Edward D. Gingerich: The Only Amish Man Convicted of Murder
God Hates Ed
On the morning of March 18, 1993, Ed lay in bed till around 9 o’clock. He paid no attention to Katie or the children as he made his way out the front door, and was unaware that Amish families were en route from Ontario, Eastern Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. Noah Stutzman, the headman of the mill, was marrying a local Amish woman later in the day, and Katie had decided not to share the information with her husband due to his mental situation.
Ed had a lot on his mind, and decided to visit his father to see if he could help him make sense out of it. Ed didn’t knock as he reached the front door and walked right in his father’s house. Ed pulled up a chair as his dad walked in the room and exclaimed, “Katie’s trying to poison me!”
“Everybody loves you Ed.” His father replied.
“Even God hates me! It’s my chemicals; they are out of balance,” Ed blurted.
Ed’s father was not sure how to respond, and paused momentarily before speaking, “The best thing is to ask God to forgive you, Ed.”
“God won’t because I am possessed by the devil. I can hear the devil’s voice, a woman’s voice, not God’s…I don’t hear God!”
“You will if you listen for it.” Ed’s father replied.
“I am listening, but all I hear is the devil!” Ed shouted before leaving.
Upon his arrival back home, Katie informed Ed that an English man was on his way over to take them to see Doc Terrell. To her relief, Ed agreed and they were soon on their way.
Ed was beginning to loathe Doc Terrell’s techniques and made no effort to hide it as he walked into the examination room.
“If you can’t cure me, just say so.” Ed blurted out as the doctor entered the room.
“I’m giving you liver pills,” Terrell replied. “Take the pills.”
“I don’t want liver pills…give me something stronger for my headaches. I can’t go on like this.”
“Drugs are not the answer,” Terrell replied in an impolite tone. “No drugs!”
With that said, Terrell massaged Ed’s scalp and ushered him out the door with a bottle of liver pills.
Katie had already planned out the rest of the day; she would take turns with Ed’s brothers, babysitting Ed off and on throughout the day, so that everyone would have a chance to attend the wedding and reception. Everyone, except Ed, had agreed on the plan. They decided that he wasn’t going to be told until the very last minute.
Ed’s brother Danny had been watching the children while Katie and Ed visited Doc Terrell. As their English driver pulled into Ed’s brother’s driveway, Katie invited him and his girlfriend inside for lunch. As everyone sat down at the dinner table, no one paid any attention to Ed. Nonetheless, as everyone began talking about the wedding, they were suddenly reminded of his presence.
“I’m coming with you tonight.” Ed blurted out.
“You can’t go, you’re too sick.” Katie replied.
“I have to,” Ed said.
“Why?” Katie asked.
“You don’t even like these things.”
“It’s the only way I can be saved.”
Holding her position, Katie said, “No, we’ve talked about this and you are not going…you need your sleep.”
“I know who you are,” Ed said. “You are the devil.”
Silence took over the room and no one spoke for a few minutes. Finally Ed broke the silence; “There goes the moon—right into the sea.” Ed’s English neighbors were dumb-struck by his erratic behavior and decided to leave.
As their English friends parted, Danny hitched up his wagon, and took everyone back to Ed’s house. Shortly after arriving back home, Ed decided he wanted to go to bed and announced, “I don’t want to hurt anybody. I love everybody.” Ed then made his way upstairs and went to bed.
