Born: 1859
Died: ?

A middle-aged widow who lured men to her home with promises of marriage, Belle Gunness made a business out of murder—and then disappeared.

The widow Sorenson

Born in Norway, Gunness moved to the United States at the age of twenty-four. Her family background is sketchy. Her father may have been a stonemason (a builder who works with stones) or a traveling magician. She probably had a sister who also moved to America. In 1884, shortly after she left Norway, Gunness married Mads Albert Sorenson in Chicago. Gunness and Sorenson had three children—Jennie, Myrtle, and Lucy (one or all of whom had been adopted).

In 1900, Mads Sorenson died. Although Gunness claimed her husband died of heart failure, his family suspected foul play. Adding to their suspicion was the fact that Gunness had tried to collect on her husband’s $8,500 life insurance...