## The Truth Behind Ed Gein's Murders: Separating Netflix Drama From Historical Facts

Netflix's latest _Monster_ anthology series offers a dramatized look at one of America's most disturbing criminals. But just how many people did Ed Gein actually murder, and what really happened to his brother Henry? The series, starring Charlie Hunnam as the notorious "Butcher of Plainfield," takes creative liberties with the true story—some more significant than others.

## The Confirmed Victims: Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden

When investigators finally caught up with Ed Gein in 1957, they uncovered evidence of horrific crimes. The Wisconsin killer confessed to two confirmed murders, both women who bore a striking resemblance to his deceased mother.

Gein's first known victim was **Mary Hogan**, a 51-year-old tavern owner. He shot and killed her in 1954, but her disappearance went largely unnoticed for three years. It wasn't until police searched Gein's property that they discovered her skull and facial skin preserved in his home—a chilling reminder of the depravity that had unfolded on his farmland.

**Bernice Worden** became his second victim on November 17, 1957. Gein visited her hardware store the night before, and store records showed he purchased antifreeze the following morning—the last transaction Worden completed that day. When her son discovered a pool of blood in the store later that afternoon, police arrived to find one of the most gruesome crime scenes in American history. In Gein's shed, authorities found Worden's mutilated, headless corpse. Throughout his house lay human remains fashioned into household items: skulls converted into soup bowls, lampshades and clothing crafted from human skin, and a belt made from human nipples.

## Was Ed Gein Responsible For His Brother Henry's Death?

The Netflix series depicts a dramatic scene where Gein murders his 43-year-old brother Henry to prevent him from leaving their controlling mother. In the show, Gein strikes Henry with wood and stages a fire to cover up the crime. Reality tells a different story.

In May 1944, the two brothers were burning marsh vegetation near their Plainfield farmhouse when the fire spiraled out of control. Firefighters responded to the blaze, but Henry went missing during the chaos. His body was later recovered, severely burned. The official cause of death was ruled as asphyxiation leading to heart failure, and investigators found no evidence of foul play at the time.

Significantly, **Ed Gein never confessed to killing Henry**. However, suspicions surfaced years later when his admitted murders came to light—particularly because Gein himself reported the fire to local authorities, an action that raised eyebrows among investigators who eventually pursued him for the confirmed killings of Hogan and Worden.

## Understanding Ed Gein: Background and Psychological Breakdown

Born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 1906, Gein grew up on a rural farm in Plainfield with a deeply troubled family dynamic. He maintained an intense attachment to his mother while harboring resentment toward his father, whom he alleged was physically abusive. His father's death from heart failure in 1940 and Henry's mysterious death in 1944 left deep psychological scars. But the pivotal moment came in 1945 when his mother suffered two strokes; the second proved fatal.

After her death, Gein never left the family home. He preserved his mother's bedroom exactly as she left it and increasingly spiraled into isolation and delusion. He began studying human anatomy obsessively and eventually turned to grave robbing, stealing corpses from local cemeteries. This twisted behavior eventually escalated into the murders of Hogan and Worden.

## The Legal Outcome: Trial, Verdict, and Lifetime Institutionalization

Following his 1957 arrest on first-degree murder charges, Gein entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Psychiatric evaluation confirmed he suffered from schizophrenia, and he was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial. He was committed to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Waupun.

A decade later, in 1968, officials determined Gein was mentally stable enough for trial. He was convicted of first-degree murder in Worden's death, but the verdict stood as not guilty by reason of insanity due to his documented mental illness at the time of the crime. He never faced trial for Hogan's murder or charges related to Henry's death or suspected additional victims.

Gein spent the remainder of his life institutionalized, transferred from Central State Hospital to Mendota Mental Institute in Madison. He died in 1984 at age 77 from lung cancer complications, taking many unanswered questions to his grave about how many people did Ed Gein actually murder beyond the two he confessed to.

## Netflix's Creative Interpretation vs. Historical Record

_Monster: The Ed Gein Story_ succeeds in capturing the disturbing essence of its subject, but viewers should recognize where the series departs from documented facts. The Henry murder dramatization serves the narrative tension of the show but remains unproven by historical evidence. The series emphasizes the psychological torment and maternal obsession that shaped Gein—elements grounded in reality—while amplifying certain dramatic moments for television effect.

The confirmed murders of Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden represent the documented extent of Gein's killing spree, though his grave-robbing activities and collection of human remains suggest a far darker criminal mind than his confession alone reveals.