Monster: The Ed Gein Story – Did Ed Gein kill Adeline Watkins? Details from the latest Monster story on Netflix, revealed

Ed Gein, the serial killer who provided the basis for innumerable horror films, is once again the focus of true crime interest with Netflix's release of Monster: The Ed Gein Story.

One of the questions that is igniting curiosity is whether Ed Gein was involved in the disappearance and possible murder of a woman named Adeline Watkins. The Netflix docudrama examines both proven facts and long-standing rumors surrounding Gein's crimes. It blurs the lines between myth and verifiably documented fact with alarming frequency.

Ed Gein's modern-day legacy as a killer and grave robber can be traced back to his Plainfield, Wisconsin, crimes of the late 1940s and 1950s. Gein was officially implicated in the murders of two women, Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden. Their bodies or body parts were found on his rural property, along with the remains of several dug-up corpses.

Ed Gein's subsequent fame has given rise to speculations that there were other victims beyond Hogan and Worden, even other disappearances from the area during Gein's active years. The name Adeline Watkins is sometimes mentioned in forums, "unsolved" compilations, or sensational news accounts. But does the question ever find an answer? Did Ed Gein murder Adeline Watkins?

Netflix's Monster: The Ed Gein Story displays the public's fascination with such open-ended mysteries and the promises of revelations that change what viewers believe they know.

Did Ed Gein kill Adeline Watkins? Debunking the myth

There is no genuine evidence that Gein killed Adeline Watkins. This claim appears to be founded on misreporting and exaggeration.

Adeline Watkins was a real person living in Plainfield, Wisconsin, and was socially acquainted with Ed Gein. She temporarily came under tabloid attention following an interview with the Minneapolis Tribune after Gein's 1957 arrest. In it, Watkins claimed that she and Gein had a 20-year affair, referred to Gein as a quiet and discreet man, and mentioned having had multiple social outings with him. She also implied that Gein proposed to her for marriage in 1955.

This report, run in several local newspapers along with statements by Watkins’s mother, suggested a long-term close relationship between the couple.

Weeks later, however, after the first articles ran, Adeline Watkins retracted her statements in public. In a second interview with the Stevens Point Journal, she described the first article as

"... exaggerated…blown up out of proportion to its importance and containing untrue statements."

The outlet reported:

“ she said Gein during this short period stopped at the Watkins home on some afternoons or evenings and that the couple had attended shows at the Plainfield Theater ‘a few times.’”

Watkins clarified that their relationship was, at best, short and irregular, seven months of on-again, off-again dates and casual encounters, not 20 years.

Furthermore, Watkins denied having ever set foot in Gein's home and refused to describe him as particularly sweet or close. The relationship, she maintained, was at a distance and did not feature any continuing romance after gossip got underway following his arrest.

There’s no official, credible, or police evidence that directly connects the disappearance or death of Adeline Watkins with Ed Gein. Indeed, Watkins was not even missing; she was alive and making public statements following Gein's 1957 arrest. Gein's sole admitted murders, for which he was convicted, were those of Mary Hogan's (1954) and Bernice Worden's (1957).

Although detectives did look at the possibility that Gein could have been involved in other area disappearances, no evidence or plausible leads ever linked him with Watkins. There was nothing to suggest that she ever became a casualty.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story – Netflix’s true crime update

Monster: The Ed Gein Story aired on Netflix on October 3, 2025. The series is the new addition to Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan's Emmy-winning crime anthology series, based on actual events that take a look at the life and famous crimes of Ed Gein.

Ed Gein’s ghoulish activities in 1950s Wisconsin have been said to have inspired some of Hollywood's greatest horror films, including Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs.

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The series stars Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein, Laurie Metcalf as his domineering mother Augusta, Suzanna Son as Adeline Watkins, and special guests including Tom Hollander as Alfred Hitchcock. Monster: The Ed Gein Story, over eight episodes, covers Gein's abusive childhood, contentious relationship with his mother, development as a killer and grave robber, and the aftermath of his arrest.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story also covers the wider cultural impact of his crimes. It explores the ways in which Gein became the template for horror film villains and catalyzed a continuing fascination with real-life monsters. The whole season was simultaneously released globally on its launch day and therefore could be binged from the first episode to the final episode by interested viewers worldwide.

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