Complete List of Crimes Ed Gein Was Suspected of Committing

Edward Theodore “Ed” Gein, known as the “Butcher of Plainfield” and the “Plainfield Ghoul,” was suspected of numerous crimes spanning more than a decade. While he was only convicted for one murder and confessed to two, investigators and researchers have connected him to multiple unsolved disappearances and suspicious deaths. Here is the complete list of crimes Ed Gein was suspected of committing.

CONFIRMED CRIMES

(Confessed and/or Convicted)

1. Murder of Bernice Worden (November 16, 1957)

• Status: Convicted of first-degree murder, found legally insane
• Victim: Bernice Worden, 58-year-old hardware store owner
• Method: Shot with .22-caliber rifle, then decapitated and disemboweled
• Details: Gein confessed to killing Worden at her hardware store, stealing cash, and transporting her body to his farm where he hung it in his shed “dressed out like a deer”
• Evidence: Body found at Gein’s property, head discovered in a burlap sack, heart found on a plate in the dining room

2. Murder of Mary Hogan (December 8, 1954)

• Status: Confessed during interrogation but never tried
• Victim: Mary Hogan, 54-year-old tavern keeper
• Method: Shot and killed, body transported home on a sled
• Details: Hogan disappeared from her Pine Grove tavern; blood trail and empty bullet cartridge found at scene
• Evidence: Mary Hogan’s head found in Gein’s house during the 1957 investigation

3. Systematic Grave Robbing (1947-1952)

• Status: Confessed to authorities
• Scope: Admitted to robbing nine graves from three local cemeteries
• Method: Made approximately 40 nocturnal visits to graveyards, though claimed to have only succeeded in grave robbing on about 9-10 occasions
• Target Victims: Recently buried middle-aged women who resembled his mother
• Evidence: Authorities excavated three test graves identified by Gein and found them as he described – empty or partially empty with some containing his crowbar
• Purpose: Used corpses to create “woman suit,” furniture, household items, and decorative objects from human skin and bones

STRONGLY SUSPECTED CRIMES

(Significant evidence but never charged)

4. Murder of Henry Gein (May 16, 1944)

• Status: Ruled accidental death, but widely suspected by investigators and biographers
• Victim: Henry Gein, 43, Ed’s older brother
• Circumstances: Died during a brush fire on the family farm
• Suspicious Elements:
  • Ed was able to lead police directly to Henry’s body despite claiming to be separated
  • Henry’s body showed bruises on his head “consistent with being struck”
  • Body found on ground untouched by fire
  • Official cause listed as asphyxiation, but no autopsy performed
  • Henry had been criticizing their mother and expressing concern about Ed’s attachment to her
  • Henry was planning to move in with a divorced mother of two
• Investigator Opinion: State investigator Joe Wilimovsky and biographer Harold Schechter described it as the “Cain and Abel aspect” of the case
• Quote from case researcher: George Arndt wrote it was “possible and likely” that Henry’s death was murder

SUSPECTED MISSING PERSONS CASES

(Connected by evidence found at Gein’s property)

5. Evelyn Grace Hartley (October 24, 1953)

• Status: Missing person case, never solved
• Victim: 14-year-old girl from La Crosse, Wisconsin
• Circumstances: Disappeared while babysitting, house found in disarray with blood evidence
• Connection to Gein:
  • Genitals from teenage victims found in Gein’s house may have belonged to Hartley
  • Gein was questioned but denied involvement
  • Passed two lie detector tests regarding her disappearance
  • Police found no trace of her remains during searches of Gein’s property
• Expert Opinion: Modern researchers note Hartley didn’t fit Gein’s typical victim profile (older women resembling his mother)

6. Georgia Jean Weckler (May 1, 1947)

• Status: Missing person case, never solved
• Victim: 8-year-old girl from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
• Circumstances: Disappeared walking home from school after being dropped off by neighbor
• Connection to Gein:
  • Teenage genitals found in Gein’s farmhouse potentially belonged to Weckler
  • Ford tire tracks found near disappearance site; Gein owned a black 1937 Ford
  • Witnesses reported seeing a dark-colored Ford with gray spotlight near the scene
• Investigator Assessment: Weckler also didn’t match Gein’s typical victim type, but physical evidence suggested possible connection

7. Victor Harold Travis and Raymond Burgess (November 1, 1952)

• Status: Missing persons case, never solved
• Victims: Victor Travis, 42, and acquaintance Raymond Burgess
• Circumstances: Disappeared after deer hunting, had stopped at Mac’s Bar in Plainfield
• Connection to Gein:
  • Had been hunting on farm adjacent to Gein’s property despite his objections
  • Both men and their vehicle never seen again
  • Authorities searched for their remains on Gein’s property but found nothing
  • Gein was questioned but denied involvement

ADDITIONAL SUSPECTED CRIMES

8. Multiple Unaccounted Victims

• Evidence: Remains of approximately 15 women found at Gein’s property
• Status: Most determined to be from grave robbing, but some remains unaccounted for
• Investigation: Authorities attempted to connect Gein to other missing persons cases but were unable to draw definitive conclusions
• Assessment: Psychiatrists concluded Gein’s violence was directed only toward women who physically resembled his mother

9. Possible Additional Murders

• Investigative Finding: Judge Robert H. Gollmar wrote that if Gein didn’t kill Hartley and Weckler, “then he abducted and killed two runaways” since grave robbing couldn’t explain teenage genitals found in his home
• Time Period: Additional victims may have occurred between 1945 (mother’s death) and 1957 (arrest)
• Limiting Factor: Gein’s confession was ruled inadmissible due to police brutality during questioning, limiting prosecutable evidence

EXONERATED CASES

Cases Where Gein Was Cleared

• Lie Detector Results: Gein passed polygraph tests regarding several disappearances, including Evelyn Hartley
• Psychiatric Assessment: Psychiatrists determined his violence was specifically targeted toward women resembling his mother
• November 1957 Questioning: Authorities confronted Gein with a list of missing persons cases occurring between his mother’s death and Worden’s murder but found no evidence connecting him to other crimes

SUMMARY OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY

Confirmed Crimes:

• 1 murder conviction (Bernice Worden)
• 1 confessed murder (Mary Hogan)
• 9 confirmed grave robberies
• Approximately 40 attempted grave robberies

Strongly Suspected:

• 1 fraticide (Henry Gein)
• 3-5 additional murders/disappearances

Total Suspected Victim Count:

• Conservative estimate: 2-3 murders plus grave robbing
• Maximum suspected: Up to 6-8 murders spanning 13 years (1944-1957)

Geographic Scope:

• Primary activity: Plainfield, Wisconsin area
• Extended activity: Jefferson County (Georgia Weckler), La Crosse County (Evelyn Hartley), Adams County (Travis/Burgess)

Timeline:

• 1944: Suspicious death of Henry Gein
• 1945: Mother’s death – apparent trigger for criminal escalation
• 1947-1952: Systematic grave robbing period
• 1947: Georgia Weckler disappearance
• 1952: Travis/Burgess disappearance
• 1953: Evelyn Hartley disappearance
• 1954: Mary Hogan murder
• 1957: Bernice Worden murder and arrest

INVESTIGATIVE LIMITATIONS

Several factors limited the full prosecution of suspected crimes:

1. Contaminated Confession: Initial confession ruled inadmissible due to police brutality
2. Limited Resources: County lacked budget to prosecute additional cases beyond Worden murder
3. Mental State: Gein declared legally insane, limiting trial proceedings
4. Evidence Destruction: Farmhouse burned down in 1958, destroying physical evidence
5. Time Factors: Some suspected crimes occurred years before arrest with degraded evidence

Ed Gein’s true criminal scope may never be fully known, but evidence suggests his activities extended far beyond the two confirmed murders that made him one of America’s most notorious killers. His crimes served as inspiration for iconic horror characters including Norman Bates (Psycho), Leatherface (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), and Buffalo Bill (The Silence of the Lambs), cementing his place as one of the most disturbing figures in American criminal history.