Learn about serial killer Belle Gunness

ALTHOUGH her crimes were brought to light, much of her life is still shrouded in mystery.

Multiple bodies were found buried on her property after a fire consumed her La Porte, Indiana, home.

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Who was serial killer Belle Gunness?

Before her murders became known, Belle Gunness was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storseth in Norway.

In 1881, she migrated to the United States and changed her name before settling in Chicago.

Her marriage to Mads Sorenson in 1884 resulted in their home burning down within a year.

They used the insurance money from the fire to purchase a confectionary store, which also burned down quickly. This time, they used their insurance payout to purchase a home.

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What did Belle Gunness do?

In their new home, the couple welcomed at least four children.

Two of them died in infancy due to acute colitis, which is a condition that can be brought on by poisoning.

Like before, the couple received an insurance payout for both babies.

Shortly after the death of her infants, her husband also passed away on the day that his two life insurance policies would have overlapped.

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Although she was able to claim the insurance payouts, she fled from Illinois after Sorenson's family accused her of poisoning him.

How many victims did Belle Gunness have?

Now in LaPorte, Indiana with her three remaining children, Gunness purchased a farm to settle in.

She soon married Peter Gunness, who had two daughters of his own. Within a week, his youngest daughter died under mysterious circumstances and he followed eight months later.

After Peter's death, Gunness began taking out ads seeking reliable men for help on the farm. This is how she found most of her victims.

While it is commonly thought that she killed at least 14 people, over a dozen bodies were found on her farm.

Some have even speculated that she may have been involved in as many as forty murders.

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Why was Belle Gunness called Lady Bluebeard?

Although she was given multiple nicknames by the press, Lady Bluebeard is one of the more commonly used monikers.

The original tale of Bluebeard is a French folktale about a man who repeatedly remarries only to murder his new wife each time.

Due to the parallels between Gunness and the fictional character, she was dubbed Lady Bluebeard.

In April 1908, the farm burned down and her crimes were finally discovered.

Among the rubble, authorities found the remains of three young children and a headless woman, who was assumed to be Gunness, in the basement of the home.

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The headless woman was believed to be Gunness, but people who knew her disagreed.

It was heavily speculated that Gunness had faked her own death and there were even multiple alleged citings of her throughout the United States.