American Murderer & Body Snatcher Ed Gein on This Day in History

Ed Gein Documentary

This Day In History: American murderer and body snatcher Ed Gein was born on this day in 1906. Also known as the Butcher of Plainfield or the Plainfield Ghoul, Ed Gein exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned trophies and keepsakes from their bones and skin. His crimes were so remarkable that he inspired some of the most iconic horror movies of all time: Psycho (1960), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

Did you know that there are more than 222,000 unsolved murders since 1980. In 1965, the U.S. homicide clearance rate was 91 percent. By 2017, it had dropped to 61.6 percent, one of the lowest rates in the Western world. That means about 40 percent of the time, murderers get away with murder. On the bright side, the prevalence of serial killers have dropped 85 percent in the past 40 years.

Interesting fact: There is a legal Murder Zone in Yellowstone National Park. "There is a stretch of 50 miles within Yellowstone that crosses parts of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. If someone were to commit murder on this piece of land, the crime would take place in the state of Idaho, but under Wyoming's discretion. This portion of Yellowstone is unpopulated, with no potential jury members living in the area. Therefore, no jury trial can take place." ~Jessika M. Thomas 

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