Ed Gein began murdering people on December 8, 1954 , when he killed Mary Hogan, a tavern owner in Pine Grove, Wisconsin. This was his first confirmed murder, although he was not apprehended until over three years later following the murder of Bernice Worden on November 16, 1957.
First Confirmed Murder
Gein's first known victim was Mary Hogan, a 54-year-old woman who ran a tavern in nearby Pine Grove that he frequented. She disappeared on December 8, 1954, and Gein later confessed to shooting her, reportedly because she resembled his deceased mother. Authorities linked him to her murder after his arrest in 1957, though he was only formally tried for the second murder due to legal and financial constraints.
Arrest and Confessions
Gein was arrested in November 1957 after the disappearance of Bernice Worden, whose body was found decapitated and gutted in his shed. During interrogation, he confessed to both murders, but the confession regarding Hogan was initially ruled inadmissible due to allegations of physical coercion by law enforcement. Despite this, the confession was widely accepted as credible given the overwhelming evidence at his farm, including human remains and artifacts made from skin.
Criminal Timeline
Gein's criminal activity spanned from December 8, 1954, to November 16, 1957 , during which he committed two confirmed murders and engaged in extensive grave robbing, exhuming bodies to create macabre household items. While suspected in other disappearances, including possibly his brother Henry in 1944, only the two murders were officially acknowledged due to lack of conclusive evidence [
