True Crime Case Histories - (Books 4, 5, & 6): 36 Disturbing True Crime Stories (3 Book True Crime Collection) by Neal Jason

Author:Neal, Jason [Neal, Jason]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Akamai Publishing
Published: 2021-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

Ed Gingerich

Katie saw potential in Ed. She felt sure that she could change his ways and fell deeply in love with him. Though Ed was reluctant, the Bishop pushed the couple into marriage. Many of the elders of the community didn’t trust Ed, but they hesitantly approved the marriage in hopes that Katie could bring him back to a more traditional way of life .

Katie and Ed were married on December 2, 1986, in an uneventful Amish ceremony with ordinary plain clothes and no wedding rings. Ten months later, the couple had their first child, Dannie, but neither fatherhood nor married life seemed to interest Ed.

Ed’s work provided him brief contact with English people from outside the Amish community. Through a man named Dave Lindsey, he learned about the fascinating world outside of his tiny perspective. Dave was a devout evangelical Christian and told Ed stories of Satan and Hell. Dave explained to Ed that if he continued to follow the Amish faith, he and his family would burn in Hell for all eternity.

Shortly after the birth of their son, Ed grew more and more lethargic and fell into a deep depression. He spoke less and less often and, when he did, it was usually to whine or berate his wife. Katie often had a hard time getting him out of bed to go to work.

Frustrated, Katie went to her uncle, Bishop Shetler, for help. Although Ed was clearly showing signs of depression, the Amish people had very little experience with mental health issues. Further complicating matters, the Amish didn’t believe in the healing powers of modern medicine – instead, they were convinced that God alone had the power to heal.

Bishop Shetler presumed Ed’s problems were physical and took him to Merritt Terrell, a chiropractor in nearby Cambridge Springs. Believing it would purify his blood, Mr. Terrell’s “prescription” was to give him scalp massages and have him eat blackstrap molasses.

Three more years passed by. Ed and Katie had another son, Enos, and a daughter, Mary, but his depression only escalated. Eventually his anger became physical and family members noticed Katie doing her best to hide her bruises.

At work, Ed spent more time with people from outside the Amish faith and he drifted further and further away from the community. Eventually, he confided to Katie that he had doubts about the Amish faith and was worried that the whole family would be banished to Hell .

By the spring of 1992, Katie and Ed’s brothers Atlee and Joe sought psychiatric help for Ed when he began to hallucinate. He told his wife he saw giant rabbits. He would howl like a wolf and spit on the ceiling, claiming there were eyes all over him, watching him. He began ranting that God and Satan were fighting for his soul; he jumped out of their second story house window and ran down the dirt road.

Though it was against the Amish way, twice the family called 911 and had him hospitalized. On one occasion, it

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