First Question [podcast] Belle Gunness short show notes

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Born as Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth

Belle Gunness, nee Paulsen was born in Christiania, Norway, on November 11, 1859. Her father was Peter Paulsen.

Classification: Serial killer

Characteristics: Her apparent motives involved collecting life insurance, cash, and other valuables, and eliminating witnesses

Number of victims: 13 - 42

Date of murder: 1880's - 1908

Date of birth: November 22, 1859

Victims profile: Men and children (She killed most of her suitors and boyfriends, and her two daughters, Myrtle and Lucy. She may also have killed both of her husbands and all of her children, on different occasions)

Method of murder: Poisoning (strychnine) / Bludgeoning

Location: Illinois/Indiana, USA

Status: On April 28, 1908, the bodies of Gunness' children were found in the home's wreckage, but the headless adult female corpse found with them was never positively identified. She was never tracked down and her death has never been confirmed.

 

Belle was 6’ tall and was a minimum weight of 200lbs, at a minimum--some even report that she was between 220-280lbs.

Belle was a sturdy child and a sturdy woman, with dark, frizzy hair and features that sat oddly on her face.

When Belle was a child, she participated in the exhibitions by dancing on the tight-rope.

Belle grew up poor and would grow into an adult who would never feel that she had enough money.

Gunness' origins are a matter of some debate. Most of her biographers state that she was born on November 11, 1859, near the lake of Selbu, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway, and christened Brynhild Paulsdatter Størset. Her parents were Paul Pedersen Størset (a stonemason) and Berit Olsdatter. She was the youngest of their eight children. They lived at Størsetgjerdet, a very small cotter's farm in Innbygda, 60 km southeast of Trondheim, the largest city in central Norway (Trøndelag).

 

First victim: Belle’s Husband, Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson, whom she met in 1884, married, then opened a candy shop with.

 

The shop doesn’t do very well

 

 When the business was not successful; within a year the shop mysteriously burned down. They collected the insurance, which paid for another home.

Though some researchers assert that the Sorenson union produced no offspring, other investigators report that the couple 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, and lower abdominal pain and cramping — are also symptoms of many forms of poisoning. Both Caroline's and Axel's lives were reportedly insured, and the insurance company paid out.

 

 

 

 

Sources:

*Murderpedia: https://murderpedia.org/female.G/g/gunness-belle.htm

*Biography: https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/belle-gunness

*Historical Crime Detective: https://www.historicalcrimedetective.com/ccca/belle-gunness-story/