﻿When considering the history of serial killers, most female murderers are pretty
hands-off in their chosen methods. Poison is a popular choice for many,
and Aileen Wuornos was popularized by her .22 caliber pistol murder spree,
but it isn't often that you hear about brutal and gory scenes committed by female villains.
In the case of "Lady Bluebeard," as the media quickly deemed her upon the discovery
of remarkable horrors, Belle Gunness was a large woman truly unlike any other.
With strength and experience on her side, she turned murder into a business.
A sudden fire thought to be a tragic end to a woman and her family was never truly concluded.
After the fire was contained, four bodies were found in the ashes. Three of the bodies were
identifiable; the fourth was not. Is it possible that Belle Gunness survived the house fire and
went on to commit more crimes? Let's take a trip to the self-proclaimed "prettiest and
happiest country home in Northern Indiana" and through the life of its owner, Belle.
Born in Norway in November 1859, Belle was the youngest of eight children. Her given
name was Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth and she was physically gifted from a
young age. At maturity, she stood at 6 feet tall and weighed over 250 pounds.
At the young age of 24, Belle would emigrate to American and become established with a more
American-sounding name. She had worked hard in the years prior to save for this transition,
wanting to follow an older sister to a better life. She lived in Chicago with her sister and
brother-in-law until she met love of her own. Within a year of moving to America,
Belle was getting married to Norwegian-born Mads Sorenson. A charming couple, no doubt,
who would go on to begin a life of their own together, for better or worse. Times
certainly weren't easy for the couple, after all. During their 15 years of marriage, the Sorenson
household would be plagued with misfortunes that just so happened to benefit them.
For example, the couple tried to open a confectionary during their early years,
but the business would ultimately fail. Along with this detrimental financial failure, the
building also caught fire and was ruined. Luckily, no money was lost! The building had been insured
and the Sorensons were paid for their losses. The confectionery would be only one thing on the
list of destruction Belle left behind. From 1884 to 1900, several buildings in the Sorenson family
would fall victim to fires and two children would die in infancy due to acute colitis.
It is assumed each of these things was insured, including each child.
If doctors had thought to check, they would have noticed acute colitis had very similar symptoms to
strychnine poisoning. Though it is not confirmed, it is widely believed poison is what killed the
two infants. The sudden death of her husband Mads only heightens the suspicions around Belle.
It was July 30th, 1900, when Mads died, which immediately aroused the suspicions of his family.
Perhaps coincidentally, July 30th was reported to be the only day the two life insurance policies
overlapped. When Belle went to collect the money one day after Mads' funeral,
the Sorenson family demanded an inquest into his death. It does not appear anything came of this,
as there is no further record. What is known is a family doctor stated the death was caused by
complications associated with his enlarged heart. Belle would collect $8,500 from the policies on
Mads and buy a property on the outskirts of La Porte, Indiana. With her, she took 3 daughters:
Jennie, Myrtle, and Lucy. Jennie is known to be adopted, but researchers believe Myrtle and Lucy
were two surviving children of Belle and Mads. Along with this new home, Belle would continue
doing what she did best: make money off of her crimes. She worked to make
her home what she deemed "the prettiest and happiest country home in Northern Indiana"
while planning another step in her diabolical plan. This next step of Belle's plan came in the
form of Peter Gunness. Gunness was a local pig farmer and butcher who was also Norwegian-born,
making him a perfect target for Belle. The two would be married by the spring of 1902.
It didn't take long after the union of the couple for death to follow Belle once more. Only about a
week had passed after the wedding when Gunness's infant daughter died while in Belle's care.
It would be less than a year of marriage before Peter would also come to an untimely demise.
The story of his death told by Belle differs based on the source you read,
but each story reports the same bizarre details. According to the now twice-widowed,
Peter reached for a shoe on the floor when a cast iron meat grinder fell from its place above.
It came down and hit Peter right between the eyes, killing him.
The story didn't sit right with the people of La Porte. Gunness was a strong man
who had been doing his trade for many years; the death seemed very unlikely.
The neighborhood openly spoke about their beliefs of her guilt. Gossip would be set ablaze when it
was reported her daughter Jennie told a classmate her mother killed her father with a meat cleaver.
When questioned by the coroner, Jennie disputed the claims of the rumors.
With this crucial piece of evidence gone, Belle was able to convince the coroner she was innocent.
She collected insurance money once more and would give birth to a son in 1903. The child
is presumably Gunness' and was named Philip; he survived his infancy. Somewhere in this timeline
of events, Gunness's eldest daughter would go to live with her uncle, sparing her from the fate of
every other child Belle lived with. After her second husband's death,
the years that passed involved Belle working the pig farm herself, using the knowledge she gained
from the nine months of marriage she had to her previous victim to further her own luxuries.
It was late in 1906 when Jennie went missing. Or, as Belle put it, "went away."
Friends and neighbors of the teenager were concerned about the sudden disappearance,
but Belle brushed them off. According to Belle, Jennie was sent to a school in Los Angeles.
This didn't feel right to the people of La Porte, but they had no way of confirming the claims.
It wouldn't be long after Jennie's departure that Belle hired a farmhand named Ray Lamphere.
Also, around the same time, in early 1907, Belle began to post matrimonial
ads in Norwegian newspapers all throughout the Midwest. The newspapers she selected would be
published in major cities, such as Chicago. In these ads, she portrayed herself as a young and
attractive widow with land, being sure to include phrases such as, "triflers need not apply."
Responses to the ad came in relatively quickly, allowing Belle to get a great
start to her business. Belle would correspond with the suitors until she gained their trust
and then invite them to be with her in her home, using undeniable charm to get the men within
her grasp. When these suitors traveled to the prettiest and happiest country home in northern
Indiana to live out their married futures… most of them would never be seen again.
Bachelor after bachelor would appear in La Porte, Indiana. Some traveled with their
savings in pocket, while others would last be seen withdrawing money from the local bank. Just as
soon as one man was spotted and made his adventure to Belle's home, he would disappear again.
When their loved ones never return, relatives of these men would send letters asking about their
whereabouts, but Belle would always say she had never seen them. In some cases, she even offered
to help one of her victim's relatives look for him, but she expected compensation. This awful
business of robbery and murder would be very lucrative to Belle but couldn't last forever.
When Belle fired Ray Lamphere, the farmhand, she would find herself plagued by the man.
During his service, he had become obsessed with the large woman. He would continue bothering her
until she had him taken above a court to have his sanity judge. She would also have him arrested for
trespassing at some point after the termination. As a replacement, Belle hired a new farmhand,
Joe Maxon, to continue the work Lamphere had been doing. Around this time, she would also
visit a local lawyer to get her will written. Her reasoning to the lawyer was she had been
threatened by Lamphere. She would claim the man told her he would kill her and her family
before burning their house down. Despite these claims to the lawyer, Belle would never go to
the police with these threats. Considering she made a fuss over his trespassing beforehand,
it can be assumed this was to set up her plan. On the morning of April 28th, 1908, the Gunness
farmhouse went up in flames. The blaze began sometime in the early morning but was noticed
by neighbors quickly. When the flames were contained, four corpses were found but only
three could be identified. The three children of the home, Myrtle, Lucy, and Phillip, were all
positively identified. The body of an adult female would be the only body to remain unidentified.
This is because the woman had been decapitated, and the head was nowhere to be found.
When people were asked to confirm the identity of the body as Belle Gunness,
there were people left and right saying the headless corpse wasn't Belle. Neighbors and
familial ties were not convinced with the body due to significant height and weight discrepancies.
Lamphere was a prime suspect quickly and was arrested and put on trial for murder and arson.
He would only be found guilty of arson, with there being a witness stating they saw
Lamphere running away from the farmhouse that April morning. However, the jury found him
not guilty of murder, adding their input by saying they believed Belle was dead.
During this process, bodies were being discovered by the crew of policemen who went back to the
house looking for more evidence. The body of her adopted daughter Jennie was among the first
of the discoveries. From there, sacks of body parts began to be unearthed from the property.
When the search was finished, they had found a total of 14 men and 3 children buried.
The full story wouldn't come to light for about another two years. As he was serving
out his sentence for arson, Lamphere knew he was dying and wanted to clear his conscience of the
sins he committed. His guilty conscience led to his confessions, spilling all the
horrific details to Reverend E. A. Schell. According to Lamphere, Belle would lure men
in with her charm, speaking sweetly in the letters she sent. She gained their confidence
enough to have them travel out to her. They would survive long enough for her to get their money,
but after the exchange of funds, Belle would drug them or otherwise knock them unconscious.
From there, she would murder the men and use her butchering knowledge to dismember them.
Lamphere told the Reverend he helped bury the bodies but was not a part of the murdering of
the men. Belle would fill sacks with body parts and apply quicklime to hide the stench
once buried in the ground. Lamphere said he believed Belle faked her death and escaped.
He confessed she had told him she would take him with her but ultimately took a different
road and left him behind. Shortly after this confession, Lamphere passed away.
So while she is long gone nowadays, do you think Belle Gunness made it out of La Porte
alive? Do you believe her crime business continued elsewhere? Or did she die in that April 28th fire?
Let us know what you think in the comments. Thanks for watching!