Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Mary Hogan Pt. 1

Episode Date: November 11, 2020

In 1954, a 55-year-old tavern owner in central Wisconsin went missing, leaving behind a disturbing crime scene. Police caught a break in her case when a similar abduction occurred nearly three years later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of violence, mutilation, and murder that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. On December 8, 1954, at around 5.15 p.m., a farmer named Seymour Lester decided to make a quick trip to the local tavern in Pine Grove, Wisconsin. His 14-year-old daughter, Betsy, was home sick with the flu. He was hoping to pick up some ice cream to raise her spirits. Seymour strolled through the front door and glanced behind the bar, expecting to see the tavern owner Mary Hogan.

Instead, he found the place empty. He took a few more steps inside before realizing that something was wrong. One of the chairs had been tipped over, a cup of coffee had been knocked to the ground, and most alarmingly, dark street. streaks of blood were smeared across the floor. Seymour realized he'd just stumbled upon a crime scene. Suddenly, Mary Hogan's absence seemed like a chilling sign.

Wherever she'd gone, she hadn't left without a fight, and the copious amounts of blood made Seymour suspect that the confrontation had turned deadly. Welcome to Solved Murder's True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host, Carter Roy. And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday, we step into the world of true crimes, most fascinating murder cases,

and tell the tale of how real-life detectives close the case. You can find episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify. This is our first episode on the infamous disappearance of Mary Hogan in 1954. We'll talk about how the crime went unsolved for nearly three years. The police had all but given up on the case. case when the disappearance of a second woman finally led them towards answers. But the mystery's resolution was more disturbing than they could ever imagine. In part two, we'll discuss how the horrifying crime quickly turned into a media sensation forever changing the town of

Plainfield, Wisconsin. We'll also talk about how the case became a pop culture phenomenon for the next half a century. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th,

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December 8, 1954, Seymour Lester discovered signs of a violent altercation at a local tavern in Pine Grove, Wisconsin. Disturbed, he decided to call up the town chairman, Vilas Waterman, to let him know what he had found. When Waterman arrived, he thought it would be best to phone the sheriff of Portage County, Harold S. Thompson, before going any further. Sheriff Thompson probably didn't expect to embark on one of the biggest criminal investigations of his career. A month prior in November, Thompson had lost his re-election bid as County Sheriff to challenger Florian Cruza. Thompson's term was about to come to an end, but he would have his hands full in his final month on the job. When Sheriff Thompson got to Mary's Tavern, he noted a coffee cup that had fallen to the ground next to the overturned chair. He also spotted

a book resting on one of the tables and surveyed the crimson spatters on the ground. He noted. ground. The blood pattern suggested that a body had been dragged across the floor to the exit. The blood trail continued outside and then abruptly ended. On the floor near the bar, Sheriff Thompson also found an empty shell for a 32 caliber weapon. The cash register was empty, but when Sheriff Thompson entered the back room and continued to search the tavern, he found more than $3,000 distributed among various cigar boxes and purses. If Rob, had been the primary motive for the crime, the perpetrator had left a considerable sum behind. What do you think, Sheriff?

From the coffee cup and the book, I'm guessing she was sitting here reading and sipping coffee. Whoever did this must have taken her by surprise. Why do you say that? She owned a gun. I saw it in the back. She didn't have time to go for it, though. Hmm. You must have shot her first. Yeah, then I guess you dragged her body outside.

probably loaded her into his car and drove away. What'd she ever do to deserve that? I do not know. Let's go check her house. The sheriff couldn't understand why anyone would want to kill the 55-year-old tavern owner. He wondered whether anybody might have been holding a grudge against her, perhaps someone from her past. Nobody in Pine Grove knew much about Mary's background. She had only been living there a few years.

Once she disappeared, investigators were tasked with piecing her history together. Portage County District Attorney, Robert C. Jenkins, poured over every available government record to gather as much information as he could. He found out that Mary was an immigrant, born in Ducenburg, Germany at the turn of the 20th century. She immigrated to the United States sometime before 1920, and she was married in Springfield, Illinois. Her husband, Joseph Medved, was a coal miner 15 years for senior. The marriage didn't last and the couple divorced in 1925. Ten years later, Mary wed again this time to a man named Louis Peck.

She and her husband moved to Chicago and spent a few years together before splitting up in 1939. Mary cited cruelty as grounds for her second divorce. Perhaps hoping to distance herself from her ex-husband, Mary began using the last name Hogan, immediately after her marriage ended. For a while, she supported herself in Chicago. She claimed to work as a printer,

but after questioning some of her old friends in Chicago, investigators harbored some suspicions that she had been involved in organized crime. It's not clear whether these suspicions were correct, and in any case, Mary apparently decided to leave that old life behind. In 1949, Mary left Chicago and moved to the small town of Pine Grove, Wisconsin. She purchased her tavern and a modest home behind it.

Mary's tavern proved to be a lucrative business. It became a popular spot for Jamaican and Mexican migrant workers to wind down and socialize during the long harvest months. Mary was reputed to be a commanding woman. Tall and solidly built, she didn't hesitate to act as bouncer whenever she needed to eject intoxicated people from her tavern. She was loud, body, and quick to use foul language. But she was reasonably well-liked and respected.

She didn't seem to have any enemies in Pine Grove. After her disappearance, Sheriff Thompson took the time to question her patrons and friends. He even reached out to authorities in Germany to see if any relatives in her birth country could offer answers. But despite digging into Mary's history, the sheriff's department couldn't find any clues or suspects. With no leads from Mary's past, Sheriff Thompson turned his focus to the evening of her disappearance. For a more thorough investigation of the crime scene, he called on Wisconsin State Crime Lab experts. A team from Madison soon arrived to examine the blood stains and lift fingerprints. The sheriff also began to interview any possible witnesses.

He found that a few customers had last seen Mary around 4.40 in the afternoon on December 8th. This left a narrow window of time for the attack to have occurred since Seymour Lester had walked into the empty bar around 515. The sheriff's department launched a farm-to-farm check of each residence in the surrounding four counties to ask everyone about their whereabouts during this time frame. To start, Thompson made sure to knock on every door in the neighborhood surrounding Mary's place. While talking to one neighbor of the tavern, the sheriff got his first break in the case. You didn't see anything strange?

I don't know about strange. I saw a green truck parked outside the tavern. When was that? Late afternoon, I'd say. It drove off just before 5 p.m. Is that right? You got a good look at the vehicle? Pretty good look.

I saw that it was a dark green pickup truck with wooden racks. That's great. You've been a big help. As Thompson continued interviewing Mary's neighbors, the green pickup truck stood out as an important potential clue. Oh, Sheriff, thank goodness, it's just you. This Mary Hogan business has got me rattled, and locking my door for the first time in decades.

That's what I've come to talk about. I don't know how much I can help. I didn't see anything. You didn't by chance see a green pickup truck parked in front of Mary's place yesterday? Oh, I did see one. Not parked at the tavern, but driving away from it. Around what time would you say? Maybe about 5 p.m.? Did you see where it was headed?

I sure did. It was going west on County Trunk D, speeding pretty fast too. Anything else? Yeah, I saw something in the truck bed, something covered in tarp. You don't think... I'll be sure to look into it. Thank you. Thompson sent an alarm to every police department in the state,

asking officers to keep their eyes open for trucks fitting the description. Unfortunately, locating a single pickup truck proved to be like searching for a needle in a haystack. As one newspaper put it, virtually every farmer in the area owned one fitting the general description. Still, Sheriff Thompson felt hopeful when he received a tip about a Portage County man who owned a dark green Dodge pickup truck. The vehicle matched the description given by the witnesses, and neighbors had spotted something suspicious in the truck bed. It appeared that the back of the truck had been smeared with blood. Coming up, Sheriff Thompson races to pursue his first lead in the Mary Hogan case.

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that might just have the power to change our fates. Get holding your breath while passing a cemetery, save your life. Will carrying a rabbit's foot bring you luck? How can you go through life, always avoiding the number 13, and why should you try? They may seem mystical,

or even completely illogical, but one thing is certain you ignore them at your own risk. You can find and follow superstitions free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. To hear more Parcast shows, search Parcast Network in Spotify's search bar and find a growing slate of thrilling new series to enjoy. And now, back to the story. On December 10th, 1954, 55-year-old Mary Hogan, mysteriously vanished from her tavern, and a green pickup truck was seen speeding away from the crime scene. One of Mary's neighbors owned such a pickup truck. When blood was discovered in the

truck bed, the vehicle owner quickly became investigators' first suspect. This neighbor's name was not released to the press. For the purpose of this episode, we'll call him John. Good evening, John. Can I help you, gentlemen? Might be you can. I was. I was I was wondering if my deputy could take a look at your truck out front. That's fine with me. While he's looking, can I ask you some questions? Sure. Do you know Mary Hogan?

I do. Ever been to Mary's Tavern? Sure, I was just there the other day. You mean the day she went missing? Yep, but I don't know anything about that. I didn't see what happened to her. Neither did it in my daughter. Your daughter?

Yeah, she was with me when I stepped by the tavern to pick up some cigarettes. I got my smokes and my daughter and I left. Mary didn't look like she was in any trouble then. I can't figure out what happened to her. You sure your daughter was with you the whole time? Of course, you can ask her. I plan on it. Sheriff, look over here in the truck bed.

There is blood. Sir, do you mind if I ask why there's blood in the back of your truck? Don't mind at all. It's rabbit's blood. I went hunting earlier this week and hauled the rabbits. back home in the truck. Okay, we'll check on that. Thanks for your time.

Authorities took a sample of the blood from the back of the truck. The analysis indicated that the suspect was telling the truth. The blood did, in fact, belong to an animal. With this result, the sheriff's new lead evaporated as quickly as it had emerged. Authorities had no choice but to start over from scratch. They continued interviewing residents and questions. potential suspects. According to newspaper reports, one person was briefly held at the county jail, but he was able to provide an alibi for his whereabouts on the afternoon of the disappearance.

At that point, time was running out for Harold Thompson. His term as sheriff was coming to an end. In January of 1955, other law enforcement officers tried to pick up where he left off, but there was little there to pursue. Every lead the sheriff had uncovered in the weeks following Mary's disappearance had fizzled within days. Authorities thought that they had forward movement in February of 1955 when a man named Jerome Masco was arrested in nearby Wichara County. The man was wanted for a string of several dozen burglaries in central Wisconsin. Jerome carried a firearm of the same caliber as the shell discovered on Mary Hogan's

tavern floor, and when police searched Masco's car, they found blood in the trunk. Look, I admit it. I hit that store in Stetsonville, but I had nothing to do with this Hogan lady. It'll be easier if you cooperate. I'm trying to. You know, I heard they lifted a fingerprint in that tavern. Wouldn't be hard to check for a match. Go ahead. It wasn't mine. I wasn't there. If you didn't kill Mary Hogan, who did you kill?

I didn't kill anybody! So you can explain the blood in your trunk? I was shooting Bucks in your Black River last week. week. The blood probably came from a deer. I'm telling you, it wasn't me. After Masco's arrest, an analysis of the blood showed that it belonged to an animal, not a human. And apparently, police didn't have any evidence connecting Masco to the Pine Grove area at the time of Mary's disappearance. Massgo's arrest was yet another dead end. Around the same time, authorities were able to track down Mary Hogan's closest remaining relative.

a daughter named Christine Selvo. Mary had given birth to Christine 36 years earlier in the year 1919, but she had given the child up to be raised by relatives. Mary had listed her daughter's name in her insurance policy, but Christine hadn't seen her mother in decades. She knew nothing about Mary's disappearance, and she couldn't provide any new information to the police. By the spring of 1955, the case seemed to have stalled out.

The community moved on. A new proprietor named Henry Sherman took over the business of Mary's Tavern that May. A little over a year after her murder, in January of 1956, a public auction was held for Mary's belongings. Once her possessions were sold off, that seemed to be the last public news

anybody heard about the mysterious case. Only a few hints of gossip and speculation remained. A few residents indulged in gallows' humor about the disturbing crime. One local farmer named Elmo Eke later recalled teasing his neighbor, Edward Gein, about Mary's disappearance. Edward Gein was a shy hermit

who spent much of his time alone. He rarely talked to women, but he was a frequent customer of Mary's, and he spent a lot of time staring at her whenever he was at the tavern. One afternoon, while Edward performed some handyman tasks at Elmo's farm, Elmo brought the subject up.

Hey there, Ed. If you had the guts to actually cord Mary instead of just stare at her, maybe she wouldn't be missing now. She's not missing, Elmo. No? She's back at my place. Is that right? Sure.

I carried her off in my truck and brought her home. Here's something else, Ed. Elmo laughed off Edward's comment, figuring it was just the man's sense of humor. It was just the sort of odd joke that a strange, shy, loner might make. Elmo certainly didn't feel the need to report the comment to the authorities or anyone else. For the time being, he forgot about it. More months passed. Newspapers occasionally ran editorials mentioning the disappearance,

often lamenting the high rate of unsolved crimes in the local community, but nobody offered any solutions for how to close the investigation gone cold. interest in the case was briefly revived on November 2, 1957. That fall, an inmate named Lester Giles, housed at the state prison in Stillwater, Minnesota, was overheard bragging to his fellow inmates. He took credit for Mary Hogan's murder. Did I ever tell you about the biggest job I ever pulled? $5,000 from this little dump in the middle of nowhere,

across the state line in Wisconsin. And what'd you do with all that money? I still got most of it squirled away. I'm not giving it away too easy. I had to fight for that money. Yeah? The big old woman who owned the place came at me with both fists. She almost broke my neck.

I took her out, though. I bet she's resting at the bottom of the Wisconsin River now. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension sent a letter to Portage County Sheriff, Herbert Wanserski. The sheriff announced that he would travel to the prison to interview the inmate himself, but before he could go to Stillwater, the case took a dramatic turn. The trip would soon prove to be unnecessary. Within two weeks, authorities would make a major break in the investigation.

Coming up, law enforcement officers pursue a hunch, which leads them to the most gruesome discovery any of them had ever encountered. Now back to the story. By November of 1957, Mary Hogan of Pine Grove, Wisconsin, had been gone for nearly three years. Investigators found no trace of her, alive or dead. While residents wondered what happened to her, many assumed that the case would never be solved. Her story had become part of the local folklore, a tale told by children and teens to scare each other. But three years after the fact, the disappearance seemed too remote to cause any real.

concern. But history was about to repeat itself. On November 16th, a deputy sheriff named Frank Warden pulled his truck in front of the Phillips 66 filling station in East Plainfield, Wisconsin. It was the start of hunting season, and his mind focused on all the deer he intended to shoot over the next eight days. As Frank parked his vehicle, the gas station owner, Bernard Musheski, hurried over to talk to him. Frank figured he wanted to talk about the town's yearly big buck contest. Instead, Bernard asked about Frank's mother, Bernice.

Hiya, Frank. Did your mother go hunting with you today? Mom? No. Why would you think that? I figured she had to be somewhere. She's been gone from the store all day. She has? You didn't know?

No, that doesn't seem right. Everything okay, Frank? I'm about to find out. Bernice Warden owned the general store across the street from the gas station. It was one of the oldest businesses in Plainfield, and she'd been running the place for more than 25 years. The industrious widow usually spent her Saturdays working, but according to Bernard Mushesky, the store had been empty since around 9.30 that morning.

The storefront doors were locked, but strangely, the lights were on. Worried, Frank hurried across the street to his mother's store. He confirmed that Bernard was right. The front door was locked tight. Frank rushed home to grab his spare key. When he returned, he unlocked the door and pushed his way inside. Then Frank stopped dead in his tracks. He saw that the cash register, usually perched at the store counter, was gone.

But Frank was even more disturbed by his second discovery. The floor was covered in a congealed reddish-brown stain, a grisly pool of blood. Frank immediately called the county sheriff, Art Schly, to report his mother missing. Besides dried blood street across the floor, Frank soon found another clue, a sail slip for a gallon of antifreeze. Frank recalled something from the day before. On Friday, a local man named Edward Gein had come into the general store to ask about the price of antifreeze. After Bernice quoted the amount, Edward promised to return the next day to purchase them. Frank didn't like Edward. The odd little man was a frequent customer of the store, and he was always

pestering Bernice. He'd asked the 58-year-old widow to go roller skating or dancing with him. Bernice ignored his advances. She seemed to think he was harmless, but Frank wasn't so sure. When Sheriff Arch Lye and his chief deputy, Arnie Fritz, arrived, Frank was quick to share his suspicions with him. What's happened, Frank? He's done something to her, I know it. Who's done something to her? Eddie Geing. Look at this. A receipt slip for Annie Frise. Mother sold it to him. And then he did something to her.

Are you sure? He's been hanging around the store a lot. He keeps bothering her. Nobody else seems to pay him any attention. But something's not right about that man. I think he's dangerous. Within the next hour, a group of local sheriffs, marshals, and police officers had convened at Warden's General Store. As his first order of business, Schly sent Dan Chase and Arden Spees

from the Green Lake County Sheriff's Department to locate Ed Gein while the rest continued investigating the crime scene. The two officers stopped by Ed Gein's property an isolated farmhouse in the southern part of Plainfield. 55-year-old Ed had previously lived in the house with his mother, Augusta, but since her death in 1947, he had lived there alone. When officers arrived, the place seemed deserted. Nobody responded when they knocked on the front door,

so they decided to try the home of Ed's neighbors, the hills, who lived about a quarter of a mile away. The officers found Edd sitting behind the wheel of his car in front of his neighbor's home. He had just joined them for dinner, where they discussed the mysterious disappearance of Bernice Warden. He was about to leave when the authorities arrived. Eddie, can we talk?

Sure, officer. Step out of the car, please. All right. Eddie, would you mind running through your day for me? Start from the moment you woke up this morning and tell me everything you did from there. Okay, but it's nothing too interesting. Officer Chase hardly asked any questions.

He didn't need to. The minute he mentioned Bernice Warden's name, Edward Gein had an odd response. You stopped by Bernice Warden's store today, didn't you? I was framed. Framed for what, Eddie? Well, she's dead, isn't she? That's a funny thing to say, Eddie.

Only know so far is that the store's been robbed. How do you know she's dead? Well, the hills were in the... They're talking about her. They told you she was dead? Maybe they didn't quite say that, but... After a few questions, Chase arrested Edward Gein. They transported him to the Watoma County Jail and held him there for further questioning.

At that point, around 8 p.m. on November 16, 1957, just a few hours after Bernice Warden was discovered missing from her store, Watoma County Sheriff, Arch Sly, and Green Lake County Sheriff, Captain Lloyd Shepoister, set out for Ed Gein's farm. The darkened homestead stood silent, surrounded by acres of snowy marshland. The men felt tense as they approached the house, unsure about what they would find. The front door was bolted shut, so they moved around the side towards the entrance of the summer kitchen. There, the only barricade was a weak metal latch. You think she's in there? I hope not. Go ahead and kick in the door.

The men stepped into the summer kitchen of the Gein House. They found a room filled with garbage, old tools, dust, and debris. They tried not to trip over the rubbish as they made their way to the door leading to the main part of the house. As they walked across the room, Arch Schley felt something brush against him. He swung his flashlight around. The beam of light fell on a horrifying, sight.

My God, there she is. The naked, headless body of Bernice Warden hung upside down from the rafters, suspended with rope and a crossbar that pierced through her ankle. Her torso had been cut open vertically, her organs removed. She resembled a carcass from a butcher shop. The gruesome sight stunned the two law officers. They stopped their search then and there. hurrying outside of their squad cars.

They wanted more backup before continuing on into the house. We found her. We found Bernice Warden's body at the Geinhouse. Request more units at the scene. Soon more law enforcement officers arrived. Captain Shep Oyster led them inside. It was time to confront whatever lay before them in the main part of the house. In the living area, the men found a maze of garbage, piles of it.

They tried to navigate around stacks of newspapers, several feet tall, rotting food, discarded trash, tin cans filled with wads of chewing gum. It was a confusing, disjointed environment, but it contained far more horrors than rotting waste. As they move through the house, the officers found leather-like items. Furniture, lampshades, a waste basket, a vest, a pair of leggings. and other articles, fabricated out of preserved human skin. They also found containers filled with body parts, a shoebox containing human genitalia, another filled with noses,

yet another packed with lips. They found several death masks made out of carved human faces. At one point, Chief Deputy Arnie Fritz came across a catch of brown paper bags hidden behind some clothes. Half dazed by everything he had seen so far, Fritz reached down into the bag and pulled out its contents. He gripped a wild tangle of hair and skin. Grimmissing, he shone his light on the thing. A gasp escaped his lips.

He had just pulled out a remarkably preserved human head. one of the officers instantly recognized the face, Mary Hogan, the woman who'd gone missing three years earlier. Thanks again for tuning in to Solved Murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with Part 2 of Mary Hogan. We'll talk about how the gruesome secrets of Edward Gien turned into a public spectacle. For more information on the case, we found the book Deviant by Harold Schechter, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. If we live till next time.

Solve Murders True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. Sound design by Michael Langsner with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly Madden, and Freddie Beckley. This episode of Solved Murders was written by Christina. Pammy's with writing assistance by Giles Hofsef. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Tom Bauer, Joe Hernandez, Kai Jordan, K.G. Tang, and Jen Wong. It stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy. Remember to follow Superstitions for new episodes featuring our most unusual beliefs. Are they side effects of ancient folklore or truly the masters of our fates? Look closely and examine the

writings on the wall. Superstitions airs every Wednesday free on Spotify.