Belle Gunness

[C_R]

Belle Gunness (1896-1908) was responsible for killing 49 people on her small farm in La Porte, Indiana, just outside of Chicago. Her victims included ranch workers, vagrant females, adopted children and her many husbands.

An Accident In the Kitchen:
Peter Gunness, Belle's first husband, was supposedly struck and killed by a meat grinder which fell off a kitchen shelf. The 280-pound Belle did not morn the loss for long and quickly took up with various men she met through personal ads. The men never seemed to stay around long, each mysteriously vanishing without a trace.

Ray Lamphere:
One exception was ranchhand Ray Lamphere who became Belle's lover and helped her fake her own death after relatives of some of the missing men began questioning their disappearance.

Bodies Unearthed:
Belle's small brick farmhouse was set on fire and in ashes authorities found the body of a woman they believed to be Belle. The fact that the woman seemed to weigh no more than 150 pounds and was headless seemed of no consequence. Various teeth, bones and parts of bodies were also found in the ashes, along with men's watches and other personal belongings of various men who had entered Belle's door.

Love Till the End:
Lamphere was arrested for arson and for the murder of Belle Gunness, but as more bodies were unearthed around the farmhouse, each cut up and wrapped in oil cloth, the murder case against Lamphere feel apart and he was found guilty of arson only. He later died in prison, but confessed to his prison cellmate beforehand, admitting to his love for Belle and his involvement in faking her death.

Take the Money and Run:
Authorities later determined that Belle's victims died mostly of poison and collectively contributed $30,000 to Belle's pocketbook. Belle was never caught for the murders and what happened to her was never known. On the record, her death is listed as April 1908, the last time she was seen alive.

Victims:

• Ole B. Budsberg ofIola, Wisconsin, (vanished May 1907);
• Thomas Lindboe, who had left Chicago and had gone to work as a hired man for Gunness three years earlier;
• Henry Gurholdt ofScandinavia, Wisconsin, who had gone to wed her a year earlier, taking $1,500 to her; a watch corresponding to one belonging to Gurholdt was found with a body;
• Olaf Svenherud, from Chicago;
• John Moe ofElbow Lake, Minnesota; his watch was found in Lamphere's possession;
• Olaf Lindbloom, age 35 fromWisconsin.

Reports of other victims began to come in:

• William Mingay, a coachman ofNew York City, who had left that city on April 1, 1904;
• Herman Konitzer of Chicago who disappeared in January 1906;
• Charles Edman ofNew Carlisle, Indiana;
• George Berry of Tuscola, Illinois;
• Christie Hilkven ofDover, Wisconsin, who sold his farm and came to La Porte in 1906;
• Chares Neiburg, a 28-year-old Scandinavian immigrant who lived inPhiladelphia, told friends that he was going to visit Gunness in June 1906 and never came back - he had been working for a saloon keeper and took $500 with him;
• John H. McJunkin ofCoraopolis(nearPittsburgh) left his wife in December 1906 after corresponding with a La Porte woman;
• Olaf Jensen, a Norwegian immigrant ofCarroll, Indiana, wrote his relatives in 1906 he was going to marry a wealthy widow at La Porte;
• Henry Bizge of La Porte who disappeared June 1906 and his hired man named Edward Canary of Pink Lake Ill who also vanished 1906;
• Bert Chase ofMishawaka, Indianasold his butcher shop and told friends of a wealthy widow and that he was going to look her up; his brother received a telegram supposedly fromAberdeen, South Dakotaclaiming Bert had been killed in a train wreck; his brother investigated and found the telegram was fictitious;
• Tonnes Peterson Lien ofRushford, Minnesota, is alleged to have disappeared April 2, 1907;
• A gold ring marked "S.B. May 28, 1907" was found in the ruins;
• A hired man named George Bradley ofTuscola, Illinois, is alleged to have gone to La Porte to meet a widow and three children in October 1907;
• T.J. Tiefland ofMinneapolisis alleged to have come to see Gunness in 1907;
• Frank Riedinger a farmer ofWaukesha, Wisconsin, came to Indiana in 1907 to marry and never returned;
• Emil Tell, aSwedefromKansas City, Missouri, is alleged to have gone in 1907 to La Porte;
• Lee Porter ofBartonville, Oklahomaseparated from his wife and told his brother he was going to marry a wealthy widow at La Porte;
• John E. Hunter leftDuquesne, Pennsylvania, on November 25, 1907 after telling his daughters he was going to marry a wealthy widow in Northern Indiana.
• Two other Pennsylvanians - George Williams of Wapawallopen and Ludwig Stoll of Mount Yeager - also left their homes to marry in the West.
• Abraham Phillips, a railway man ofBurlington, West Virginia, left in the winter of 1907 to go to Northern Indiana and marry a rich widow - a railway watch was found in the debris of the house.
• 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 rich widow; he had with him $1,000 from an insurance company and borrowed money from several investors as well; in June 1908 his widow was able to identify his remains from La Porte's Pauper's cemetery by the contour of his skull and three missing teeth;
• Aug. Gunderson ofGreen Lake, Wisconsin;
• Ole Oleson ofBattle Creek, Michigan;
• Lindner Nikkelsen ofHuron, South Dakota;
• Andrew Anderson ofLawrence, Kansas;
• Johann Sorensen ofSt. Joseph, Missouri;
• A possible victim was a man named Hinkley;

Reported unnamed victims were:

• a daughter of Mrs. H. Whitzer ofToledo, Ohio, who had attendedIndiana Universitynear La Porte in 1902;
• an unknown man and woman are alleged to have disappeared in September 1906, the same night Jennie Olson went missing. Gunness claimed they were aLos Angeles"professor" and his wife who had taken Jennie toCalifornia;
• a brother of Miss Jennie Graham of Waukesha, Wisconsin, who had left her to marry a rich widow in La Porte but vanished;
• a hired man fromOhioage 50 name unknown is alleged to have disappeared and Gunness became the "heir" to his horse and buggy;
• an unnamed man fromMontanatold people at a resort he was going to sell Gunness his horse and buggy, which were found with several other horses and buggies at the farm.

There were many others who could not be identified. There were the remains of more than 40 men and children buried in shallow graves throughout her property. On May 19, 1908 remains of seven unknown victims were buried in La Porte's Potter's Field. Andrew Helgelien and Jennie Olson are buried in La Porte's Patton Cemetery.

 

[C_R]

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[DeathHand]

She did alright for a big ugly lady who was never caught.

 

[digitx]

Thanks. Here is the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Gunness

 

[NannieDoss]

Nice post. I love reading stuff about this wicked old bitch.

 

[Stall01]

Well there's a lot of Scandinavian surnames among the victims. Poor immigrants looking for the American dream, and they got the American reality instead.

 

[illegalaliencanadian]

never heard of this killer before!! great post!

 

[Tooly]

I presume this was her killing spree! (1896-1908) Wiki says she was born in 1859.

 

[DeathHand]

Well there's a lot of Scandinavian surnames among the victims. Poor immigrants looking for the American dream, and they got the American reality instead.

The majority of her male victims were from Norway, as was she (born as Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth, in Selbu, Norway). That commonality probably made it much easier for her to lure Norwiegan men into her trap.

 

[J.D.]

Here is an original 1908 Belle Gunness postcard. These were sold in La Porte, Indiana after the fire destroyed the Gunness' house. From my personal collection.

 

[J.D.]