Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway. What's more, Gunness simply vanished off the face of the earth at the same time her crimes came to light. 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. No replies by letter considered unless sender is willing to follow answer with a personal visit. 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. 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. What followed were a series of insurance frauds and crimes, escalating in size and danger. Although her farmhouse burned down in April 1908, seemingly with her inside, some believe that Gunness slipped away perhaps to kill again. I think of you constantly. ", "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). She also chloroformed her children, smothered them to death, and carried them to the basement. Jennie Olsen's death certificate. Unfortunately, there was not enough DNA, so the mystery remains unsolved. Best Known For: Serial killer Belle Gunness is reported to have murdered more than 40 people between 1884 and 1908 before disappearing without a trace. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana "murder farm." Some were hired hands. For starters, she was a woman. She murdered over 40 people between 1884 and 1908 (1). As they began turning the earth, they found four bodies- skillfully sliced apart and wrapped in oilcloth. And she was different in another way as well. She wanted the ground made level, so he filled in the depressions. Gunness left her attorneys office. (Eerily, the symptoms of this disease were quite similar to poisoning.). And before long, the widowed Gunness was a widow no longer. Authorities eventually found the remains of over 40 victims on her property, but Belle disappeared without a trace. 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. One lucky man named George Anderson survived the encounter. Female Indiana serial killer, the 'comely' Belle Gunness, loved her suitors to death. Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway. The next thing she knew, her husband was dead. Benjamin Carling of Chicago, Illinois, was last seen by his wife in 1907 after telling her that he was going to La Porte to secure an investment with a wealthy widow. [23], Gunness has also been the subject of at least two American musical ballads. 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 adopted an American name and found work as a servant. It was claimed that her head was decapitated and her home set on fire. [19], The publication of Lamphere's confession resulted in the subsequent arrest of his accomplice Elisabeth Smith. [6] When Lamphere was arrested, he was wearing John Moe's overcoat and Henry Gurholt's watch.[7]. She changed her name to Bella Petersen and worked for a time as a servant girl before getting . [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. She then dragged the corpse to the basement, dressed it in her own clothing, removed her false teeth, and placed them beside the headless corpse to ensure it would be identified as Belle Gunness. Further digging yielded more grisly discoveries. 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. But, for one reason or another, Gunness decided to emigrate from Selbu to Chicago in 1881. 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. I can tell from your letters that you are the man I want. Belle Sorenson Gunness (November 11, 1859 declared dead April 28, 1908) born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth was a NorwegianAmerican serial killer. [1] Norwegian born Belle Gunness immigrated to the U.S. in 1881. She was nicknamed "Hell's Belle" after it was discovered that she was a prolific serial killer. Brynhild P. Strseth was born in Norway in 1859 to a stone-mason and his wife. 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. He had with him $1,000 from an insurance company and had borrowed money from several investors. Carlson died on May 6, 1931, while awaiting trial. In April 1902, she married Peter Gunness. Apparently, he had fallen victim to a sausage grinder that fell on his head from a wobbly shelf. He did. 2. [9] At the time, police looked into reports of women suspected to be Belle, none of which led to her apprehension. She was raised on a small farm in Innbygda, Norway, and grew up to be a physically very strong woman, standing 5 9 tall and weighing over 200 pounds. That tale is even more frightening. 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. T.J. Tiefland of Minneapolis is alleged to have come to see Gunness in 1907. Workers sifting through the debris discovered four bodies in the basement later in the day. 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 . [9] In November 1908, Lamphere was convicted of arson in connection with the fire at Gunness' house. One of Robinson's surviving victims led to his eventual arrest. It was initially hoped that a sealed envelope flap on a letter found at the victims farm would contain enough DNA to be compared to that of the body. The will was completed, leaving her estate to her children. The Line-UP 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. But she also became somewhat of a legend, shrouded in mystery, revenge and money. 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. Christie Hilkven of Dovre, Wisconsin, sold his farm and came to La Porte in 1906. Strangely, tragedy seemed to return to Belle Gunness doorstep yet again. [8], Gunness married Mads Sorenson in 1884. [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. Lamphere was to wait for her at a designated place on the road after the fire was set. She then bought toys for her children and two gallons of kerosene. [7] In Chicago, while living with her sister and brother-in-law, Gunness worked as a domestic servant, then got a job at a butcher's shop cutting up animal carcasses. On the morning of April 27, 1908, the farmhand on a lonely property outside La Porte, Indiana, woke to the smell of smoke. Come prepared to stay forever. Lords, 52, found her early claim-to-farm in the adult film. She likely . The man, who came from a wealthy family, was never prosecuted by the Norwegian authorities. Peters infant daughter from a previous relationship died. Next up was George Anderson from Missouri. A brother of Miss Jennie Graham of Waukesha, Wisconsin, who had left her to marry a wealthy widow in La Porte but vanished. Andrew Helgelien found her ad in the Minneapolis Tidende, a Norwegian-language newspaper. [citation needed] In 2008, DNA tests were performed on the headless corpse in an attempt to compare the DNA in the corpse against a sample from a letter Gunness had sent to one of her victims, but due to its age the sample was not able to be properly tested. BLACK WIDOW: Belle Gunness, from Selbu, Norway, is infamous as America's first woman serial killer. A few days after Helgelien arrived, he and Gunness appeared at the Savings Bank in La Porte and deposited the check. Gunness then began meeting wealthy men through a lovelorn column. Though her husbands family demanded an inquiry, claiming Belle had poisoned her husband to collect on the insurance, no charges were filed. Belle Gunness probably murdered between 11 and 42 people. We try to fit the pieces together through a few old photos, family and county records, and folklore. At the time of her supposed death in 1908, Gunness lived on a farm in LaPorte, IN. The home belonged to Belle Gunness, a woman who had lived in La Porte since 1901. Before long, Gunness and Helgelien began exchanging romantic letters. Her foster mother initially claimed that shed been sent to school in California. The 100-Year Mystery Of "Lady Bluebeard". She told them Gurholt had gone off with horse traders to Chicago. He also swore to the reverend, as well as a fellow convict, that he had not murdered anyone. Then, in December 1907, Andrew Helgelien, a bachelor farmer from Aberdeen, South Dakota, wrote to her and was warmly received. 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