The American frontier was supposed to be a land of opportunity, but for dozens of unlucky travelers passing through southeastern Kansas in the 1870s, it became their final destination.

This week on Champagne and Murder, Please, we're diving into one of the most disturbing cases in American history: the story of the Bloody Benders. To weary travelers, the Bender family appeared to be ordinary homesteaders running a small inn and general store on the edge of the prairie. But behind a simple canvas curtain lurked a nightmare.

As settlers, drifters, and businessmen disappeared along the Osage Trail, rumors spread across the growing frontier. What investigators eventually uncovered beneath the Benders' property shocked an entire nation and cemented the family’s place in true crime history as what many consider America's first family of serial killers.

We'll unravel the enduring mystery that remains unsolved more than 150 years later: what happened to the Bloody Benders after they vanished without a trace?

Pour yourself a glass of something bubbly and join us as we step into one of the darkest corners of the Old West.

https://www.kshs.org

https://labettecountyhistory.com

https://www.smithsonianmag.com

https://www.loc.gov

https://www.nps.gov