The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-05-09
LAST OF THE RENDERS
Famous Ax-Woman of Notorious Fam
lily Dead in California

ny Dead IN California
San Francisco, Cal. May Kate
Bender the famous ax-woman OF the !
notorious Bender family of Cherry |
vale, Kas., and the only member of
that murderous sextette to escape the
vengeance that their numberless
crimes inspired, was found dead in |
her home at Rio Vista, Cal, early on
Tuesday morning.
Her body would doubtless have
gone into the grave under the name
which had shrouded the identity and
early life of the foremost murderess
in the criminal annals of this coun-
try, had not an old man, who has
known her secret for eleven years,
broken his silence.
With this old mans story came the
first details that have ever been made
public of how the woman made her
escape, forty years ago from the Kan
| Ddb lOdullOuSt Mutit Ill DluIldltu
mob, after Staying her father, mother
and three orotLel~, searched IA vain
for the leading character in Cherry
Wales drama of blood.
Under the name of Mrs. Katha Pet
ers the murderess lived in a small
white house on the Sacramento river
about mile from the center of the
village. She was twice married, her
first husband, as she told it, being lost
at sea and the second she divorced.
Since then her home has been a house
of reyelry and strange acts.
Her companions gone, Kate Bender
lived practically alone for the past
month. It was not remarked when
she did not appear daily and no one
thought it strange in the last week
that she had not been seen since
April Is.
A chance phrase dropped by Hap
Ply Jack" Collins who has been in
Kate Bender's employ from 1899 TO
1909, revealed the secret Of the wom-
ans identity.
"One night in the winter of 1899 she
called me into her bedroom said
Collins. "She had been III for several
weeks of pneumonia and it looked bad
for her.
My whole story is there, she
said am Kate Bender. After
learned that we were about to suffer
for the numerous murders that we
had committed and that | could do
nothing to save the other members OF
my family, / changed my clothes and
fed from the house. | got away in
the night and dashed to the railway
station. | did not know where | was
going to go, but when | arrived at
the depot | found that a train would
soon be along for Chicago. | bought
a ticket and got aboard.
I did not know what TO do when
/ reached Chicago. The papers were
full of the story Of the murder OF my
family ana a reward had been offered
for my capture had hoped that my
absence would not be discovered
hoped that the numerous bodies
would hide my disappearance-but il
was not so, and was at my wits
end
I,was afraid that any moment a
detective would grab me. ! took a
car TO the shore of Lake Michigan. i
thought that ! could not escape and
wanted TO kill myself rather than
have the law do il.
While I was walking along the
beach ! saw a sailboat. / did not
know about sailing boat but
jumped in and pushed her off.
Out on the lake / found / could
not make the boat go as / wanted It
10. ] drited around and was carried
away out. The next morning a pass
ing lake steamer picked me up. They
asked me several questions-l forget
now what they were or what answers
/ made-but they did not suspect that
/ was Kate Bender and they let me
stay aboard. They asked me II !
could cook. told them yes. They
asked me my name. / said It was
Katha Peters and that was born at
Oberlaken, Prussia.
| I made good as a cook and they
were pleased with me and | stayed
| with them until We reached Buffalo
n. Y. and then took train to New
York City
Il don't recall now" said Collins
whether she told me that she mar.
ried In that city or not, but at any
rate. she was married to a man nam
ed Middleton and they shipped on a
steamer that went around the Horn
III She told me that Middleton had
been washed overheard during
III storm al sea. She landed somewhere
on the coast here and then made hei
| way up here where she has liveC
J since"