How many are known? She told them Gurholt had gone off with horse traders to Chicago. He had with him a check for $2,900, his savings, which he had drawn from his local bank. 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. Bell Gunness killed more than ___ people over several decades. I can tell from your letters that you are the man I want. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset immigrated from Norway to the United States at the age of 21, according to SyFy, in search of a better life. From 1884 to 1908, it's believed that Belle Gunness killed, at least, 14 people. 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. Belle Gunness stood six foot tall and had a hard look to her strong face. It remains unconfirmed when and where Belle Gunness actually died. I fear one of these nights he will burn my house to the ground.. A different man came nearly every week to stay at the house. [21], After Gunness' crimes came to light, the Gunness farm became a tourist attraction. A few days after Helgelien arrived, he and Gunness appeared at the Savings Bank in La Porte and deposited the check. Belle Gunness (also known as Lady Bluebeard, The LaPorte Black Widow, The Mistress of Murder Farm, and Hell's Belle) was probably one of America's most prolific serial killers. April 29, 2008 / 8:03 AM / AP. Norwegian born Belle Gunness immigrated to the U.S. in 1881. While there, she was attacked by a man who kicked her in the abdomen, causing her to miscarry. 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. And some estimate that she may have killed as many as 40 victims. Where was Belle Gunness born? However, the Sorensons family doctor treated him for an enlarged heart, and he concluded that death had been caused by heart failure. She was also known as Hell's Belle, the . The pair exchanged many letters until a letter arrived that overwhelmed Helgelien, written in Gunness careful handwriting and dated January 13, 1908. Although her farmhouse burned down in April 1908, seemingly with her inside, some believe that Gunness slipped away perhaps to kill again. The most well-known letters that Belle Gunness wrote was to her final victim Andrew Helgelein. Afterward, the locals said that Brynhilds personality drastically changed. However, a neighborhood boy said he had seen Lamphere running down the road from the Gunness house just before the structure erupted in flames. They then found the small bodies of two unidentified children. Neighbors described the 200-pound Gunness as a rugged woman who was also incredibly strong. She then torched the small brick farmhouse and fled. 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. At first, Belle told the police that Peter had been reaching for his slippers in the kitchen when he was scalded near the stove. [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. However, he had helped Belle bury many of her victims. The district coroner reviewed the case, unequivocally announced that he had been murdered, and convened a coroners jury to look into the matter. As they began turning the earth, they found four bodies- skillfully sliced apart and wrapped in oilcloth. Meanwhile, a man whose brother had been in contact with Gunness believed he'd been murdered and had begun asking questions. Belle Gunness left Chicago with her daughters Myrtle and Lucy, along with a foster daughter named Jennie Olsen. But they could identify Jennie Olsen Gunness foster daughter who had left for California. And it soon became clear that Gunness was behind some horrific crimes. Gunness and Sorenson opened a candy store, but it soon burned down. Born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth in Norway, Belle Gunness moved to the United States in 1881 at the age of 22. She was one of America's first woman serial killers convicted and put on death row. 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. Little is known about her early life. Abraham Phillips, a railwayman of Burlington. Storset then married Peter Gunness, in 1901; a week later, his infant son from a previous marriage was dead under suspicious circumstances. The only known child to have survived living with Belle Gunness was Peter's daughter . The couple collected the insurance money and bought a new home. But Asle Helgelien didnt seem to be falling for it. 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. Three were identified as her foster children. Three years later she would find her first victim, a man named Mads Sorenson. Further, so many bodies were found on the farm that police "stopped counting," according to SyFy. John Moe of Elbow Lake, Minnesota. When authorities dug around the hog pens and other places on the farm, they found the mutilated remains of several more men and children. In the ruins, authorities found the bodies of a headless adult woman, initially identified as Belle Gunness, and her three children. Four bodies were found at the Gunness farm. Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2022. Whether Gunness died in that fire remains unclear. In the end, Ray Lamphere was charged with arson but not murder. In April 1902, she married Peter Gunness. I was not satisfied, Helgelien recalled, and I went back to the cellar and asked [one of Gunness farmhands] whether he knew of any hole or dirt having been dug up there about the place in spring.. [7], Belle married Peter Gunness on April 1, 1902. Gunness deflected. 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. By his count, he said she had murdered 42 men and had taken amounts from them ranging from $1,000 to $32,000. Well this is just what I would like to know but it almost seems impossible for me to give a definite answer.. A few weeks later, a reverend came forward with Lampheres confession before he died. To lure her last victim, Gunness wrote: My heart beats in wild rapture for you, My Andrew, I love you. By 1886, she was married to a man named Mads Sorensen, had somehow wound up with an unknown number of children (although whether they were the couple's natural children or foster children remains unclear), and the family was running a failing candy shop. At this time, Belle started to have problems with her farmhand, Ray Lamphere. A few days later, Helgelien was gone, but Gunness appeared at the bank to make an additional $1200.00 deposit. 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. Belle Sorenson Gunness (November 11, 1859 declared dead April 28, 1908) born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth was a NorwegianAmerican serial killer. Belle Sorenson Gunness, a notorious female serial killer born November 11, 1859 and declared dead April 28, 1908 was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storseth. True-crime author Harold Schechter first ran across the name Belle Gunness more than 10 years ago while researching a different book, but he could never get out of his mind the lurid details of her crimespoisoning and chopping up a succession of victimsbefore possibly disappearing. She was called a serial killer because she killed men . On-site was County Sheriff Albert Smutzer, who had heard about Lampheres alleged threats. [1] Lamphere also asserted that the body thought to be Gunness's was in fact a murder victim, chosen and planted to mislead investigators. Despite the arrest, Lamphere returned again and again to see her, but she drove him away. She was confirmed at the Church of Norway in 1874. 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. 35: Belle Gunness. [7] She moved to the United States in 1881. 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 confession of Ray Lamphere is a physical document that was witnessed by Chicago Tribune reporter Edward Bechly the first weeks of January 1910. Within a week, he had disappeared. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. Then, I did the planting.. [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. Gunness then began meeting wealthy men through a lovelorn column. Soon enough, Gunness was depositing checks brought by her suitors, while the lovelorn men were never heard from again. He admitted to a fellow inmate that he and Gunness had killed 42 men together. My heart beats in wild rapture for you, My Andrew, I love you. The daughter of a stonemason, Gunness immigrated to the United States in 1881 in search of wealth. Two people who had known Gunness claimed to recognize her from photographs in her possession, but the identification was never proved. In his statement, he revealed the details of Gunness crimes and swore she was still alive. A series of suspicious fires and deaths (mostly resulting in insurance awards) followed. 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. A year later, Peters brother, Gust, took Peters older daughter, Swanhild, to Wisconsin. Most of the remains found on the property could not be identified. Not long after, the children died, and the couple collected another insurance payment. Gunness emigrated to the United States in February 1901 together with her two children, Myrtle and Lucy. [7], Peter died eight months later due to a skull injury. Budsbergs sons had no idea their father had gone off to visit Gunness. Answer: Selbu, Norway Belle was born on November 22, 1859. As a result, Coroner Charles Mack officially concluded that the adult female body discovered in the ruins was Belle Gunness. 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. T.J. Tiefland of Minneapolis is alleged to have come to see Gunness in 1907. [7], Sorenson had purchased two life insurance policies. 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. Mrs. She told him that she had fired her jealous farmhand, Lamphere, which caused him to go mad. It was claimed that her head was decapitated and her home set on fire. 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. [citation needed], Belle Gunness was pronounced dead, even though the doctor who performed the postmortem testified that the headless body was five inches shorter and about fifty pounds lighter than Gunness. In 1907, she employed a farmhand, Ray Lamphere, to help with chores. Or perhaps she simply wanted to be free to kill again. Shutterstock. [1] Lamphere stated that Gunness asked him to burn down the farmhouse with her children inside. All of them told of lonesome brothers, uncles, and cousins answering Belles matrimonial ads and traveling hopefully to La Porte with their life savings stuffed in their pockets. 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. Belle Gunness. After they had corresponded for several months, Moe travelled to La Porte and withdrew a large amount of cash. This photo dates to about 1904. [1] According to Lamphere, this impending visit motivated Gunness to destroy her house, fake her own death, and flee. A well-built woman with six feet height and over 90 90 kg, Belle immigrated to the US in 1881. She then went to work as a servant on a wealthy farm for the next several years. It is not known how many men were victims of a treacherous woman. 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.'. Belle did indeed become wealthy, but not because she earned the money honestly. 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