Case Study: Analyzing the Sinister Activities of Edward Theodore Gein

This case study delves into the life and crimes of Edward Theodore Gein, also known as the Butcher of Plainfield. It explores his troubled childhood, the impact of his family's deaths, and the development of his mental instability. The essay details his gruesome murders, the artifacts found at his property, and his trial where he was acquitted due to insanity. The analysis highlights the lasting impact of Gein's story on American popular culture, emphasizing his portrayal as a quintessential psycho who committed inhuman acts. References to relevant literature are also provided, offering a comprehensive understanding of Gein's case and its significance in the study of criminal psychology.

Running head: AMERICAN PSYCHO
CHARACTER ANALYSIS AND CASE STUDY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1AMERICAN PSYCHO
Edward Theodore born on August 1906 is known to mankind as The Butcher of
Plainfield, who committed numerous murders and used to collect dead bodies as trophies in
his residence. In his lifetime he murdered many people, but legally he was declared as a man
with no sanity and sent to the Psychiatric Institutions to seek help. This essay stresses on the
life of Edward Theodore and his sinister activities and further reveals how he got caught and
how he was excused due to his insanity in the trial.
Edward Theodore was born n La Crosse County in the land of United States in the
year of 1906 and had a troubled childhood due to his alcoholic father and extremely religious
mother (Wiest, 2016). After the back to back death of his father, elder brother and mother
shook the foundation of Edward’s mental stability causing severe harm to his life. On the
year of 1967 an owner of a hardware store was disappeared and no trace of him. After the
investigation by the police department, they got to know that Edward visited the store to buy
a gallon of antifreeze and after that the store keeper went missing. That day, Edward was
arrested and when police raided his property, the body of the storekeeper was found hanging
upside down with a crossbar tied to her ankles and her dead body was brutally decapitated.
The police further searched his property and was shocked to see whole human bones and
fragments of human bones, a wastebasket made out of human skin, human skins used as a
seat cover of chairs, numerous skulls were found and some of the skulls top portions were
sawn off. Not only that, a corset made out of female torso that was skinned from shoulders to
waist was found. Various masks made out of the skin of female heads were also found in his
property. A belt made of nipples of women was also found in his property (Holmes &
Holmes, 2016). Apart from these many more disturbing artifacts were found at Edward’s
place that resulted too many sleepless nights of the investigators. Those artifacts were
photographed and then were destroyed as those were very disturbing for the officers involved
in this case. At the trial, Edward confessed that he used to visit graveyard to steal dead bodies

2AMERICAN PSYCHO
from there and he stole near about nine dead bodies by digging the graves single handedly.
Then Edward was charged of committing first degree murder in Waushara County court but
he defended himself by saying that his mental condition is not good and due to insanity he
cannot be charged as guilty (Schechter, 2012). Then at the second trial too he was set free due
to his insanity as the medical board nodded their head in favor of him. He then lived the rest
of his life in the mental hospital and was not thrown behind the bars. Later on his house was
destroyed by fire but the reason behind it remained unknown and many movies were made
and books were written on Edward’s story and he became a topic of every discussion for a
while (Hickey, 2013).
Thus it can be said that, Edward Theodore was one of the most brutal murderers in
history and his stories had a lasting effect on the popular culture of America by its usage in
various movies, books and literature. Edward Theodore Gein thus became a popular character
in the history of America by being a perfect psycho who committed inhuman sinister
activities in his lifetime.

3AMERICAN PSYCHO
References
Wiest, J. B. (2016). Creating cultural monsters: Serial murder in America. CRC Press.
Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (2016). Fatal Violence: Case Studies and Analysis of
Emerging Forms. CRC Press.
Schechter, H. (2012). The A to Z encyclopedia of serial killers. Simon and Schuster.
Hickey, E. W. (2013). Serial murderers and their victims. Cengage Learning.