The following week, while Peter was out of the house, his infant daughter died of unknown causes in Belle's care. One common, but unverified story, says that when she was about 18 years old, she was pregnant and attended a country dance. Lamphere was later linked to the fire at Gunness farm. After murdering her two husbands, the Norwegian-American woman posted ads in the paper looking for men to invest in her farm. Whether Gunness died in that fire remains unclear. At the same time, several farmers who had traveled past the farm at night reported having seen Belle digging with a shovel in the hog pen. When a victim arrived, she made him comfortable, charming him and cooking a large meal. These were lonely Norwegian bachelors, many completely cut off from their families. Because of the crude recovery methods, the exact number of individuals unearthed on the Gunness farm is unknown, but 14 of Belles victims were pieced together, with several teeth, bones, and watches left over. [8], Gunness married Mads Sorenson in 1884. Answer: Selbu, Norway Belle was born on November 22, 1859. She died of tuberculosis while awaiting trial. In 1908, just when Hegelein's brother became suspicious and Gunness's luck seemed to be running out, her farmhouse burnt to the ground. On April 28, 1908, a fire destroyed a family farm near La Porte, Indiana. By now, Gunness had purchased a farm in La Porte, Indiana. It gave details of the slaying, and told of his part in the former murders which occurred at the Gunness farm, his task usually being the burying of the bodies in the garden. Before long, news of the gruesome discovery spread throughout the nation. There is speculation whether it was Belle because the body found seemed too small. 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. Belle Gunness, also known as Brynhild Paulsdatter Strset, was a Norwegian-American serial killer who operated in Illinois and Indiana from 1884 until 1908. He never returned for his belongings, nor did he ever speak to Gunness again. [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. Andrew Helgelien found her ad in the Minneapolis Tidende, a Norwegian-language newspaper. Then, learn about Leonarda Cianciulli, the serial killer who turned her victims into soap and teacakes. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana "murder farm." Some were hired hands. Belle with three of her children, likely Myrtle, Lucy, and Philip. John H. McJunkin of Coraopolis (near Pittsburgh) left his wife in December 1906 after corresponding with a La Porte woman. Come prepared to stay forever.. [7], Belle married Peter Gunness on April 1, 1902. Come prepared to stay forever.. She then drugged his coffee and when the man was in a stupor, she split his head with a meat chopper. [citation needed][14] However, a separate newspaper published a story with speculation regarding the second Lamphere confession. 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. Also unclear is how many victims Gunness had killed. 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. So far, Belle Gunness had been able to largely escape detection or suspicion. One of her ads was answered by a Wisconsin farmhand, Henry Gurholt. [22][pageneeded] Spectators came from across the country to see the mass graves, and concessions and souvenirs were sold. Neighbors described the 200-pound Gunness as a rugged woman who was also incredibly strong. ", "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). Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. Soon afterward, Olsen vanished. 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. Belle Sorenson Gunness (born as Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth; November 11, 1859 - April 28, 1908) was a Norwegian-American serial killer. For a while, Helgelien assisted police as they sorted through the rubble. 40. Meanwhile, a man whose brother had been in contact with Gunness believed he'd been murdered and had begun asking questions. The First victims. Belle Gunness may or may not be one of America's most prolific serial killers. 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. Helgelien became even more convinced of foul play when he went out to the ruins of Belles home and watched as the men digging for her head turned up eight mens watches, assorted bones, and human teeth instead. Gunness was back a few days later to complain to the sheriff that Lamphere had visited her farm and argued with her. Although her farmhouse burned down in April 1908, seemingly with her inside, some believe that Gunness slipped away perhaps to kill again. In May 1908, after fire destroyed a LaPorte farmhouse, police made a gruesome discovery. Anderson was so startled by the ravenous expression in Gunness eyes that he left immediately. She was also known as Hell's Belle, the . I can tell from your letters that you are the man I want. But she also became somewhat of a legend, shrouded in mystery, revenge and money. Christie Hilkven of Dovre, Wisconsin, sold his farm and came to La Porte in 1906. Afterward, the locals said that Brynhilds personality drastically changed. One man, George Anderson, managed to escape with his life when he realized Gunness had murder on her mind. A short time later, the man who had kicked her died of what was said to be stomach cancer. Fellow Norwegian-Americans flocked to her property hoping for a taste of home along with a solid business opportunity. One lucky man named George Anderson survived the encounter. . A series of suspicious fires and deaths (mostly resulting in insurance awards) followed. 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. Belle began putting the following ad in out-of-state newspapers: "Comely widow who owns a large farm in one of the finest districts in La . As she was preparing to move from Chicago to LaPorte, she became re-acquainted with a recent widower named Peter Gunness, also from Norway. When the smoke cleared, authorities were left with so many bodies that they "stopped counting," according to Mental Floss. Female Serial Killer Belle Gunness . However, when he was introduced to Andrew Hegelian Belles new husband-to-be, he made a scene, and Belle promptly fired him on February 3, 1908. Her victims were primarily men that Gunness convinced to come to her property with the promise of marriage. Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway. Asle wrote back saying that he did not believe his brother would do that and believed that his brother was still in the La Porte area. Astrological Sign: Sagittarius, Death Year: 1930, Article Title: Belle Gunness Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/belle-gunness, Publisher: A&E Television Networks, Last Updated: March 18, 2021, Original Published Date: April 2, 2014. According to The New York Post, eight months after their marriage, Peter was dead. In response to her letter, Helgelien rushed to her side in January 1908. Source: The Indianapolis News, 8 May 1908. He opened the hall door to a sheet of flames and screamed Gunnesss name and those of her children but got no response. The pair had four children: Caroline, Axel, Myrtle, and Lucy. To their horror, they ended up finding Andrew Helgeliens head, hands, and feet, stuffed into an oozing gunny sack. Little is known about her early life. But as was the case with the candy store, Gunness and Sorenson were able to pocket the insurance money. Lamphere ended up in prison because of his connection to Gunness and the fire on her farm. She changed her name to Belle in 1881 when she came to the United States. [2] She killed most of her suitors and boyfriends, and her two daughters, Myrtle and Lucy. Gunness received men visitors all the time, one of her farmhands later told the New York Tribune. After the fire, her victims were unearthed from their shallow graves around the farm. DESCRIPTION: "Belle Gunness was a lady fair In Indiana State, She weighed about 300 pounds, And that is quite some weight." "Her favorite occupation Was a-butchering of men." "Now some say Belle killed only ten, And some say 42." At last she vanishes with the cash AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Burt-AmericanMurderBallads) His name was Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson, and he didn't know it yet, but he was going to be Gunness' first known victim. Jennies body would later be found buried on her adoptive mothers property. These are famous words by the convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos who was put to death by lethal injection on October 9, 2002. La Porte County Historical Society Museum. A well-built woman with six feet height and over 90 90 kg, Belle immigrated to the US in 1881. But in reality, she was a serial killer who murdered at least 14 people. He was found guilty of arson, but cleared of murder. [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. It is believed the couple produced two children whom Gunness poisoned in infancy for the insurance money. She was a giant of a woman, with a bloodthirst so strong it led her to kill upwards of 25 people. A year later, Peters brother, Gust, took Peters older daughter, Swanhild, to Wisconsin. [9] The district coroner convened a coroner's jury, suspecting murder, but nothing came of the case. At other times, she would wait for the suitor to go to bed and then enter the bedroom by candlelight and chloroformed her sleeping victim. When they failed to hear from him after that, the family contacted Gunness. [7], Her criminal activities came to light in April 1908, when the Gunness farmhouse in La Porte, Indiana burned to A series of suspicious fires and deaths (mostly resulting in insurance awards) followed. [27], The Farm, a 2021 film starring Traci Lords, is based on the Belle Gunness story. Gunness deflected. Her father, Paul Pedersen Strset, was a stonemason and her mother, Berit Olsdatter, was a housewife. Unfortunately, there was not enough DNA, so the mystery remains unsolved. Serial killer Belle Gunness is reported to have murdered more than 40 people between 1884 and 1908 before disappearing without a trace. Ray Lamphere, the ex-handyman of Belle Gunness. Little is known about her early life. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. In her letters, Gunness had asked her mark to bring all of his money and not tell anyone what he was up to. 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. In the ruins, authorities found the bodies of a headless adult woman, initially identified as Belle Gunness, and her three children. She likely . 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. Not long afterward, their home and the store mysteriously burned down. 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. However, a neighborhood boy said he had seen Lamphere running down the road from the Gunness house just before the structure erupted in flames. 4/27/1908 49 Belle writes last will and testament. ; Man-Eater: The Life and Legend of an American . 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. I know that you are now to come to me and be my own. When he was just 18, Robinson went on a violent killing spree, during which he killed three young women and seriously injured two. 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. Caroline and Axel died as infants from acute colitis, the symptoms of which nausea, fever, diarrhea, and lower abdominal pain and cramping are also symptoms of many forms of poisoning. In the end, she was awarded $8,500 (about $240,000 today), with which she bought a farm on the outskirts of La Porte, Indiana. One read: Personal comely widow who owns a large farm in one of the finest districts in La Porte County, Indiana, desires to make the acquaintance of a gentleman equally well provided, with view of joining fortunes. Where did Belle Gunness meet her first husband, Max "Mads" Sorenson? [7], Sorenson had purchased two life insurance policies. La Porte County Historical Society MuseumInvestigators search for more bodies on Belle Gunnesss farm after the initial discoveries in 1908. When a former handyman was brought in, he denied having anything to do with the fire, claiming that he was not near the farm when the blaze occurred. But, from the start, there were questions as to whether the headless corpse was that of Belle Gunness. But once the tide turns away from Belle Sorensen of Gunness. Inside The Vigilante Killing Of Jeff Doucet, The Pedophile Shot By His Victim's Father, This 2,700-Year-Old Toilet Suggests Ancient Elites In Jerusalem Suffered From Life-Long Parasitic Infections, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. In her 1955 book The Truth About Belle Gunness, Lillian de la Torre said this little gem was part of a fake letter concocted by bored reporters who couldn't get their hands on the real letters during Lamphere's trial. The 100-Year Mystery Of "Lady Bluebeard". Belle had lured this woman from Chicago on the pretense of hiring her as a housekeeper only days before she decided to make her permanent escape from La Porte. She immigrated to the United States, where she lured her victims to her remote farm in Indiana. 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