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From Dysfunction to Depravity: Inside the Twisted Mind of Ed Gein | The MurderousMinds Podcast

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Dare to journey into the chilling world of one of the most infamous serial killers, Edward Theodore Gein? We're about to unravel the haunting tale that starts with a dysfunctional family and ends in a gruesome crime scene. Get ready to venture into Gein's past and understand how his notorious deeds were born from a tumultuous household, dominated by overbearing parents.

As we move deeper, we uncover the horrifying events of November 16, 1957, that revealed the true extent of Gein's heinous acts. We'll guide you through the gruesome discovery of widow Bernice Warden's mutilated body and the grim assortment of human artifacts that were found in Gein's home. Brace for the unsettling confession that sent shockwaves across a nation and led to local fears culminating in Gein's incarceration. We'll also shine a light on the controversial saga that ensued when Gein avoided trial.

In the final chapter of today’s tale, we explore the disturbing aftermath of Gein's crimes. We’ll shed light on the mysterious deaths associated with him and discuss how his actions potentially impacted the untimely demise of Sheriff Art Schley. As we conclude, we reflect on Gein's burial and the shadowy figure who may have spurred his monstrous transformation. Prepare yourself for a spine-chilling journey into the mind of Edward Gein; it’s an exploration you won’t soon forget.

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Thank you for tuning in to MurderousMinds, the chilling true crime podcast that delves deep into the darkest minds. Join us as we explore the captivating stories of notorious killers, analyze their motives, and unravel the mysteries behind their heinous acts. Stay connected with us on Patreon for updates, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes insights. Remember, listener discretion is advised.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Murderous Minds, a documentary series started by the Top 5's YouTube channel back in 2018, dedicated to exploring the twisted minds of serial killers. The following podcast episode is the audio version of our video series over on the Top 5's Patreon page. If you would like to watch the video instead of just listening, and would also like to support our show, then please head on over to Patreon using the link in the show notes. Thank you for joining and now let's take a journey into the minds of murderers.

Speaker 2:

The names Norman Bates, buffalo Bill and Leatherface are all heathens, psychotic characters in some of the most horrific horror movies of all time. All despicable human beings that commit monstrous acts against their fellow humans. Surely these characters could never exist in real life? Well, that is where you're wrong. All of these characters, and many others, were inspired by the real life serial killer Edward Theodore Gein, and although none of them are directly based on his character, they all exhibit parts of Gein's nature and personality and the shocking way he committed his murders. Let's take a step into the mind of the real American psycho from his birth to his death to try and understand what drove a seemingly timid little local man to commit some of the most gruesome crimes ever reported. The roots of Gein's murderous mind can be traced back to his parents. His father, george, had a rough life, having been orphaned at the age of three after his mother, father and older sister were swept to their deaths in a flash flood. George was brought up by his maternal grandparents and grew up with low self-esteem, becoming heavily dependent on alcohol as he drifted through life. However, things changed for him when he met Ed's mother, augusta, a fierce, stocky woman who was fanatically religious and obsessively outraged by the loose morality of the world she lived in. The unlikely pairing married on December 4th 1899. The marriage was far from perfect, with Augusta dominating the weak and unreliable George, and it wasn't long before his life became a misery. This resulted in his reliance on alcohol, which often ended in violence between the pair. But despite this loveless union, augusta gave birth to their first child on January the 17th 1902, a boy they named Henry, who Augusta did not bond with. Because of her detachment from Henry, augusta longed for another child, in the hope it would be a girl. When she fell pregnant again, she prayed every night that the Lord would bless her with such. However, this was not to be. On October the 27th 1906, in LaCos County, wisconsin, edward Theodore Gein was brought into this world. Augusta was aghast and felt betrayed by the Lord, but later decided to embrace the child and, in her own words, vowed that he would not grow up like the usual lustful, foul-mouthed males who used a woman for their own perverted pleasure. She was confident that Ed would be different.

Speaker 2:

In Ed's early life, his parents owned a local grocery store, which they later sold and briefly moved to a small dairy farm near Camp Douglas before making the permanent move to a farm in the town of Plainfield, wisconsin. Augusta kept the household pristine, and the extreme remoteness of the farm meant she could keep herself and her sons away from what she described as the scandalous low moral standards of the Plainfield townsfolk. As a Lutheran, she took it upon herself to take care of her son's religious and moral training. The two boys only left the farm to go to school. The rest of the time they were kept isolated from other children. Later of them fitted in and any attempt to make friends was soon objected to by Augusta, who would be appalled that they could associate with common people.

Speaker 2:

Ed had a miserable time at school. He was often made fun of due to his droopy eye, lopsided grin and a feminine manner, and he quickly became an easy target for bullies. His home life was equally miserable, with his father regularly beating him in drunken rages and his mother continually ranting about morality. To add to this, the farm was failing and Ed was retreating more and more into his own private fantasy world. As adults, the two brothers took odd jobs around the town and worked on the farm. They were both hard working, reliable and trustworthy individuals, and the pair were generally well liked by this point, their father's acute alcoholism was taking its toll and by 1937 he was a broken man unable to care for himself, and became entirely reliant on his wife and children, who detested him. It would be a further three years before George was released from his miseries when, on April the 1st 1940, he succumbed to heart failure. His loss was not apparently mourned by his wife and sons. In fact, they were relieved they didn't have to look after him anymore.

Speaker 2:

At the time of their father's death, the Second World War was well underway, although neither of the brothers were involved. Henry was too old and Ed's droopy eye meant he did not pass the physical exam due to slightly impaired vision. Despite this, the brothers started to get more and more work outside of the farm, and Henry in particular had a good reputation for being a grafter. Ed even babysat for local families, and the children loved his company. The two generally had a good relationship, although there was animosity between them regarding how close Ed was to their mother, and on several occasions Henry questioned the hold she had over him and was concerned they were too close. These remarks shocked Ed, as he couldn't believe that his brother did not share his view that their mother was a perfect human being, who he regarded as a saint on earth. The criticism of their mother affected Ed and his opinion of his older brother.

Speaker 2:

It was not long after this realisation that, on May 16th 1944, henry died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of just 43. The story goes that Henry and Ed had been fighting a blaze on marshland near their farm. There was a bit of dispute about how the blaze started, with some claiming it was accidental and others saying that Gein started it to burn off some dry grass, although after Henry's death, ed declared it was his brother who started the blaze, ed claimed that a gust of wind grew the fire out of controlled proportions and, as the two brothers tried to extinguish the flames, henry went missing. Ed went for help and a search party was sent out. However, inexplicably, as soon as they arrived, ed led the searchers straight to his brother's corpse, as if he knew exactly where he lay dead. Henry was found lying face down and stretched out with no apparent signs of burns, but what was observed was some strange bruising to his head. Despite this, the official cause of death was asphyxiation due to being overcome by smoke falling and then hitting his head. Although it seems obvious today, at the time, no foul play was suspected, and it was only years later that it was realised that Henry may well have been Ed's first victim Similar to the passing of his father.

Speaker 2:

There was no outpouring of grief from Ed or Augusta, and it meant that Ed finally had his beloved mother all to himself. Ed adored her. She was the backbone of his life and had always kept everything going, both inside and outside the family farm. To Ed she was invincible. So when she suddenly became unwell, it came as a huge shock to Ed. He rushed her to hospital in his pickup truck and it was confirmed she had suffered a massive stroke. Ed stayed at her bedside in the hospital for hours in the hope she would recover. Eventually she was discharged, but she was not the same formidable strength she used to be and Ed had to give her around the clock care, catering to her every need. It's thought that seeing his mother in his helpless state gave him a strange sense of exhilaration, thinking it was a chance to prove to her that he was a dutiful son and perhaps for her to show him some affection. However, this was not the case, because, although Augusta did make a reasonable recovery, she did not show the son who devoted on her one ounce of appreciation for the care he had given her.

Speaker 2:

Thanks to Ed's care, his now healthy mother was back on the warpath, and in the winter of 1945, she accompanied her son to a nearby farm to pick up some straw. As they drove into the yard, the farmer and his wife were having a furious argument after he beat a puppy to death. The sight of the man's wife, who Augusta believed was a harlot, upset her so much that less than a week later she suffered another catastrophic stroke. This time she did not survive, and on the 29th of December 1945, at the age of 67, augusta was dead and Ed was all alone. At her funeral he cried uncontrollably and was totally unable to control his grief. He had lost the only thing in life that he loved. Ed would spend the rest of his life trying to replicate his mother in the most horrific ways imaginable.

Speaker 2:

After her death, those living in the tight-knit community of Plainfield could see little change in Ed, apart from him looking slightly more rough than usual. He was still the plight slightly awkward but helpful chap they had always known. Few could realize what madness was rattling around in his brain. Many of the locals felt sorry for Ed living his solitary bachelor life in the now run-down farm, although some of the local women had said they felt a little uneasy around him as he had a tendency to stare at them with his droopy eyelid and lopsided smirk. He also became the target for many practical jokes with the local farmers he helped out, who considered him the perfect pax he to pick on.

Speaker 2:

Back in his farmhouse, ed boarded up rooms used by his mother, including the upstairs, downstairs, parlour and living room, leaving them untouched for years. While the rest of the house became increasingly squalid, these rooms remained pristine, but as the years passed, ed retreated more and more from society, spending hours alone reading his true crime magazines, articles about cannibalism, grave robbing and sexual mutilation. Only occasionally did he venture out to do the odd job or pick up supplies, although he was known to frequent Mary Hogan's Tavern, a place that was over 7 miles from his home. The reason for this was his fixation on the owner, who bore a striking resemblance to his dead mother. For Ed, his life was painfully empty without Augusta, and his growing resentment of the villagers who teased him was reaching boiling point.

Speaker 2:

One afternoon in May 1947, a little girl named Georgia Weckler went missing. She was dropped off by a neighbour near her Wisconsin home and was never seen again. She was just 8 years old and there was speculation that she had been snatched by a person of deviant mind. Over the next 5 years there were 4 more unexplained disappearances in Wisconsin, including teenage babysitter Evelyn Hartley, whose heavily bloodstained clothing was found but her body never was. Then there was Plainfield Residents Victor Travis and Ray Bergs. The two disappeared after leaving Max Barr in Plainfield and their bodies were never recovered. However, it was the disappearance of Tavern owner Mary Hogan on the 8th of December 1954 that baffled the police. The most Found on the floor of the tavern was a pool of blood and a spent 32 caliber cartridge. But no sign of Mary, and despite appeals and searches a year on from her disappearance, the police had no clue about what had happened to her.

Speaker 2:

In the years that followed Mary's disappearance, the locals often talked about her and on the rare occasions that Ed made an appearance in the town, locals recall him making the same joke about her she's not missing, she's down at the farm now. Of course, no one believed him, thinking it was just oddball Ed making one of his inappropriate remarks. However, strange rumours started circulating the town of Plainfield. They were started by local youngsters who had visited Ed at his now dilapidated farmhouse. They claim they had seen shrunken heads in his home. Ed was telling the children that the heads had been sent to him by his cousin who had fought in the Philippines during the war. No one thought too much of it, just thinking it would be typical for him to collect such macabre souvenirs, and it became a running joke with the locals.

Speaker 2:

On the 16th of November 1957, the majority of the male residents of Plainfield were participating in the annual 9 day deer hunting event that Ed did not participate in. With all the locals out the way, ed ventured into the town and paid a visit to Warden's hardware store that was run by widow Bernice Warden. Ed knew very well that the heavily built 58 year old Mrs Warden would be alone. Initially he bought some antifreeze, but he later returned to the shop on the pretense that he wanted to trade in his rifle. It was on this occasion that Ed shot Bernice dead. When her son, frank, came home from the hunt, he discovered the blood splattered shop and realized something was terribly wrong. When the police arrived, the deeply distraught Frank immediately told police he's done something to her. When they inquired who had done something, he replied Eddie Geene.

Speaker 2:

The revelation caused a rush of activity in Plainfield, as law enforcement officers converged on the town with one goal in mind To locate Bernice Warden and bring Geene in for questioning. After calling at Geene's farm, they realised he wasn't there and made their way to the Hill's residence, a place Geene was known to frequent. They were right Geene had been there after helping to install a car battery. He had stayed for supper and was just about to set off in his car with one of Hill's sons. After asking only a few questions, officers knew they had their man.

Speaker 2:

The sheriff in charge of investigating Mrs Warden's disappearance was Arthur Schley. He was aware that Geene had been apprehended and so, accompanied by Captain Schofurster, the pair headed out to Geene's farm to see if they could find anything. As the officer approached the dingy place that Geene called home, they could never have prepared for what they would discover. As they entered the property, shining their flashlights at the junk-ridden floor, schley felt something graze him as he turned around to see what it was. He could see something hanging, hanging by its feet. It had been slid down the middle, gutted like an animal, and had no head. But this was no animal. It was the mutilated body of a female. It was Bernice Warden. Schley could hardly believe what he had seen. He fled the house, fell to his knees in the snow and was violently sick. Schofurster immediately radioed for help.

Speaker 2:

The two men then tentatively re-entered the house. The smile was putrid, the filth was overwhelming and it was hard to believe any human could live in such squalor. But worse was to come. This was without doubt a true house of horrors. It wasn't the curious things like a coffee tin stuffed with blobs of used chewing gum or the yellowing sets of dentures displayed as ornaments on a shelf. It was far, far worse.

Speaker 2:

There were bowls made from the sawn-off tops of human skulls scattered around the place. These also embellished the bedposts. There were four chairs that were covered in strips of human flesh, lampshades, waste buckets and other artifacts all honed from human skin, a bow made out of female nipples and a shade pole made with a woman's lips. Also discovered was a box full of female genitalia, another containing four noses and a Quaker Oats box filled with scraps of human head skin was found. As if this wasn't bad enough, there were also a number of items and clothing fashioned from human body parts, leggings made from a female's legs and several pairs of skin patties. Perhaps the most disturbing item was a waistcoat made from the upper torso of a woman's body. Worst still was Gein's collection of masks that were actually the peeled off facial skin of nine women, with their hair still attached and some with lipstick applied to their lips.

Speaker 2:

One poor officer had a shock when he uncovered a paper bag containing a mask honed from the skull of missing Tavern owner Mary Hogan. The recently butchered Mrs Warden's heart was also found in a bag by the stove. Her still warm entrails were wrapped in newspaper and her head was discovered in a feed sack. It was spotted when an officer noticed steam rising from the sack. When the head was retrieved, they noticed each ear had a bent-up nail sticking out with a length of twine connecting them. Gein had obviously intended to hang it up, along with all of his other grotesque trophies. In fact, so many body parts were discovered it was impossible to determine how many victims there were, although it was apparent there were an array of bones, skin, breasts, genitals, noses, heads and lips belonging to females.

Speaker 2:

All of these horrific bits and pieces were found in the confined area that Eddie lived in within the house. This was namely the kitchen and downstairs bedroom. As you know, the other parts of the house had been boarded up and it was with some dread that officers removed these boards, fearing what would be behind them. But it wasn't what they were expecting. It was the untouched rooms of Augusta, and everything was in perfect order. All her clothes and possessions had been sealed up and untouched since the day she died.

Speaker 2:

Gein was now in custody and locked up in a jailhouse close to where Sheriff Schley and his family lived, although he was still not confessing. During questioning, the sheriff became increasingly frustrated with Ed and he lashed out, slamming his head against the jail wall, trying to get a confession out of him, although this seemed to have the opposite effect on Gein, as he completely clammed up. Back in Plainfield, speculation was rife and the place was overrun with reporters. It wasn't long before the gruesome headlines started to appear. In the following days, gein confessed to the murder of Bernice Warden. He also made an astonishing confession when asked where all of the body parts had come from. Ed admitted that over a five-year period, beginning in 1947, he had been a regular night visitor to cemeteries in the area and on at least nine occasions had dug up freshly buried coffins, removed the body and then reburied the casket. Gein chose his fresh corpses by trawling the obituaries in the local newspapers and selecting middle-aged women as his victims. He admitted that some of the women he had known in life. As with the gruesome murder of Mrs Warden, he claimed the details of his grave robbing were hazy.

Speaker 2:

By now the press were in a frenzy with lurid headlines of Gein being a depraved, sex-crazed cannibal. There was also speculation that he had been responsible for the disappearance of other Wisconsin residents, in particular teenager Evelyn Hartley. In fact, the press were eager to pin every unsold disappearance in recent years on Ed, and in scenes that wouldn't happen today, they seemed to be allowed access to Gein's house. This is why so many macabre photographs of the crime scene are available. As more and more details were released, the headlines got more and more grotesque and many tales of encounters with Ed started to surface. One local spinster even claimed to have been Gein's sweetheart for the past 20 years, a claim that was later attracted During interrogation and even a lie detector test.

Speaker 2:

Gein would willingly admit to some of the more perverse things he did with the body parts, but was less forecoming when it came to murdering anyone, despite the overwhelming evidence. He also willingly explained his grave robbing, admitting that he would often dig up a body and just take the bits he wanted this was usually the head and genitals. Then he would rebury the body as if nothing had happened. He also confessed to wearing the human masks and mammary vest that he had created. People were confused as to whether Ed was truly insane or a cunning manipulator of the truth, as throughout his interrogation he remained the meek, mild little man who never saw, was polite and well-mannered, while casually confessing to a string of unparalleled perversions. Eventually, gein admitted to both the murder of Mary Hogan and Bernice Warden and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one of armed robbery. He was nicknamed the Plainfield Head Collector by the press, and they also noted that Ed seemed to be enjoying the attention. He was now clean-shaven and smarter than usual and would smile broadly for the waiting press. Some even speculated that Ed had unburdened his mind and was comfortable and happy with himself. Ed's attorney, william Balter, informed him that he would enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Speaker 2:

In the aftermath of Gein's confessions, the residents of Plainfield were finding it hard to grasp that Gein was capable of robbing graves, and the thought of their dead mothers, daughters and sisters' bodies being ravaged in such a perverted way and then being used as part of Gein's macabre decor was unthinkable, and they wanted proof. So when Gein readily offered authorities a list of names and dates of the graves he desecrated, it was decided that two graves in Plainfield Cemetery would be exhumed. The first was 52 year old Eleanor Adams, whose grave was right next to Gein's parents, augusta and George. It was speculated that the second was Gein's mother, although this was denied when the grave digging began to exhumed Mrs Adams coffin. She had died on August the 29th 1951 and Gein had admitted exhuming her body shortly after she was buried.

Speaker 2:

As the grave diggers dug down, it was soon apparent that the grave had been disturbed and when the casket was opened it was empty, apart from a 12 inch crowbar. Next was Mabel Everson, who died age 69 on April the 15th 1951. The grave diggers did not have to dig too far before they came across a scattering of human bones. It was what was left of Mabel Everson. Her casket was empty. Gein had taken what he wanted and left the rest crudely buried just 15 inches below the ground.

Speaker 2:

These two exhumations were enough to verify that Ed was telling the truth about his confession of grave robbing. In another development, the ever helpful Ed agreed to show an officer where the rest of the remains of Mary Hogan were. He accompanied the officer back to his farm and directed him to an ash heap where he explained he had cut Mary up and created her on his pot-bellied stove, then put them on the ash heap. Later, another woman's body was discovered in a garbage trench on Gein's land. It was another of his dug up corpses. When questioned, gein denied any sexual activity with the corpses, claiming they smelled too bad. In fact, gein admitted he had never had a sexual relationship with a man or woman and, despite speculation that he could not have dug the graves alone, he insisted he had. Gein also denied he had any involvement with the disappearance of Evelyn Hartley, georgia Weckler or the two hunters, although it's widely believed that he was responsible for these as well.

Speaker 2:

Ed was moved to Central State Hospital for the criminally insane, where he underwent vigorous testing and was considered to be physically in good shape, although he frequently complained of headaches and nausea and a constant bad smell of what he described as rotting flesh. However, his mental state was more complex and he was judged to have had a schizophrenic personality with neurotic manifestations and the inability to look at situations realistically. After extensive testing, it was concluded Ed Gein was indeed insane. This news angered the residents of Plainfield. After all, they had known Ed all his life and, although he was an oddball, they did not consider him insane. They believed he would escape punishment if this was ruled at his trial. Ed remained at Central State Hospital until his insanity hearing on November 21st 1957. The courtroom was packed and many remarked that Hospital Life was suiting Ed, as gone was the gaunt skinny man. At the hearing, gein was declared too insane to stand trial and he was recommitted to Central State Hospital indefinitely.

Speaker 2:

The town of Plainfield would never be the same again, and press and sightseers flocked to the area to catch a glimpse of Gein's farm and the cemeteries. Gein's possessions and the farm were set to go up to auction on March 30th 1958 and people flocked to view the items. The proceeds of the sale were to go to meet the lawsuits from Gein's victims' families against his estate. However, on March 20th Gein's farm was set ablaze and burned to the ground. Although Arson was suspected, it was never proven and never properly investigated. When Ed was told of the fire, he simply said just as well. The auction of his vehicles and other possessions, including his car, still went ahead and in a ghoulish, money-making bid it was purchased by sideshow exhibitor Bunny Gibson. Bunny went on to turn the car into a macabre exhibition, charging 25 cents a go. On its first show. Over 2,000 people decided to take a look. The total proceeds raised by selling what was left of Gein's possessions was $5,375. $300 was put aside for Gein's funeral and the rest went to the lawsuits.

Speaker 2:

With Ed safely locked away, he became a local legend and was the subject of many jokes and scary stories. The children had their very own real-life boogeyman. However, what brought the name of Ed Gein while and truly into the public eye was in 1960. Alfred Hitchcock released the original slasher film Psycho, a movie that was inspired by a novel by Robert Blotch that was based on the heinous crimes of Ed Gein and his obsession with his mother. In the same year, men working near Gein's farm noticed that dogs were digging out a patch of land. After they went to investigate, they dug up a pile of human bones, including ribs, arms, legs and a pelvis. These were added to Gein's other pile of bones that were still at the crime lab. These remains were quietly reburied in 1962.

Speaker 2:

Meanwhile, gein had adapted well to his new life in Central State Hospital. He had spent days reading and doing odd jobs. Considered a model patient, gein was one of the few at the hospital that did not require drugs to keep his madness under control. He had also become a bit of a celebrity, with journalists, magazine writers and sociologists clambering to get an interview with him. Unbelievably, he even received fan mail and had women requesting locks of his hair. However, authorities denied all requests and during his time in confinement Ed did not receive a single visitor. Hence there are no public interviews. However, news of Gein's comfortable life angered Plainfield residents and led to even more claims that Gein was not crazy after all and that he should be tried in a court of law for his heinous crimes.

Speaker 2:

In 1968, psychiatrists deemed that Gein had recovered enough to stand trial. So in January 1968, gein appeared in public for the first time in 10 years, when he attended preliminary proceedings leading up to his trial date. His appearance came as a shock. He was now a clean shaven, smart, healthy looking man who was a far cry from the scruffy, gaunt man previously seen in public. The trial was set for November and lasted just a week, in which several witnesses gave evidence and Gein himself took the stand. When questioned, he maintained that Mrs Warden was shot by accident and what happened next he can't remember, as the sight of blood caused him to black out and everything was hazy. He also said he couldn't remember butchering Mrs Warden's body and hanging it on a hook. Ed was found guilty of the first degree murder of Mrs Warden. However, was now declared insane at the time of the killing so was deemed not guilty by reason of insanity. Meanwhile he was convicted and acquitted on the same day and sent back to Central State Hospital for another undefined period.

Speaker 2:

Before Gein was taken back to the hospital, the press were granted their interview with Ed. To many it was incomprehensible that this shy, polite man could be capable of the atrocities he committed. When asked how he felt, he replied he was relieved and looking forward to going back to hospital, saying they treat you pretty well there. He also laid the blame for his actions on the place he lived and that the locals had been friendlier to him, he wouldn't have acted the way he did. It was thought that this was the end of one of the most heinous crimes in history. But they were wrong.

Speaker 2:

In a shock move in 1974, gein filed a petition to be freed, claiming he had now fully recovered and that there was no reason for him to be in hospital. Ed Gein wanted out. On June 27th 1974, he attended a hearing in a bid to be released back into society. As he laughed and joked with reporters on his way to court, to the outside world, gein didn't fact appear to be normal but, chillingly, experts deemed that beneath the calm, polite exterior there was still a seething madman lying within. And Gein was still deemed to be a threat to society. His bid for freedom had failed and he was returned a central state to resume his life. He stayed there until 1978 when he was moved to Mendota Mental Health Institute. By this time he was 72 and his health was failing. He lived another six years before finally succumbing to senility, cancer and, ultimately, respiratory failure. Ed Gein died on July 26th 1984, at the age of 77.

Speaker 2:

Gein's death left a lot of unresolved mysteries. It was never established exactly how many women, and possibly men, fell victim to him, but there was almost certainly more than the two he confessed to. Another untalked about death was also attributed to Gein, sheriff Art Schley, who died of heart failure at the age of 43. It was said he was so traumatized by what he had seen in Ed's home and the stress of interviewing him had led to his early demise. Many still believe Gein was also responsible for the disappearance of those two girls and the hunters. Edward Theodore Gein, a man who single-handedly caused terror to a small town in Wisconsin, a man who is the baseline for some of the most terrifying horror movie characters we see today, was buried in Plainfield Cemetery. The scene of his grotesque grave robbing Laying beside him is perhaps the woman responsible for molding Ed into what he became. He was finally reunited with his beloved mother.