Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Monster: The Ed Gein Story and discusses sensitive content regarding a real-life disappearance. Reader discretion is advised.
Monster‘s third season finally premiered on Netflix, and while the controversial series focuses on notorious killer Ed Gein this time around, the show also explores the disappearance of Evelyn Hartley. Although it is unclear exactly how many people Ed Gein killed, his two confirmed victims, alongside his disturbing mutilations, meant he was linked to several other crimes.
One such case was that of Evelyn Hartley. The 15-year-old high school student disappeared while working a babysitting job in La Crosse, Wisconsin, a fact the Monster: The Ed Gein Story gets right. However, the series indicates that she was one of Gein’s victims, with the killer stalking and eventually murdering the young girl for taking his job.
To their credit, Monster: The Ed Gein’s Story‘s cast undoubtedly does a great job of making this tragic scene feel as unsettling and emotional as the show intends, but the real story regarding Evelyn’s fate is much different.
Ed Gein Was A Suspect In Evelyn Hartley’s Disappearance
Monster season 3 all but confirms that Ed Gein killed Evelyn Hartley, but this was never confirmed, as no conclusive evidence was found. That said, he was indeed linked with her disappearance. During the night that Evelyn vanished, Gein reportedly visited relatives who lived near the Rasmussen household, where Evelyn was babysitting.
There were several signs that Evelyn did in fact enter the home and show up for work as clothing items and textbooks were found on the premises, making Gein a possible suspect given his whereabouts. However, upon questioning, Gein denied any involvement and the police couldn’t connect him to the young girl’s disappearance in spite of his reputation.
Although many still believe Gein to be the likely culprit, a recording came to light where Clyde “Tywee” Peterson claimed Evelyn was kidnapped and subsequently murdered, implicating himself, Jack Gaulphair, and an unnamed third party. Unfortunately, despite authorities promising to follow up on these details, there were no further developments.
The fact that the Netflix show portrays Gein as the confirmed killer in this case is exactly why some believe Monster season 3 shouldn’t have happened, since it paints a false picture of real events. Still, it does at least bring attention to this heartbreaking tragedy that remains unsolved to this day.
Evelyn Hartley’s 1953 Disappearance Is Still A Mystery
Despite what Monster: The Ed Gein Story suggests, Evelyn Hartley’s disappearance remains a mystery over 70 years later. Alongside the items belonging to Evelyn found inside the Rasmussens’ house, there were also pry marks on the window and bloodstains in the garden.
Additionally, clothing items covered in blood matching Evelyn’s were later found, and police believe she was abducted before being taken into a car since tracker dogs lost her scent. All the evidence points towards a kidnapping of some kind, but her body was never found, and with no murder weapon or definitive killer, the case was never solved.
Addison Rae plays Evelyn Hartley in Monster: The Ed Gein Story.
As a result, Monster: The Ed Gein Story‘s version of events is pure fiction, and just one possible theory about what occurred. It’s impossible to rule out Gein as a suspect, given he was an active killer during the time of the disappearance, but despite a lengthy investigation, there has never been a conclusive answer on what really happened to Evelyn Hartley.
Sources: The Charley Project, Catt’s True Crime Corner
