She eventually stopped hiring men to work the farm and turned to a different tactic. Ray Lamphere, a farm hand of Belle's, was eventually charged with murder and arson. The farm owned by Belle Gunness, La Porte, Indiana, circa 1910 Further information on this record can be found at its source . Several suitors answered Belle's advertisements. What about women? [Peter Youngman, 12/15/2006] Belle Gunness, born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strset (November 11, 1859 - possibly April 28, 1908), nicknamed "Hell's Belle", was a Norwegian-American serial killer who was active in Illinois and Indiana between 1884 and 1908. [10] But she continues to live on in folklore, fiction, songs, and even as the name of a beer, Belle Gunness Stout. Buried in the muck of the hog pen, investigators found the hacked body parts of men. Mitchell, D. 2017. Belle Gunness, born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strset (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. [19], The publication of Lamphere's confession resulted in the subsequent arrest of his accomplice Elisabeth Smith. disturbing the peace. While we feel that Geocaching.com should hold the location for you for a reasonable amount of time, we cannot do so indefinitely. At that point, it was incredible that a lady would be prepared to do such savagery. It was assumed that a female killer couldnt kill the required three confirmed victims, classifying someone as a serial killer. Some said that she had muscles like a man and that she was only pretending to be a woman to lure men into her deadly trap. Belle began reaching out to men across the Midwest through a series of help wanted ads in Scandinavian newspapers. Belle was the youngest of eight children and her family lived on a small farm in Innbygda, about 60 km southeast of the largest city in central Norway at the time, Trondheim. Most folks from La Porte know the legend of Belle Gunness. senior had mentioned. More, Trail of Governors, Pierre, South Dakota (Jan 16-22, 2023). Belle Gunness 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." . I say this as someone whose grandmother, as a kid, bought milk from Belle Gunness, who lived on an adjacent farm. I was disappointed to learn that there was not a cache near the location of the Gunness farm, so I decided to rectify that. The happy couple owned a candy store and looked after foster children. [27], The Farm, a 2021 film starring Traci Lords, is based on the Belle Gunness story. She was never captured and the genuine degree of her violations might very well never be known. Excludes: She was a hog farmer that, legend has it, could lift a 100 lbs hog in each arm. Details on her early life are pretty scanty, but a homestead near Selbu in Norway claims to be her birthplace. [citation needed][14] However, a separate newspaper published a story with speculation regarding the second Lamphere confession. [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. Gunness collected money from both the expiring life insurance policy, and the one that went into effect that day, making a total of $5,000. ", Hoosier Reviewer After finding letters to Andrew from Belle, Asle wrote to Belle and the bank asking about Andrew. People would come to watch the removal of the bags and attempted assembly of the parts. No portion of this document may be reproduced, copied or revised without written permission of the authors. Licensed nurse Genene Anne Jones is believed responsible for the deaths of up to 60 babies and young children in her care. Peters death was listed as a terrible accident, and Mrs. Gunness collected on the insurance she had taken out against his life. Belle Gunness get-rich-quick grift looked like it was catching up with her. She additionally started to draw in men to her ranch with individual notices in papers. Abandoned Lifeboat on Bouvet Island: Mystery Solved! 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 information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America. I grew up in La Porte County and distinctly recall seeing a play in elementary school about Belle Gunness, complete with Belle hitting one of her husbands over the head with a coffee grinder. Sep 29 2020 51 mins. At age 14, she began working for neighboring farms by milking and herding cattle to save enough money for passage to New York. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2017/11/10/female-indiana-serial-killer-comely-belle-gunness-loved-her-suitors-death/848023001/. But what they found instead was the stuff of nightmares. 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. She went on to earn her Masters Degree in Museum Studies in 2019 from the University of San Francisco. The associated text may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Steven R. Shook. Andrew was gone the next day. It is assumed to be not in their nature, but this is a fatal assumption. https://insightsimaging.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/s13244-018-0633-2#:~:text=Overall%20state%20of%20the%20body,flexion%20deformation%20of%20the%20limbs. She began advertising in Norwegian newspapers published in the American Midwest for a man with money to come live with her on her beautiful farm. Police investigated the claims made by Ray in his deathbed confession. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. 2012. However, it is just as likely that the headless body found after the fire was Belle Gunness. After they had corresponded for several months, Moe travelled to La Porte and withdrew a large amount of cash. Whatever the case may have been, it was evident that most people believed that Gunness was far too smart to be captured either alive or dead. Incredibly, she managed to get away with these acts by burning her house down and disappearing. To draw her most recent casualty, Gunness expressed: My heart beats in wild delight for you, Andrew, I love you. Gunness allegedly . In the ruins, authorities found the bodies of a headless adult woman, initially identified as Belle Gunness, and her three children. If you Google the name Belle Gunness, you will understand the gist of it. Come ready to remain until the end of time. Nobody realizes without a doubt what drove Bill Janis to kill. And if you listen carefully, you can still hear the terrifying screams of her victims. Crittenden record-press(Marion, KY), Image 3. Though not convicted of murder, Lamphere was found guilty of arson and incarcerated in the nearby Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, where he died a few years later. Belle "Husband Killer" Gunness Exhibit. Beauty Gunness is perhaps of the most famous chronic executioner in America. When questioned by Helgelien, Belle Gunness told him that she didnt know his brother and that he was welcome to come to look around the farm to see that his brother wasnt there. Also, we have no information about his son and daughter. [9], Two babies in their home died from inflammation of the large intestine, which can result from poisoning. It gave details of the slaying, and told of his part in the former murders which occurred at the Gunness farm, his task usually being the burying of the bodies in the garden. No such lamp was found, but the investigators gave Belle the insurance money. Belle Gunness. This was all followed by much discussion about Belle and her importance to the history of La Porte County (after all, not every county can claim a Lady Bluebeard). 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. La Porte County is rich in history and the wonderful museum reflects that. The cache is located within the right-of-way of McClung Road. pic.twitter.com/EwsUQBunhd, Over The Fence True Crime Podcast (@OverTheFencePod) October 24, 2022. She was born in 1859 as Brynhild, and her original surname was probably Paulsdatter Strseth. When they failed to hear from him after that, the family contacted Gunness. Belle Gunness had come to America from Norway in 1881 when she was in her early 20s. In 1881, at the age of 21, Brynhild left Norway and settled in Chicago. Because of the crude recovery methods, the exact number of individuals unearthed on the Gunness farm is unknown, but 14 of Belle's victims were pieced together, with several teeth, bones, and watches left over. Knocking on his door on a Sunday afternoon, completely unexpected, The Gunness children were found in the ashes of the home, as well as the body of a headless woman. You will not be able to unarchive this listing. That afternoon, the bodies of the family were found in the ruins of the basement. The current Belle Gunness exhibit, Bruce said, was something that he put together for the 100th anniversary of the fire. 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. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. Having grown up on a farm, Belle knew how to cut meat and was said to have been very strong. In total, she is believed to have murdered anywhere from 17 to 180 people between 1884 and 1908. [7], Belle married Peter Gunness on April 1, 1902. The Estimated Net worth is $80K USD $85k. Helgelien and a former farm employee began to look around the property. Two of these children died under Belles care. In 1923, another former neighbor saw her walking through an orchard. After all, most people at that time could not imagine a woman committing so many murders, let alone being physically capable of murdering so many men. All rights reserved. 9 reviews. With the insurance money she got from the death of her first husband, Gunness bought a run-down farm in Indiana. The number murdered was estimated to be as many as 40. That was until one man, Andrew Helgelien, had his suspicions aroused when his brother left to see Gunness without a word to his family, and then failed to return or send word of his well-being. 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. 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. To this day, no one knows what happened to Belle Gunness after that fire; some believe she died in the blaze while others believe she staged her own death and started anew . In the late 1800s, Belle Gunness emigrated from a small town in Norway to the bustling city of Chicago. The following week, while Peter was out of the house, his infant daughter died of unknown causes in Belle's care. His uncle referred to Bella as being a determined woman with a Of course, these men were never seen again.[4]. Genealogy profile for Belle Gunness. Belle married Mads Sorenson in 1893, and together they operated a store in Chicago. Her youngest child was Philip. Includes inquisitions of 5 un-identified persons, Phillip Alexander Gunness, Lucy Bergiat Sorenson, possibly Henry Gurholt, John O. Moe and Ole O. Budsberg. After this, the crimes of Belle Gunness began. 695A07, 1860-1877, s. 2", "A nightmare at Murder Farm: The story of one of America's most prolific serial killers", "How a farm girl became the 'butcher' of lonely men", https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MQ-QFQ8, "The Story of Belle Gunness, One of America's Most Prolific Serial Killers", "Corpses in the Pig Pen: The Tale of Indiana's Most Notorious Serial Killer", "The Belle Gunness Episode: Who was the Mistress of Murder Hill? The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection. She changed her name to Bella Petersen and worked for a time as a servant girl before getting married in 1884 to Mads Sorensen from Drammen, Norway. And if you listen carefully, you can still hear the terrifying screams of her victims. Belle would entice suitors to the Gunness farm. A farm building was used as a temporary morgue, where onlookers could view the remains as they were recovered and put on display. regarding Bella Gunness, she laughednot a friendly laugh but something more [12] With these discoveries, the perceptions of Belle Gunness, as reported in newspaper descriptions of a praiseworthy womandying in the fire that consumed her house, "in a desperate attempt to save her children"were reassessed. May 28, 1908. time, I knocked on a door just down the road. Though the farm itself has been replaced with houses, rumors of the lingering dead send droves of tourists to the city of La Porte. Free shipping for many products! The ad was placed by 46-year-old Belle Gunness, who sought a partner i 2,482 views Mar 30, 2015 12 Dislike Share Save Hoosier Diggin Some 540 subscribers Got a chance to hunt serial killer Belle Gunness property. location. In 1906, 49-year-old Andrew Helgelien answered a personal ad in a Norwegian-language newspaper called the Minneapolis Tidende. He took out a larger one and mysteriously died on the one day the two policies overlapped. After using blunt force trauma to kill her victims, Belle Gunness would decapitate her victim, and like she used to do when she worked as a butcher, she removed the arms at the shoulders and legs at the knees. Belle Gunness would be in the first editions of the Guinness Book of World Records as holding the "greatest number of murders ever ascribed to a modern murderess." In the years after the discovery of the "Murder Farm", people would continue to report sightings of Belle Gunness throughout the country; one a bit eerie not to mention. In each depression was a burlap sack filled with arms, legs, and torsos with "loose flesh that dripped like jelly". What these children knew about their mothers murderous activities is completely unknown because none of them lived to adulthood. One time it sounded like there were people fighting inside when the officer arrived on the scene. They discovered the body of Andrew in a gunnysack. [12] Lucas Reilly, quoting The Chicago Inter Ocean in Mental Floss, noted that, The bones had been crushed on the ends, as though they had been struck with hammers after they were dismembered [and that] Quicklime had been scattered over the faces and stuffed in the ears. Gunness had done her best to make sure that the bodies could not be identified. It killed at least 14 people, but some estimate it killed as many as 40 victims. The woman had plans.[1]. There she met her subsequent spouse, Peter Gunness. One of her ads was answered by a Wisconsin farmhand, Henry Gurholt. In 1931, according to Strange Remains, a woman using the name of Esther Carlson was awaiting trial in Los Angeles, accused of poisoning a man to collect his life insurance money, when she died. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. This guide provides access to material related to Belle Gunness in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers. Due to an insatiable desire to share belle gunness farm location, obscure, and bizarre facts murderous is. Officer arrived on the scene be known the stuff of nightmares New York executioner in America,.. Farms by milking and herding cattle to save enough money for passage to New York likely that the body! To a different tactic one and mysteriously died on the one day the Two policies overlapped the murdered. Share fascinating, obscure, and together they operated a store in.. 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