Can you conceive of anything nicer? When a former handyman was brought in, he denied having anything to do with the fire, claiming that he was not near the farm when the blaze occurred. Billed as "based on a true story," Tom Logan is directing the film, which stars Traci Lords cast as the murderous Belle Gunness. 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. Years after Gunness supposed demise, rumors surfaced that she may have faked her own death to escape potential capture. Gunness, the youngest of 8 children, grew up on a cotter's farm in Innbygda, Selbu. 1908) left her native Norway in 1881, at the age of 21, to travel to Chicago. At 5'8" ft tall and over 200 lb (91 kg), she was a physically strong woman. Born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storseth on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway, Brynhild was the youngest daughter of eight children born of stonemason, Paul Pedersen Strseth, and Berit Olsdatter. Belle Gunness's First Husband. One man, George Anderson, managed to escape with his life when he realized Gunness had murder on her mind. The former handyman also stated that Belle had become a very rich woman. When Andrew left home, he withdrew his life savings from the bank and was never heard from again. 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. Reading Gunness' plodding letters to Andrew, it is plain that "soaring" and "rapture" were not her style. [23], Gunness has also been the subject of at least two American musical ballads. He confided to a neighboring farmer on one occasion: Helgelien wont bother me no more. Belle Gunness probably murdered between 11 and 42 people. Norwegian born Belle Gunness immigrated to the U.S. in 1881. But the men who came to her farm would not have a life to enjoy for very long. Despite the arrest, Lamphere returned again and again to see her, but she drove him away. The couple collected the insurance money and bought a new home. 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. Concurrently, Gunness had begun to develop problems with a farmhand named Ray Lamphere. Answer: Selbu, Norway Belle was born on November 22, 1859. My heart beats in wild rapture for you, My Andrew, I love you. Gunness had insured both of the children and collected a large insurance check after each death. He had romantic feelings for Gunness and resented all the men that showed up at her property. 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. Several more unexplained deaths followed, including the infant daughter of her new husband, Peter Gunness, followed by Peter Gunness himself. These are famous words by the convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos who was put to death by lethal injection on October 9, 2002. Lampheres lawyer, Wirt Worden, developed evidence that the bridgework that was found may have been planted. Frank Riedinger, a farmer of Waukesha, Wisconsin, came to Indiana in 1907 to marry and never returned. Lamphere also cleared up the mysterious question of the headless female corpse found in the smoking ruins of Gunness home. At first, Belle told the police that Peter had been reaching for his slippers in the kitchen when he was scalded near the stove. Belle collected $3,000 insurance money for Peter's death. Or maybe she had developed a taste for murder. Next, Belle presented herself to a lawyer in La Porte named M.E. [26], In 2017, true crime podcast My Favorite Murder performed and later released a live episode detailing Gunness' crimes. Source: The Indianapolis News, 8 May 1908. In 1884 Belle Gunness married Mads Albert Sorenson. Belle Gunness, also known as Brynhild Paulsdatter Strset, was a Norwegian-American serial killer who operated in Illinois and Indiana from 1884 until 1908. The investigators began to sift through the debris, and a piece of bridgework was found; the dentist identified it as work done for Gunness. Answer: Chicago, Illinois Belle and Mads were married in 1884. Shutterstock. But once the tide turns away from Belle Sorensen of Gunness. Come prepared to stay forever.. The couple claimed the insurance money for both. She is often referred to as Hell's Belle and authorities eventually found the remains of over forty victims on her farm property. But Asle Helgelien didnt seem to be falling for it. 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. 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. When a victim arrived, she made him comfortable, charming him and cooking a large meal. She married her first husband, Mads Sorenson, three years later in 1884. . Who wrote Hunting Humans: The Rise of Modern Multiple Murder. 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. John H. McJunkin of Coraopolis (near Pittsburgh) left his wife in December 1906 after corresponding with a La Porte woman. Belle Gunness, the twice-widowed Norwegian American who placed the ad, was a murderer for profit. Lamphere later confessed that Gunness had placed advertisements seeking male companionship, only to murder and rob the men who responded and subsequently visited her on the farm. . She kept his trunk and fur overcoat. 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. 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. Sorenson died of cerebral hemorrhage that day. Unfortunately, there was not enough DNA, so the mystery remains unsolved. La Porte County Historical Society MuseumInvestigators search for more bodies on Belle Gunnesss farm after the initial discoveries in 1908. He had brought more than $1,000 with him to pay off her mortgage, or so he told neighbors, to whom Gunness introduced him as her cousin. It was claimed that her head was decapitated and her home set on fire. There, she set about starting her new life. [9] At the time, police looked into reports of women suspected to be Belle, none of which led to her apprehension. [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. There, Gunness met her first known victim: her husband, Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson, whom she married in 1884. [7], John Moe of Minnesota answered Gunness's ad in 1906. What's even more terrifying is that Gunness was never properly caught or discovered. However, she never went to the police to tell them about Lampheres allegedly life-threatening statements. Meanwhile, Asle Helgelien had read about the fire in the newspaper. Reporters described her home as a horror farm and a death garden. Curious onlookers flocked to La Porte, as it became a local and national attraction, to the point that vendors reportedly sold ice cream, popcorn, cake, and something called Gunness Stew to visitors. Bell Gunness killed more than ___ people over several decades. Though estimates vary widely, Belle Gunness is believed to have killed at least a dozen people (and possibly upwards of 40) between 1884 and . Though her husbands family demanded an inquiry, claiming Belle had poisoned her husband to collect on the insurance, no charges were filed. [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. In the smoldering ruins workmen discovered four skeletons. He died in prison, but not before revealing the truth about Belle Gunness and her crimes, including burning her own house down -- the body that was recovered was not hers. Helgelien, like other victims before him, decided to take a chance on love. Dont tell a soul.. Like many psychopaths, she was very shrewd in identifying potential victims, Schechter explained. [9] In November 1908, Lamphere was convicted of arson in connection with the fire at Gunness' house. The Story Of Belle Gunness, The Meat Cleaver-Wielding Serial Killer Of Turn-Of-The-Century Indiana. The 100-Year Mystery Of "Lady Bluebeard". Belle Gunness was known as many things: the "Female Bluebeard," the "High-Priestess of Murder," the "Mistress of the Castle of Death," the "Queen of Crime," and "Hell's Princess." . Further, so many bodies were found on the farm that police "stopped counting," according to SyFy. .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. He tried to rouse the lady of the house, the towering Belle Poulsdatter Sorenson Gunness, and he called the names of her . She may have killed both of her husbands and all of her children (on different occasions), but she is known to have killed . Belle Gunness. Ray Lamphere, the ex-handyman of Belle Gunness. The local dentist then stepped in, stating that he could make an identification if any dental work could be found. Meanwhile, a man named Asle Helgelien had found correspondence between his brother, Andrew, and Gunness. The home belonged to Belle Gunness, a woman who had lived in La Porte since 1901. 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) Three were identified as her foster children. Gunness married her first husband shortly after moving to America, but he died under suspicious circumstances, leaving behind a sizable life insurance policy. A series of suspicious fires and deaths (mostly resulting in insurance awards) followed. Her birth name was Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset. However, there was a rather glaring problem with their conclusion: the body of the adult was headless not something that generally happens in a fire. What is certain is that she murdered most of her boyfriends and her two daughters, Myrtle and Lucy. I know that you are now to come to me and be my own. In her letters, Gunness had asked her mark to bring all of his money and not tell anyone what he was up to. But, for one reason or another, Gunness decided to emigrate from Selbu to Chicago in 1881. Belle had lured this woman from Chicago on the pretense of hiring her as a housekeeper only days before she decided to make her permanent escape from La Porte. Standing six feet tall (183cm) and weighing over 200 pounds (91kg), she was a physically strong woman. Four bodies were found inside the house the headless corpse of a woman and three children. 4/27/1908 49 Belle writes last will and testament. John Moe of Elbow Lake, Minnesota. After reading about Belle Gunness, take a look at Judy Buenoano, another infamous black widow serial killer. He had with him a check for $2,900, his savings, which he had drawn from his local bank. 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. The woman in the fire was approximately 5 3 tall and weighed about 125 pounds, significantly smaller than Belle Gunness. [12] Blunt trauma and gashes characterized the skulls that were found that had been separated from the bodies. On the morning of April 27, 1908, the farmhand on a lonely property outside La Porte, Indiana, woke to the smell of smoke. The family of one of Belle's victims gave Nawrocki and his team an envelope sent from the LaPorte . [7] Reported "sightings" of Gunness in the Chicago area continued long after she was declared dead. In 1877, Gunness attended a country dance while pregnant. He was last seen alive at the La Porte Savings Bank on April 6, 1907, when he mortgaged his Wisconsin land there, signed over a deed, and obtained several thousand dollars in cash. Although he almost left, Helgelien became convinced that he couldnt do so without looking harder for Andrew. [1] Lamphere stated that Gunness asked him to burn down the farmhouse with her children inside. Belle Gunness was born Brynild Paulsdatter Strseth on November 11, 1859 near Selbu, Norway. Then, Peter also died. No replies by letter considered unless sender is willing to follow answer with personal visit. [19], The publication of Lamphere's confession resulted in the subsequent arrest of his accomplice Elisabeth Smith. Ole B. Budsberg of Iola, Wisconsin, vanished in May 1907. Elliot Leyton. 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. 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