Belle Gunness ran a farm near La Porte, Indiana, where a series of men who answered her marriage advertisements simply disappeared.
She arrived in the United States from Norway in 1883 and settled in the Midwest. By the early 1900s she owned a substantial property outside La Porte. Local records show she placed personal advertisements in Norwegian-language newspapers seeking a husband with capital. Several men travelled to the farm after corresponding with her. None returned home. Insurance payouts followed each disappearance.
The pattern continued for several years. Neighbours noticed frequent visitors but rarely saw them leave. Gunness maintained the farm with hired help and raised three children. Her first husband had died under circumstances that drew little scrutiny at the time. Subsequent partners and suitors met similar ends.
Background
Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth in 1859 in Selbu, Norway. She emigrated at age twenty-four. Early employment in Chicago and later moves to Indiana placed her in communities with other Scandinavian immigrants. She married Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson in 1884. The couple collected insurance on two properties that burned and on two children who died in infancy. Sorenson himself died on New Year’s Day 1900. The doctor listed heart failure as the cause.
Gunness used the insurance money to purchase the La Porte farm. She married Peter Gunness in 1902. He died within months after an alleged accident with a sausage grinder. Again an insurance policy paid out. By then Gunness had begun advertising for new husbands.
The Pattern of Disappearances
Between 1902 and 1908 at least fourteen men are known to have visited the farm after answering her notices. Each arrived with cash or property deeds. Each vanished within days. Gunness told neighbours the men had changed their minds and left. She collected on life insurance policies taken out in their names.
One documented case involved Andrew Helgelien from South Dakota. He arrived in January 1908 carrying several thousand dollars. Letters later recovered showed Gunness urging him to bring all his money. Helgelien disappeared after a short stay. His brother Asle grew suspicious and contacted authorities.
The 1908 Fire
On 28 April 1908 the farmhouse burned to the ground. Four bodies were recovered from the cellar: three children and the headless torso of an adult woman. The fire was ruled arson. Initial reports suggested Gunness and the children had died. The missing head and the presence of strychnine in the remains raised immediate questions.
Discovery of Additional Remains
Searchers began digging the grounds. Over the following weeks they uncovered multiple shallow graves. Remains included at least eleven adult men, two women, and several children. Many had been dismembered and buried in sacks or wrapped in cloth. Some showed signs of poisoning. The total number of victims remains uncertain. Estimates range from twenty-five to forty.
Local authorities identified several victims through personal effects and dental work. Andrew Helgelien’s body was among those recovered. The search continued into the summer. The farm yielded further evidence of systematic burial.
Investigation and Suspicions
Ray Lamphere, a former hired hand, was arrested and charged with arson and murder. He had been dismissed weeks before the fire and had made threats against Gunness. During his trial prosecutors presented evidence that Gunness had orchestrated the deaths. Lamphere was convicted of arson but acquitted of murder. He died in prison in 1909.
The headless torso found in the cellar was never conclusively identified as Gunness. Some investigators believed she had killed another woman, placed the body in the house, and escaped. Sightings of a woman matching her description were reported in several states in later years. None were confirmed.
Aftermath and Unresolved Questions
The La Porte County coroner and state officials closed the case without locating Gunness. The farm was sold and later became a tourist site for a time. Contemporary newspapers across the country covered the discoveries in detail. Public fascination persisted for decades.
No trial ever examined the full extent of the crimes. The absence of a confirmed body for Gunness left open the possibility she survived. Later forensic reviews of the remains have not resolved the question.
Conclusion
The La Porte farm yielded evidence of repeated lethal violence over several years. Victims arrived seeking companionship and left no trace. Official records document the fire, the burials, and the limited prosecutions that followed. The case remains one of the largest unsolved serial murder investigations in American history.
Bibliography
Cawthorne, N. (2007) The Mammoth Book of Killers at Large. London: Robinson.
Henderson, S. (2019) Belle Gunness: The True Story of the Black Widow of La Porte. Independently published.
Langlois, J. (1985) Belle Gunness: Lady Bluebeard. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Schechter, H. (2018) Hell’s Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness. New York: Little A.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1908) ‘Many Bodies Found on Gunness Farm’, 10 May.
The New York Times (1908) ‘Headless Body Found in Indiana Ruins’, 5 May.
The Times (1908) ‘American Farm Horror’, 12 May.
Woollard, H. (2008) ‘The Belle Gunness Case’, Journal of Forensic Sciences, 53(4), pp. 1021–1027.
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