Gein was diagnosed with schizophrenia following his 1957 arrest. How the real Monster met his end: Inside Ed Gein's arrest and death

Gein was diagnosed with schizophrenia following his 1957 arrest.

How the real Monster met his end: Inside Ed Gein's arrest and death

Gein was diagnosed with schizophrenia following his 1957 arrest.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a writer and editor at **. His work has previously appeared on *The A.V. Club, The Guardian, The Ringer*, and many other publications.

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October 7, 2025 6:00 p.m. ET

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Serial killer Ed Gein is escorted from the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory to the county jail after confessing to two murders. Credit:

- Season 3 of Netflix's *Monster* anthology centers on Ed Gein, the Butcher of Plainfield.

- The eight-episode season explores how Gein's gruesome crimes have rippled through pop culture.

- Gein died at the age of 77 from a respiratory ailment.

As implied by the end of Netflix's *Monster: The Ed Gein Story*, the killer known as the Butcher of Plainfield will live forever.

After all, Gein's crimes against both the living and dead helped to inspire now-iconic cinematic horror titans like *Psycho*'s Norman Bates, *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre*'s Leatherface, and *The Silence of the Lambs*' Buffalo Bill, among others.

And, as we see in the final moments of Ian Brennan's series, Gein himself has evolved into something of a mythic figure: "Satan lives," reads graffiti on his gravestone.

But for all his infamy, Gein was simply a man. And after committing acts that only a monster could, he lived and died like a man.

Below are the details of Gein's final years, from his arrest to his death.**

How was Ed Gein caught?

Ed Gein with his attorney, William Belter, at the Wabsara County Court.

According to a 1957 report from TIME, Gein, a 51-year-old resident of Plainfield, Wis., was arrested at his home — reportedly while finishing a dinner of "pork chops, macaroni and cheese, pickles, coffee, and cookies" — following the murder of 58-year-old general store owner Bernice Worden.

At Gein's farmhouse, police officers found Worden's decapitated body, which had been disemboweled and "cleaned like you'd clean a deer," per a report from the *Stevens Point Daily Journal*.

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Gein had visited the store owned by Worden on Nov. 15, 1957, the day before he was arrested. Per a receipt found at the scene, he was expected to return the next day for antifreeze. When her son, a deputy sheriff named Frank Worden, found her store empty on Saturday, he fetched his key only to find "blood splashed over the floor of the store."

Since Gein had been spotted at the store the day before, Frank informed Sheriff Art Schley, who searched the premises. There, in addition to Worden's body, officers found, among other disturbing things, multiple human skulls, a tom tom made of a cover with human skin, and leather made from human skin that had been used to upholster furniture and craft lampshades and belts.

What happened to Ed Gein?

Following his arrest, Gein confessed to the murders of Worden and another woman, a 51-year-old tavern owner named Mary Hogan, who disappeared in December 1954, according to the *Prescott Evening Courier*.

He also admitted to robbing the graves and stealing the heads of nine different corpses from both the Plainfield Cemetery and the Spiritland Cemetery in Almond, Wis.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Gein was ordered to undergo 30 days of mental observation at the Central State Hospital and was diagnosed as a schizophrenic. As such, he was declared unfit for trial.

That changed after roughly a decade at Central State Hospital. In 1968, he was tried and convicted for Worden's murder, but found "innocent by reason of insanity," per the *Chicago Tribune*. He spent the rest of his life in mental institutions.

How did Ed Gein die?

Ed Gein in a Wautoma court.

Ed Gein died in 1984 at the age of 77 from a respiratory ailment at the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wis., per a *New York Times* obituary.**

How can I watch Monster: The Ed Gein Story?

All eight episodes of *Monster: The Ed Gein Story* are available to stream on Netflix.**

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