The first doctor to see him thought he had suffered from strychnine poisoning. Gunness claimed that Sorenson had come home with a headache, and she had given him quinine. Hunting Humans: The Rise of Modern Multiple Murder examined the _____ _____ of serial murders. What's more, Gunness simply vanished off the face of the earth at the same time her crimes came to light. 695A07, 1860-1877, s. 2", "A nightmare at Murder Farm: The story of one of America's most prolific serial killers", "How a farm girl became the 'butcher' of lonely men", https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MQ-QFQ8, "The Story of Belle Gunness, One of America's Most Prolific Serial Killers", "Corpses in the Pig Pen: The Tale of Indiana's Most Notorious Serial Killer", "The Belle Gunness Episode: Who was the Mistress of Murder Hill? Newly flush with cash, Gunness bought a 48-acre farm in La Porte, Indiana. Then, learn about Leonarda Cianciulli, the serial killer who turned her victims into soap and teacakes. Several more unexplained deaths followed, including the infant daughter of her new husband, Peter Gunness, followed by Peter Gunness himself. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. When a victim arrived, she made him comfortable, charming him and cooking a large meal. She was nicknamed "Hell's Belle" after it was discovered that she was a prolific serial killer. When Andrew left home, he withdrew his life savings from the bank and was never heard from again. He searched the property on his own and shouted to the men to start digging in the rubbish hole in Belles hog pen. Anderson was so startled by the ravenous expression in Gunness eyes that he left immediately. She was a giant of a woman, with a bloodthirst so strong it led her to kill upwards of 25 people. [15][16] Described as worried as to the peace of the families of the victims, Schell offered the confession to Bechly, which was later published. Without saying goodbye, he fled the house and ran away, getting on the first train headed to Missouri. After murdering her two husbands, the Norwegian-American woman posted ads in the paper looking for men to invest in her farm. Henry Gurholdt of Scandinavia, Wisconsin, had gone to wed her a year earlier, taking $1,500. [29], In the Garden of Spite: A Novel of the Black Widow of LaPorte is a US-published 2021 novel by Camilla Bruce with elements of "Norwegian noir and true crime" based on the life of Belle Gunness. However, she never went to the police to tell them about Lampheres allegedly life-threatening statements. At the time, Gunness did not mention that she was pregnant, despite the possibility that it might have inspired sympathy, and in May 1903, Gunness gave birth to a son she named Phillip. Elliot Leyton. Belle explained that Peter reached for something on a high shelf and a meat grinder fell on him, smashing his skull. However, when he was introduced to Andrew Hegelian Belles new husband-to-be, he made a scene, and Belle promptly fired him on February 3, 1908. He had romantic feelings for Gunness and resented all the men that showed up at her property. Gunness married her first husband shortly after moving to America, but he died under suspicious circumstances, leaving behind a sizable life insurance policy. The 100-Year Mystery Of "Lady Bluebeard". They had four children together but two allegedly died of acute colitis. Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth on November 11, 1859 in Selbu, Norway. But, there was another side to the woman that Lamphere saw, and soon the local folk would as well. One common, but unverified story, says that when she was about 18 years old, she was pregnant and attended a country dance. [20] The inconsistencies between the two confessions, including the matter of the survival of Belle Gunness, remain historical issues that are not fully resolved. Although no one ever saw Moe again, a carpenter who did occasional work for Gunness observed that Moe's trunk remained in her house, along with more than a dozen others. Belle had anywhere from 13 to 42 victims. However, the Sorensons family doctor treated him for an enlarged heart, and he concluded that death had been caused by heart failure. YouTubeRay Lamphere, the ex-handyman of Belle Gunness. In December 1902, Peter himself met with a tragic accident. According to Belle, he was struck on the head when a sausage-grinding machine had toppled off a high shelf in the kitchen. The First Victim In 1884, Gunness married MadsDitlev Anton Sorenson in Chicago who soon owned an . Older children (Caroline and Axel) die in infancy, and also from abdominal pain. They then found the small bodies of two unidentified children. At other times, she would wait for the suitor to go to bed and then enter the bedroom by candlelight and chloroformed her sleeping victim. In 1893, Belle met and married Mads Sorenson. Two people who had known Gunness claimed to recognize her from photographs in her possession, but the identification was never proved. We try to fit the pieces together through a few old photos, family and county records, and folklore. Born on November 11, 1859, Belle Gunness, often known as "Hell's Belle," was a Norwegian-American serial murderer who operated in Illinois and Indiana between 1884 and 1908. In addition to three . Next up was George Anderson from Missouri. 4) What were the first documented crimes connected to Belle Gunness? [12], Immediate inspection of the site revealed that there were dozens of such "slumped depressions" in the Gunness yard, and further digging and investigation at the site yielded multiple burlap sacks containing "torsos and hands, arms hacked from the shoulders down, masses of human bone wrapped in loose flesh that dripped like jelly", from trash-covered depressions that proved to be graves. No replies by letter considered unless sender is willing to follow answer with personal visit. [7], Peter died eight months later due to a skull injury. She then torched the small brick farmhouse and fled. Carlson died on May 6, 1931, while awaiting trial. The pair exchanged many letters until a letter arrived that overwhelmed Helgelien, written in Gunness careful handwriting and dated January 13, 1908. But in reality, she was a serial killer who murdered at least 14 people. No explanation was provided for what happened to the body's head. Her foster mother initially claimed that shed been sent to school in California. Fellow Norwegian-Americans flocked to her property hoping for a taste of home along with a solid business opportunity. The story of Belle Gunness makes you wonder if some people don't really need motivation, some people . By now, Gunness had purchased a farm in La Porte, Indiana. Despite the arrest, Lamphere returned again and again to see her, but she drove him away. [2] She killed most of her suitors and boyfriends, and her two daughters, Myrtle and Lucy. [21], After Gunness' crimes came to light, the Gunness farm became a tourist attraction. The daughter of a stonemason, Gunness immigrated to the United States in 1881 in search of wealth. Belle Gunness. Between 1884 and 1908, the Norwegian immigrant is believed to have slain over 40 people in Chicago, Illinois, and La Porte, Indiana, profiting from insurance claims and other scams before disappearing without a trace. And, worse, according to Lamphere, if she was overly tired, she would chop up the remains and feed them to the hogs. Before long, news of the gruesome discovery spread throughout the nation. John H. McJunkin of Coraopolis (near Pittsburgh) left his wife in December 1906 after corresponding with a La Porte woman. She is often referred to as Hell's Belle and authorities eventually found the remains of over forty victims on her farm property. Belle Gunness was known as many things: the "Female Bluebeard," the "High-Priestess of Murder," the "Mistress of the Castle of Death," the "Queen of Crime," and "Hell's Princess." . Gunness emigrated to the United States in February 1901 together with her two children, Myrtle and Lucy. (Darron Cummings/AP) As the tale of the "Murder Farm" fanned across the country, investigators were joined by. Belle Gunness was born Brynild Paulsdatter Strseth on November 11, 1859 near Selbu, Norway. When they finally discovered his destination, they wrote to her, and she promptly responded, saying she had never seen their father. Gunness deflected. Helgelien, like other victims before him, decided to take a chance on love. Usually accompanied by a handsome man, she was unrecognizable from the rough farm woman the locals were used to seeing. Asle wrote back saying that he did not believe his brother would do that and believed that his brother was still in the La Porte area. While there, she was attacked by a man who kicked her in the abdomen, causing her to miscarry. [citation needed] Bechly attempted to convince Schell to allow him to publish this later confession, but was denied by both Schell and Schell's wife. This is a story that will shock you more than most, because of t .more Get A Copy Kindle Unlimited $0.00 Amazon Stores Frank Riedinger, a farmer of Waukesha, Wisconsin, came to Indiana in 1907 to marry and never returned. Jennies body would later be found buried on her adoptive mothers property. Biography.com From 1884 to 1908, it's believed that Belle Gunness killed, at least, 14 people. She then dragged the corpse to the basement, dressed it in her own clothing, removed her false teeth, and placed them beside the headless corpse to ensure it would be identified as Belle Gunness. [26], In 2017, true crime podcast My Favorite Murder performed and later released a live episode detailing Gunness' crimes. Edward Bechly, a journalist, was given a secret assignment to acquire access to a confession and publish it, thus bringing a second, inconsistent Lamphere account to light. Can you conceive of anything nicer? Belle collected $3,000 insurance money for Peter's death. A short time later, the man who had kicked her died of what was said to be stomach cancer. He had with him $1,000 from an insurance company and had borrowed money from several investors. Authorities eventually found the remains of over 40 victims on her property, but Belle disappeared without a trace. Gunness had a system. Or maybe she had developed a taste for murder. A series of deaths and disappearances of people associated with her followed, many of which fetched her insurance . She died of tuberculosis while awaiting trial. Soon enough, Gunness was depositing checks brought by her suitors, while the lovelorn men were never heard from again. [1] According to Lamphere, this impending visit motivated Gunness to destroy her house, fake her own death, and flee. Several middle-aged men of means responded to Gunness ads, and within no time, Belle was often seen going for carriage rides with strangers on Sunday afternoons. She contended that he posed a threat to her family and had Lamphere arrested for trespassing. What is certain is that she murdered most of her boyfriends and her two daughters, Myrtle and Lucy. Further digging yielded more grisly discoveries. . We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,.css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}contact us! Meanwhile, Asle Helgelien had read about the fire in the newspaper. Best Known For: Serial killer Belle Gunness is reported to have murdered more than 40 people between 1884 and 1908 before disappearing without a trace. Their home had also burned down, and both instances granted the couple insurance payouts. Ted Bundy's reason for killing. Hoping to find a clue related to his brothers disappearance, Helgelien and the farmhand began to dig up a pile of soft dirt in the hog pen. Meanwhile, neighbors noted that Gunness had begun to spend an unusual amount of time at her hog pen at night. Workers sifting through the debris discovered four bodies in the basement later in the day. Those that could be identified included: The unidentified bodies and unsolved mysteries that would emerge from these ruins would make headlines across the Midwest. Maxson said there were many deep depressions in the ground covered by dirt. So far, Belle Gunness had been able to largely escape detection or suspicion. You, the sweetest man in the whole world. Shutterstock. In the ruins, authorities found the bodies of a headless adult woman, initially identified as Belle Gunness, and her three children. Either way, the twice-widowed Gunness began posting personal ads in Norwegian-language newspapers to find a new companion. Gunness was back a few days later to complain to the sheriff that Lamphere had visited her farm and argued with her. Lamphere later confessed that Gunness had placed advertisements seeking male companionship, only to murder and rob the men who responded and subsequently visited her on the farm. [1] Lamphere stated that Gunness asked him to burn down the farmhouse with her children inside. The suitors kept coming, but none, except for the lucky Anderson, ever left the Gunness farm. The farm of Belle Gunness, where authorities made a series of grisly discoveries in 1908. Simmons is a forensic anthropologist who investigated the Belle Gunness case. 3) What groups of people were Gunness' victims? When drinking, Lamphere often boasted of sleeping with his employer, which came as a surprise to those who only saw Belle as the burly woman who liked to dress in mens overalls and do her own hog butchering. The investigators began to sift through the debris, and a piece of bridgework was found; the dentist identified it as work done for Gunness. She also posted ads in lovelorn columns to attract wealthy bachelors. These filled-in holes, Gunness had told Maxson, contained rubbish. The family of one of Belle's victims gave Nawrocki and his team an envelope sent from the LaPorte . But they could identify Jennie Olsen Gunness foster daughter who had left for California. And it soon became clear that Gunness was behind some horrific crimes. The most well-known letters that Belle Gunness wrote was to her final victim Andrew Helgelein. But, when the coroner looked at the body, he allegedly muttered: This is a case of murder.. Sorenson died of cerebral hemorrhage that day. In 1884 Belle Gunness married Mads Albert Sorenson. Unfortunately, there was not enough DNA, so the mystery remains unsolved. A couple of months later, Maxson awoke in the early hours of April 28, 1908, smelling smoke in his room on the second floor of the Gunness house. The number murdered was estimated to be as many as 40. Born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth in Norway, Belle Gunness moved to the United States in 1881 at the age of 22. In 1884 Belle Gunness married Mads Albert Sorenson. Belle Gunness, birth name Brynhild Paulsdatter Strset, was born in Selbu, Sr-Trndelag, Norway, on November 11, 1859. After they had corresponded for several months, Moe travelled to La Porte and withdrew a large amount of cash. She was called a serial killer because she killed men . Also unclear is how many victims Gunness had killed. For starters, she was a woman. Answer: Chicago, Illinois Belle and Mads were married in 1884. Then, Sorensen died, not at all suspiciously on the day that one life insurance policy was set to expire and another had just come into effect. Though the coroner ruled that the kids had died of colitis, their symptoms were also consistent with poisoning. Belle Sorenson Gunness (born as Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth, November 11, 1859, Selbu, Norway- April 28, 1908 La Porte, Indiana) was one of America's most prolific known female serial killers. The Truth about Belle Gunness (MysteriousPress.com/Open Road), This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 01:28. Her store and her home burned down, She and her husband collected the Or perhaps she simply wanted to be free to kill again. At the time of her supposed death in 1908, Gunness lived on a farm in LaPorte, IN. She then drugged his coffee and when the man was in a stupor, she split his head with a meat chopper. Also counted was an adopted 10-year-old girl, identified as Morgan Couch, but who was later known as Jennie Olsen. [23], Gunness has also been the subject of at least two American musical ballads. However, The New York Post suggests that she may have killed as many as 28 people, while Mental Floss claims that she killed "at least 20." Come prepared to stay forever. Not long afterward, their home and the store mysteriously burned down. Chares Neiburg, a 28-year-old Scandinavian immigrant living in Philadelphia, told friends that he would visit Gunness in June 1906 and never returned he had been working for a saloon keeper and took $500 with him. Sheriff Smutzer then took a dozen men back to the farm and began to dig, and on May 3, 1908, the diggers unearthed the body of Jennie Olson, who had vanished in December 1906. [9] The couple owned a candy store which later burned to the ground. All told, the remains of more than forty men and children were exhumed. He died there of tuberculosis on December 30, 1909. Second husband, Peter (Peder) Gunness. Think how we will enjoy each others company. Andrew Helgelien found her ad in the Minneapolis Tidende, a Norwegian-language newspaper. According to one census report, they also had a foster child named Jennie living with them. It was claimed that her head was decapitated and her home set on fire. Afterward, the locals said that Brynhilds personality drastically changed. ", "Female Indiana serial killer, the 'comely' Belle Gunness, loved her suitors to death", "Day Trip: Step into Historic LaPorte, Indiana; Visit 19th Century Courthouse, Museum, Miniature Horse Farm", "Potempa: Murderess Belle Gunness film starting production in LaPorte", "a book review by C. C. Harrison: In the Garden of Spite: A Novel of the Black Widow of La Porte", https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/317016/triflers-need-not-apply-by-bruce-camilla/9781405945455, Belle Gunness, the Lady Bluebeard: Narrative Use of a Deviant Woman, Only Belle: Bare Belle - En seriemorder fra Selbu, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belle_Gunness&oldid=1141635952, Articles lacking reliable references from July 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019, Articles with incomplete citations from July 2019, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from July 2019, Pages using infobox criminal with motive parameter, Articles needing additional references from July 2019, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lillian de la Torre (1955). [12] Lucas Reilly, quoting The Chicago Inter Ocean in Mental Floss, noted that, The bones had been crushed on the ends, as though they had been struck with hammers after they were dismembered [and that] Quicklime had been scattered over the faces and stuffed in the ears. She murdered over 40 people between 1884 and 1908 (1). Whether Gunness died in the fire or escaped remained uncertain, although the sheriff blamed a Chicago American reporter for inventing the "escaped" story. Over 40 victims had been found, including lovers, her husbands, and even her own children. It is believed the couple produced two children whom Gunness poisoned in infancy for the insurance money. Director Duncan Roy Writers Katie L. Fetting (screenplay) Duncan Roy (story) Stars Elizabeth Hurley Jeremy Sisto Oliver Tobias [12] In each case, the body had been butchered in the same mannerthe body decapitated, the arms removed at the shoulders, and the legs severed at the knees. Suspicious, Asle started asking questions around town and then came the fire. Belle Sorenson Gunness, a notorious female serial killer born November 11, 1859 and declared dead April 28, 1908 was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storseth. It remains unconfirmed when and where Belle Gunness actually died. Although he almost left, Helgelien became convinced that he couldnt do so without looking harder for Andrew. One of Robinson's surviving victims led to his eventual arrest. Lamphere was to wait for her at a designated place on the road after the fire was set. . One of her ads was answered by a Wisconsin farmhand, Henry Gurholt. 1908) left her native Norway in 1881, at the age of 21, to travel to Chicago. Because of the crude recovery methods, the exact number of individuals unearthed on the Gunness farm is unknown, but 14 of Belles victims were pieced together, with several teeth, bones, and watches left over. Gunness is a rare female serial killer-for-profit, although she seems to have had other motives as well. Belle Gunness was one of the first "Black Widows" and became a prolific serial killer. Though her husband's family demanded an inquiry, no charges were filed. She changed her name to Belle Petersen and moved in with her sister Nellie and her husband, who had immigrated a few years before Belle did. The powerful 48-year-old woman would then carry the body to the basement, where she most often dissected it, bundled the remains, and then buried them in the hog pen. [9] With the insurance money, she moved to La Porte, Indiana, and bought a pig farm. The district coroner reviewed the case, unequivocally announced that he had been murdered, and convened a coroners jury to look into the matter. On April 28, 1908, a fire destroyed a family farm near La Porte, Indiana. She then went to work as a servant on a wealthy farm for the next several years. But did Lamphere actually cause the fire? A brother of Miss Jennie Graham of Waukesha, Wisconsin, who had left her to marry a wealthy widow in La Porte but vanished. The home belonged to Belle Gunness, a woman who had lived in La Porte since 1901. Ole B. Budsberg of Iola, Wisconsin, vanished in May 1907. [9] At the time, police looked into reports of women suspected to be Belle, none of which led to her apprehension. Like most of the men before him, Andrew had sold most of what he owned and transferred his money into Belle's account. Little is known about her early life. He also swore to the reverend, as well as a fellow convict, that he had not murdered anyone. Bell Gunness killed more than ___ people over several decades. Norwegian born Belle Gunness was born as Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth in November 1859. The Story Of Belle Gunness, The Meat Cleaver-Wielding Serial Killer Of Turn-Of-The-Century Indiana. He slammed the door and then, in his underwear, leaped from the second-story window, barely surviving the fire that was closing in around him. She was raised on a small farm in Innbygda, Norway, and grew up to be a physically very strong woman, standing 5 9 tall and weighing over 200 pounds. Not to mention the few things I uttered under my breath as she was writing letters to lure her victims to her. On June 13, 1900, Gunness and her family were counted on the United States Census in Chicago, recording her as the mother of four children, of whom only two were living: Myrtle A. and Lucy B. An unknown man and woman are alleged to have disappeared in September 1906, the same night Jennie Olson went missing. Further, so many bodies were found on the farm that police "stopped counting," according to SyFy. Concurrently, Gunness had begun to develop problems with a farmhand named Ray Lamphere. The farmhouse had belonged to Belle Gunness, at the time simply believed to be a widowed Norwegian immigrant but now infamous for being one of the most prolific female serial killers in the United States. Belle Gunness's First Husband. There, Gunness met her first known victim: her husband, Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson, whom she married in 1884. Daniel Rennie is a freelance writer residing in Melbourne, Australia. General Information Sex Female Race White Number of victims 16 further plus 12 possible equals 28 In fact, the farmhand did. Leliter, telling him she feared for her life and her children. Several other middle-aged men appeared and disappeared in brief visits to the Gunness farm throughout 1907. Gunness collected money from both the expiring life insurance policy, and the one that went into effect that day, making a total of $5,000. Next, Belle presented herself to a lawyer in La Porte named M.E. For these reasons and others, it's impossible to say how many people Gunness murdered. Harvey's first-known victim died in 1970, and it wasn't until 1987 that he pleaded guilty to killing 37 people most of whom he murdered while working in Cincinnati and London, Kentucky . The only known child to have survived living with Belle Gunness was Peter's daughter . But, for one reason or another, Gunness decided to emigrate from Selbu to Chicago in 1881. She wanted the ground made level, so he filled in the depressions. These are famous words by the convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos who was put to death by lethal injection on October 9, 2002. [7], Gunness began placing marriage ads in Chicago newspapers in 1905. My mama killed my papa, Olsen allegedly told her schoolmates. An older sister, likely named Nellie, emigrated to the United States in the early 1880s. Norwegian born Belle Gunness immigrated to the U.S. in 1881. Most famous serial killers are men, but Belle was a woman. Belle Gunness, born Brynhild Paulsdatter Strseth (November 11, 1859[3] possibly April 28, 1908), nicknamed Hell's Belle,[1] was a Norwegian-American serial killer who was active in Illinois and Indiana between 1884 and 1908. As a result, Coroner Charles Mack officially concluded that the adult female body discovered in the ruins was Belle Gunness. He was last seen alive at the La Porte Savings Bank on April 6, 1907, when he mortgaged his Wisconsin land there, signed over a deed, and obtained several thousand dollars in cash. Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2022. On-site was County Sheriff Albert Smutzer, who had heard about Lampheres alleged threats. The local dentist then stepped in, stating that he could make an identification if any dental work could be found. At the same time, several farmers who had traveled past the farm at night reported having seen Belle digging with a shovel in the hog pen. His widow, Gunness, collected on both policies $150,000 in todays dollars which she could have only done on that day. He was jealous of the many men who arrived at court his employer and had endured most of these attentive strangers up to this time. After the fire, her victims were unearthed from their shallow graves around the farm. In 1906, Belle Gunness connected with her final victim. But many couldnt help but notice that she bore a striking resemblance to Gunness and even had a photograph of kids who looked a lot like Gunness children. Belle Gunness, one of the most successful murderers in Illinois. ; Man-Eater: The Life and Legend of an American . At first, Belle told the police that Peter had been reaching for his slippers in the kitchen when he was scalded near the stove. Story by Thomas Duke, 1910 . The couple collected the insurance money and bought a new home. Some documented serial killers from history, we know very little about. [11] Further investigation unearthed the partial remains of at least 11 additional people on the Gunness property. For a while, Helgelien assisted police as they sorted through the rubble. However, there was a rather glaring problem with their conclusion: the body of the adult was headless not something that generally happens in a fire. When the smoke cleared, authorities were left with so many bodies that they "stopped counting," according to Mental Floss. La Porte County Historical Society MuseumInvestigators search for more bodies on Belle Gunnesss farm after the initial discoveries in 1908. Edgar Award Finalist: The true story of the female Norwegian immigrant who led a secret life as a serial killer in the early twentieth-century Midwest. Come prepared to stay forever.. And she was different in another way as well. Well this is just what I would like to know but it almost seems impossible for me to give a definite answer.. Lamphere also cleared up the mysterious question of the headless female corpse found in the smoking ruins of Gunness home. Belle also began posting notices in lovelorn columns to entice wealthy men to her farm, after which they were never seen again. Where was Belle Gunness born? The investigators had previously checked her bank accounts, and though a small amount was remaining in one of her savings accounts, the money in all other accounts had been completely withdrawn shortly before the fire, suggesting that the evil woman had created a great hoax and evaded the law. However, by the time anyone suspected Gunness in their deaths, they'd been dead for decades and their suspected murderer had vanished. In the belief that the headless corpse was, in fact, Belle Gunness, the remains were buried next to Belles first husband, Mads Sorenson, at Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois. Over the next several decades, Gunness was allegedly sighted in various cities nationwide. Reported other unnamed victims may have been: Bones and Body parts found at the Gunness farm. At first, investigators believed the bodies to be Belle Gunness and her three children: Myrtle, age eleven, Lucy, age nine; and Phillip, age five. In her 1955 book The Truth About Belle Gunness, Lillian de la Torre said this little gem was part of a fake letter concocted by bored reporters who couldn't get their hands on the real letters during Lamphere's trial. However, Gunness successfully convinced the investigators that she was innocent of any wrongdoing. She hit him with a meat cleaver and he died. This is what is known, and what is suspected, about the number of victims serial killer Belle Gunness had. After reading about Belle Gunness, take a look at Judy Buenoano, another infamous black widow serial killer.