Bernice Worden's hardware store

This is the former location of Worden's hardware store.

It is situated at 110 South Main Street in Plainfield, Wisconsin.

In 1957, it became the scene of an infamous murder after a grave robber named Ed Gein shot and killed the owner, Bernice Worden.

Later, Worden's remains were found hanging upside down in a shed on his rural property.

Worden's disappearance

Worden was a 58-year-old widow who ran the store with the help of her son, Frank.

November 16, 1957, was a bitterly cold Saturday in Wisconsin. It also marked the beginning of the new deer hunting season.

That day, Frank, like many of the other residents, ventured off into the snow-filled woods with his rifle, eager to claim his first big buck.

After spending the afternoon hunting, he returned to Plainfield at around 5 p.m. to stop by the family business and check on his mother.

When he went inside, he saw that the store was empty, the lights were still on, and the cash register was open.

Even more troubling was a large, partially wiped blood stain that ran along the floor towards the garage area where the store's truck was normally parked.

Gein becomes a suspect

After checking the receipts, Frank could see that the last item his mother sold was a gallon of antifreeze.

This immediately led him to suspect Gein, a local, affable oddball who had been a regular customer over the years. The previous evening, the handyman had visited the store to register his interest in purchasing some antifreeze. Gein was also aware that Worden would be by herself that day, as Frank had told him about his plans to go hunting.

When Frank told the police about the receipt, they immediately set about locating Gein.

Shortly afterwards, they found him at a nearby grocery store, and he agreed to sit in the back of their patrol car and answer some questions.

During the conversation, one of the officers accused him of contradicting parts of his story. In response, Gein suddenly blurted out that he had been framed.

After being asked to elaborate on what he meant by this, the local handyman let it slip that Worden was dead.

At the time, the police were still searching for Worden. However, Gein presumed that he was being questioned because they had already found her remains.

When the officers reacted in shock to the revelation, Gein quickly realized his mistake.

At that point, he claimed he had merely "heard" she was dead.

The officers then asked him who had said such a thing, but he was unable to provide them with any names.

Discovery of Worden's body

On that cold, wintry night, two police officers arrived at Gein's empty property and began to search the grounds with their flashlights.

As they were trudging through the snow in complete darkness, they spotted a small shed that was attached to his unlit farmhouse.

Knowing the shed contained a door to the residence, they decided to see if it was unlocked. After stepping inside the shed, one of the officers directed his flashlight at a large, shadowy object that was dangling from the rafters.

To his horror, he soon realized that it was the body of Worden.

Gein had dismembered Worden, gutted her remains, and then dangled her upside down in his shed.

Following the discovery, investigators entered the house and were shocked to find human skulls, bones, organs, and skin, among other inconceivable horrors that the lonely grave robber had collected over the years.

The officers later found Worden's head inside a burlap sack. Her heart was wrapped in a plastic bag that Gein had left beside his stove.

Shooting

Following his arrest, Gein claimed that he was checking out a rifle in the hardware store when it suddenly discharged and killed Worden. He also insisted that he was in a daze after the shooting and that he didn't remember much of what he did.

The autopsy report indicated that Worden was shot in the back of the head, dragged across the floor of the hardware store, and loaded into the company truck.

Gein then drove out to a wooded area before parking the truck and traveling back to Plainfield on foot. After walking back into town and retrieving his car, he returned to the truck, picked up Worden, and drove back to his farmhouse.