Horrific Discoveries at Local Farm Shock County Residents

PLAINFIELD, Wis. – Edward Theodore Gein, 51, a reclusive bachelor who lived alone on his late parents’ farm just outside Plainfield, was arrested Saturday in connection with the sudden disappearance of Mrs. Bernice Worden, 58, the longtime proprietor of Worden Hardware on Main Street. The shocking arrest, and the grisly findings that followed, have shaken this quiet farming community to its core.

Mrs. Worden was reported missing on Saturday afternoon when her son, Waushara County Deputy Sheriff Frank Worden, returned from a morning deer hunt around 5:00 p.m. and found the hardware store closed, though it should have been open. The store was locked, the cash register drawer stood open and empty, and bloodstains were clearly visible on the floor near the counter.

Deputy Worden immediately alerted Sheriff Art Schley. Upon examining the store, investigators discovered the final entry in the store’s sales receipt book — a transaction recorded by Mrs. Worden at approximately 9:30 a.m. that morning for a gallon of antifreeze sold to Ed Gein. That receipt would ultimately point the investigation straight to the reclusive farmer.

Gein was located and apprehended later that same afternoon at Waidelich’s grocery store in downtown Plainfield. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Waushara County Jail in Wautoma for questioning.

At approximately 8:00 p.m. Saturday evening, Sheriff Schley, accompanied by State Crime Lab officers and Captain Lloyd Schoephoerster of the Wisconsin State Patrol, executed a search of Gein’s farm property located several miles northwest of town. What they discovered in a small woodshed behind the farmhouse defied all expectations and left even the most experienced officers reeling.

Inside the shed, hanging from a wooden crossbeam by her heels, investigators discovered the lifeless body of Mrs. Worden. Her corpse had been decapitated, the torso slit open and gutted in a manner resembling the dressing of a deer. The body was suspended upside-down with ropes at the wrists and a wooden crossbar between the ankles. Her head was found nearby in a burlap sack. Additional remains, including what appeared to be her heart, were located in a bag near a stove inside the farmhouse.

Sheriff Schley, known for his years of calm public service, was visibly shaken and reportedly became physically ill at the scene. Witnesses said he cried out, “My God, here she is!” when the body was discovered.

As investigators pushed deeper into the farmhouse, the night unfolded into a parade of horrors more disturbing than anything local law enforcement had ever encountered. The home, though cluttered and in a severe state of disrepair, revealed a macabre collection of human remains and articles fashioned from human skin and bones. Among the items catalogued at the scene were human skulls used as bowls, furniture pieces upholstered with preserved skin, and masks made from the flayed faces of women. One item, described as a vest stitched together from a woman’s torso, complete with breasts, was found hanging in a closet.

Items believed to be of female origin were found throughout the home — fingernails, vulvas, noses, and other preserved body parts stored in boxes, jars, and paper bags. Authorities described what they found as “beyond anything previously imagined,” and Sheriff Schley has since confirmed that several items were made from body parts exhumed from local cemeteries.

District Attorney Earl F. Kileen and Judge Boyd Clark were called to the Waushara County Jail in the early hours of Sunday morning to assist in questioning Gein. According to law enforcement, Gein confessed to the murder of both Mrs. Worden and another woman, Mary Hogan, who had disappeared nearly three years earlier from her tavern near Bancroft, Wisconsin. Hogan’s case had baffled authorities since December 1954. Gein reportedly told investigators that both women bore a strong resemblance to his deceased mother, Augusta Gein, who passed away in 1945 and whose memory Gein reportedly held in religious reverence.

Authorities stated that Gein also admitted to a series of grave robberies in local cemeteries, explaining that he exhumed recently buried female corpses, particularly those of middle-aged women who reminded him of his mother. These bodies, he claimed, were brought back to the farmhouse where he would preserve parts of them for use in his grotesque household projects. Investigators believe many of the items found in his home were created during these late-night grave visits.

Gein’s arrest has sent shockwaves through Waushara County. Plainfield, with a population of just 647, has never experienced such criminal activity, let alone anything of this scale and depravity. Residents remain stunned by the revelations.

“We knew Eddie was a little strange, but nobody imagined anything like this,” said Harold Peterson, a neighboring farmer who had lived near the Gein property for over twenty years. “He mostly kept to himself. Did some odd jobs here and there. Babysat for folks. Just seemed quiet.”

Authorities are now examining unsolved missing persons cases throughout central Wisconsin to determine if there may be further victims. Gein remains in custody at the Waushara County Jail and is expected to be formally arraigned later this week. While no attorney has officially been appointed to his case, legal observers suggest that a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity may be likely based on the initial confessions and the shocking psychological profile that appears to be developing.

The gruesome details of the case have already begun to attract national media attention. Reporters from Milwaukee, Chicago, and even national wire services began arriving in Plainfield Sunday evening to cover what is being called one of the most disturbing criminal investigations in Wisconsin history. Authorities have erected barriers around the Gein property and are limiting access as the crime scene is processed.

Mrs. Worden’s store — a cornerstone of Plainfield’s downtown business district for over two decades — will remain closed for the foreseeable future. Friends and residents remember Mrs. Worden as a kind, hardworking woman who had continued to operate the store following the death of her husband several years ago.

Funeral arrangements are pending the completion of the coroner’s investigation and the arrival of family members from out of town.

Meanwhile, the farm of Ed Gein remains under tight guard as the full scope of his crimes continues to unfold. State authorities have not ruled out the possibility that more evidence — and perhaps more victims — may yet be discovered.