Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men

by Harold Schechter

  16. Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1908, p. 2.

  17. Ibid.

  18. Ann Jones, Women Who Kill (New York: Fawcett Crest, 1980), p. 137; La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 7, 1908, p. 1. Previous sources say that the Sorensons bought the Alma Street property in 1896. Records show, however, that it was purchased in September 1895. Moreover, Bella is listed as sole owner of the property. See tract book, vol. 106A, p. 196, Cook County Recorder of Deeds, Chicago, Illinois.

  19. Caroline was born in March 1896; Myrtle on February 6, 1897; Axel in January 1898; and Lucy on Christmas Day, 1898.

  20. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 6, 1908, p. 2.

  21. By contrast, the US infant mortality rate in 2015 was fewer than six deaths for every one thousand live births. The causes of death for Caroline and Axel can be found in the official Records of Interments at the Forest Home Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois.

  22. “Sorenson et al. vs. Yukon Mining & Trading Company, Bill in Chancery, Filed June 3, 1898, Circuit Court of Cook County,” on file at the Circuit Court Archives, Cook County, Chicago, Illinois.

  23. “Bella Sorenson et al. vs. Yukon Mining & Trading Company et al., Notice, Motion, and Affidavits of Hogenson, Anderson, & Rosenberg, Filed June 16, 1898, in Circuit Court, Cook County,” on file at the Circuit Court Archives, Cook County, Chicago, Illinois.

  24. “Bella Sorenson et al. vs. Yukon Mining & Trading Company et al., Copy of Decree,” on file at the Circuit Court Archives, Cook County, Chicago, Illinois.

  25. Chicago Tribune, April 11, 1900, p. 1.

  26. Chicago Daily Journal, May 8, 1908, p. 2; Chicago Tribune, May 8, 1908, p. 2; Record of Interments, August 1900, Forest Home Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois.

  27. Chicago Inter Ocean, May 7, 1908, p. 3.

  28. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 7, 1908, p. 1.

  CHAPTER THREE

  1. Langlois, pp. 34–36.

  2. Chicago Daily News, May 9, 1908, p. 1.

  3. Indianapolis News, May 9, 1908, p. 4; Sylvia Shepherd, The Mistress of Murder Hill: The Serial Killings of Belle Gunness (Bloomington, IN: 1stBooks Library, 2001), p. 17.

  4. Langlois, pp. 37–40.

  5. Ibid., p. 37.

  6. Lillian de la Torre, The Truth About Belle Gunness (New York: Fawcett/Gold Medal Books, 1955), p. 13.

  7. See Duluth News-Tribune, May 13, 1908, p. 2, and Chicago Daily Journal, May 9, 1908, p. 1.

  8. “Indiana’s Murder Farm,” Harper’s Weekly, Vol. LII, No. 268 (May 30, 1908), p. 23.

  9. Records of Interments, August 1902, Forest Home Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois.

  10. Albert Nicholson’s recollections were transcribed on July 28, 1951. The typescript is filed in the archives of the La Porte County Historical Society, as is the full transcript of the coroner’s inquest held on December 17, 1902, which contains the testimony of both Swan Nicholson and Jennie Gunness. See also de la Torre, pp. 41–45.

  11. Fort Wayne Daily News, December 1, 1902, pp. 1 and 2, and December 4, 1902, p. 1. Also see La Porte Argus-Bulletin, December 16, 1902, p. 1, and December 17, 1902, p. 1.

  12. Bowell’s postmortem report is contained in the transcript of the coroner’s inquest, December 17, 1902, filed in the archives of the La Porte County Historical Society.

  13. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, December 19, 1902, p. 1.

  14. Langlois, p. 108.

  15. de la Torre, p. 45.

  16. Ibid.

  17. Coroner’s inquest, archives of the La Porte County Historical Society.

  18. de la Torre, p. 45.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  1. Langlois, pp. 56–57.

  2. Duluth News-Tribune, May 13, 1908, p. 2.

  3. Langlois, pp. 45–48.

  4. Ibid., pp. 49–50.

  5. Langlois, p. 58.

  6. Ibid., pp. 60, 61–62, and 66–67. See also Stuart Holbrook, Murder Out Yonder: An Informal Study of Certain Classic Crimes in Back-Country America (New York: Macmillan, 1941), p. 127.

  7. Shepherd, p. 69.

  8. Decatur Herald, May 23, 1908, p. 1.

  9. Paula K. Hinton, “‘Come Prepared to Stay Forever’: The Tale of a Murderess in Turn-of-the-Century America,” diss. (Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 2001), p. 41.

  10. Ibid.

  11. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Unidentified Person, Gunness Farm, Henry Gurholt?, Deposition of Witness Martin Gurholt, Exhibit ‘B,’” on file in the archives of the La Porte Historical Society Museum.

  12. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witnesses, Exhibit ‘C,’ Chris Christofferson, May 26, 1908,” on file in the archives of the La Porte Historical Society Museum.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  1. A facsimile of one of these ads is on display in the Belle Gunness exhibit at the La Porte County Historical Society.

  2. La Porte Weekly Herald, May 14, 1908, p. 8; Shepherd, p. 64; Hinton, p. 34.

  3. Hinton, p. 46.

  4. Richmond Times Dispatch, June 10, 1908, p. 1.

  5. Hinton, p. 46; de la Torre, p. 55.

  6. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 8, 1908, p. 1.

  7. Grand Forks Evening Times, May 15, 1908, p. 3. Moe’s last name is sometimes reported as “Moo.”

  8. de la Torre, p. 16; New York Tribune, May 10, 1908, p. 1; Shepherd, p. 53.

  9. Otago Daily Times, November 30, 1908, p. 5; Hinton, p. 31; La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 11, 1908, p. 1.

  10. Shepherd, p. 52.

  11. La Porte Weekly Herald, May 14, 1908, p. 8; Langlois, pp. 77–78; Shepherd, pp. 51–52; Anon., The Mrs. Gunness Mystery! (Chicago: Thompson & Thomas, 1908), pp. 66–67.

  CHAPTER SIX

  1. de la Torre, p. 17.

  2. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 11, 1908, p. 1; de la Torre, p. 18.

  3. New York Sun, May 10, 1908, p. 2; La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 14, 1908.

  4. de la Torre, p. 18; Anon., The Mrs. Gunness Mystery!, pp. 84–85; Troy Taylor, “Come Prepared to Stay Forever”: The Madness of Belle Gunness. Hell Hath No Fury, Book 5 (Decatur, IL: Whitechapel Press, 2013).

  5. de la Torre, p. 19.

  6. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 18, 1908, p. 1.

  7. Marion Daily Mirror, May 19, 1908, p. 2; Washington Herald, May 10, 1908, p. 3.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  1. All contemporary newspaper articles on the case, as well as virtually all succeeding accounts, spell the name “Helgelein.” However, on the Find-a-Grave website, there is a photograph of Andrew’s gravestone in which his last name is spelled “Helgelien.” There is a note on the site stating: “The name Helgelien as spelled on the gravestone is confirmed by family members to be correct. An alternate spelling (e.g., Helgelein) seen elsewhere is not correct.”

  2. Asle Helgelien, Andrew’s brother, said that he had found eighty letters from Belle among his brother’s belongings. During Ray Lamphere’s trial, however, newspapers reported that the prosecution was in possession of seventy-five letters from Belle to Andrew. See La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 18, 1908, p. 1, and November 19, 1908, p. 3.

  3. Ted Hartzell, “Belle Gunness’ Poison Pen,” American History, Vol. 43, No. 2 (June 2008), p. 50.

  4. Chicago Evening American, November 18, 1908, p. 3.

  5. Indianapolis Star, May 7, 1908, p. 3; Chicago Daily Journal, May 8, 1908, p. 1. Some accounts say that Helgelien robbed and torched the post office not in Red Wing but in Norway, Minnesota.

  6. My thanks to Katherine Ramsland for providing me with typed transcripts of Belle’s surviving letters to Helgelien.

  7. Hartzell, p. 53.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

&nb
sp; 1. de la Torre, p. 19.

  2. Shepherd, p. 30.

  3. de la Torre, p. 104.

  4. Shepherd, p. 28; Altoona Morning Tribune, November 18, 1908, p. 1; La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 14, 1908, p. 1.

  5. La Porte Weekly Herald, May 14, 1908, p. 1.

  CHAPTER NINE

  1. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, November 17, 1908, p.1.

  2. Chicago Tribune, May 8, 1908, p. 1. Some accounts spell her last name “Cone.”

  3. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, November 17, 1908, p.1.

  4. Compare, for example, La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 9, 1908, p. 1, and La Porte Weekly Herald, November 26, 1908, p. 1.

  5. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, April 29, 1908, p. 1, May 9, 1908, p. 1, and November 19, 1908, p. 1.

  6. Transcripts of this and other letters between Asle Helgelien and Belle Gunness were provided to me by Dr. Katherine Ramsland.

  7. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 9, 1908, p. 1; de la Torre, p. 107. Belle’s original “Statement Alleging Insanity” is on file at the La Porte County Historical Society.

  8. Josh Chaney, “Story About Belle Gunness,” unpublished manuscript on file at the La Porte County Historical Society Museum; Hinton, p. 89; La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 9, 1908, p. 1.

  9. de la Torre, p. 21; La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 9, 1908, p. 1.

  10. de la Torre, p. 107.

  11. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 13, 1908, p. 8.

  CHAPTER TEN

  1. La Porte Weekly Herald, May 14, 1908, p. 16. The La Porte Argus-Bulletin of May 8, 1908, reports the teacher’s name as Jennie Garwood.

  2. Chicago Inter Ocean, April 30, 1908, p. 12; de la Torre, p. 21. A transcript of Belle’s will is in the archives of the La Porte Historical Society Museum.

  3. Chaney, p. 27.

  4. La Porte Weekly Herald, May 14, 1908, p. 15.

  5. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, November 18, 1908, p. 1; de la Torre, p. 109.

  6. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, November 18, 1908, p. 1; de la Torre, p. 111.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  1. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 4, 1908, p. 1, and November 18, 1908, p. 1; de la Torre, pp. 7 and 112; “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witness Joseph O. Maxson, April 29, 1908,” on file in the archives of the La Porte Historical Society Museum.

  2. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witness William Clifford, April 29, 1908,” on file in the archives of the La Porte Historical Society Museum.

  3. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witness William Humphrey, April 29, 1908,” on file in the archives of the La Porte Historical Society Museum.

  4. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witness Daniel Marion Hutson, April 29, 1908,” on file in the archives of the La Porte Historical Society Museum.

  5. de la Torre, p. 10.

  6. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witness Joseph O. Maxson, April 29, 1908”; de la Torre, pp. 3 and 10.

  7. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, April 28, 1908, p. 1.

  8. de la Torre, p. 10; La Porte Argus-Bulletin, April 28, 1908, p. 1.

  9. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, April 28, 1908, p. 1.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  1. Thomas Dreier, “The School That Teaches Boys How to Live,” The Business Philosopher, Vol. VI, No. 2 (February 1910), p. 75.

  2. Carter H. Manny, “Gone Are the Days,” unpublished memoir on file at La Porte Historical Society Museum; La Porte Weekly Herald, April 30, 1908, p. 1.

  3. La Porte Weekly Herald, April 30 1908, p. 1.

  4. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witness William Humphrey, April 29, 1908.”

  5. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, April 28, 1908, p. 1.

  6. La Porte Weekly Herald, April 30, 1908, p. 1.

  7. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, April 29, 1908, p. 1; Indianapolis Star, April 30, 1908, p. 4.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  1. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, November 20, 1908, p. 1; de la Torre, pp. 125–26.

  2. Chicago Daily Tribune, April 30, 1908, p. 5; La Porte Argus-Bulletin, November 20, 1908, p. 1; de la Torre, p. 126.

  3. Leonard J. Moore, Citizen Klansmen: The Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, 1921–1928 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991), p. 56.

  4. Indianapolis Star, March 19, 1916, p. 4.

  5. de la Torre, p. 23; Langlois, pp. 41–42.

  6. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, April 30, 1908, p. 1.

  7. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, April 30, 1908, p. 1; Fort Wayne News, April 29, 1908, p. 1; Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 29, 1908, p. 1.

  8. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, April 30, 1908, p. 1.

  9. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witness Daniel Marion Hutson, April 29, 1908.”

  10. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, April 30, 1908, p. 1; La Porte Weekly Herald, May 7, 1908, p. 1.

  11. Chicago Daily Tribune, May 1, 1908, p. 5; La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 1, 1908, p. 1.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  1. La Porte Weekly Herald, May 7, 1908, p. 14.

  2. Ibid.

  3. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witness Dr. J. Lucius Gray, May 12, 1908,” on file in the archives of the La Porte Historical Society Museum.

  4. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 1, 1908, p. 1.

  5. Chicago Inter Ocean, May 2, 1908, p. 3.

  6. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 1, 1908, p. 1.

  7. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 1, 1908, p. 1; Chicago Inter Ocean, May 2, 1908, p. 3.

  8. Shepherd, pp. 9 and 10; Hinton, p. 28.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  1. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witness Asle K. Helgelein, May 5, 1908,” on file in the archives of the La Porte Historical Society Museum; Hinton, p. 29; Shepherd, pp. 11–12.

  2. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Exhibit ‘A,’ May 5, 1908.”

  3. de la Torre, p. 32.

  4. Ibid.

  5. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Deposition of Witness Asle K. Helgelein, May 5, 1908.”

  6. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Exhibit ‘B,’ May 18, 1908.”

  7. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 6, 1908, p. 1; de la Torre, p. 31.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  1. See Charles K. Mavity, The Bellville [sic] Tragedy: Story of the Trial and Conviction of Rev. W. E. Hinshaw for the Murder of His Wife (Indianapolis: Sentil Print Co., 1895).

  2. Historian Paula Hinton notes that “newspapers as far away as Cuba and Germany carried the story. In fact, the Daily Herald had a Cuban newspaper with the story on display in its window.” See Hinton, p. 58.

  3. de la Torre, pp. 35–36.

  4. Chicago Inter Ocean, May 5, 1908, pp. 1 and 3.

  5. Chicago Tribune, May 6, 1908, p. 3; Chicago American, May 6, 1908, p. 30; de la Torre, pp. 32–33.

  6. New York Times, May 8, 1908, p. 2; La Porte Weekly Herald, May 14, 1908, p. 1.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  1. Chicago Inter Ocean, May 7, 1908, p. 3.

  2. “Coroner’s Inquisition, Unidentified Adult, Gunness Farm, May 6, 1908, ‘Exhibit A,’” on file in the archives of the La Porte Historical Society Museum; Chicago Daily News, May 6, 1908, p. 1.

  3. Chicago Inter Ocean, May 7, 1908, p. 3.

  4. Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1908, p. 2.

  5. Chicago Daily American, May 7, 1908, p. 1; Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 8, 1908, p. 1; San Francisco Call, May 12, 1908, p. 1; Pittsburgh Press, May 7, 1908, p. 1; Chicago Evening American, May 8, 1908, p. 3.

  6. Chicago Examiner, May 7, 1908, p. 1.

  7. Chicago Daily Journal, May 7, 1908, p. 1
.

  8. Chicago Inter Ocean, May 7, 1908, p. 1; Chicago Daily American, May 7, 1908, p. 2.

  9. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 9, 1908, p. 1.

  10. Chicago Daily News, May 7, 1908, p. 1.

  11. New York Times, May 6, 1908, p. 1.

  12. Chicago Examiner, May 7, 1908, p. 1.

  13. Chicago Daily Journal, May 6, 1908, p. 3; Chicago Examiner, May 7, 1908, p. 2.

  14. Chicago Daily News, May 7, 1908, p. 1.

  15. Arthur Alden Guild, Baby Farms in Chicago: An Investigation Made for the Juvenile Protection Agency (Chicago: The Juvenile Protection Agency, 1917).

  16. Alison Rattle and Allison Vale, The Woman Who Murdered Babies for Money: The Story of Amelia Dyer (London: André Deutsch, 2011).

  17. Chicago Inter Ocean, May 8, 1908, p. 1.

  18. Chicago Examiner, May 7, 1908, p. 2.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  1. Chicago American, May 7, 1908, p. 1.

  2. Chicago Tribune, May 8, 1908, p. 2; Los Angeles Herald, May 8, 1908, p. 1.

  3. Chicago Tribune, May 8, 1908, p. 2.

  4. Shepherd, p. 39.

  5. Ibid, p. 40; La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 6, 1908, p. 1; Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1908, p. 1.

  6. Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1908, p. 1. A friend of the Budsberg family, a hardware dealer named Edwin Chapin, accompanied Mathias and Oscar on the trip.

  7. de la Torre, p. 32.

  8. La Porte Argus-Bulletin, May 7, 1908, p. 1.

  9. New York Times, May 8, 1908, p. 1.

  10. Ibid.; La Porte Weekly Herald, May 14, 1908, p. 1.

  11. Chicago Evening American, May 8, 1908, p. 1.

  12. Chicago Daily Journal, May 7, 1908, p. 1; Chicago Tribune, May 8, 1908, p. 5.

  13. Chicago Tribune, May 8, 1908, p. 5.

  14. Los Angeles Herald, May 8, 1908, p. 1.

  15. Pittsburgh Press, May 7, 1908, p. 1.

  16. Los Angeles Herald, May 8, 1908, p. 1.