Serial Killer Research
By: BrookLyn Hallum
Ed Gein
Information
Ed Gein: Male, 48 (when he began killing), Attended school but the amount is uncertain, never married, loner.
Growing up, Edward "Ed" Theodore Gein only had his family. His father was a drunk, his brother was perfect and his mom was a hard-core Christian. She ran the house with an iron fist and often verbally abused her boys, thinking they would only grow up to be failures like their father. She opposed the idea of her boys having friends (not that Ed was having any luck because of his mannerisms). But through it all, Ed worshipped his mother.
After his mother died on December 29th 1945,, he isolated himself. He felt like he was all alone in the world. No one knows exactly why he started killing people but a specific reason was never reached. The loneliness made him become increasingly deranged. Secluding himself to only 2 rooms of his house, he passed his time reading pulp and anatomy.
Based on the horrors he committed, Ed Gein was considered to have had trouble with his sexuality or rather his identity. He used the women's body parts to try and create a woman's body that resembled his mothers.
He was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Richard Chase
Information
He grew with a little sister and bickering parents. At the age of 10 he was killing animals and starting fires which are early signs of a serial killer. During his late teens he went to a psychiatrist and they told him he either has a mental illness (paranoid schizophrenic) or repressed anger. He never went back. He attributed his anger to his mother as he would tell people that his mother abused him.