The Victim's Family w/ audio

The Victim's Family

The final piece of this social experiment required a confrontation with the human cost of the Gein myth. Shane Bugbee, whose own journey into this world is famously detailed in his new book "I STOLE ED GEIN'S TOMBSTONE," reached out to the Warden family to document the impact of his latest provocation. The grandson of Gein's final victim, Bernice Warden, had been named as the source of a violent threat. Bugbee spoke with his wife, Donna Warden.

What transpired was not a confrontation over a rusty truck, but a raw and poignant testimony on the nature of generational trauma and the pain of seeing a family tragedy turned into a public spectacle. This conversation provides the essential, human context for the entire Gein phenomenon. It is the conscience of a story that began with a stolen tombstone and culminated in a national controversy, the full scope of which is explored in the new book, "I STOLE ED GEIN'S TOMBSTONE." The original audio is included above.

Transcript: The Donna Warden Phone Call

Shane Bugbee: Hello? Hello. Is Leon in?

Donna Warden: No, he is not.

Shane Bugbee: Oh, okay. You know when I could call and get ahold of him, you think?

Donna Warden: I don't know. He just left, so it might be half an hour or so. May I ask who's calling?

Shane Bugbee: Yeah, my name's Shane.

Donna Warden: So he is going to know who you are then?

Shane Bugbee: Probably not, but it is just in reference to some problems he had last night, I guess. And I just wanted to figure out what was going on.

Donna Warden: Problems from where, because I was with him last night. Okay. Well you can talk to me. I'm his wife.

Shane Bugbee: Okay. Well, I want to talk to Leon as well... I mean, I want to know what's going on. I'm in a deal with Dave, so I want to understand what the hell's going on here. I'm in a deal with Dave with the Ed Gein truck.

Donna Warden: It's not an Ed Gein truck.

Shane Bugbee: Right. And that's why I wanted to call Leon, seeing as Leon is calling and talking about skinning Dave, like Ed Gein did. I want to know what's going on.

Donna Warden: He didn't call and say he was going to skin anybody, so I don't know where you're getting that from. He called and told Dave that he wanted that taken off eBay, because what's written on there is false.

Shane Bugbee: What's false about it?

Donna Warden: It is not Ed Gein's truck. It doesn't exist. And to sell it and present it like you are presenting it...

Shane Bugbee: I'm not selling it now.

Donna Warden: Well, but now you're calling for Dave... Nobody threatened him. I'm sorry. And I really don't even want my husband to go there again because he settled down today. And I mean, this is very hurtful. He's had to live with this stuff all his life. It's very hurtful.

Shane Bugbee: Because he's related to Ms. Warden.

Donna Warden: Yeah, very much so. It opens up a lot of old wounds. And I'm sorry to say that this man is very wrong for doing what he's doing.

Shane Bugbee: Yeah, because he's from the area.

Donna Warden: ...this guy's just taken a lot for granted. I don't think he has any proof of any of this.

Shane Bugbee: Well, and he doesn't say he has any proof in the listing. I mean, I've seen the listing and he doesn't say it is, and he doesn't say, it isn't like a huckster, a circus guy. You know what I mean? Someone working the crowd.

Donna Warden: Well, and that's it. I don't think it's right. Even if that's what he is doing, that he buys it and falsely misleads people to that.

Shane Bugbee: I think he really believes it, but I think it's crazy and dangerous to do it up there in Plainfield.

Donna Warden: Well, yeah. When all the family lives around here...

Shane Bugbee: Are you talking about the Gein family?

Donna Warden: No, the Warden family. And as far as Bobby Hill, his name is plastered all over this.

Shane Bugbee: Well, that's the one that, he's the guy who should be the most upset. He basically says like Bobby Hill's father was Ed Gein's lover.

Donna Warden: And it's sad... These people don't think of what their actions are. And so we have enough problems with city folk coming in and standing downtown and saying, well, where's the hardware store where it all happened? You don't talk like that in town here. People are very quiet about it. They respect the families of and leave it be.

Shane Bugbee: Yeah, I've been to Plainfield about 15 times... I'm not there to upset or bother people.

Donna Warden: We just try to live with it, and I would like my children not to have to live with it. His dad has, his aunt has, his uncle has. I just like it to be every year it seems to get a little bit better. But then things like this bring everything up to the surface again.

Shane Bugbee: How old was Leon when Ms. Warden passed?

Donna Warden: He was a baby, but a toddler, but still that was his grandma.

Shane Bugbee: Yeah. That he never got to know.

Donna Warden: How would you feel? You almost have to put yourself into the shoes of the family to know exactly what they've gone through all their lives.

Shane Bugbee: What'd you think about the headstone getting stolen?

Donna Warden: Yeah, right. What else? Somebody's out to make a quick buck.

Shane Bugbee: Wasn't that nice for it to be removed from the town?

Donna Warden: Yeah, I guess so.