From the most gruesome inn-keeping family of all time, to the horror of brothers on a
killing spree, here are five of the most notorious serial killer families.
Number 1: The Bloody Benders
Believed to be one of America's first ever serial killer families, the Bloody Benders
consisted of four German immigrants, who were followers of the Spiritualism movement. They
owned an inn in an isolated town in Kansas called Labette County and used their business
to commit gruesome murders. Guests dining at the inn were allegedly invited to sit upon
a chair which had its back facing a shroud of curtains. The male members of the Bender
family would hide behind the curtain and then smash the skull of the seated guest with a
hammer. Beneath the chair was a trapdoor, where the bodies of the guests would be dropped
through. The Bender family would then slit the throats of the guests to ensure their
de aths, bury their bodies in the inns compounds, and steal their money and property.
In 1873, suspicions were beginning to rise regarding multiple missing persons who had
stopped by the Benders inn and hadn't made it to their final destinations. A search party
was organized and they found the Benders cabin to be abandoned, with plenty of evidence left
behind to serve as proof of the Benders cruel deeds. What became of the Bloody Benders remains
mostly a mystery. Letters from police chiefs reveal that a vigilance committee had been
formed to hunt them down and may have succeeded, but there is no evidence to show that this
is true.
Number 2: The Briley Brothers
Bothers Linwood, James, and Anthony Briley wreaked havoc in Richmond, Virginia in the
late 1970s. Linwood, the eldest, committed his first crime at the age of 16, when he
short an elderly neighbor who was unfortunate enough to be near to his open window. He served
only one year for the crime.
Fifteen years later, the brothers and a fourth accomplice claimed ten lives over seven months
in a killing spree that had the citizens of Richmond living in terror. They robbed, raped,
and murdered in brutal and merciless ways, which included crushing a teenagers skull
with a cinderblock and even killing a pregnant woman and her five-year-old son.
After being captured, Linwood and James Briley led a group of six inmates on de ath row on
a daring escape from prison, but their freedom was short lived. The two brothers were caught
again quickly and sentenced to de ath by electric chair.
Number 3: The de Jesus Gonzalez Family
Sisters Delfina and Maria de Jesus Gonzalez hold the Guinness World Record for 'Most Prolific
Murder Partnership'. While not included in the record, their two other sisters, Carmen
and Maria Luisa are also said to have been involved in some of the estimated 91 murders
committed. Delfina and Maria ran a brothel that operated by kidnapping young women and
girls through help-wanted advertisements and forcing them into prostitution. Delfinas son
was also involved in the brothel, with his task being to ensure that the girls stayed
in line.
Often, the abducted girls would be force-fed drugs. Any girls who became ill, injured,
or unattractive would be murdered brutally, either by being starved to de ath or beaten
to de ath by the other girls. If a prostitute became pregnant, she would suffer a forced
abortion and the fetus would be dumped in the backyard. The sisters also murdered rich
customers in order to rob them of their money.
The sisters were brought to justice after a prostitute escaped successfully in January
1964. Authorities raided the brothel and discovered the bodies of 80 women, 11 men, and numerous
fetuses. Delfina, Maria Luisa and Maria were sentenced to 40 years in prison. Delfina and
Maria Luisa died in jail, but Maria was freed and eventually died of old age.
Number 4: The Manson Family
While not biologically related, Charles Manson and his loyal following, conveniently dubbed
'The Family', are close-knit enough to classify. Manson spent half of the first 32 years of
his life in jail for numerous different crimes and was a frequent user of hallucinogenic
drugs. Manson garnered a group of followers who shared his lifestyle and religious interests,
especially in the concept of Armageddon, and was able to control them and lead them to
believe he was Jesus. The Family, as they were called, were more than 100 in number
and lived together, leading unconventional lifestyles.
On August 9th 1969, the Manson Family committed a series of brutal Hollywood murders as instructed
by Manson himself. Among the victims was pregnant actress Sharon Tate who was stabbed in the
stomach, her blood then used to write the word 'pig' on the door. Another victim,
Abigail Folger, was stabbed 28 times. The following night, a wealthy supermarket executive
and his wife were murdered in similarly grotesque fashions.
The Family members involved in the murders were eventually arrested on suspicion of vandalism,
but revealed facts that placed them at the Hollywood murders while in custody. Charles
Manson himself remains in prison on a life sentence to this day.
Number 5: Inessa Tarverdiyeva and Her Family
Serial killer families are not just a thing of the past. This modern Russian family consisted
of kindergarten teacher Inessa Tarverdiyeva, her second husband dentist Roman Podkopayev,
and her two daughters, one of whom was 13 years old at the time. They were responsible
for at least thirty de aths over the span of six years before they were caught in 2013.
The family disguised their killing spree absences as camping trips and claimed to only kill
out of the need for money. The family murdered and tortured numerous victims, including police
officers, women, and children. Their most gruesome murders include that of an 11-year-old
girl stabbed 37 times and the torture of two teenage girls found with their eyes gouged
out.
The family were captured in a shootout with police which killed Roman and gravely injured
Inessa. Their home was found stocked with an arsenal of weapons that they used in their
killing sprees. In a famous interview, Inessa demonstrated to police how she murdered several
victims. She displayed no emotion or remorse and claimed to be a bandit at heart.
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