One common, but unverified story, says that when she was about 18 years old, she was pregnant and attended a country dance. This Norwegian-American had insured her first husband and two of her children before. The two once apparently had a relationship, but Lamphere had left in a jealous rage after Helgelien arrived. As days progressed and the gruesome work continued, one body after another was discovered in Gunness hog pen. There, Gunness met her first known victim: her husband, Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson, whom she married in 1884. And she was different in another way as well. Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway. She was never tracked down and her death has never been confirmed. The next thing she knew, her husband was dead. Curiously, the corpse itself seemed to be much too small to be hers. But did Lamphere actually cause the fire? Belle Gunness. She married her first husband, Mads Sorenson, three years later in 1884. . Then, Peter also died. It remains unconfirmed when and where Belle Gunness actually died. Gunness and Sorenson opened a candy store, but it soon burned down. Her parents had eight children; she was the youngest. Before long, Gunness and Helgelien began exchanging romantic letters. She was a giant of a woman, with a bloodthirst so strong it led her to kill upwards of 25 people. In 1881, when she was 21 years old, Belle Gunness moved to Chicago. 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. 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. She contended that he posed a threat to her family and had Lamphere arrested for trespassing. [1] 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! Storset then married Peter Gunness, in 1901; a week later, his infant son from a previous marriage was dead under suspicious circumstances. But the men who came to her farm would not have a life to enjoy for very long. But he awoke one night to a terrifying sight Gunness leaning over his bed as he slept. We try to fit the pieces together through a few old photos, family and county records, and folklore. Little is known about her early life. Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Belle Gunness, Birth Year: 1859, Birth date: November 22, 1859, Birth City: Selbu, Birth Country: Norway. Belle with daughters Lucy and Myrtle. However, she never went to the police to tell them about Lampheres allegedly life-threatening statements. (Eerily, the symptoms of this disease were quite similar to poisoning.). With so much going well for the Sorenson family, Mads even convinced Belle to foster a fifth child named Jennie Olsen. Adopted daughter Jennie Olsen. 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. In 1906, Belle Gunness connected with her final victim. Next, Belle presented herself to a lawyer in La Porte named M.E. Peters infant daughter from a previous relationship died. At the time of her supposed death in 1908, Gunness lived on a farm in LaPorte, IN. [2] She killed most of her suitors and boyfriends, and her two daughters, Myrtle and Lucy. Four bodies were found at the Gunness farm. No explanation was provided for what happened to the body's head. 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. Reported other unnamed victims may have been: Bones and Body parts found at the Gunness farm. By his count, he said she had murdered 42 men and had taken amounts from them ranging from $1,000 to $32,000. In the early 20th century, Belle Gunness killed scores of men for their money. Belle Gunness's First Husband. He showed up in hopes of finding his brother. Meanwhile, neighbors noted that Gunness had begun to spend an unusual amount of time at her hog pen at night. Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway. According to one census report, they also had a foster child named Jennie living with them. She changed her name to Bella Petersen and worked for a time as a servant girl before getting . Belle did indeed become wealthy, but not because she earned the money honestly. [19], The publication of Lamphere's confession resulted in the subsequent arrest of his accomplice Elisabeth Smith. 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. Next up was George Anderson from Missouri. But no one at the time chalked it up to anything but a tragic coincidence. While there, she was attacked by a man who kicked her in the abdomen, causing her to miscarry. 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. . She got away without a trace and it's still a mystery as to where she went today. Lamphere ended up in prison because of his connection to Gunness and the fire on her farm. She then bought toys for her children and two gallons of kerosene. [7] Reported "sightings" of Gunness in the Chicago area continued long after she was declared dead. On May 22, 1908, Ray Lamphere was tried for murder and arson. She killed seven men between the years 1989-1990 on Florida's highways. 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. 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. The powerful 48-year-old woman would then carry the body to the basement, where she most often dissected it, bundled the remains, and then buried them in the hog pen. Whether Gunness died in that fire remains unclear. A series of suspicious fires and deaths (mostly resulting in insurance awards) followed. [9] The district coroner convened a coroner's jury, suspecting murder, but nothing came of the case. On April 27, 1908, Belle Gunness went to see an attorney in La Porte. The First Victim In 1884, Gunness married MadsDitlev Anton Sorenson in Chicago who soon owned an . 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. [1] Lamphere stated that Gunness asked him to burn down the farmhouse with her children inside. Neighbors gossiped about the babies, since Gunness never appeared to be pregnant. [6] When Lamphere was arrested, he was wearing John Moe's overcoat and Henry Gurholt's watch.[7]. But, for Helgeliens brother, Asle, the matter was far from over. Brynhild P. Strseth was born in Norway in 1859 to a stone-mason and his wife. As they began turning the earth, they found four bodies- skillfully sliced apart and wrapped in oilcloth. 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. He was found guilty of arson, but cleared of murder. She also posted ads in lovelorn columns to attract wealthy bachelors. Gunness claimed that Sorenson had come home with a headache, and she had given him quinine. I fear one of these nights he will burn my house to the ground.. What is certain is that she murdered most of her boyfriends and her two daughters, Myrtle and Lucy. At first, investigators believed the bodies to be Belle Gunness and her three children: Myrtle, age eleven, Lucy, age nine; and Phillip, age five. Gunness received men visitors all the time, one of her farmhands later told the New York Tribune. In her letters, Gunness had asked her mark to bring all of his money and not tell anyone what he was up to. Her adopted daughter Jennie's body would also be found on Belle's property. Meanwhile, Asle Helgelien had read about the fire in the newspaper. Gunness had planned the entire thing, and skipped town after withdrawing most of her money from her bank accounts. 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. When authorities dug around the hog pens and other places on the farm, they found the mutilated remains of several more men and children. At the age of 22, she immigrated to Chicago, Illinois in 1881.She murdered over 40 people including two of her husbands and about 4 of her children. Born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth in Norway, Belle Gunness moved to the United States in 1881 at the age of 22. 4) What were the first documented crimes connected to Belle Gunness? Feeling terrified and uncomfortable, Anderson believed that Gunness intended to murder him. Gunness dried her tears and collected her husbands life insurance policy. We shall be so happy when you once get here, Gunness purred in one letter. 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. Those that could be identified included: The unidentified bodies and unsolved mysteries that would emerge from these ruins would make headlines across the Midwest. Abraham Phillips, a railwayman of Burlington. In 1884, Gunness married Mads Albert Sorenson in Chicago, and two years later, they opened a candy store that was not very successful. Simmons is a forensic anthropologist who investigated the Belle Gunness case. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 1908) left her native Norway in 1881, at the age of 21, to travel to Chicago. But, for one reason or another, Gunness decided to emigrate from Selbu to Chicago in 1881. The will was completed, leaving her estate to her children. My heart beats in wild rapture for you, My Andrew, I love you. She murdered over 40 people between 1884 and 1908 (1). Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Little is known about her early life. Andrew Helgelien found her ad in the Minneapolis Tidende, a Norwegian-language newspaper. Then, Joe Maxson came forward with information that could not be ignored. As she was preparing to move from Chicago to LaPorte, she became re-acquainted with a recent widower named Peter Gunness, also from Norway. Once dead, she decapitated the body, tied weights to the head, and disposed of it in a swamp. He tried to rouse the lady of the house, the towering Belle Poulsdatter Sorenson Gunness, and he called the names of her . Their life together seemed to be marked by tragedy. Norwegian born Belle Gunness immigrated to the U.S. in 1881. Story by Thomas Duke, 1910 . [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. Helgelien, like other victims before him, decided to take a chance on love. There, she set about starting her new life. 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