SYSK's Fall True Crime Playlist: The Tale of the Bloody Benders
Hosts Josh and Chuck recount the story of the "Bloody Benders," a 19th-century family of serial killers who operated a small inn and store along the Osage Trail in southeastern Kansas. They describe how the Benders lured travelers into their crude roadhouse, murdered and robbed them, how the crimes were eventually discovered after the disappearance of a doctor and his neighbor, and how the family escaped and was never definitively found. The episode also explores Kansas's violent frontier context, later investigations into the Benders' true identities, theories about their fate, and the case's legacy in books, media, and local lore.
SYSK's Fall True Crime Playlist: The Strange Unsolved Murder of Ken McElroy
Hosts Josh and Chuck recount the history of Ken Rex McElroy, a violent criminal who terrorized the small town of Skidmore, Missouri for decades through theft, assault, sexual abuse of minors, and systematic intimidation of witnesses and officials. They describe how repeated failures of the legal system and law enforcement to stop him culminated in a daytime vigilante killing in front of dozens of townspeople, none of whom ever cooperated with investigators. The episode explores McElroy's background, his pattern of coercive marriages to underage girls, the shooting of grocer Bo Bowenkamp, the town meeting that preceded his death, and the unresolved questions around who pulled the trigger.