About This Episode
What is this episode about?
The episode "The Bloody Benders: America's FIRST Serial Killer Family!" from I Could Murder A Podcast covers the story of the Bender family, who lured travellers to their remote cabin in 1871 Kansas with the promise of a hot meal and hospitality.
The episode opens in 1871, during a time when The American Wild West was in full swing and rural areas remained almost entirely without law enforcement. A lone traveller makes his way across the Southeast Kansas Prairie, following the Great Osage Trail — a route where hundreds of men had already vanished. After days of travel with no sign of outlaws or highwaymen, he comes across a wooden cabin belonging to a seemingly charming frontier family, who offer him food and a place to rest.
That family was the Benders, and the meal they offered would prove to be fatal. The traveller and his horse were never seen again, and the episode makes clear he was far from their only victim. The cabin itself is described as "The Devil's Inn," the site of a string of disappearances linked to the family before their crimes came to light.
Hosts and release
Tom Norris and Ben Carter host the show, with this episode written by Ben Carter, produced by Dan J Lambert and edited by Ben Bonsey. The episode runs 63 minutes and is episode number 12, released on 19 October 2026.
