Latest news with #JohnBender
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
They Welcomed Weary Travelers with Kindness — Then Butchered Them: The Twisted Tale of America's Serial Killer Family
The Bender family killed at least eight people between 1870 and 1873 The family has become known as the "Bloody Benders," inspiring movies, television shows, books and more There is renewed interest in the Bender family murders, including a University of Kansas archeology class searching for answersIt was one of the first mass murder cases in United States history — and more than 150 years later, there are still few answers about what happened at the 'Bloody Benders'' cabin — and why. Between 1870 and 1873, a Kansas family now known as the 'Bloody Benders' terrorized travelers who stopped at their cabin looking for rest along the Osage Trail, killing their victims one-by-one after offering them a place to recoup and heal before heading back out in their search for land. At the time, the Homestead Act of 1862 promised settlers 160 acres, sparking a mass migration across the Midwestern state. According to the Library of Congress' records, the Osage Trail 'was an easy place to disappear.' And it didn't help that along the Osage Trail, there lived a murderous family: John Sr., his wife Elvira, their son John Jr., and daughter Kate. It's believed between eight and 11 victims died at the hands of the family. According to local KCTV, the Kansas Reflector, and A&E, eight bodies were discovered on the family's property while three more nearby were suspected to have been murdered by the Benders. It wasn't until the brother of a Kansas state senator went missing on the trail, and the lawmaker set out with a posse to go find him, that the Benders' killing spree was uncovered, according to the Reflector. The state senator, Col. Alexander York, questioned the Benders and grew suspicious of their answers, the outlet reported. But by the time he came back, the family had suddenly picked up and left, leaving more than a century-and-a-half of mystery to follow. Located along the Osage Trail, the Bender family appeared, by all accounts, to prey on travelers looking for food and shelter, according to local KCTV. Historians believe daughter Kate, who was a Spiritualist in her early 20s at the time, would distract travelers by offering spiritual healing services, according to the outlet. Kate would have the family's victims sit with their backs to a canvas curtain, according to the Reflector, while another family member hid and would bludgeon the victim over the head with a hammer. Then, the family members would drag their victim to a hidden cellar on the property and slit the victim's throat, leaving them there to die. 'It may have started in pure robbery and morphed into something a bit more twisted,' Lee Ralph, the author of Hell Comes to Play, a book about the Bender family, told KCTV last year. Nobody knows how many people the Bender family actually murdered, according to the Reflector, but at least eight bodies were discovered in a hidden cellar on the property in May 1873, including that of an infant. However, according to the outlet, by the time local investigators came knocking at the Benders' door, the family had vanished, sparking what the Reflector described as an 'enduring mystery' that is uniquely American. While the Bender family was never found, their brutal acts — and their vanishing act that followed — have inspired movies, books, television shows and more in the century-plus since their murders were committed. From the 2016 film Bender to episodes of Supernatural and The Librarians, the Bender family mystery has gone from local folklore to national entertainment. For a period of time, the local Cherryvale community even commemorated the twisted tale with an annual festival 'Bender Days,' according to the Reflector. Still in Cherryvale today, the town's historical museum features a section dedicated to the Benders – including photographs, replicas of wanted posters, and even a set of three hammers believed to have been used by the family in their three-year murder spree. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 'The whole thing is just so bizarre, and one of America's first documented mass murders,' Bob Miller, who now owns the land where the Benders' cabin is believed to have stood, told the Reflector. Miller purchased the land after years of interest in the case, hoping to one day be able to suss out some of the mystery for himself. 'Somewhere, somehow, some way, I'm going to get some kind of expert investigation going there,' he said. Miller is far from alone in his interest in the local murder mystery. In addition to books and interest from amateur investigators like Miller, one professor at the University of Kansas has even put her anthropological students to the hunt with a two-week field study in the summers that involve digging for artifacts, or clues, that could lead to new answers about what took place at the Benders' cabin. 'It's never been looked at through a scientific lens, the material culture of the things left behind,' Dr. Laura Norman told KCTV. 'So, we're hoping to add a little to the story.' As for Miller, he says Dr. Norman's efforts highlight a 'huge intrigue' that still remains around the case more than 150 years later. 'We're just getting a lot of interest from different sources. What the Benders did, how they did it and what happened to them. Where did they go?' he told KCTV, adding, 'There's so much more about them that we don't know.' Read the original article on People
Business Journals
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Private equity and venture capital litigation on the rise: An interview with John Bender of K&L Gates
The Seattle office of K&L Gates has a long-standing history of representing clients in high-stakes fraud and insolvency litigation in the Pacific Northwest region. The firm recently welcomed partner John Bender who has spearheaded some of the most high-profile white-collar cases involving the local private equity and venture capital industries over the past two years. Bender represented major investor groups in two of the largest cases of alleged investment fraud in recent years locally: iCap Equity and WaterStation Technology, in which creditors asserted roughly $500 million in total losses. Bender served as court-appointed counsel and lead trial lawyer in iCap's insolvency proceedings in which a federal court found that iCap — the once prominent Bellevue-based investment fund — operated as a Ponzi scheme for several years. In WaterStation, Bender secured early rulings preserving assets for creditors and now serves as court-appointed counsel for the creditors committee in the bankruptcy. In the following Q&A, Bender — who represents both institutions and investors — shares his perspective on common themes he's seen in his cases and lessons for executives in these high growth industries. What is it about private equity and venture capital that can lead to legal disputes? John Bender: Private equity and venture capital are unique in that the entire paradigm is focused on making good decisions with other people's capital. Whether you're a founder, advisor or institution, these decisions are all about weighing risks and performance. The stakes are high in that environment. What are common issues you have seen in these cases? Bender: In many cases, you have businesses that start with a good idea but lose their way because they move too fast, lose sight of the big picture or start taking on debt without a good plan for how to repay that debt. Smart, well-meaning business leaders can forget to communicate about the details or risks that financial stakeholders need to know to make informed decisions. Small missteps or oversights can turn into serious problems down the road if they aren't addressed. You see this at times with organizations that have a vacuum at the top that lack checks and balances. What lessons can business leaders learn from the high-profile regional cases we have seen over the past few years? Bender: At a macro level there is some truth to some litigation being cyclical. There seems to be a pattern of these cases emerging on the heels of broader economic trends. But that isn't the same thing as cause and effect. The roof caved in on Bernie Madoff during the 2008 financial crisis, but the fraud went on for many decades. Everyone remembers that in '08 the economic environment changed rapidly, credit dried up and people started putting their money on the sidelines — that posed existential challenges for Madoff because he couldn't find new cash sources to keep the money flowing in. Issues around debt are also frequent flyers in these cases. I've heard it called 'the oldest trick in the book' when an enterprise doesn't generate the revenues it needs to meet investor expectations and just becomes a network of corporate entities whose primary function is raising cash and paying each other's debts. It becomes a doom cycle that only lasts for as long as new credit is easy to come by. These schemes seem to fall apart any time there are major fluctuations in interest rates that impact the supply and demand for new credit. On the flip side they tend to do well when interest rates are low, and new credit is easy to come by. Do you anticipate more litigation in the local private equity and venture capital spaces in the future? Bender: Private equity and venture capital are dynamic growing areas and that's a great thing for the region. We're fortunate to have such vibrant industries here. Litigation risks are to some extent inevitable and they can tend to ebb and flow with broad economic trends. To the extent we see more volatility driven by things like tariffs and inflation, it is more important than ever for business leaders to surround themselves with professional advisors with deep and diverse experience. What is one significant takeaway from your work that business and industry leaders should know? Bender: At a high level most cases involving investments that fail or allegations of mismanagement or worse do not develop overnight. Most of these cases entail a constellation of missteps over the span of months and even years' worth of bad decisions. This is why these cases are so challenging — they require unpacking the entire chain of events that lead to tragic outcomes. In most cases, these outcomes could have been entirely avoided had different choices been made along the way. Learn more about the K&L Gates Seattle high-stakes fraud and insolvency litigation team. Mike Gearin is a partner in the firm's Restructuring & Insolvency Practice in Seattle. Gearin concentrates his practice in insolvency, workouts and commercial reorganizations and has significant experience in the resolution of Ponzi schemes in bankruptcy. Phil Guess is a partner in the firm's Litigation & Disputes Practice in Seattle. Guess focuses his litigation practice on complex business disputes with a focus on representing financial services clients in high stakes fraud and Ponzi cases in state court and in bankruptcy. Brian Peterson is a partner in the firm's Restructuring & Insolvency Practice in Seattle. He has significant experience representing bankruptcy trustees in Ponzi scheme cases and in fraudulent transfer litigation.
