Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1873-05-23
THE KANSAS HORROR.
A DEAD.MAN TRAP IN A GROCERY STORE
EIGHT TRAVELLERS MURDERED AND
DROPPED THROUGH THE TRAp-EscAPE
OF THE MURDERERs,

The discovery of the murder Of eight
travellers, in Kansas, at an inn or country
drinking house, by family named Ben
der, was mentioned last week. The papers
of that State are filled with accounts Of the
horror, among the slain having been broth
or of the Senator, York, who exposed Pom
eroy, several farmers, ono soldier and lit
tie girl, all of whom had started on jour
neys recently, and after stopping at this hos
telry. had never been heard Of The
house was in view of railroad station, where
passengers get off the train to GO into the
interior Of the country. We copy the most
interesting portions Of the startling nara
tive:
TIE MURDERERs.
The Bender family consisted of four per-
sons, father, mother, son and daughter. -
The age Of the father was sixty -three years.
the mother sixty, son twenty seven and
daughter twenty -four. The son is described
Is a strong, muscular man. The family are
professed spirituslists, and the daughter
claims supernatural powers, in that she can
heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, and
also that she could give definite information
of robberies, murders, etc.
The following is copy of Miss Bsnders
advsr tisement
PROF. MISS KATIE BENDER
can heal al sorts Of diseases; can cure
blindness, fits, deafness, and all such dis
eases also, deaf and Guinness. Residence,
fourteen miles east Of Independence, on the
road from Independence to Usage Mission,
one and one half miles southeast Of More
head station. KATIE BENDER
june Is, 1872.
This Katie was a red-taced young
woman of exceedingly bad reputation
THE MANNER OF THE DEED.
The manner i9 which they accomplished
these terrible deeds was this: On the house
WAS painted the sign Groceries, but they
kept nothing but some wines This sign
| called in their victims To the e or near
the stove was trap door, two fe,t square,
which opens into rude hole in the ground.
seven feet deep, six feet wide at top
and three feet at the bottom. The earth
outside Of tho house did not show any align
| of excavation. Into this horrible hole were
| plunged the unfortunate victims whom they
murdered in daylight. The hammers used
for breaking the skull were such as are
used by stone-breakers on our streets, and
the handles are about twenty inches long
Upon examination it was found that the
skulls were all broken on the back and
right side Of the head showing that the dss.
perate deeds have been done BY right.
handed man.
| DISCOVERY OF TIE VICTIMS
The last of the victims was DR.. York
of Independence, highly respected citizen,
whose mysterious disappearance created SC
much feeling that large parties went in
search Of him He was traced to Bender'a
house, where they said he took dinner and
then left for Independence, but no suspi-
cion rested upon them But the weight Of
guilt wss heavy, and the large number in
search alarmed the family, and they left
the house without removing anything, drove
their team to Thayer and left it, where it
was taken few days after by tina sheriff Of
| that county. It was about the 7,h Of April
when they disappeared. They took the
northward bound train at Thayer. There
being no suspicion resting upon these quiet.
unobtl usive Germans. aud they not having
been very sociable and having but few visi-
tors, it was not known that they bad 'aban.
doned their home for nearly four weeks, and
when the discovery was made. it was found
that their calves and hogs were starved to
death in their lots. These discoveries at
once awakened suspicion, and search was
commenced in small orchard oae hundred
and fifty feet south OF the house The sur
face had been carefully plowed snd har-
rowed by tho B.nders bsfore thsr departure
but the body of DR.. York had been buried
| SO recently that tho heavy raios and time
had settled the ground around the grave,
SO that the outlines Of the grave were dis
tinctly visible, and fsw hour work IN.
earthed these horrible crimes.
THE FIRST FOUND.
Upon examination the head was found to
be badly brokon, with an indenturo on the
back part of the skull, and both temples
smashed. One eye had been bursted out
by the force Of the blow. and the faes had
been out A shoe hammer had been found
in the house which fitted the indenture on