Johnson, B, 2022. When rumors spread that "a new 'death farm' where Mrs. Belle Gunness buried many of her victims" had been discovered near Warsaw, "the citizens of that place were thrown into a fever excitement" and appeared crestfallen when the story proved false. Also, we have no idea about his brother and sister, and we dont know their names either. Accept Read More, Belle Starr: Midwestern Bandit Queen of the 1800s. She enjoys playing the clarinet, taking ballet classes, textile art, and listening to an unhealthy amount of true crime podcasts. After finding letters to Andrew from Belle, Asle wrote to Belle and the bank asking about Andrew. In 2008, the mystery surrounding Belle Gunnesss disappearance was still very much alive. After this, the crimes of Belle Gunness began. Owning a farm and being a mother was not enough for dear Gunness. How did Belle Gunness Kill Her Victims? Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. [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. Free shipping for many products! These ads were asking for a good and reliable man to become a partner in her farm. Thousands of people from throughout the country had come to watch the digging for bodies on the Gunness farm. She told them Gurholt had gone off with horse traders to Chicago. Between 1900 and 1908, she killed between 25 and 40 people including her husband, children, and several suiters and their children. Mitchell, D. 2017. She married her first husband, Mads Sorenson, three years later in 1884. Gunness emigrated to the United States in February 1901 together with her two children, Myrtle and Lucy. [13] The brother of one victim had warned Gunness that he might arrive at the farm shortly to investigate his brother's disappearance. In April 1902, Belle married Peter Gunness in La Porte. The Bloody Benders: What Happened to this Family of Killers? Also they display some great antique cars. In 1884, Belle Gunness married a fellow Norwegian immigrant Mads Sorenson. In Part 1 of this 2 Part Episode on Belle Gunness we hear of her early days in the United States and the tragic & very suspicious deaths of her first two husbands. A farm building was used as a temporary morgue, where onlookers could view the remains as they were recovered and put on display. Belle collected $3000 insurance money for Peter's death. She said that she was tired of people poking around the area and The Truth about Belle Gunness (MysteriousPress.com/Open Road), This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 15:29. They all took large amounts of cash from their bank accounts and gave it to Belle, would tell only a few people or none where they were going, and disappear off the face of the earth. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Belle Gunness Farm LaPorte County LaPorte Indiana IN at the best online prices at eBay! Gunness also began placing personal ads in Norwegian-language newspapers, aimed at attracting a "good and reliable" man to come join her on her farm. Janice was born in Norway and moved to the US in 1881. Three of the corpses were possibly those of Belle Gunnesss children. Genealogy profile for Belle Gunness. time, I knocked on a door just down the road. Smiling, he said that he didnt think it washe knew it was. [9] With the insurance money, she moved to La Porte, Indiana, and bought a pig farm. If you'd like to learn more, the La Porte County Historical Society south of town on Indiana Avenue has a magnificent exhibit. She settled in Chicago for the first time . [20] The inconsistencies between the two confessions, including the matter of the survival of Belle Gunness, remain historical issues that are not fully resolved. The suitors. Belle requested that Andrew sell his property and bring his money (about $3,000) to LaPorte, which he did in 1908. Andrew and Belle went to cash the check, and although the bank and Andrew suggested she keep some of the money in the bank for safety, Belle took it all in cash. To draw her most recent casualty, Gunness expressed: My heart beats in wild delight for you, Andrew, I love you. One more piece of the response was that Gunness was quick to target frail men who were probably not going to miss their family or companions. Born on November 11, 1859, Belle Gunness, often known as "Hell's Belle," was a Norwegian-American serial murderer who operated in Illinois and Indiana between 1884 and 1908. . She could have faked her death, or paid for her crimes with her own life. very good mood. Not long after the payout, the couple bought their first home, which also was destroyed by a fire in 1898. [7], In Chicago, while living with her sister and brother-in-law, she worked as a domestic servant, then got a job at a butcher's shop cutting up animal carcasses, until her first marriage in 1884. Not long after the marriage, both their home and their store burned down. It is accepted that she faked her demise to get away from location. Belle then came to the United States, and about two years later she married a Swede named Albert Sorenson. Over the years, hed become used to hearing sudden screams in the night and seeing strange orbs in the yard behind his home. Infamous local lady who was known -- too late -- for murdering her husbands (and dozens of other people, too). Belle Gunness had come to America from Norway in 1881 when she was in her early 20s. Neighbors called police fearing that there were looters or trespassers on the empty homes property. But we are sure that it is not available and his spouses name is not available. Details on her early life are pretty scanty, but a homestead near Selbu in Norway claims to be her birthplace. Mysteriously, the bodies of the 3 children were discovered next to a womans body that was missing a head! It is unknown how long the fire at the Gunness farm burned for, how hot it was, or if any accelerants were involved or found in the houses ashes. [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. Though the farm itself has been replaced with houses, rumors of the lingering dead send droves of tourists to the city of La Porte. Because the neighbors were getting suspicious of these deaths, Belle took her 3 foster children and used the insurance money to buy a farm in La Porte, Indiana. [9] In November 1908, Lamphere was convicted of arson in connection with the fire at Gunness' house. The former employee mentioned soft depressions he noticed inside an area that had been a hog pen. 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. The couple and his daughter from a previous marriage lived on the farm. Having grown up on a farm, Belle knew how to cut meat and was said to have been very strong. The confession of Ray Lamphere is a physical document that was witnessed by Chicago Tribune reporter Edward Bechly the first weeks of January 1910. The exhibit's small, only occupying a corner of the museum, but it's not something you see every day. 9 reviews. motherly warmth. dissected their bodies like a butcher, feeding the remains to her pigs. Belle Gunness was one of the 1st serial killers in the USA. His goal, he said, was to tell "the true story" about Belle Gunness, rather than the fantasies of hack writers and La Porte teenagers. Package of 58 copies of pages of transcriptions of Coroners Inquisitions victims recovered at Belle Gunness farm, prepared by Andrea Simmons. Belle explained that Peter reached for something on a high shelf and a meat grinder fell on him, smashing his skull. Soon after the shoot, various bodies were tracked down on the Gunness property. Belle again collected insurance on a husband when Peter died after a coffee grinder allegedly fell from a shelf hitting him on the head. The much smaller-sized corpse recovered in the remains of the Gunness house has led many people to claim that it is proof that Belle Gunness faked her death. Family members of the men would often never hear from them again. Belle Gunnesss former lover admitted that he went by the farm and saw it was on fire but feared that if he told anyone, he would end up incriminating himself. Female gossips described Gunness as going about business dressed in mens clothes. Beauty Gunness is quite possibly of the most famous chronic executioner in America. In 1881, when she was 21 years old, Belle Gunness moved to Chicago. Soon after the shoot, various bodies were tracked down on the Gunness property. Jenny then mysteriously disappeared, though Belle told friends and neighbors that she had left for schooling in California. Gunness is thought to have killed at least fourteen people, most of whom were men she enticed to visit her rural Indiana property on the promise of marriage, while some . [9] At the time, police looked into reports of women suspected to be Belle, none of which led to her apprehension. 2009-2021 Historic Mysteries. Late one night in April 1908, Belle Gunnesss farmhouse burned to the ground. Belle Gunness Buys a Hog Farm After Mads' death, Belle decided to pick and leave Chicago. location. Submit your own tip. In 1881, at the age of 21, Brynhild left Norway and settled in Chicago. When he did not return home to South Dakota, Andrews brother Asle Helgelien became concerned. [7] She was at least 5'7" (170 cm) and weighed around 95 - 113 kg (210 - 250 lbs) and was physically strong and masculine in appearance. It is assumed to be not in their nature, but this is a fatal assumption. Excludes: [7] Reported "sightings" of Gunness in the Chicago area continued long after she was declared dead. Born in 1859, she is said to have killed Map Directions Satellite Photo Map Type: Historic site Categories: tourist attraction and tourism Location: Indiana, Midwest, United States, North America Notable Places in the Area Holmes Island Island The ads stated that a wealthy widow with a farm was looking for a good, kind, and reliable man to marry. Men would come, some would leave, and others would disappear. The final man to respond to Belle's advertisement was Andrew Helgelein. Recovery and Interpretation of Burned Human Remains. The youngest died within a week after his marriage to Belle, and Peter died under suspicious circumstances 8 months later. Use our online form to ask a librarian for help. Belle Gunness was an immigrant who came to America in 1881. At the end of her killing spree, she mysteriously disappeared. (Serial Killer) Belle Sorenson Gunness, birth name Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth, was a Norwegian-American serial killer. La Porte, IN 46350, Admission Fees: [9] Sorenson and Gunness owned a candy store which burned to the ground. . The Sorensens had a home in Chicago which burned down. The lack of information about the fire, the forensic effects of death by fire, or the condition of all victims makes it difficult to say with certainty the body was not Belle Gunness. The bag was opened, and its contents horrified, changing how the public and police saw Belle Gunness. It's been several years since I've visited the Gunness exhibit in the La Porte County Historical Museum, but it's peculiar enough to warrant a visit. They resided in Chicago, and in 1900 Sorenson died under most suspicious circumstances. The Belle Gunness exhibit includes her garden cart and the family shed that survived the fire. Burned bodies: post-mortem computed tomography, an essential tool for modern forensic medicine. Perhaps she knew this because her farm burned to the ground in the early morning of April 28, 1908. Read more about it! Andrew Helgelien, still suspicious that Gunness had killed his brother, contacted the La Porte police and made sure to look around the farm after she died. [27], The Farm, a 2021 film starring Traci Lords, is based on the Belle Gunness story. Unique destinations in the U.S. and Canada are our special obsession. Belle Gunness' family doctor had been treating Sorensen for an enlarged heart, but Dr. Charles E. Jones insisted that Sorensen's symptoms were of "Prussic acid poisoning.". [citation needed][14] However, a separate newspaper published a story with speculation regarding the second Lamphere confession. After 2 weeks with Belle, Andrew had money sent from his bank account in Aberdeen to the First National Bank in La Porte. Belle Gunness. Available at: https://laportelibrary.org/at-the-library/explore-local/belle-gunness/. People would come to watch the removal of the bags and attempted assembly of the parts. With so many men going missing, it was only a matter of time before Gunness would be discovered. It only takes a body 10 minutes to shrink and draw into this pugilistic form. What we can be sure of is that she painstakingly arranged each homicide, and took extraordinary measures to conceal her violations. Ray became extremely jealous of Andrew. Chat with a librarian, Monday through Friday, 12-2 pm Eastern Time (except Federal Holidays). Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. Born in 1858 in Selbu, Norway, Belle Gunness emigrated to America in the mid 1880s. Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storseth in Selbu, Norway in 1859. She emigrated from Norway to the United States in 1881 and changed her name to Belle Gunness, probably to get a more American-sounding name for herself and get as rich as humanly possible without doing any real work. Soon . With the insurance money she got from the death of her first husband, Gunness bought a run-down farm in Indiana. Belle would entice suitors to the Gunness farm under the pretence of marriage, where here she would poison, then kill her incapacitated victims and bury their dismembered corpses in the pig . Add to Watchlist. You might notice a trend if you are into true crime; people seem to talk mainly about male serial killers. A series of deaths and disappearances of people associated with her followed, many of which fetched her insurance . Available at: https://insightsimaging.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/s13244-018-0633-2#:~:text=Overall%20state%20of%20the%20body,flexion%20deformation%20of%20the%20limbs. Seniors: $4.00, *Children Under 18 Years, La Porte County Historical Society Members, Time Traveler Affiliates, School Tours FREE, Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, 2022 La Porte County Historical Society | JWM Marketing & Web Design, La Porte County Historical Society Gift Shop -. They are in relation from previous few years of a strong relationship. Community Volunteer Reviewer - Indiana. Oddly, the womans body was missing its head, and the remains looked much smaller than Bell Gunnesss tall and broad body. [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. A former hired hand named Ray Lamphere, who worked on the farm and was an on-again-off-again lover of Belle Gunness, had been seen to threaten her after she fired him. The exhibit is really interesting, but the whole museum was surprisingly amazing! Credits, Media/Business Inquiries Jenny Olson's body was soon discovered nearby. Of course, "some little cash is required for which . Brynhild Paulsdatter Strset ( Belle Gunness) was born on November 11, 1859, in Selbu municipality, Norway, to Paul and Berit Strset; she was the youngest of eight children. Belle Gunness's farm was searched, and authorities noticed many of the same soft depressions all over the yard. The fire however can explain the three or four-inch height difference between the body and Belle Gunness. On April 1, 1902, Belle married Peter Gunness in LaPorte, Indiana. Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storseth in Selbu, Norway on November 11, 1859. Arrested shortly after the fire, Lamphere said that he had helped Gunness set up her fake death and that he had taken her to the railway station. In Chicago, Belle Gunness worked as a maid but eventually became a butcher. In the late 1800s, Belle Gunness emigrated from a small town in Norway to the bustling city of Chicago. If you know some information, please comment below. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. Most of the remains found on the property could not be identified. Born in Norway, she moved to Chicago then LaPorte leaving a trail of bodies. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. It is believed that she stood around 57 (170cm) and weighed about 210-250 lbs (95-113kg), and had been described as masculine in appearance.. Born in 1859, she is said to have killed more than forty people, including two husbands and all of her children at various points in her life. In each depression was a burlap sack filled with arms, legs, and torsos with loose flesh that dripped like jelly. She could move to another state or city, assume a new identity, and hide in plain sight. She was confirmed at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1874. It was, instead, her housekeeper. brief time. A new novel explores her psychology. The daughter of a stonemason, Gunness immigrated to the United States in 1881 in search of wealth. She had a mannish appearance and was known for wearing mens rings on her fingers. A team of forensic anthropologists wanted to discover the answer once and for all. In 1908, Gunness' ranch house burst into flames and caught fire. Licensed nurse Genene Anne Jones is believed responsible for the deaths of up to 60 babies and young children in her care. 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