when was ed gein active

Ed Gein was active as a criminal mainly during the 1950s. His first known murder victim, Mary Hogan, was found dead in 1954. The investigation of his crimes peaked in 1957 after the disappearance and murder of Bernice Worden, when police discovered his grave-robbing activities and use of human body parts in various objects. He confessed to two murders and numerous grave robberies beginning around 1947. Gein was found guilty of murder in 1968 but was declared not guilty by reason of insanity and remained institutionalized until his death in 1984.