In the winter of 1954, a Plainfield tavern keeper by the name of Mary Hogan mysteriously disappeared from her place of business. Police suspected foul play when they discovered blood on the tavern floor that trailed into the parking lot. Gein’s needs escalated into believing to perfect his desired sex change he would need fresher bodies.
On December 8, 1954, Gein, now age 48, was attending Mary Hogan’s tavern and shared the bar space with hunters and farmers who enjoyed putting back a few and listening to the sailor talk of bartender/owner Mary. She had a mouth and demeanor that “Mother” wouldn’t approve. That night Mary Hogan vanished with only a trail of blood on the floor that led outside.
The police were unable to solve the strange disappearance of Mary Hogan, but with the blood found at the tavern, they knew she was most likely a victim of foul play.
Police also discovered an empty bullet cartridge on the floor. Police could only speculate about what might have happened to Mary because like the other missing people, they had no bodies and little useful evidence. The only other common tie among these cases was that all of the disappearances happened around or in Plainfield, Wisconsin.
Ed Gein Kills His Final Victim
On November 16, Gein robbed Worden at the local hardware store she owned and killed her. Her son, a deputy, had suspected Eddie from the start. Earlier he was in the shop to purchase some antifreeze. He was always looking at her as though he was peeling her clothes off. (or in Ed’s mind her skin) Found at the crime scene was receipt from the last customer… Ed Gein. Blood was on the floor and the cash register was missing. The deputy rounded up some men and went to Ed’s farmhouse only to discover his mother’s body naked and gutted like a deer in his summer shed and the missing cash register.
When authorities searched Gein’s farmhouse, they found an unimaginably grisly scene: organs were in the refrigerator, a heart sat on the stove, and heads had been made into soup bowls. Apparently, Gein had kept various organs from his grave digging and murders as keepsakes and for decoration. He had also used human skin to upholster chairs.
Though it is believed that he killed others during this time, Gein only admitted to the murders of Worden and Hogan and that was only after getting a piece of apple pie with some cheese on it as a reward for speaking. He was describing the killings when he had a funny look on his face of disgust. The physiologist had though that Eddie was showing signs of remorse until Ed said: “This cheese taste dried out, it’s giving me a stomach ache.” He then smiled and continued to describe his gristly work as though he was telling how to change the oil filter on his ford truck.
In 1958, Gein was declared insane and sent to the Wisconsin State Hospital in Mendota, where he remained until his death in 1984.
He was such a good patient that he was allowed to have huge hedge clippers when trimming the landscape outside the hospital.
Mother! Blood!
The police questioned everyone that was at the tavern the night of her disappearance and it also included Eddie Gein, but after they spoke to Ed, they had thought that this simpleton couldn’t possibly be a suspect and moved on to other leads.
Ed joked with the locals with “Mary isn’t missing… She is back at my farmhouse right now.” Everyone laughed. Little did they know that Mary was at his farmhouse butchered up and her head was in a paper sack.
