Belle Gunnss Research Paper

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Belle Gunness killed thirteen people. Belle Gunness was a serial killer from Norway who moved and lived in La Porte, Indiana, between 1896 and 1908. Belle Gunness has killed many people, the baseline number being thirteen and the suspected number being forty. No one knows how many she killed in total or why she was killed. We do not know exactly how she killed them, but we have a pretty good idea. So let us explore those ideas and something new and exciting about her. We may not find the definitive answer, but we will learn more about this interesting character known as Belle Gunness, the La Porte Demon. Gunness Origins Belle Gunness was born in Selbu, Norway, on November 11, 1859 Her father, Paul Pedersen Storesth, was a stonemason and her …show more content…

2: The Fig. 2: The Fig. 3: The Fig. 1. Belle Gunness and her children (Female) In January of 1908, a man named Andrew Helgelien left to visit Gunness. Mr. Helgelien took out all of his money and gave it to Gunness. Several days later, he disappeared. When Mr. Helgelien did not return home to South Dakota, his brother Asle Helgelien sent a letter to Gunness questioning Andrew Helgelien's whereabouts. She responded that Andrew Helgelien withdrew all his money to go to Norway ("Female Serial Killer Belle Gunness"). Gunness sent Asle Helgelien a letter inviting him out to the farm to see if he could find where his brother went. During this time, Ray Lamphere fell in love and wanted to marry Gunness. He got jealous, which caused problems for Gunness, so she fired him based on trespassing. In February of 1908, she hired Joe Maxson. Gunness knew Asle Helgelien and Ray Lamphere would be a problem. She would later go to a lawyer and say that Ray Lamphere threatened to kill her and burn down her house. Afterward, she made her will, leaving the estate to her children. Maxson awoke to smoke in the early hours of April 28, 1908. He tried to find Gunness and her kids but to no avail; he was forced to leave the house and run to get help ("Belle Gunness"). Help arrived, but by this, the house was nothing but smoldering ruins (BE1). Belle Gunness Resolution It seems Gunness's crimes have started to come after her, and her timeline of crime was coming to an end; many of her victims follow a similar pattern. Many of the suitors who came to the farm would withdraw most, if not all, of their money and give it to Gunness (Dillon). The family members of these men would never hear from their loved ones ever again. They would question Gunness, and she would say she knew the men, but they left. None of the men told others where they were going, probably a request from Gunness not to tell anyone where they were going. Strangely, the people of La Porte never grew suspicious of Gunness,

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