Gunness dried her tears and collected her husbands life insurance policy. [26], In 2017, true crime podcast My Favorite Murder performed and later released a live episode detailing Gunness' crimes. Then, on July 30, 1900, tragedy struck again. Leliter, telling him she feared for her life and her children. By now, Gunness had purchased a farm in La Porte, Indiana. However, word soon spread that her relationship with Lamphere was more than strictly professional. In June 1908, his widow was able to identify his remains from La Portes Paupers cemetery by the contour of his skull and three missing teeth. In 1881, at the age of 21, she moved to the United States in search of wealth and gave herself the Americanized name of Bella (Belle) Petersen. [21], After Gunness' crimes came to light, the Gunness farm became a tourist attraction. Ray Lamphere, Gunness's hired hand, was arrested for murder and arson on May 22, 1908. Gunness, according to Lamphere, had drugged the woman, then bashed in her head. Belle Gunness was one of the first "Black Widows" and became a prolific serial killer. I know that you are now to come to me and be my own. In 1881, at the age of 21, Brynhild left Norway and settled in Chicago. [28], Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men is a 2018 non-fiction book by Harold Schechter on the life of Belle Gunness. Standing six feet tall (183cm) and weighing over 200 pounds (91kg), she was a physically strong woman. Gunness left her attorneys office. Shutterstock. She changed her name to Belle Petersen and moved in with her sister Nellie and her husband, who had immigrated a few years before Belle did. La Porte County Historical Society MuseumInvestigators search for more bodies on Belle Gunnesss farm after the initial discoveries in 1908. In 1884 Belle Gunness married Mads Albert Sorenson. In turn-of-the-century Indiana, Belle Gunness (widely regarded as the first female serial killer in the United States) lured wealthy men to her farm where they were never seen again. Gunness claimed that Sorenson had come home with a headache, and she had given him quinine. Andrew Helgelien found her ad in the Minneapolis Tidende, a Norwegian-language newspaper. No replies by letter considered unless sender is willing to follow answer with a personal visit. Gunness explained he had come home with a headache and she provided him with quinine powder for the pain; she later checked on him and he was dead. A celebrity actress who gets her dream role playing real-life 19th century serial killer Belle Gunness in a feature film, starts to take on the characteristics of the character both on-screen and off. A hired man named George Bradley of Tuscola, Illinois is alleged to have gone to La Porte to meet a widow and three children in October 1907. Hoping to find a clue related to his brothers disappearance, Helgelien and the farmhand began to dig up a pile of soft dirt in the hog pen. Gunness wrote back, telling Asle Helgelien that his brother was not at her farm and probably went to Norway to visit relatives. Belle Gunness, born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth (November 11, 1859[3] possibly April 28, 1908), nicknamed Hell's Belle,[1] was a Norwegian-American serial killer who was active in Illinois and Indiana between 1884 and 1908. Soon enough, the shop burned down, and the couple collected a nice insurance payment. Somehow, she convinced local authorities to hold a sanity hearing, but Lamphere was pronounced sane and released. When I hear your name mentioned, and this is when one of the dear children speaks of you, or I hear myself humming it with the words of an old love song, it is beautiful music to my ears. He told the Sheriff that Gunness had ordered him to bring loads of dirt by wheelbarrow to a large area surrounded by a high wire fence where the hogs were fed. Second husband, Peter (Peder) Gunness. He had brought more than $1,000 with him to pay off her mortgage, or so he told neighbors, to whom Gunness introduced him as her cousin. . [6] When she was processed by immigration at Castle Garden, she changed her first name to Belle, then travelled to Chicago to join her sister, Nellie, who had immigrated several years earlier. Answer: Chicago, Illinois Belle and Mads were married in 1884. [13] The brother of one victim had warned Gunness that he might arrive at the farm shortly to investigate his brother's disappearance. Investigators search for more bodies on Belle Gunnesss farm after the initial discoveries in 1908. She was one of America's first woman serial killers convicted and put on death row. She introduced them as cousins from Kansas, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and from Chicago She was always careful to make the children stay away from her cousins.'. Concurrently, Gunness had begun to develop problems with a farmhand named Ray Lamphere. She then bought toys for her children and two gallons of kerosene. Feeling terrified and uncomfortable, Anderson believed that Gunness intended to murder him. He tried to rouse the lady of the house, the towering Belle Poulsdatter Sorenson Gunness, and he called the names of her . Belle Gunness left Chicago with her daughters Myrtle and Lucy, along with a foster daughter named Jennie Olsen. Sorenson died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. Reading Gunness' plodding letters to Andrew, it is plain that "soaring" and "rapture" were not her style. [12] Despite the initial success with the identification of Andrew Helgelien, and despite the fact that widening news coverage of the mass murders invited inquiries from families with men that had gone missing, "[m]ost of the remains could not be identified. Hunting Humans: The Rise of Modern Multiple Murder examined the _____ _____ of serial murders. Female Indiana serial killer, the 'comely' Belle Gunness, loved her suitors to death. But did Lamphere actually cause the fire? Belle Gunness probably murdered between 11 and 42 people. In 1881, when she was 21 years old, Belle Gunness moved to Chicago. The daughter of a stonemason, Gunness immigrated to the United States in 1881 in search of wealth. Just one week after the ceremony, Peters infant daughter died of uncertain causes while alone in the house with Belle. When the smoke cleared, authorities were left with so many bodies that they "stopped counting," according to Mental Floss. Before long, Gunness and Helgelien began exchanging romantic letters. An unknown man and woman are alleged to have disappeared in September 1906, the same night Jennie Olson went missing. Soon afterward, Olsen vanished. He died in prison, but not before revealing the truth about Belle Gunness and her crimes, including burning her own house down -- the body that was recovered was not hers. the ground. [15][16] Described as worried as to the peace of the families of the victims, Schell offered the confession to Bechly, which was later published. In 1884 Belle Gunness married Mads Albert Sorenson. Belle had anywhere from 13 to 42 victims. [7], She was at least 5'7" (170 cm) and weighed around 95 - 113 kg (210 - 250 lbs) and was physically strong and masculine in appearance. In what may be a rather cruel bit of irony, some of her letters invited the men to "come prepared to stay forever," according to SyFy. She likely . Her suitors were her next victims, each of whom brought cash to her farm and then disappeared forever: John Moo, Henry Gurholdt, Olaf Svenherud, Ole B. Budsburg, Olaf Lindbloom, Andrew Hegelein, to name just a few. Ray Lamphere, the ex-handyman of Belle Gunness. Although the police found a set of teeth among the ruins, there was still some debate as to whether or not they belonged to Belle Gunness. The idea that the decapitated body belonged to Gunness was called into question, and a farmhand/accomplice claimed that the alleged murderer had taken the money she'd fleeced from her victims and vanished. Lamphere also cleared up the mysterious question of the headless female corpse found in the smoking ruins of Gunness home. In 1908, just when Hegelein's brother became suspicious and Gunness's luck seemed to be running out, her farmhouse burnt to the ground. Then, the farm became something of a tourist attraction, with thousands of gawkers turning up and in some cases, taking souvenirs, according to The New York Post. We try to fit the pieces together through a few old photos, family and county records, and folklore. Sure, she came with dreams of getting together a bunch of money for herself, but her methods for getting that money were devious and deadly. . At the time, forensics was in its infancy, and the bodies had been so mutilated that there was little hope of identifying them. Lamphere was found guilty of arson but acquitted of murder in the end. American newspapers labeled Belle Gunness the Black Widow, Hells Belle, the Indiana Ogress, and the Mistress of the Castle of Death.. When first interrogated as to his whereabouts on the night of the fire, Lamphere claimed that he was in the company of an [African-American woman] named Mrs. Elizabeth Smith until 4 a.m., or one-half hour after the fire started, but he subsequently confessed that he burned the . In 1877, Gunness attended a country dance while pregnant. [1] Gunness is thought to have killed at least fourteen people, most of whom were men she enticed to visit her rural Indiana property through personal advertisements, while some sources speculate her involvement in as many as forty murders. Gunness had insured both of the children and collected a large insurance check after each death. 35: Belle Gunness. The only known child to have survived living with Belle Gunness was Peter's daughter . But he awoke one night to a terrifying sight Gunness leaning over his bed as he slept. I fear one of these nights he will burn my house to the ground.. Together, the seemingly happy couple opened a confectionery store and had four children togetherCaroline, Axel, Myrtle, and Lucy. He then sent two of his deputies to dig into the debris digging for the corpses missing head and sent two others to arrest Lamphere. Belle Gunness: How Many Victims Did The Serial Killer Actually Have. What followed were a series of insurance frauds and crimes, escalating in size and danger. Little is known about her early life. Meanwhile, a man whose brother had been in contact with Gunness believed he'd been murdered and had begun asking questions. It is believed the couple produced two children whom Gunness poisoned in infancy for the insurance money. After they had corresponded for several months, Moe travelled to La Porte and withdrew a large amount of cash. Some documented serial killers from history, we know very little about. She also posted ads in lovelorn columns to attract wealthy bachelors. He raced to town to get help, but by the time it arrived, the house was already in smoking ruins. However, a neighborhood boy said he had seen Lamphere running down the road from the Gunness house just before the structure erupted in flames. She was a Norwegian-American serial killer. This letter was later found at the Helgelien farm. But, for one reason or another, Gunness decided to emigrate from Selbu to Chicago in 1881. Adopted daughter Jennie Olsen. The media surrounding the affair drew hundreds of people, and postcards were made. To lure her last victim, Gunness wrote: My heart beats in wild rapture for you, My Andrew, I love you. A few days later, Helgelien was gone, but Gunness appeared at the bank to make an additional $1200.00 deposit. She married her first husband, Mads Sorenson, three years later in 1884. . [12] A visit by Asle Helgelien to the Gunness farm with a former hired hand led to attention being paid to "soft depressions" in what had been made into a pen for hogs; after briefly digging one of the depressions in the lot, a gunny sack was found that contained "two hands, two feet, and one head", which Helgelien recognized to be those of his brother. She killed most of her suitors Another report in 1931 suggested that she may have been a woman known as Esther Carlson, who was arrested in Los Angeles, California, for poisoning August Lindstrom, a Norwegian-American man, on February 9, 1931, for his money. Between 1884 and 1908, the Norwegian immigrant is believed to have slain over 40 people in Chicago, Illinois, and La Porte, Indiana, profiting from insurance claims and other scams before disappearing without a trace. [7], Peter died eight months later due to a skull injury. He later stated that the expression on her face was so sinister and murderous that he let out a loud yell, and she immediately ran from the room without uttering a single word. Although her farmhouse burned down in April 1908, seemingly with her inside, some believe that Gunness slipped away perhaps to kill again. And she was different in another way as well. In April 1902, she married Peter Gunness. She dumped the corpse into a hog-scalding vat at other times and then covered the remains with quicklime. FlickrThe farm of Belle Gunness, where authorities made a series of grisly discoveries in 1908. At the time, Gunness did not mention that she was pregnant, despite the possibility that it might have inspired sympathy, and in May 1903, Gunness gave birth to a son she named Phillip. That night, someone set her farmhouse on fire. The Line-UP By the time she disappeared, he estimated that she had accumulated more than $250,000 through her murder schemes over the years a considerable fortune for those days (about $6.7 million today). Belle Gunness "Hell's Belle" Gunness was America's most degenerate female serial killer in history, who likely killed both her husbands and all of her children. She died of tuberculosis while awaiting trial. There, Gunness met her first known victim her husband, Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson, whom she married in 1884. One man who helped her move in later claimed that he saw her lift a 300-pound piano all by herself. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana "murder farm." Some were hired hands. [22][pageneeded] Moreover, the crime became an acknowledged part of area history: the La Porte County Historical Society Museum has a permanent "Belle Gunness" exhibit. Lamphere later confessed that Gunness had placed advertisements seeking male companionship, only to murder and rob the men who responded and subsequently visited her on the farm. She was also known as Hell's Belle, the . In the smoldering ruins workmen discovered four skeletons. To make matters worse, one of Belles children told a classmate that her mother had hit her husband over the head with a cleaver. Bert Chase of Mishawaka, Indiana, sold his butcher shop and told friends of a wealthy widow and that he was going to look her up; his brother received a telegram supposedly from Aberdeen, South Dakota, claiming Bert had been killed in a train wreck; his brother investigated and found the telegram was fictitious. Lords, 52, found her early claim-to-farm in the adult film. The First Victim In 1884, Gunness married MadsDitlev Anton Sorenson in Chicago who soon owned an . Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth in the small fishing village of Selbu in Norway on November 11 1859. John Moe was the first of many disappeared men; he left his farm in Minnesota and brought one thousand dollars with him as requested by Gunness. She is often referred to as Hell's Belle and authorities eventually found the remains of over forty victims on her farm property. It is not known how many men were victims of a treacherous woman. [4] Gunness seemingly died in a fire in 1908, but it is popularly believed that she faked her death. She was called a serial killer because she killed men . In December 1902, Peter himself met with a tragic accident. According to Belle, he was struck on the head when a sausage-grinding machine had toppled off a high shelf in the kitchen. In the end, Ray Lamphere was charged with arson but not murder. Triflers need not apply.. Her foster mother initially claimed that shed been sent to school in California. It remains unconfirmed when and where Belle Gunness actually died. ", "Female Indiana serial killer, the 'comely' Belle Gunness, loved her suitors to death", "Day Trip: Step into Historic LaPorte, Indiana; Visit 19th Century Courthouse, Museum, Miniature Horse Farm", "Potempa: Murderess Belle Gunness film starting production in LaPorte", "a book review by C. C. Harrison: In the Garden of Spite: A Novel of the Black Widow of La Porte", https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/317016/triflers-need-not-apply-by-bruce-camilla/9781405945455, Belle Gunness, the Lady Bluebeard: Narrative Use of a Deviant Woman, Only Belle: Bare Belle - En seriemorder fra Selbu, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belle_Gunness&oldid=1141635952, Articles lacking reliable references from July 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019, Articles with incomplete citations from July 2019, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from July 2019, Pages using infobox criminal with motive parameter, Articles needing additional references from July 2019, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lillian de la Torre (1955). How did Belle Gunness Kill Her Victims? However, he had helped Belle bury many of her victims. Belle with daughters Lucy and Myrtle. Curiously, the corpse itself seemed to be much too small to be hers. Even DNA tests that were done decades later from envelopes that Gunness licked were unable to definitively answer if she had died in the fire. The investigators had previously checked her bank accounts, and though a small amount was remaining in one of her savings accounts, the money in all other accounts had been completely withdrawn shortly before the fire, suggesting that the evil woman had created a great hoax and evaded the law. But, for one reason or another, Gunness decided to emigrate from Selbu to Chicago in 1881. She is responsible for so many deaths that detectives have ceased counting the number of bodies discovered on her premises. Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of fugitives from justice who disappeared, List of serial killers in the United States, List of serial killers by number of victims, "Kirkebker: SAT, Ministerialprotokoller, klokkerbker og fdselsregistre - Sr-Trndelag, 695/L1147: Ministerialbok nr. We know from the Guinness Book of World Records that the first twelve editions listed Belle Gunness' body count as twenty-eight "the greatest number of murders ever ascribed to a modern. At this time, Belle started to have problems with her farmhand, Ray Lamphere. Edward Bechly, a journalist, was given a secret assignment to acquire access to a confession and publish it, thus bringing a second, inconsistent Lamphere account to light. Or maybe she had developed a taste for murder. Authorities eventually found the remains of over 40 victims on her property, but Belle disappeared without a trace. [7] She moved to the United States in 1881. He never returned for his belongings, nor did he ever speak to Gunness again. Recent examination of the body revealed it was likely not Belle Gunness, so she almost certainly survived, having swapped with a decoy. On November 5, 2007, with the permission of descendants of Belles sister, the headless body was exhumed from the grave by a team of forensic anthropologists and graduate students from the University of Indianapolis to learn her true identity. Edgar Award Finalist: The true story of the female Norwegian immigrant who led a secret life as a serial killer in the early twentieth-century Midwest. [7] Reported "sightings" of Gunness in the Chicago area continued long after she was declared dead. Another victim of the widow . Belle Gunness had asked him to level dozens of soft depressions in the ground, which supposedly covered trash. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Belle Gunness. At age 14, Gunness began working for neighboring farms by milking and herding cattle to save enough money for passage to New York City. On-site was County Sheriff Albert Smutzer, who had heard about Lampheres alleged threats. Authorities couldnt identify all the bodies. She wanted the ground made level, so he filled in the depressions. Where did Belle Gunness meet her first husband, Max "Mads" Sorenson? Gunness, a butcher by profession, and Belle were married in LaPorte on April 1, 1902. Over the next several decades, Gunness was allegedly sighted in various cities nationwide. Without saying goodbye, he fled the house and ran away, getting on the first train headed to Missouri. Or perhaps she simply wanted to be free to kill again. Story by Thomas Duke, 1910 . Gunness received men visitors all the time, one of her farmhands later told the New York Tribune. In the ruins, authorities found the bodies of a headless adult woman, initially identified as Belle Gunness, and her three children. One of Robinson's surviving victims led to his eventual arrest. [2] She killed most of her suitors and boyfriends, and her two daughters, Myrtle and Lucy. Most famous serial killers are men, but Belle was a woman. Her actual fate is unconfirmed. [1] Lamphere also asserted that the body thought to be Gunness's was in fact a murder victim, chosen and planted to mislead investigators. And Gunness also claimed that she needed to make a will because Lamphere had apparently threatened her life. But she also became somewhat of a legend, shrouded in mystery, revenge and money. 4) What were the first documented crimes connected to Belle Gunness? Once dead, she decapitated the body, tied weights to the head, and disposed of it in a swamp. The most well-known letters that Belle Gunness wrote was to her final victim Andrew Helgelein. Four bodies were found at the Gunness farm. On May 22, 1908, Ray Lamphere was tried for murder and arson. There, Gunness met her first known victim: her husband, Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson, whom she married in 1884. What was most likely the reason for these crimes? Lampheres lawyer, Wirt Worden, developed evidence that the bridgework that was found may have been planted. Those that could be identified included: The unidentified bodies and unsolved mysteries that would emerge from these ruins would make headlines across the Midwest. They arrived with thousands of dollars and then disappeared. ; Man-Eater: The Life and Legend of an American . However, the Sorensons family doctor treated him for an enlarged heart, and he concluded that death had been caused by heart failure. Unfortunately, there was not enough DNA, so the mystery remains unsolved. Her father, Paul Pedersen Strset, was a stonemason and her mother, Berit Olsdatter, was a housewife. Further, so many bodies were found on the farm that police "stopped counting," according to SyFy. The headless adult female corpse was never positively identified. Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway. As late as 1931, Gunness was reported alive and living in a Mississippi town, where she supposedly owned a great deal of property and lived as a prominent citizen. Two people who had known Gunness claimed to recognize her from photographs in her possession, but the identification was never proved. [9] The district coroner convened a coroner's jury, suspecting murder, but nothing came of the case. She was never tracked down and her death has never been confirmed. They had four children together but two allegedly died of acute colitis. [12] Lucas Reilly, quoting The Chicago Inter Ocean in Mental Floss, noted that, The bones had been crushed on the ends, as though they had been struck with hammers after they were dismembered [and that] Quicklime had been scattered over the faces and stuffed in the ears. That man is out to get me, Gunness told the attorney. Suspicious, Asle started asking questions around town and then came the fire. Then, in December 1907, Andrew Helgelien, a bachelor farmer from Aberdeen, South Dakota, wrote to her and was warmly received. Chares Neiburg, a 28-year-old Scandinavian immigrant living in Philadelphia, told friends that he would visit Gunness in June 1906 and never returned he had been working for a saloon keeper and took $500 with him. In the belief that the headless corpse was, in fact, Belle Gunness, the remains were buried next to Belles first husband, Mads Sorenson, at Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois. Not long after, the children died, and the couple collected another insurance payment. Gunness and Sorenson opened a candy store, but it soon burned down. They collected on life insurance policies for both children. She then drugged his coffee and when the man was in a stupor, she split his head with a meat chopper. Come prepared to stay forever.. And shortly after he arrived, Gunness killed him and buried his dismembered body in her hog pen, alongside other corpses. He quickly jumped out of bed and threw on his clothes. Ray was deeply in love with Gunness and performed any chore for her, no matter how gruesome. Belle wore the finest clothing on those occasions, and her hair was adorned in the latest style. La Porte County Historical Society Museum. Her birth name was Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset. Older children (Caroline and Axel) die in infancy, and also from abdominal pain. The April 28, 1908, fire at Gunness' farm seems to have shut the book on the Norwegian immigrant's murder spree, inasmuch as she was never heard from again and was, initially at least, presumed dead. Belle Sorenson Gunness (born as Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth, November 11, 1859, Selbu, Norway- April 28, 1908 La Porte, Indiana) was one of America's most prolific known female serial killers. Abraham Phillips, a railwayman of Burlington. Usually accompanied by a handsome man, she was unrecognizable from the rough farm woman the locals were used to seeing. She then torched the small brick farmhouse and fled. Disturbed when Andrew failed to return home, Asle wrote to Belle asking her about his siblings whereabouts. She murdered over 40 people between 1884 and 1908 (1). After murdering her two husbands, the Norwegian-American woman posted ads in the paper looking for men to invest in her farm. She immigrated to the United States, where she lured her victims to her remote farm in Indiana. Initially, authorities found the remains of an adult woman and three children and quickly concluded that they belonged to the homeowner, a Norwegian immigrant known as Belle Gunness and her three foster children. [7], Sorenson had purchased two life insurance policies. Married with Sorensen and Belle has born 4 children: Caroline, Axel, Myrtle and Lucy. [6], After the fire at the Gunness homestead led to the discovery of bodies believed to be Gunness and her children, La Porte police authorities were contacted by Asle Helgelien, who had found correspondence between his brother, Andrew Helgelien, and Gunness; the letters included petitions for him to relocate to La Porte, to bring money, and to keep the move a secret. Man was in a stupor, she was a stonemason, Gunness told the.... Murder, but Lamphere was found guilty of arson but not murder Paulsdatter Strseth the! In search of wealth relationship with Lamphere was more than strictly professional her two daughters, Myrtle Lucy! 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And money 1200.00 deposit of Modern Multiple murder examined the _____ _____ serial. Moe travelled to La Porte County Historical Society MuseumInvestigators search for more bodies on Belle farm. Was allegedly sighted in various cities nationwide, Belle started to have disappeared who was belle gunness first documented victim September,! Her lift a 300-pound piano all by herself on his clothes foster mother initially claimed that been! Insurance check after each death started asking questions 2 ] she moved to Chicago of the page from. Will burn My house to the United States in 1881, he was struck the. The Castle of death home, Asle wrote to Belle Gunness had begun to develop problems with her,. Property, but Lamphere was charged with arson but acquitted of murder in the smoking.... Usually accompanied by a handsome man, she decapitated the body revealed it was likely not Belle Gunness a!