Belle Gunness, a Norwegian-American woman living on a farm in La Porte, Indiana, is believed to have killed at least fourteen people—including two husbands, several children in her care, and multiple men lured by personal advertisements—between 1884 and 1908, before her farmhouse burned down and dozens of human remains were unearthed on the property.
Belle Gunness, born Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth in Selbu, Norway, in 1859, immigrated to the United States in 1881 and settled near her sister in Chicago, where she worked as a domestic servant and later at a butcher's shop. She married Mads Ditlev Anton Sørensen in 1884. During their marriage, the couple's candy store and home each burned down, generating insurance payouts, and two infants in Gunness's care died of what was recorded as inflammation of the large intestine, with insurance collected after each death. Sørensen himself died on July 30, 1900—the same day two of his life insurance policies overlapped in coverage—of a cerebral hemorrhage; Gunness said she had given him quinine powder for a headache before finding him dead. She collected a total of $5,000 and used the funds to purchase a pig farm in La Porte, Indiana.
In 1902, Gunness married Peter Gunness. Within a week, his infant daughter died in Belle's care of unknown causes, and Peter himself died eight months later of a skull injury that Gunness attributed to a falling meat grinder. A coroner's jury examined the case on suspicion of murder but took no further action, and Gunness collected $3,000 in insurance money.
Beginning in 1905, Gunness placed marriage advertisements in Chicago newspapers, corresponding with men who subsequently disappeared after visiting her farm, including Henry Gurholt and John Moe; their belongings were later found among more than a dozen trunks in her house. Her activities came to public attention in April 1908 when the Gunness farmhouse burned to the ground. The ruins contained the body of a headless adult woman, initially identified as Gunness, along with the bodies of her three children. Subsequent excavation of the property uncovered partial remains of at least eleven more people, including Andrew Helgelien, identified after his brother Asle Helgelien alerted police to correspondence urging Andrew to visit with money. Bodies were found dismembered in a consistent manner—decapitated, with arms removed at the shoulders and legs severed at the knees—buried in shallow depressions across the property. Most remains could not be identified.
Ray Lamphere, Gunness's hired hand and periodic lover, was convicted of arson in November 1908 in connection with the fire. He later gave confessions—one published by journalist Edward Bechly and a separate account recorded by Reverend Edwin Schell—asserting that Gunness had lured and murdered the men who answered her advertisements, and that the headless female body was a victim planted to simulate her own death. Dr. Harry Long of La Porte, who had known Gunness personally, stated the body was not hers based on its size, build, and manicured nails, while Gunness's dentist identified a dental crown found in the ruins as hers. Whether Gunness died in the fire or escaped has never been conclusively resolved; a 2008 attempt at DNA testing on the corpse was inconclusive due to sample degradation.
Mads Ditlev Anton Sørensen, John Moe, Peter Gunness, Andrew Helgelien, Henry Gurholt, Jennie Olson
Date
1902
Location
Gunness farm, La Porte, Indiana
Case status
cold
Case timeline
1859-11-11
Brynhild Paulsdatter Størreth (later Belle Gunness) is born in Selbu, Norway.
1881
Gunness immigrates to the United States and joins her sister in Chicago.
1884
Gunness marries Mads Ditlev Anton Sørensen.
1900-07-30
Mads Sørensen dies of cerebral hemorrhage the day two of his life insurance policies overlapped.
1902-04-01
Belle marries Peter Gunness; his infant daughter dies days later.
1905
Peter Gunness dies of a skull injury Belle attributes to a falling meat grinder; Belle begins placing marriage advertisements in Chicago newspapers.
1906
John Moe travels to La Porte after corresponding with Gunness and is never seen again.
1908-04
The Gunness farmhouse burns down; a headless woman's body and three children's bodies are found in the ruins.
1908-05-09
Dr. Harry Long publicly states the recovered body is not Gunness's.
1908-11
Ray Lamphere is convicted of arson in connection with the farmhouse fire.
2008
DNA testing is attempted on the recovered corpse to determine if it is Gunness's; results are inconclusive.
Best coverage
Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
Bailey Sarian / 36 min
Hell’s Belle The Black Widow of the Midwest - Belle Gunness - Mystery & Makeup GRWM | Bailey Sarian
People
Mads Ditlev Anton Sørensen
VICTIM
First husband of Belle Gunness; died in 1900 of cerebral hemorrhage after his life insurance policies overlapped.
John Moe
VICTIM
Minnesota man who corresponded with Gunness, withdrew a large sum of cash, and disappeared after visiting La Porte.
Ray Lamphere
CONVICTED
Convicted of arson in November 1908 in connection with the fire at the Gunness farmhouse.
Belle Gunness
CHARGED
Suspected of killing at least fourteen people, including two husbands and multiple men lured via personal advertisements; never tried due to her presumed death in 1908.
Peter Gunness
VICTIM
Second husband of Belle Gunness; died in 1902 of a skull injury attributed to a falling meat grinder.
Andrew Helgelien
VICTIM
Man from South Dakota who corresponded with Gunness and traveled to La Porte with money; his remains were identified after his brother alerted police.
Henry Gurholt
VICTIM
Wisconsin farmhand who answered a Gunness advertisement and disappeared after traveling to La Porte.
Elisabeth Smith
CHARGED
Arrested as an alleged accomplice following the publication of Ray Lamphere's confession.
Jennie Olson
VICTIM
Identified among the remains found on the Gunness property; Gunness had told neighbors she had gone to Los Angeles.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
unclassified
BelleGunness
Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Source
unclassified
Belle gunness br d 640068a
Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Source
unclassified
Belle Gunness, 1859-1908 LCCN2002706295
Credit: George Grantham Bain Collection · Public domain · Source
unclassified
Belle Gunness, 1859-1908 LCCN2002706295
Credit: George Grantham Bain Collection · Public domain · Source
Belle Gunness, a Norwegian-American woman living on a farm in La Porte, Indiana, is believed to have killed at least fourteen people—including two husbands, several children in her care, and multiple men lured by personal advertisements—between 1884 and 1908, before her farmhouse burned down and dozens of human remains were unearthed on the property.
Where did the killings happen?
Gunness farm, La Porte, Indiana.
Who was convicted?
Ray Lamphere (Convicted of arson in November 1908 in connection with the fire at the Gunness farmhouse.).
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