03922cam a2200457 i 4500 1259511448 MeVbMML 20230413112527.0 210702s2022 nyuab e b 001 0deng 2021024138 9781984879837 1984879839 9781984879851 9781984879844 (OCoLC)1259511448 (OCoLC)1290198661 (OCoLC)1290491724 (OCoLC)1295234257 (OCoLC)1295638097 (OCoLC)1296760840 AJM pcc n-us-ks 364.1523 J81h 2022 Jonusas, Susan, author 13275 Hell's half-acre : the untold story of the Benders, a serial killer family on the American frontier / Susan Jonusas [New York, New York] : Penguin Books [2022] xxii, 283 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21.5 cm notes and bibliography text txt rdacontent unmediated n rdamedia volume nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references (pages [327]-332) and index Introduction -- Labette County, Kansas -- The theater of a nation's struggle -- A nursery of moral monstrosities -- A revolting spectacle of crime made public -- In pursuit of murderers -- Bender or bust -- Epilogue "In 1873 the people of Labette County in Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried on a homestead seven miles south of the town of Cherryvale, in a bloodied cellar and under frost-covered soil, were countless bodies in varying states of decay. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for over two decades, and the land on which the crimes took place became known as 'Hells Half-Acre.' When it emerged that a family of four known as the Benders had been accused of the slayings, the case was catapulted to infamy. The idea that a family of seemingly respectable homesteaders--one among thousands who were relocating further west looking for land and opportunity after the Civil War--were capable of operating 'a human slaughter pen' appalled and fascinated the nation. But who the Benders really were, why they committed such a vicious killing spree, and what became of them when they fled from the law is a mystery that remains unsolved to this day--not that there aren't some convincing theories. Part gothic western, part literary whodunnit, and part immersive study of postbellum America, Hell's Half-Acre sheds new light on one of the most notorious cases in our nation's history while holding a torch to a society under the strain of rapid change and moral disarray. Susan Jonasus draws on extensive original archival material, and introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters, including the despairing families of the victims as well as the fugitives that helped the murderers escape. Hell's Half-Acre is not simply a book about a mass murder. It is a journey into the turbulent heart of nineteenth century America, a place where modernity stalks across the landscape, violently displacing existing populations and wearily building new ones. It is a world where folklore can quickly become fact, and an entire family of criminals can slip right through a community's fingers, only to reappear at the most unexpected of times"-- Provided by publisher Bender family 13276 Serial murderers Kansas Labette County History 19th century 13277 Frontier and pioneer life Kansas 13278 Kansas History 19th century 13279 Biography Biography (DNLM)D019215 13280 True crime stories. lcgft 8501 Biographies. lcgft 5221 Online version: Jonusas, Susan. Hell's half-acre New York : Viking, 2022 9781984879844 (DLC) 2021024139 .b173038190 ddc BOOK 28749 28749 ddc 0 0 ABELJ ABELJ NF 2023-04-13 18.00 1 364.15 JONU 64231 2023-04-26 2023-04-21 2023-04-13 BOOK 1