Post by iceman on Oct 19, 2007 10:12:10 GMT -5
So far I have been doing a little research after coming across questions on this story and the farm that stood in Laporte IN. My friend used to live in Laporte and he heard about the place so this is some of the research I have found on her mainly. Some of it has been disputed so I am not saying it is 100% accurate. She murdered many men by the reports of things to gain the insurance money from their deaths, and by the looks of things back then, she would have been very wealthy. So here is a brief history on "Belle Gunness" whitch will tell you a little about her and her "Farm."
Birth name: Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth
Born: November 22, 1859
Location of birth: Selbu, Norway (she was an imigrant)
Died: 1931?
Number of victims: 20+
Country where killings occurred: USA
States where killings occurred: Illinois, Indiana
Span of killings: July 30, 1900 through 1908
Date apprehended: NEVER CAUGHT
Belle Sorenson Gunness (born Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth, November 22, 1859 in Selbu, Norway- probably died 1931 Los Angeles), was one of America's most profligate known female serial killers. At 6 ft (1.83 m) tall and over 200 lb (91 kg), she was a powerful Norwegian-American woman. She may have killed both of her husbands and all of her children (on different occasions), but she is known to have killed most of her suitors, boyfriends, and her two daughters Myrtle and Lucy. Her apparent motives involved collecting life insurance benefits. Reports estimate that she killed more than twenty people over several decades--some claim more than one hundred--and possibly got away with it. [edit] First Victim?
In 1884, Belle married Mads (“Max”) Albert Sorenson in Chicago, Illinois where, a couple of years later, they opened a confectionary store. The business was not successful; within a year the shop burned down in mysterious circumstances. According to Belle’s story, a kerosene lamp exploded and started the fire. No lamp was ever found in the ruins, but the insurance money was paid. It’s likely that this money bankrolled the purchase of the Sorensons’ home in the suburb of Austin, a house that was also destroyed by fire in 1898. Insurance was collected once again and it funded the acquisition of another dwelling.
Mads died on July 30, 1900 - the only day that two life insurance policies on him overlapped. The first doctor to see Mads' thought he was suffering from strychnine poisoning. However, the Sorenson's family doctor had been treating him for an enlarged heart; he decided that death had been caused by heart failure. An autopsy was not considered necessary in the event of an unsuspicious death. Belle was confident enough to tell the doctor that she had given her late husband medicinal "powders" to help him feel better.
She applied for the insurance money ($8,500), the day after her husband's funeral. The swiftness of this act fuelled the suspicions of her in-laws. Sorenson's relatives claimed that Belle had poisoned her husband to collect on the insurance. Surviving records suggest that an inquest was ordered. It is unclear, however, if that investigation actually took place or whether Sorenson's body was ever exhumed to check for arsenic as his relatives demanded. The insurance companies awarded her $8,500, a large sum of money in those days. It was with this money that she bought a farm on the outskirts of La Porte, Indiana. She moved in with her three daughters.
Though some researchers assert that their union produced no offspring, [citation needed] the records of more consistent investigators show that Belle and Mads had four children - Caroline, Axel, Myrtle and Lucy. Caroline and Axel died in infancy - allegedly of acute colitis. The symptoms of acute colitis - nausea, fever, diarrhea, lower abdominal pain and cramping - are also symptoms of many forms of poisoning. Both children were insured and the insurance company paid off.
Birth name: Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth
Born: November 22, 1859
Location of birth: Selbu, Norway (she was an imigrant)
Died: 1931?
Number of victims: 20+
Country where killings occurred: USA
States where killings occurred: Illinois, Indiana
Span of killings: July 30, 1900 through 1908
Date apprehended: NEVER CAUGHT
Belle Sorenson Gunness (born Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth, November 22, 1859 in Selbu, Norway- probably died 1931 Los Angeles), was one of America's most profligate known female serial killers. At 6 ft (1.83 m) tall and over 200 lb (91 kg), she was a powerful Norwegian-American woman. She may have killed both of her husbands and all of her children (on different occasions), but she is known to have killed most of her suitors, boyfriends, and her two daughters Myrtle and Lucy. Her apparent motives involved collecting life insurance benefits. Reports estimate that she killed more than twenty people over several decades--some claim more than one hundred--and possibly got away with it. [edit] First Victim?
In 1884, Belle married Mads (“Max”) Albert Sorenson in Chicago, Illinois where, a couple of years later, they opened a confectionary store. The business was not successful; within a year the shop burned down in mysterious circumstances. According to Belle’s story, a kerosene lamp exploded and started the fire. No lamp was ever found in the ruins, but the insurance money was paid. It’s likely that this money bankrolled the purchase of the Sorensons’ home in the suburb of Austin, a house that was also destroyed by fire in 1898. Insurance was collected once again and it funded the acquisition of another dwelling.
Mads died on July 30, 1900 - the only day that two life insurance policies on him overlapped. The first doctor to see Mads' thought he was suffering from strychnine poisoning. However, the Sorenson's family doctor had been treating him for an enlarged heart; he decided that death had been caused by heart failure. An autopsy was not considered necessary in the event of an unsuspicious death. Belle was confident enough to tell the doctor that she had given her late husband medicinal "powders" to help him feel better.
She applied for the insurance money ($8,500), the day after her husband's funeral. The swiftness of this act fuelled the suspicions of her in-laws. Sorenson's relatives claimed that Belle had poisoned her husband to collect on the insurance. Surviving records suggest that an inquest was ordered. It is unclear, however, if that investigation actually took place or whether Sorenson's body was ever exhumed to check for arsenic as his relatives demanded. The insurance companies awarded her $8,500, a large sum of money in those days. It was with this money that she bought a farm on the outskirts of La Porte, Indiana. She moved in with her three daughters.
Though some researchers assert that their union produced no offspring, [citation needed] the records of more consistent investigators show that Belle and Mads had four children - Caroline, Axel, Myrtle and Lucy. Caroline and Axel died in infancy - allegedly of acute colitis. The symptoms of acute colitis - nausea, fever, diarrhea, lower abdominal pain and cramping - are also symptoms of many forms of poisoning. Both children were insured and the insurance company paid off.
