Belle Gunness: Serial Killer

Belle Gunness: Serial Killer

Introduction

Belle Sorenson Gunness was a notorious Norwegian-American serial killer. She killed more than forty people during her lifetime. She is known for killing her suitors, her boyfriends and her daughters Lucy and Myrtle. She married twice and killed both of her husbands. Greed was noted as the main motive for most of her crimes. She killed to acquire life insurance money and policies and is also known for killing any witnesses to her crimes.

1. How would you classify Belle Gunness? Serial Killer, mass murderer, or spree killer?

Gunness can be classified as a serial killer because unlike mass murderers who kill for the joy of it, she planned each murder according to the outcome of it. She killed when she knew that the murder would yield profitable results or if the victim was a witness to one of her crimes. In the year 1884, Gunness married Mads Sorenson. Two years after her marriage, they opened a confectionary store but the business did not yield much success. After some time, the shop burnt down 'mysteriously' and gave the couple a lot of insurance money. This incident shows that Gunness had a mind for criminal activities from the very beginning. It is possible that the need for money and the urge to make a proper living drove her into believing that making money the fast way was the right way to do it.

2. What is the motivational typology of multiple murder for the victims of Belle Gunness? (Power, Revenge, Loyalty, profit or terror?)

The motivational typology for Bell Guness's victims was mostly profit. There have been many cases where she would buy property of high value and then soon afterwards, she would burn it down to the ground and claim insurance that amounted to more than thrice of ...