Crittenden record=press. [volume], May 28, 1908, Image 3

About Crittenden record=press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1907-1909

Image provided by: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

                
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RAY LAMPHERE, WIDOW GUNNESS' FARM HAND.
Hay I.ainphere under arrest (it LuMrte, lud . on suspicion of U'lng concerned
Iij tin burning of tliu farmhouse of Mrs. Belle Gtinness nnd the murder
of the Gunnes children nnd tlielr mother, formerly wns employed us ii fnnn
baud by the Widow Ounness. It Is ulleged thnt he made love rli her nnd wn
repulsed, Mrs. Ounness twlng on the trull of men with money who were
Vengeance and Jealousy an- alleged an motive for burning
the house and destroying the fnmll.v Lniuphere stoutly asserts his Innocence
nnd declare that lie "always thought there was something wrong at
that place." inetttdng the Outlines fann He toltl the authorities thnt aUmt
two yenn ago a large man caiue to the farmhouse who was wild by Mr.
Gunnes to lx) a BUltor for the hand of her adopted daughter. Jennie Olsen,
and flint he never kneu uhnt Uiiwie uf the man. Miss Olson's tvly w:im
one f Uhm found burled n the premium, along with eight others. When
CHiiitht I jiii phetv wrm hiding In a hollow tree.
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RUINS 0? GUNNESS HOUSt, LAFORTE.
I'ie inrinliiui of Sirs Belie Gtmtic a n.i e frem Luporte. Iml., was
totally destroyed by lire on the night of April 1!7 This lire led to the discovery
of the nine IhmIIos of munler tlrtlms burled on the premises and developed a
crime mystery which linn horrllled the nation. The house was built of brlok,
with an addition built of lumber. Joseph Muxson, the hired man, slept In n
room nlKivM the wooden kitchen, nnd he says thnt lie nuoke nlniiit -1 o'clock
In the timmlui; stlilel by smoke which was pouring out of the brick part of
the house He tried to enter thnt pnrt but could not. Several neighbors who
arrived shortly nIo were driven back by tlntnes The charred bodies of
three children found In the ruins were IdeiitlllHl as thoce of Mrs Guntiess.
while the Ixxly of a woman, from which the head was missing, either burned
off or decapitated prior to the fire, wap believed at first to be that of Mrn.
(Junnosi. Kulweiiuent disclosures ns to the "murdt r farm" lead some to
believe thnt Mm. (jiinness plnccd the headless trunk of n murdered woman
In the house to serve nn a blind In effecting her own escne from Justice.
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JOStrt, .viAaSON, WHO WAo EMPLOYED BY MRS. GUNNESS,
Josupti Muxhon, who was employed ab man of all work around tho house
and farm of Mm. Helle Ounness near Luporte, lud., poluted out to the authorities
certulu Hpots In the yard of the burned farmhouse where, he said, he hud
bceu Instructed by Mrs Gutfliesa from tlmo to time to deposit such rubblah
ns was to be thrown nway. The nine bodies of persons supposed to bur
Oecu murdered by Mrs. dunness were dug up at points Maxson Indicated.
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MRS. BELLE GUNNESS, OF LAPORTE'S MURDER FARM.
Mrs. Jlelle Ounness, tho widow mispWed of the murder of the persons
whose iKvlles were dug npffroui Uio premlsi of her burnwl home n mile from
Luporte. IntL, waa n Norwegian woman whoso mnltlen name was Tnulson.
She was married first to Mar SorwiHcn, who died under suspicious
Her second husband. Philip Ounness, dlisl under similar
It wnfl'reiwrted at first that the body of Mrs. Ounness was found
with thoso of her threo children In the ruins of her houses. The head of tho
charred remains of tho woman found in the rulas was missing, which fact
caused the Authorities to suspect that Mrs. Ounness herself hnd killed her
children nnd set tire to tho dwelling after placing In the house the decapitated
liody of one of her ndult women rlctlms in nn effort to cause the belief
that sho had perished in the fire. Mrs. Ounness hnd lind an enormous quantity
of gold work done on her teeth The grewsome mystery of the missing
head, It was said by those who held the theory of the flight of Mrs. Ounness,
was explained by the woman's r - t! :it 'o left her substitute's head on
the body It would be evident thai k..o her- s not a victim of the fire.
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ANDREW HELGELEIN, ONE OF MRS. GUNNESS' VICTIMS.
One oi tie . ...e uhiIi.s disinterred from the premises of Mrs. Belle Ounness,
near Luporte, lud., wns Identllled as thut of Andrew llelgeleiu, a wealthy
stockman of Aberdeen, S. D., forty yours of age. Ho wus a Norweglsui, as wiu
Mrs. Ounness. who had advertised for a prospective husband with means.
Helgeleln stnrtetl for Luporte Jan. .'5, since which date nothiug was heard from
him by lib relatives, who were aware that ho hud gone to the Indiana wldowa
home with matrimonial Intentions. It wns known also that he had drawn
$3,000 from his Aberdeen bank account after arriving at Luporte. The theory
Is that Mrs. Gunness killed Helgeleln to get his money.
MRS. GUNNESS AND HER THREE CHILDREN.
Mrs. Ilelle Gunness, the Indiana woman who Is believed by the police to
have lured to her farm home near Laporte several men on mntrlmonlal pre-1
tenses nnd then murdered them for their money, is said to have been qulto
fond of her three little children, whose charred bodies were found In tho ruins
of tho Gunness farmhouse, along with the headless trunk of n woman, who i
was supposed at first to be the body of tlielr mother. The children wero
Myrtle Sorensen, aged eleven, and Lucy Sorensen, aged nine, daughters of
Mrs. Gunness by her first husband. Max Sorensen, and Philip Gunness, aged
five, namesake of his father, who. like Sorensen. Is said to have died under
suspicious circumstances.
DH. C. F. MACK, CORONER, TAKING NOTES.
Shortly after the discovery' of the first bodies that had been burled on the
premises of tho Widow Gunness near Laporte, Ind., Dr. C. F. Mack, the
coroner, arrived on the scene nnd wns busy taking notes for official use. The
nine bodies of murdered men and women dug up In the yard near the ruins of
the burned farmhouse passed under Dr. Mack's close scrutiny, as did also
those of the three children and the woman found In the ruins. A Jury composed
of physicians thoroughly examined the charred remains of the children
nnd the woman nnd arrived at the conclusion that they were those of Mrs.
Belle Ounness nnd her little ones. It wns Impossible to determine the sex of
five of the bodies disinterred, they hnvlng been dismembered and also partially
disintegrated by quicklime. Mr. Mack made copious notes for reference
In future efforts to solve the horrible mystery nnd Identify the victims, most
of whom are believed to have been men who were lured to the place by tho I
matrimonial advertisements of Mrs. Gunness, who described herself as m
rich widow wanting a husband with some money.
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JOHN HhLGELEIN, BROTHER Ui- JrJh 0- THE VICTIMS.
Suspicion against Mrs. Belle Ounness was first aroused In Indiana by the
.i,..,i n n.uri,i nt Toim i n n N'orweirinii from Mansfield, S. D.,
who came to investigate the disappearance of his brother, Andrew Helgeleln,
of Aberdeen, S. U. Andrew Helgeleln wus known to hare answered oue of
Mrs. Ounuesa' adrertisements for a husband with money. lie leri Aueruceu
on Jan- 3 to visit Mrs. Gunness nt her home near Laporte. After his arrival
lu Laporte ho had drawn $3.0fX from Ills bnnk in Aberdeen. John Helgeleln,
becoming worried because nothing further was heard from his brother, wrote
to Mrs. Gunness, who replied that Andrew had departed for a visit to Norway.
John Helgeleln Identified we of the first bodies found as that of hH brother.
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