Born: 11 November 1859, Norway
Died: 28 April 1908
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Brynhild Paulsdatter Størset
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Lured by matrimonial ads from Chicago area newspapers to a farm house in rural LaPorte, Indiana, over 40 wealthy suitors meet their ends at the hands of Belle Gunness, one of the century’s “most fiendish” murderesses. After a suspicious fire leveled the house killing her children, authorities would later unearth scores of missing men’s bodies from the “murder farm,” many beheaded and dismembered.
Timeline
April 28, 1908 The house of Belle Gunness in LaPorte, indiana, burns down in the middle of the night, killing her and her three children. A headless body and suspicious graves mystify police.
May 8, 1908 Federal authorities order the arrest of Chicago matrimonial agency managers in connection with the suspected murders.
May 8-29, 1908 Investigators unearth over a dozen bodies, most of men that Belle Gunness lured to their deaths through matrimonial ads.
November 26, 1908 Ray Lamphere, charged with the murder of Belle Gunness and her children, is found guilty of arson.