In the rural expanse of La Porte County, Indiana, Belle Gunness maintained a farm that drew suitors and labourers alike, only for many to vanish without trace.
Belle Gunness arrived in the United States from Norway in 1881. She settled in Chicago before moving to La Porte, where she purchased a substantial property. Her first husband died under circumstances later viewed as suspicious, and insurance payouts followed each subsequent loss. Over the following two decades, a steady stream of men answered her newspaper advertisements seeking marriage or farm work. Few were seen again after reaching the property.
Contemporary records show that at least fourteen people disappeared from the Gunness farm between 1902 and 1908. The victims included potential husbands, hired hands, and three of her own children. Each disappearance coincided with insurance claims or the transfer of property deeds into Gunness’s name. Neighbours noted the frequent arrival of well-dressed visitors who never departed, yet local authorities conducted only cursory checks at the time.
Background
Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth in 1859 in Selbu, Norway. She emigrated at age twenty-two and initially worked as a domestic servant in Chicago. In 1884 she married Mads Sorenson, a watchman. Sorenson died in 1900 from what was recorded as heart failure, though symptoms described in contemporary accounts matched those of strychnine poisoning. Gunness collected two life-insurance policies on him.
She used the proceeds to buy the La Porte farm in 1901. Within months she married Peter Gunness, a local butcher. He died in 1903 after an alleged accident involving a falling meat grinder. Again, insurance money changed hands. Gunness remained on the farm with her children and began placing personal advertisements in Midwestern newspapers.
Life on the Farm
The property comprised forty-two acres with a large farmhouse, barn, and several outbuildings. Gunness employed occasional labourers and hosted a succession of male visitors who arrived by train from Chicago, Minneapolis, and other cities. She corresponded with these men under the name “Belle Sorenson” or similar aliases, often describing herself as a wealthy widow seeking companionship.
Local residents later recalled that many visitors carried cash or valuables. After brief stays, Gunness would report that the men had left for other opportunities. No further inquiries followed in most cases.
The Crimes
Prosecutors later estimated that Gunness killed at least fourteen individuals on the property. The method typically involved poisoning followed by dismemberment and burial in shallow graves or under the hog pen. Victims included Andrew Helgelien, a South Dakota farmer who arrived in January 1908 after extensive correspondence and was never seen alive again.
Gunness also collected insurance on her children. Jennie, Myrtle, and Arthur died in the years before the final fire. Their deaths were attributed to various illnesses, yet later exhumations revealed evidence consistent with poisoning.
Scale of the Operation
Investigators ultimately recovered portions of at least eleven bodies from the farm after the 1908 fire. Additional remains were located in the months that followed. The total number of victims remains uncertain because many potential suitors who answered advertisements were never identified.
Investigation and the Fire
On 28 April 1908 a fire destroyed the Gunness farmhouse. The bodies of three children and an adult female were found in the cellar. The adult remains were initially identified as Gunness, though the head was missing and the torso showed signs of decapitation. Neighbours expressed immediate doubt that the remains belonged to the tall, robust woman they knew.
Discovery of the Graves
Sheriff Albert Smutzer ordered excavation of the property after receiving a letter from Andrew Helgelien’s brother. Workers uncovered multiple graves containing dismembered remains wrapped in oilcloth. Each body showed evidence of blunt-force trauma and chemical burns. Personal items recovered matched descriptions of missing men.
Disappearance and Aftermath
No conclusive proof emerged that Gunness perished in the fire. The missing head and the condition of the adult remains left open the possibility that another woman had been substituted. Sightings of a woman matching Gunness’s description were reported across several states in subsequent years, though none were verified.
Legal Proceedings
Ray Lamphere, a former farmhand, was tried for arson and murder. He was convicted of arson but acquitted of murder. Lamphere maintained until his death that Gunness had escaped and that he had assisted in disposing of bodies at her direction.
Conclusion
The Gunness farm murders stand as one of the most extensive documented cases of serial homicide in early twentieth-century America. The absence of a definitive body and the scale of the disappearances continue to generate scholarly interest in the limits of rural law enforcement at the time. The victims, whose names and stories were largely recovered through persistent investigation, remain the central focus of any account of these events.
Bibliography
Schechter, H. (2008) Hell’s Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men. New York: Little A.
Langlois, J. (1985) Belle Gunness: The Lady Bluebeard. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
La Porte County Historical Society (1908) Official Report on the Gunness Farm Investigation. La Porte: County Archives.
Nickell, J. (2012) ‘The Belle Gunness case’, Skeptical Inquirer, 36(4), pp. 12–17.
St. Joseph County Coroner’s Office (1908) Autopsy Records Relating to the Gunness Property. South Bend: County Records.
Evonitz, R. (2004) American Serial Killers: The Epidemic Years. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Indiana State Archives (1909) Trial Transcripts: State v. Lamphere. Indianapolis: State Printing Office.
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