Belle Gunness

Although sources vary, many mention her birth date as November 11, 1859. She was born in Selbu, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway in the family of Paul Pedersen Størseth, a stonemason and Berit Olsdatter as their youngest child among eight.

According to a September 4, 2006 aired Irish television documentary by Anne Berit Vestby, Belle’s personality changed strikingly after she experienced a miscarriage when a man attacked her and kicked her abdomen while she was attending a country dance in 1877. The Norwegian authorities however did not prosecute the wealthy man who died shortly, reportedly of stomach cancer.

In 1881, she relocated to America where she began to work as a servant.

She married Mads Ditlev Anton Sorenson in 1884 in Chicago, Illinois. The couple had a confectionary store which within a year of its unsuccessful run was gutted down by fire suspiciously leading the two to collect insurance amount with which they purchased another house.

Although many researchers opine that the couple were issueless, some report that they had four children, namely Axel, Caroline, Lucy and Myrtle. The former two whose lives were reportedly insured allegedly succumbed in their infancy to acute colitis resulting in payment from the insurance company.

Two life insurance policies on Sorenson reportedly overlapped on July 30, 1900, and coincidentally he died on that very day. Although the first doctor who examined him suggested strychnine poisoning as the cause of his death, the family doctor mentioned a heart failure, thus no autopsy was done.

Upon Sorenson’s death Belle collected $8,500 from insurance companies. Although Sorenson’s relatives accused her of poisoning him to get insurance money and according to records an order of investigation was also given, it remains uncertain whether the inquiry was conducted or whether his body was disinterred for investigation.