“Hell’s Belle” Gunness – Black Widow of the Midwest

Belle Gunness, often dubbed "Hell’s Belle" Gunness, remains an infamous figure in American true crime history. This Norwegian immigrant, who operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is suspected of being one of the most prolific female serial killers in the nation’s history. While the exact number of her victims remains shrouded in mystery, estimates suggest that "Hell’s Belle" Gunness may have been responsible for the deaths of over forty individuals, including her husbands, children, and numerous suitors who answered her lonely hearts advertisements. Her story is a chilling tapestry woven with deceit, greed, and the brutal exploitation of vulnerable individuals in the American Midwest. The legend of "Hell’s Belle" Gunness continues to fascinate and horrify, solidifying her place as a dark stain on the region’s past.

Brynhild Paulsdatter Storseth, the woman who would later become known as Belle Gunness, was born on November 11, 1859, in Selbu, Norway. She was the youngest of eight children born to Paul Pedersen Storseth, a stonemason, and Berit Olsdatter. Brynhild’s early life was spent on a small farm in Innbygda, where she grew into a remarkably strong woman. Standing at approximately 5’9" and weighing over 200 pounds, she possessed a physical presence that would later contribute to her ability to overpower her victims. A local tale, although unverified, suggests a pivotal event in Brynhild’s youth that may have shaped her dark path. The story claims that she was attacked by a man who kicked her in the abdomen, causing a miscarriage. The man, from a wealthy family, was never prosecuted, and shortly thereafter, he purportedly died of stomach cancer. This event, according to some, marked a significant change in Brynhild’s personality, a turning point towards the darkness that would later consume her life.

In 1881, following in the footsteps of her sister, Brynhild emigrated to the United States, seeking new opportunities and a fresh start. Upon arriving in America, she adopted a more Americanized name, becoming Belle Gunness. She made her way to Chicago, Illinois, where she initially worked as a domestic servant, honing her skills and observing the lives of those around her. This period in Chicago served as a prelude to the events that would later define her as the "Black Widow of the Midwest." It was in Chicago that "Hell’s Belle" Gunness would begin to craft her persona and lay the groundwork for her future crimes.

Belle Gunness married Mads Albert Sorenson in Chicago in 1884. Two years later, the couple opened a candy store, but the venture proved unsuccessful. Soon after, their home and store mysteriously burned down, allowing them to collect insurance money and purchase a new residence. The couple had four children together: Caroline, Axel, Myrtle, and Lucy. Tragically, Caroline and Axel died as infants from acute colitis. While the diagnosis was colitis, the symptoms—nausea, fever, diarrhea, and abdominal pain—are also consistent with several types of poisoning, raising suspicions about the true cause of their deaths. The Gunnesses collected life insurance policies on both children, a pattern that would become increasingly familiar throughout Belle’s life.

The United States Census of June 13, 1900, recorded Belle Gunness and her family in Chicago, listing her as the mother of four children, with only Myrtle A. and Lucy B. still living. Also listed was a ten-year-old adopted girl named Morgan Couch, later known as Jennie Olsen. Just over a month later, on July 30, 1900, Mads Albert Sorenson died on the very day that his two life insurance policies overlapped. The initial physician to examine him suspected strychnine poisoning. However, the family doctor, who had been treating Sorenson for an enlarged heart, attributed the death to heart failure. No autopsy was performed, as the death was not initially deemed suspicious.

Despite the lack of an official investigation, Sorenson’s family suspected foul play, claiming that Belle had poisoned her husband to collect the insurance money. Although they demanded an inquiry, no charges were ever filed against her. Belle ultimately received $8,500 (approximately $240,000 in today’s currency) from the insurance policies, which she used to purchase a farm on the outskirts of La Porte, Indiana. Shortly after acquiring the property, the boat and carriage houses also reportedly burned to the ground, further fueling suspicions surrounding Belle Gunness and her involvement in insurance fraud.

While preparing to move to La Porte, Belle reconnected with Peter Gunness, a fellow Norwegian widower. Peter, a butcher by trade, and Belle married on April 1, 1902. A week after the wedding, Peter’s infant daughter died under mysterious circumstances while in Belle’s care. In December of the same year, Peter himself met a "tragic accident." Belle claimed that he was struck on the head when a sausage-grinding machine fell from a high shelf in the kitchen. However, the coroner who examined the body allegedly muttered, "This is a case of murder." One of Belle’s children even told a classmate that her mother had struck her husband with a cleaver. Despite the suspicions and the child’s account, Belle’s persuasive nature once again prevailed, and no charges were filed. A year later, Peter’s brother, Gust, took Peter’s older daughter, Swanhild, to Wisconsin, making her the only child to survive her time living with Belle.

Peter’s death brought Belle another $3,000 (around $81,000 today). The local community found it difficult to believe that Peter, an experienced butcher and hog farmer, could have been so clumsy. The district coroner reviewed the case and unequivocally declared it a murder, convening a coroner’s jury to investigate. However, Belle convinced the investigators of her innocence. Despite being pregnant at the time, Belle did not mention it, even though it might have garnered sympathy. In May 1903, she gave birth to a son named Phillip.

In late 1906, Belle told her neighbors that her foster daughter, Jennie Olsen, had left to attend a Lutheran College in Los Angeles. Jennie’s body would later be discovered buried on Belle Gunness’s property.

In 1907, Belle hired Ray Lamphere as a farmhand. Their relationship soon became the subject of local gossip. Lamphere often boasted of sleeping with his employer, which surprised many who viewed Belle as a burly woman who preferred men’s overalls and butchered hogs herself. However, Lamphere saw another side of Belle, a side that the local folk would soon witness as well.

But Lamphere was not enough for Belle. Driven by greed, she sought new suitors and placed an advertisement in the lovelorn columns of newspapers in major Midwestern cities:

"Personal – Comely widow who owns a large farm in one of the finest districts in La Porte County, Indiana, desires to make the acquaintance of a gentleman equally well provided, with a view of joining fortunes. No replies by letter considered unless sender is willing to follow answer with a personal visit. Triflers need not apply."

Middle-aged men of means responded to Belle’s ads, and she was frequently seen taking carriage rides with strangers on Sunday afternoons. On these occasions, Belle dressed in fine clothing and styled her hair in the latest fashion, appearing unrecognizable from the rough farm woman the locals were accustomed to seeing.

One of these men was John Moe, who arrived from Elbow Lake, Minnesota. He brought over $1,000 to pay off her mortgage, or so he told the neighbors, to whom Belle introduced him as her cousin. He disappeared from her farm within a week of his arrival. Next came George Anderson from Tarkio, Missouri, who offered to pay off the mortgage if they married. Late one night, Anderson awoke to find Belle standing over him, peering into his eyes with a candle in her hand. He later stated that her expression was so sinister and murderous that he yelled, causing her to flee the room without a word. Terrified, Anderson believed that Belle intended to kill him. He immediately dressed and fled the house, catching the first train back to Missouri, never returning for his belongings or speaking to Belle again.

Suitors continued to arrive, but only Anderson ever left the Gunness farm alive. In the meantime, Belle began ordering large trunks to be delivered, kept her shutters closed day and night, and generally kept to herself.

Ole B. Budsberg, an elderly widower from Iola, Wisconsin, was the next to appear. He was last seen alive at the La Porte Savings Bank on April 6, 1907, where he mortgaged his Wisconsin land, signed over a deed, and obtained several thousand dollars in cash. Budsberg’s sons were unaware of their father’s visit to Belle. When they eventually discovered his destination, they wrote to her, but she replied that she had never seen their father.

Several other middle-aged men appeared and disappeared on brief visits to the Gunness farm throughout 1907. Then, in December 1907, Andrew Helgelien, a bachelor farmer from Aberdeen, South Dakota, wrote to Belle and received a warm response. The pair exchanged many letters until a letter arrived that overwhelmed Helgelien, written in Belle’s careful handwriting and dated January 13, 1908. This letter, later found at the Helgelien farm, read:

"To the Dearest Friend in the World: No woman in the world is happier than I am. I know that you are now to come to me and be my own. I can tell from your letters that you are the man I want. It does not take one long to tell when to like a person, and you I like better than anyone in the world, I know. Think how we will enjoy each other’s company. You, the sweetest man in the whole world. We will be all alone with each other. Can you conceive of anything nicer? I think of you constantly. When I hear your name mentioned, and this is when one of the dear children speaks of you, or I hear myself humming it with the words of an old love song, it is beautiful music to my ears. My heart beats in wild rapture for you, My Andrew, I love you. Come prepared to stay forever."

In response to the letter, Helgelien rushed to Belle’s side in January 1908, bringing with him a check for $2,900, his life savings. A few days after Helgelien arrived, he and Belle deposited the check at the Savings Bank in La Porte.

Around this time, Belle began experiencing problems with her farmhand, Ray Lamphere. Deeply in love with her, Lamphere performed any task, no matter how gruesome. He grew increasingly jealous of the men who came to court Belle. However, when he was introduced to Andrew Hegelian, Belle’s new husband-to-be, he caused a scene, leading to his dismissal on February 3, 1908. A few days later, Helgelien was gone, and Belle deposited an additional $1200.00 into her account.

Shortly after firing Lamphere, Belle went to the La Porte County courthouse and declared that her former employee was not in his right mind and posed a threat to the public. She convinced local authorities to hold a sanity hearing, but Lamphere was deemed sane and released. Belle returned a few days later to complain to the sheriff that Lamphere had visited her farm and argued with her, claiming he was a threat to her family. She had Lamphere arrested for trespassing.

Despite the arrest, Lamphere repeatedly returned to see her, but she drove him away. On one occasion, he confided to a neighboring farmer, "Helgelien won’t bother me anymore. We fixed him for keeps."

Helgelien’s brother, Asle, became concerned when Andrew failed to return home. He wrote to Belle, asking about his brother’s whereabouts. Belle replied that Andrew was not at her farm and had likely gone to Norway to visit relatives. Asle responded that he did not believe his brother would do that and suspected he was still in the La Porte area. Belle bravely responded that she would help search for his brother if he came to look, but that Asle should pay her for her efforts.

Belle then consulted a lawyer in La Porte named M.E. Leliter, telling him that she feared for her life and the lives of her children. She claimed that Ray Lamphere had threatened to kill her and burn down her house and wanted to make a will in case he carried out his threats. The will was completed, leaving her estate to her children. However, she never reported Lamphere’s alleged threats to the police.

In February 1908, Belle hired another man, Joe Maxon, to help her with the farm. A couple of months later, in the early hours of April 28, 1908, Maxson awoke to the smell of smoke in his room on the second floor of the Gunness house. He opened the hall door to a wall of flames and screamed Belle’s name and the names of her children but received no response. He slammed the door shut and leaped from the second-story window in his underwear, barely surviving the fire that engulfed the house.

He raced to town for help, but by the time it arrived, the house was already a smoking ruin. Four bodies were found inside: the headless corpse of a woman and three children. County Sheriff Albert Smutzer, aware of Lamphere’s alleged threats, immediately concluded that the fire was arson and murder. He sent deputies to search the debris for the missing head and others to arrest Lamphere.

Lamphere denied any involvement in the fire, claiming he was not near the farm when it occurred. However, a local boy reported seeing Lamphere running down the road from the Gunness house just before the fire started. Lamphere was arrested and charged with murder, his pleas of innocence ignored.

Initially, investigators believed the bodies to be Belle Gunness and her three children: Myrtle, age eleven; Lucy, age nine; and Phillip, age five. However, questions arose regarding whether the headless corpse was truly Belle Gunness. The woman found in the fire was approximately 5’3" tall and weighed about 125 pounds, significantly smaller than Belle Gunness. Several neighbors and friends who viewed the corpse stated that it was not Belle.

A local dentist stepped forward, stating that he could make an identification if any dental work could be found. Investigators sifted through the debris and found a piece of bridgework, which the dentist identified as having been made for Belle Gunness. As a result, Coroner Charles Mack officially concluded that the adult female body discovered in the ruins was Belle Gunness.

As the investigation continued, Asle Helgelien arrived in La Porte from South Dakota and informed Sheriff Smutzer that he believed his brother, Andrew, had been murdered by Belle Gunness. He explained that Andrew had answered a matrimonial ad placed by Belle in a Norwegian-language newspaper, offering love and a life of wedded bliss but also mentioning a quick $1,000 needed to pay off a mortgage. Andrew had withdrawn his life savings from the bank and was never heard from again.

Helgelien became even more convinced of foul play after visiting the ruins of Belle’s home and witnessing the men searching for her head unearth eight men’s watches, assorted bones, and human teeth. He independently searched the property and directed the men to dig in the rubbish hole in Belle’s hog pen. As they turned the earth, they discovered four bodies, skillfully dismembered and wrapped in oilcloth. One of the bodies was identified as Andrew Hegelian.

Joe Maxson then came forward with crucial information. He told the Sheriff that Belle had ordered him to transport loads of dirt by wheelbarrow to a large area surrounded by a high wire fence where the hogs were fed. Maxson said there were many deep depressions in the ground covered by dirt, which Belle claimed contained rubbish and wanted leveled. Farmers who had passed the farm at night also reported seeing Belle digging in the hog pen with a shovel.

Sheriff Smutzer returned to the farm with a dozen men and began to dig. On May 3, 1908, they unearthed the body of Jennie Olson, who had vanished in December 1906. They then found the small bodies of two unidentified children. As the gruesome work continued, one body after another was discovered in Belle Gunness’s hog pen. The identified bodies included:

• Andrew Helgelien of Aberdeen, South Dakota
• Jennie Olson, foster daughter of Belle Gunness
• Ole B. Budsberg of Iola, Wisconsin
• Several unidentified men and children

The unidentified bodies and unsolved mysteries emerging from the Gunness farm made headlines across the Midwest. Reports of missing men poured in from surrounding states, and relatives arrived to claim the bodies. They recounted stories of lonesome brothers, uncles, and cousins who had answered Belle’s matrimonial ads and traveled hopefully to La Porte with their life savings.

The exact number of victims unearthed on the Gunness farm remains unknown due to crude recovery methods. Fourteen of Belle’s victims were pieced together, leaving behind teeth, bones, and watches. The estimated number of murders is believed to be as high as 40.

On May 22, 1908, Ray Lamphere was tried for murder and arson. He pleaded innocent, his defense centered on the claim that the body found was not Belle Gunness. Lamphere’s lawyer, Wirt Worden, presented evidence suggesting that the bridgework may have been planted. Lamphere was found guilty of arson but acquitted of murder. On November 26, 1908, he was sentenced to two to 21 years in the State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana, where he died of tuberculosis on December 30, 1909.

Weeks later, a reverend revealed Lamphere’s deathbed confession. In his statement, he detailed Belle’s crimes and swore that she was still alive. He claimed that he had not murdered anyone but had helped Belle bury many of her victims.

According to Lamphere, Belle would make her victims comfortable, charm them, and cook them a large meal. She would then drug their coffee, and when the man was in a stupor, she would split his head with a meat chopper. Other times, she would wait for the suitor to go to bed, enter the bedroom by candlelight, and chloroform her sleeping victim.

The powerful Belle Gunness would then carry the body to the basement, where she would dissect it, bundle the remains, and bury them in the hog pen. She sometimes dumped the corpse into a hog-scalding vat and covered the remains with quicklime. Lamphere claimed that if she was overly tired, she would chop up the remains and feed them to the hogs.

Lamphere also explained the mystery of the headless female corpse found in the ruins of Belle’s home. Belle had lured a woman from Chicago under the guise of hiring her as a housekeeper, only days before she planned her escape from La Porte. Gunness drugged the woman, bashed in her head, decapitated the body, tied weights to the head, and disposed of it in a swamp. She then dressed the corpse in her own clothing, removed her false teeth, and placed them beside the headless body to ensure it would be identified as Belle Gunness.

She also chloroformed her children, smothered them to death, carried them to the basement, torched the farmhouse, and fled.

Lamphere was supposed to wait for her at a designated spot on the road after the fire was set, but she never appeared. Instead, she cut across open fields and disappeared into the woods.

Lamphere also revealed that Belle had become a very rich woman. By his count, she had murdered 42 men and stolen amounts ranging from $1,000 to $32,000 from them. He estimated that she had accumulated over $250,000 through her murder schemes (approximately $6.7 million today). Investigators had previously checked her bank accounts and found that while a small amount remained in one savings account, the money in all other accounts had been completely withdrawn shortly before the fire, suggesting that Belle had orchestrated a grand hoax and evaded the law.

In the decades following the fire, Belle Gunness was allegedly sighted in various cities across the nation. As late as 1931, she was reportedly alive and living in a Mississippi town, where she supposedly owned a great deal of property and lived as a prominent citizen.

Another report in 1931 suggested that she may have been a woman known as "Esther Carlson," who was arrested in Los Angeles, California, for poisoning August Lindstrom, a Norwegian-American man, on February 9, 1931, for his money. Two people who had known Gunness claimed to recognize her from photographs in her possession, but the identification was never proven. Carlson died on May 6, 1931, while awaiting trial.

Of the remains found at the murder site, the bodies of Belle Gunness’s three children and several of her suitors were identified. The headless adult female corpse was never positively identified.

Believing that the headless corpse was Belle Gunness, the remains were buried next to her first husband, Mads Sorenson, at Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois.

On November 5, 2007, with the permission of descendants of Belle’s sister, the headless body was exhumed by a team of forensic anthropologists and graduate students from the University of Indianapolis to determine her true identity. It was hoped that a sealed envelope flap on a letter found at the farm would contain enough DNA to be compared to the body. Unfortunately, there was insufficient DNA, leaving the mystery unsolved. The legacy of Belle Gunness remains a chilling reminder of the darkness that can lurk beneath the surface, solidifying her place as one of America’s most infamous female serial killers. The story of "Hell’s Belle" Gunness continues to capture the imagination and serves as a grim testament to the power of deception and greed.