil War, many Americans headed west, away from the battlefields. If they happened through Kansas and stayed at the inn run by the Bender clan, they were killed. Travelers often carried with them every dime they had, and the Benders soon realized they could grow rich robbing their guests. The family is known to have at least 11 people between 1868 and 1872, luring each of them into their hotel in Cherryvale, Kansas. They disappeared before their crimes were discovered and were never seen again.