Ed Gein, the notorious Wisconsin serial killer, was buried in a family plot in Plainfield Cemetery after his death in July 1984, but his grave remains unmarked today. Gein, who confessed to murdering two women and exhuming graves to make items from human remains, spent the rest of his life in psychiatric care following his arrest in 1957.
Gein was initially committed to Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Waupun, Wisconsin, before being transferred to Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison. He died at Mendota from respiratory failure caused by cancer at the age of 77.
After his death, Gein was buried alongside his mother, Augusta, and brother, Henry. His father, George, had been buried earlier in 1940. The family plot eventually became a target for true crime enthusiasts due to Gein’s infamous crimes, which inspired films such as Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs.
Over the years, visitors chipped away pieces of Gein’s gray granite headstone as souvenirs, some of which were allegedly sold online. In June 2000, the entire 200-pound headstone was stolen, and it has never been recovered. Authorities monitored online marketplaces but did not locate it.
Since the theft, cemetery staff have not replaced the headstone. Betty Petrusky, a cemetery caretaker, said the grave would remain covered in grass with no marker. Despite the lack of a headstone, flowers and other mementos have occasionally been left at the site.
Today, Ed Gein’s gravesite lies unmarked between his mother and brother, a quiet reminder of the dark history surrounding the “Butcher of Plainfield.”
