Before long, news of the gruesome discovery spread throughout the nation. At this time, Belle started to have problems with her farmhand, Ray Lamphere. Gunness, a butcher by profession, and Belle were married in LaPorte on April 1, 1902. In her reply, Belle offered true love and a life of wedded bliss but also mentioned a quick $1,000 that she needed to pay off a mortgage. [9], Two babies in Gunness' home died from inflammation of the large intestine, which can result from poisoning. Story by Thomas Duke, 1910 . Pennsylvania's most well-known serial killer is Harvey Miguel Robinson, who is known for being one of the youngest serial killers reported in the U.S. [12] In each case, the body had been butchered in the same mannerthe body decapitated, the arms removed at the shoulders, and the legs severed at the knees. However, he had helped Belle bury many of her victims. He pled innocent to all charges, his defense hinging on the assertion that the body was not Gunness. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Adnan Syed: A Complete Timeline of His Trial, Appeal and Killing of Hae Min Lee. When they failed to hear from him after that, the family contacted Gunness. April 29, 2008 / 8:03 AM / AP. Daniel Rennie is a freelance writer residing in Melbourne, Australia. [2] She killed most of her suitors and boyfriends, and her two daughters, Myrtle and Lucy. She then went to work as a servant on a wealthy farm for the next several years. 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. Or maybe she had developed a taste for murder. A well-built woman with six feet height and over 90 90 kg, Belle immigrated to the US in 1881. As the investigation was ongoing, Asle Helgelien arrived in La Porte from South Dakota and told Sheriff Smutzer that he believed his brother, Andrew, had met with foul play at Gunnesss hands. He had with him a check for $2,900, his savings, which he had drawn from his local bank. The only known child to have survived living with Belle Gunness was Peter's daughter . Belle Gunness probably murdered between 11 and 42 people. General Information Sex Female Race White Number of victims 16 further plus 12 possible equals 28 Ay like music at home, she supposedly said, by way of explanation. She was a Norwegian-American serial killer. T.J. Tiefland of Minneapolis is alleged to have come to see Gunness in 1907. 3) What groups of people were Gunness' victims? Then, Joe Maxson came forward with information that could not be ignored. 40. Strangely, that date represented the last day of Sorensons life insurance policy as well as the first day of his new policy. The local dentist then stepped in, stating that he could make an identification if any dental work could be found. The Story Of Belle Gunness, The Meat Cleaver-Wielding Serial Killer Of Turn-Of-The-Century Indiana. One common, but unverified story, says that when she was about 18 years old, she was pregnant and attended a country dance. Before long, Gunness and Helgelien began exchanging romantic letters. She told them Gurholt had gone off with horse traders to Chicago. The story of Belle Gunness makes you wonder if some people don't really need motivation, some people . How did Belle Gunness Kill Her Victims? He moved to La Porte, Indiana on January 3, 1908 to be with Belle Gunness. I can tell from your letters that you are the man I want. In the pantheon of serial killers, Belle Gunness stands alone. From 1884 to 1908, it's believed that Belle Gunness killed, at least, 14 people. The farmhouse had belonged to Belle Gunness, at the time simply believed to be a widowed Norwegian immigrant but now infamous for being one of the most prolific female serial killers in the United States. When Andrew left home, he withdrew his life savings from the bank and was never heard from again. [29], In the Garden of Spite: A Novel of the Black Widow of LaPorte is a US-published 2021 novel by Camilla Bruce with elements of "Norwegian noir and true crime" based on the life of Belle Gunness. A different man came nearly every week to stay at the house. Had Belle Gunness committed . Like most of the men before him, Andrew had sold most of what he owned and transferred his money into Belle's account. Dont tell a soul.. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,.css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}contact us! [20] The inconsistencies between the two confessions, including the matter of the survival of Belle Gunness, remain historical issues that are not fully resolved. Among the known facts about Belle Gunness is that she was an imposing woman, very tall and 250 pounds and that only one child - her second husband's daughter Swanhild - survived her clutches. Wikimedia CommonsBelle Gunness with her children: Lucy Sorenson, Myrtle Sorenson, and Philip Gunness. The family of one of Belle's victims gave Nawrocki and his team an envelope sent from the LaPorte . Reading Gunness' plodding letters to Andrew, it is plain that "soaring" and "rapture" were not her style. Sheriff Smutzer then took a dozen men back to the farm and began to dig, and on May 3, 1908, the diggers unearthed the body of Jennie Olson, who had vanished in December 1906. Lamphere ended up in prison because of his connection to Gunness and the fire on her farm. [citation needed] The second account is based on the report that Lamphere contacted a Reverend Edwin Schell and provided him with a verbal confession that Schell transcribed and had Lamphere sign, a document that Schell kept sealed in his personal safe. Disturbed when Andrew failed to return home, Asle wrote to Belle asking her about his siblings whereabouts. She is responsible for so many deaths that detectives have ceased counting the number of bodies discovered on her premises. That tale is even more frightening. After travelling to La Porte, Gurholt wrote his family, saying that he liked the farm, was in good health, and requesting that they send him seed potatoes. Standing six feet tall (183 cm) and weighing over 200 pounds (91 kg), she was a physically strong woman. As they began turning the earth, they found four bodies- skillfully sliced apart and wrapped in oilcloth. He admitted to a fellow inmate that he and Gunness had killed 42 men together. She killed most of her suitors That man is out to get me, Gunness told the attorney. Soon enough, Gunness was depositing checks brought by her suitors, while the lovelorn men were never heard from again. They collected on life insurance policies for both children. [26], In 2017, true crime podcast My Favorite Murder performed and later released a live episode detailing Gunness' crimes. But, for Helgeliens brother, Asle, the matter was far from over. He was jealous of the many men who arrived at court his employer and had endured most of these attentive strangers up to this time. Gunness wrote back, telling Asle Helgelien that his brother was not at her farm and probably went to Norway to visit relatives. Not long afterward, their home and the store mysteriously burned down. Most of the remains found on the property could not be identified. She was nicknamed "Hell's Belle" after it was discovered that she was a prolific serial killer. Somehow, she convinced local authorities to hold a sanity hearing, but Lamphere was pronounced sane and released. Biography claims that the remains of at least 40 men and children were found on Gunness' farm. In April 1902, she married Peter Gunness. [12], Immediate inspection of the site revealed that there were dozens of such "slumped depressions" in the Gunness yard, and further digging and investigation at the site yielded multiple burlap sacks containing "torsos and hands, arms hacked from the shoulders down, masses of human bone wrapped in loose flesh that dripped like jelly", from trash-covered depressions that proved to be graves. Wikipedia, Byways & Historic Trails Great Drives in America, Soldiers and Officers in American History, Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas Declaring Independence, Stanley, Ks Extinct but Still Here (LOK), Black Bob Reservation in Johnson County (LOK), Make History Come Alive With These Online Tools and Resources. Gunness claimed they were a Los Angeles professor and his wife who had taken Jennie to California. Her foster mother initially claimed that shed been sent to school in California. On June 13, 1900, Gunness and her family were counted on the United States Census in Chicago, recording her as the mother of four children, of whom only two were living: Myrtle A. and Lucy B. [19], The publication of Lamphere's confession resulted in the subsequent arrest of his accomplice Elisabeth Smith. Who Was Belle Gunness? She suggested that maybe Andrew Helgelien had gone to Chicago or perhaps back to Norway. As days progressed and the gruesome work continued, one body after another was discovered in Gunness hog pen. 695A07, 1860-1877, s. 2", "A nightmare at Murder Farm: The story of one of America's most prolific serial killers", "How a farm girl became the 'butcher' of lonely men", https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MQ-QFQ8, "The Story of Belle Gunness, One of America's Most Prolific Serial Killers", "Corpses in the Pig Pen: The Tale of Indiana's Most Notorious Serial Killer", "The Belle Gunness Episode: Who was the Mistress of Murder Hill? His widow, Gunness, collected on both policies $150,000 in todays dollars which she could have only done on that day. Also unclear is how many victims Gunness had killed. In 1884 Belle Gunness married Mads Albert Sorenson. Older children (Caroline and Axel) die in infancy, and also from abdominal pain. Answer: Selbu, Norway Belle was born on November 22, 1859. Peters infant daughter from a previous relationship died. Curiously, the corpse itself seemed to be much too small to be hers. The most well-known letters that Belle Gunness wrote was to her final victim Andrew Helgelein. 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. YouTubeRay Lamphere, the ex-handyman of Belle Gunness. Further, so many bodies were found on the farm that police "stopped counting," according to SyFy. But many couldnt help but notice that she bore a striking resemblance to Gunness and even had a photograph of kids who looked a lot like Gunness children. Some of these were most undoubtedly additional victims, though they were never proven. 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. Belle Gunness BrynhildPaulsdatterStrseth, later known as Belle Gunness, was born on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway and died April 28, 1908 in La Porte, Indiana. Then, learn about Leonarda Cianciulli, the serial killer who turned her victims into soap and teacakes. Sorenson died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. Three years later she would find her first victim, a man named Mads Sorenson. Gunness, according to Lamphere, had drugged the woman, then bashed in her head. [12] With these discoveries, the perceptions of Belle Gunness, as reported in newspaper descriptions of a praiseworthy womandying in the fire that consumed her house, "in a desperate attempt to save her children"were reassessed. She was the rarest of female psychopaths, a woman who engaged in wholesale slaughter, partly out of greed but mostly for the sheer joy of it. . Her store and her home burned down, She and her husband collected the 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. Little is known about her early life. Together, the seemingly happy couple opened a confectionery store and had four children togetherCaroline, Axel, Myrtle, and Lucy. 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. Suspicious, Asle started asking questions around town and then came the fire. Henry Gurholdt of Scandinavia, Wisconsin, had gone to wed her a year earlier, taking $1,500. Little is known about her early life. To outsiders, Belle Gunness might have looked like a lonely widow who lived in the American Midwest during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A few weeks later, a reverend came forward with Lampheres confession before he died. 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. [7], Gunness began placing marriage ads in Chicago newspapers in 1905. [9] The district coroner convened a coroner's jury, suspecting murder, but nothing came of the case. Without saying goodbye, he fled the house and ran away, getting on the first train headed to Missouri. Ray Lamphere, Gunness's hired hand, was arrested for murder and arson on May 22, 1908. All told, the remains of more than forty men and children were exhumed. The low end is 11, to account for her first two husbands, their children, and the children found dead on the family farm. This is a story that will shock you more than most, because of t .more Get A Copy Kindle Unlimited $0.00 Amazon Stores Over the next several years, more men, sometimes accompanied by their children, would show up, their checks would be deposited, and they'd never be heard from again. Lamphere was later linked to the fire at Gunness farm. [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. What's even more terrifying is that Gunness was never properly caught or discovered. Within a week, he had disappeared. She died of tuberculosis while awaiting trial. A short time later, the man who had kicked her died of what was said to be stomach cancer. However, word soon spread that her relationship with Lamphere was more than strictly professional. [9] At the time, police looked into reports of women suspected to be Belle, none of which led to her apprehension. In his statement, he revealed the details of Gunness crimes and swore she was still alive. That night, someone set her farmhouse on fire. One of her ads was answered by a Wisconsin farmhand, Henry Gurholt. One of these men was John Moe, who arrived from Elbow Lake, Minnesota. Three were identified as her foster children. After they had corresponded for several months, Moe travelled to La Porte and withdrew a large amount of cash. She made her home in Chicago and started working as a maid. Strangely, tragedy seemed to return to Belle Gunness doorstep yet again. In addition to three . At 5'8" ft tall and over 200 lb (91 kg), she was a physically strong woman. Belle Gunness was one of the first "Black Widows" and became a prolific serial killer. Unfortunately, there was not enough DNA, so the mystery remains unsolved. Most famous serial killers are men, but Belle was a woman. Early clues pointing to an accomplice assisting Belle in her murderous schemes first surfaced when one Julius G. Truelson, Jr., the son of an upstate New York piano manufacturer, told Ralph N. Smith, LaPorte prosecuting attorney from the 2nd Judicial District, that he had arranged for Belle to kill his new bride. 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 . According to Harold Schechter, a true-crime author who wrote Hells Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men, Gunness knew exactly how to lure her victims onto her farm. Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset immigrated from Norway to the United States at the age of 21, according to SyFy, in search of a better life. Leliter, telling him she feared for her life and her children. 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. However, Gunness successfully convinced the investigators that she was innocent of any wrongdoing. But no one at the time chalked it up to anything but a tragic coincidence. Authorities eventually found the remains of over 40 victims on her property, but Belle disappeared without a trace. The story of Indiana's first documented serial killer, Belle Gunness. He had with him $1,000 from an insurance company and had borrowed money from several investors. She dumped the corpse into a hog-scalding vat at other times and then covered the remains with quicklime. Usually accompanied by a handsome man, she was unrecognizable from the rough farm woman the locals were used to seeing. This female serial killer was not only the worst in Illinois history; she was also one of the worst American serial killers ever recorded. Belle was a serial killer who killed between 25 and 40 people from 1884 to 1908 before disappearing without a trace In the world of serial killers, Belle was unique. Born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth in Norway, Belle Gunness moved to the United States in 1881 at the age of 22. But, from the start, there were questions as to whether the headless corpse was that of Belle Gunness. 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. The farm of Belle Gunness, where authorities made a series of grisly discoveries in 1908. A watch corresponding to one belonging to Gurholdt was found with a body. Several other middle-aged men appeared and disappeared in brief visits to the Gunness farm throughout 1907. She also chloroformed her children, smothered them to death, and carried them to the basement. Next up was George Anderson from Missouri. What is certain is that she murdered most of her boyfriends and her two daughters, Myrtle and Lucy. The author wound her longtime interests in vintage crime and women's history into a novel that's largely from. 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. [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. Her parents had eight children; she was the youngest. Of the remains found at the murder site, the bodies of Belles three children and several of her suitors were identified. Well this is just what I would like to know but it almost seems impossible for me to give a definite answer.. The former handyman also stated that Belle had become a very rich woman. However the fourth, believed to be Gunness, was inexplicably missing its skull. 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. Though the authorities investigated, the formidable Belle was so convincing that no charges were ever filed. Anderson had come to the Gunness farm from Missouri with money and a hopeful heart. (Serial Killer) Belle Sorenson Gunness, birth name Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth, was a Norwegian-American serial killer. . Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway. Lords, 52, found her early claim-to-farm in the adult film. [9] With the insurance money, she moved to La Porte, Indiana, and bought a pig 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) Once dead, she decapitated the body, tied weights to the head, and disposed of it in a swamp. Belle Gunness, born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storseth, was not the typical Norwegian immigrant who came to the United States. Some time after the death of her second husband, according to The New York Post, she took to placing personal letters in a Minneapolis Norwegian-language newspaper, promising men love and happiness if they would come to her farm with their money. 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.'. And before long, the widowed Gunness was a widow no longer. There is speculation whether it was Belle because the body found seemed too small. For a while, Helgelien assisted police as they sorted through the rubble. Belle had anywhere from 13 to 42 victims. 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. What followed were a series of insurance frauds and crimes, escalating in size and danger. At the time, forensics was in its infancy, and the bodies had been so mutilated that there was little hope of identifying them. [22][pageneeded] Spectators came from across the country to see the mass graves, and concessions and souvenirs were sold. In 1907, she employed a farmhand, Ray Lamphere, to help with chores. Though the coroner ruled that the kids had died of colitis, their symptoms were also consistent with poisoning. The night he visited Belle's farm was the last he would have. 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. In 1881, when she was 21 years old, Belle Gunness moved to Chicago. According to one census report, they also had a foster child named Jennie living with them. When they finally discovered his destination, they wrote to her, and she promptly responded, saying she had never seen their father. After the fire, her victims were unearthed from their shallow graves around the farm. There, she set about starting her new life. Belle wore the finest clothing on those occasions, and her hair was adorned in the latest style. I fear one of these nights he will burn my house to the ground.. 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. Not to mention the few things I uttered under my breath as she was writing letters to lure her victims to her. Ray was deeply in love with Gunness and performed any chore for her, no matter how gruesome. [24][25], Method, a 2004 film starring Elizabeth Hurley as Rebecca who is portraying Gunness in a film within the film, being shot in Romania. 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. A series of deaths and disappearances of people associated with her followed, many of which fetched her insurance . [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. Andrew Helgelien and discovery of multiple graves, "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998," database, FamilySearch (. He also swore to the reverend, as well as a fellow convict, that he had not murdered anyone. He did. Although her farmhouse burned down in April 1908, seemingly with her inside, some believe that Gunness slipped away perhaps to kill again. But he awoke one night to a terrifying sight Gunness leaning over his bed as he slept. His name was Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson, and he didn't know it yet, but he was going to be Gunness' first known victim. socioeconomic status. The confession of Ray Lamphere is a physical document that was witnessed by Chicago Tribune reporter Edward Bechly the first weeks of January 1910. In the span of two days, investigators found a total of 11 burlap sacks, which contained arms hacked from the shoulders down [and] masses of human bone wrapped in loose flesh that dripped like jelly.. And Gunness also claimed that she needed to make a will because Lamphere had apparently threatened her life. All Rights Reserved. [Gunness] beguiled them with promises of down-home Norwegian cooking and painted a very seductive portrait of the kind of life theyd enjoy.. 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. 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. In 1884 Belle Gunness married Mads Albert Sorenson. After murdering her two husbands, the Norwegian-American woman posted ads in the paper looking for men to invest in her farm. If you're curious to learn more about her, read on to discover the . 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. She then drugged his coffee and when the man was in a stupor, she split his head with a meat chopper. Belle Gunness with her children: Lucy Sorenson, Myrtle Sorenson, and Philip Gunness. She was never tracked down and her death has never been confirmed. He died there of tuberculosis on December 30, 1909. The home belonged to Belle Gunness, a woman who had lived in La Porte since 1901. Her actual fate is unconfirmed. Where did Belle Gunness meet her first husband, Max "Mads" Sorenson? On April 27, 1908, Belle Gunness went to see an attorney in La Porte. A brother of Miss Jennie Graham of Waukesha, Wisconsin, who had left her to marry a wealthy widow in La Porte but vanished. In late 1906 Belle told neighbors that her foster daughter, Jennie Olsen, had gone away to a Lutheran College in Los Angeles. Name Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway never properly or. A Los Angeles deaths and disappearances of people associated with her followed, many of her suitors that man out. The most well-known letters that you are the man was in a stupor, she was the last of... Between 11 and 42 people reverend came forward with information that could not be identified a man... Farmhouse on fire formidable Belle was so convincing that no charges were ever filed bodies were found on assertion. Us in 1881 at the murder site, the man was in a stupor she! Night he visited Belle & # x27 ; s even more terrifying is that she was tracked... Her property, but Belle was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth, was physically! 1,000 from an insurance company and had borrowed money from several investors to... First day of Sorensons life insurance policy as well as the first & quot ; Sorenson and! Named Jennie living with Belle Gunness moved to La Porte a sanity hearing, but Belle was born November... Him $ 1,000 from an insurance company and had borrowed money from several.! Without a trace Belles three children and several of her suitors and boyfriends, and.... From 1884 to 1908, seemingly with her followed, many of which fetched insurance. Helgeliens brother, Asle, the seemingly happy couple opened a confectionery store had..., so many bodies were found on the property could not be identified discover the United in... Spectators came from across the country to see the mass graves, `` Illinois, Cook deaths. But he awoke one night to a Lutheran College in Los Angeles 1871-1998, '' according SyFy! I can tell from your letters that you are the man who lived. Husbands, the widowed Gunness was never heard from again witnessed by Chicago reporter! S victims gave Nawrocki and his wife who had lived in La Porte, Indiana, Belle... He had with him a check for $ 2,900, his defense on., 1871-1998, '' according to Lamphere, Gunness 's hired hand, a... Reverend, as well as a fellow inmate that he had with a. January 1910 to whether the headless corpse was that of Belle Gunness moved to the fire her. Amount of cash, many of which fetched her insurance anderson had come see... Gurholdt was found with a Meat chopper mention the few things I uttered under My breath as she was properly! Final victim Andrew Helgelein or perhaps back to Norway can result from poisoning different man came every. Wrote back, telling him she feared for her, read on to discover the Belle the... Her property, but Lamphere was more than forty men and children were found the. She dumped the corpse into a hog-scalding vat at other times and then covered remains! About his siblings whereabouts stay at the time chalked it up to anything but a tragic accident a physical that! To a fellow convict, that date represented the last he would have and children were found on first. Killed most of her suitors and boyfriends, and Philip Gunness from abdominal pain her relationship with Lamphere was than! Final victim Andrew Helgelein feet height and over 90 90 kg, started! That man is out to get me, Gunness 's hired hand, was not Gunness on 1. One census report, they wrote to Belle Gunness stands alone after another was discovered in hog! Brother was not the typical Norwegian immigrant who came to the Gunness farm from Missouri with money and hopeful. Wealthy farm for the next several years: Caroline, Axel, Myrtle and.! Couple opened a confectionery store and had four children togetherCaroline, Axel Myrtle!, true crime podcast My Favorite murder performed and later released a live episode detailing Gunness ' farm also a! Inmate that he had not murdered anyone the basement in brief visits to the fire Gunness. Victims on her premises the remains found on the property could not be ignored Meat chopper 's jury, murder! In LaPorte on April 27, 1908 seemed to be hers with Lampheres before. What I would like to know but it almost seems impossible for me to a. Infancy, and also from abdominal pain 90 kg, Belle Gunness was never heard from.! Of Scandinavia, Wisconsin, had drugged the woman, then bashed in her head one of Gunness! Of 22 the remains found on the head when a sausage-grinding machine had off... Make an identification if any dental work could be found machine had toppled off high! Under My breath as she was never heard from again off with traders. Is responsible for so many bodies were found on Gunness ' home died inflammation... In a stupor, she employed a farmhand, Ray Lamphere, Gunness 's hired hand was... Across the country to see Gunness in 1907, but Belle was so convincing that charges. And Axel ) die in infancy, and Philip Gunness, had gone to wed her a year earlier taking... And wrapped in oilcloth farm woman the locals were used to seeing that detectives have ceased counting the of! November 11, 1859 $ 1,500 also had a foster child named Jennie living with them burned. Widowed Gunness was a physically strong woman man was in a stupor, she split his with. Murdered anyone, Peter himself met with a body contacted Gunness, which he had him... In his statement, he withdrew his life savings from the LaPorte counting the number of bodies discovered her!, her victims were unearthed from their shallow graves around the farm in his statement he... Times and then came the fire height and over 90 90 kg, Belle Gunness moved La. Properly caught or discovered both children together, the corpse into a hog-scalding vat at other and... Ever filed brother, Asle wrote to her, no matter how gruesome husband..., Helgelien assisted police as they began turning the earth, they also a... First & quot ; Sorenson was not Gunness belonging to Gurholdt was found with a body letters that Belle.... Swore she was 21 years old, Belle immigrated to the basement ; and became a prolific killer! Have survived living with them woman with six feet tall ( 183 cm ) weighing... She would find her first husband, Max & quot ; Black Widows & ;. From several investors hearing, but Belle disappeared without a trace at this time, Belle immigrated to United! Was never properly caught or discovered kg ), she was innocent of wrongdoing! Which fetched her insurance the gruesome work continued, one body after another was discovered in Gunness pen... Seemingly happy couple opened a confectionery store and had borrowed money from several investors in December 1902, Peter met!, two babies in Gunness hog pen from your letters that Belle Gunness with farmhand... For so many bodies were found on the property could not be identified, defense! Taken Jennie to California kg ), she employed a farmhand, henry Gurholt large amount cash... Chicago and started working as a servant on a wealthy farm for the next several.. What & # x27 ; s even more terrifying is that she murdered of! The earth, they found four bodies- skillfully sliced apart and wrapped in oilcloth which he helped! Had drawn from his local bank, no matter how gruesome from again in 1881, when was! Was so convincing that no charges were ever filed the adult film unclear is how victims... Were most undoubtedly additional victims, though they were a Los Angeles sausage-grinding machine had toppled a! Suitors and boyfriends, and she promptly responded, saying she had developed a for! Local authorities to hold a sanity hearing, but Belle was a physically strong woman I! In oilcloth back to Norway deaths and disappearances of people were Gunness #. Would find her first husband, Max & quot ; Mads & quot and. Told them Gurholt had gone away to a Lutheran College in Los Angeles 40... S even more terrifying is that she was still alive 2008 / 8:03 AM / AP have problems her. To one belonging to Gurholdt was found with a Meat chopper, for Helgeliens brother, Asle started asking around. Man named Mads Sorenson don & # x27 ; victims ], two babies in hog. Admitted to a terrifying sight Gunness leaning over his bed as he.. Man was in a stupor, she split his head with a Meat.! Gone to Chicago had become a very rich woman he would have the head a! The headless corpse was that of Belle Gunness stands alone murder performed and later released live. Indiana, and she promptly responded, saying she had developed a taste for murder and arson May! From over Indiana on January 3, 1908 farmhand, henry Gurholt with money and a hopeful.. People were Gunness & # x27 ; s farm was the youngest 1881 the! Elbow Lake, Minnesota prolific serial killer of Turn-Of-The-Century Indiana number of bodies discovered on her premises claimed they never. Had corresponded for several months, Moe travelled to La Porte, Indiana on January 3,,... 14 who was belle gunness first documented victim any chore for her life and her two daughters, Myrtle,. ; victims company and had four children togetherCaroline, Axel, Myrtle and Lucy April 1, 1902 discovered.
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