Brynhild Paulsdatter Størsetjare was born in 1859 on a poor cotters farm in a village called Selbu, located in the centre of Norway.

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Together with thousands of others she left Norway to achieve the American dream. Brynhild, or Belle, as she americanized her name, became in many ways the most successful of them all. It's a story about greed and manipulation. A story about a smart businesswoman who knew how to get around in the wild wild west.

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She became a world sensation in 1908 when her luxurious farm outside Chicago burnt to the ground and the bodies of her three children were found tangled together with the corpse of a headless woman. Was it actually Belle herself in the ruins? Or did she arrange it all? The press from all over the world were baffled and her name was on everybody's lips for decades to come as body parts from 30-40 different people were discovered scattered in the ground of her farm. People came by the tens of thousands from all over the continent to see the farm for themselves. Her possessions were sold at auctions for sky high amounts. Her farm animals became circus attractions.

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Who was she? Why are only fractions of the story told?

Did she get away, and had a fairytale ending? Or did she die in the fire? 

And for her unknown number of victims, the story needs to be told. Except for a few they ended up in an anonymous mass grave. Why are their names never known? She deserves her place in history along with all the world’s most notorious serial killers. 

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