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LATEST ATROCITY CHARGED TO MRS. BELLE GUNNESS BELIEVED TO HAVE LAID THE BODIES IN ONE GRAVE. LA PORTE, Ind, May 19.—Murder of four persons whom she had invited to her “house of horror” as her guests at a christmas party, is the latest atrocity charged to Mrs. Belle Gun ness, La Porte’s arch-assassin, who is being sought today by the police of practically the whole world. From a careful examination of the unidentified bodies which have been recovered from the “soft spots” of Brookside farm and the comparison of other evidence it is now almost certain that the woman slayer com mitted her quadruple crime on christ mas night of 1906. Jennie Olson, John Moe, of Elbow Lake, Minn., each a man and woman known only as the “professor and his wife,” were on that night the victims of the Gun ness woman's passion for slaughter. This discovery corroborates in de tail the statement by Emil Greening once Mrs. Gunness’ chore boy, who has been interviewed in Oklahoma City, Lad Noted Disappearance. Greening said that after the party held at Mrs. Gunness’ house on Christ mas day, 1906, and the next day, Dec 26, he noted the non-appearance of any of the guests. When he asked Mrs. Gunness where the visitors had gone, she said that the “professor and his wife,” who were at the house, had gone back to their school near Los Angeles, Cal, and had taken Jennie Olsen with them. It is now concluded by Sheriff Smue ger that, following the Christmas fees tivities, Mrs. Gunness killed four per sons, two men and two women and buried them all in the same grave. One of the men at that Christmas party is known to have been John Moe, of Elbow Lane, Minn, but the persons remaining to be identified are the ones described as the “professor and his wife. Heretofore, it has been generally thought that ~ Emil Greening , was wrong in saying that there was any woman guest at the Christmas party besides Jennie Olson. ‘The explana tion made was that probably Green ing saw a man dressed in woman's clothing. Four bodies were found in one grave. One of them has been identi fied as that of Jennie Olson and an other as the remains of John Moe. The third is today shown to be that of a woman, and the fourth that of a man yet unidentified, Prepared Weeks Ahead. There are reasons to believe that Mrs. Gunness prepared for this slaughter weeks ahead. The grave in which the four bodies were found, was dug two months ahead by Brijiski, a Polish laborer, who did odd jobs for Mrs. Gunness. The preceding October Mrs. Gunness was making girls’ dresses, and when asked by one of the neighbors what she was doing said that the dresses were for Jennie Ol son, Who was going away to school. It may be presumed from the shreds of evidence now in the possession of County Prosecutor Smith, that Mrs. Gunness had plotted to kill three per professor, his wife, and Jennie Olson— but Moe,with his $1,500, arrived in answer to Mrs. Gunness' matrimonial advertisement just in time to join the party and to be killed and buried with the others, Grisly Dismemberment of All. Men who uncovered this large grave with the four corpses say that each body had been butchered and dis articulated in the same manner. With a saw the legs were cut in two above the knee, the arms were re moved at the sockets and the heads cut off. The pieces were separated and wrapped in burlap, apparently so that the packages could be handled more readily by the woman. J. M. Rendanl, of Manfred, N. D., half brother of John Moe, identified the watch found in Lamphere's pocket. The number on the case and the works corresponded with the numbers gived by Rendall as those in Moe's watch. “I know the watch well and I know my half-brother owned it,” said Ren dan. Bertha Schultz, a salesgirl in the La Forte department store, told that Mrs. Gunness once said she was afraid Lamphere would burn her house, Lamphere Seen With Gun. Mrs. Nina Shoemaker had seen Lamphere with a gun, going along the road toward the Gunness house. He said he was going frog hunting. La ter Mrs. Shoemaker learned that Mrs Gunness had caused the arrest of Lamphere, charging him with threat ening her with a gun that very day. Coroner Mack received a letter from Mrs. Henry Witzer, of 3254 Maple st., Toledo, O., declaring her fear that her daughter, who was a graduate of Val paraiso college, had been a victim of the arch-assassin. The girl disappear ed from her home on Nov. 28, 1902, after saying that she was going to vis it a friend in La Porte. She was nev er heard from again. ‘We will hang Ray Lamphere for his part in the murders committed by Mrs. Belle Gunness and we will clear up many of the mysteries which sur round the great La Porte case before the grand jury completes its work.” Was he statement made today, by State's Atty. Smith, as the La Porte county grand jury began the second day's session of its investigation of the great Indiana mystery. From Chattanooga comes the report that a woman answering the descrip tion of Mrs. Gunness has been seen in the Tennessee city and the police there are searching for her. David Havens, a grand jury witness who disappeared from La Porte very mysteriously a few days ago, and whom the detectives charged has been spirited away by the prosecution, has returned from Michigan, and will be a witness before the grand jury to day. Prosecutor Smith received another warning letter from Brooklyn, N. Y. He is threatened with death unless he resigns his office and drops the Gunness investigation. He also re ceived a similar missive from Wash ington. chief of Police Cochrane is In receipt of a letter from New York, saying his life will pay forfeit.
Newspaper Details
Detroit Times
Detroit, Michigan, US
Tue, May 19, 1908
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
William B.
USA 12 Jun 2026
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