Edward Gingerich (1966-2011) was the first Amish individual to be convicted of homicide in the United States criminal justice system. What went wrong to make him the first in hundreds of years of Amish teachings to be convicted of murder?

Born in 1966, it is often said that he was considered a rebel by the Amish since his early years. He ignored Amish teachings for the most part and, as he got older, spent a lot of time in the woodshop where he was becoming increasingly interested in the limited machinery the Amish were permitted to use by their faith. He also spoke with the “English,” non-Amish people, often.

What would make him settle down? A woman, of course. Even so, many people were apprehensive when Katie married Ed Gingerich. Like most Amish women, Katie was on the straight and narrow. Everyone assumed she would be a good fit for Ed but her world was soon crumbling around her.

After the wedding and the birth of a son, Gingerich became increasingly depressed and his mental state continued to deteriorate. Eventually, he began hallucinating and had a psychotic break that scared his Amish community so much that they contacted outsiders for help. Gingerich was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was given medication that helped with hallucinations but he disliked. He stopped taking the medication as he felt that they made him feel zombie-like. 

Of course, his state of mind continued to deteriorate without the assistance of the medication. He worked with men in a woodshop who lectured him about his faith. Their lectures helped convince him he was being confined and held captive by his wife, Katie, who he even associated with the devil at times.

On March 18, 1993, Gingerich entered the kitchen of his home and punched Katie in the face. There was enough time for Katie to yell for her son to run. The boy ran to his uncle’s, who returned and found the long-dead body of Katie and a blood-covered Ed. When authorities finally arrived on the scene, they found a gruesome sight. Ed had beaten Katie to death, put on heavy, high top boots, and stomped on Katie's skull until she was left unrecognizable. If that wasn’t enough, he cut her open and, essentially, gutted her.

Not surprisingly, he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter but mentally ill. He was sentenced to a minimum term of two and one-half years and a maximum of five years with credit for time served since his May 19, 1993, incarceration. As mentioned, this verdict meant that he was the first Amish person to be convicted of homicide. 

Gingerich was denied his first attempt for parole in 1995 but, in 1998, he was released from prison as he served his complete sentence. Years later, he was found hanging in a barn in Pennsylvania, where he had been living with his attorney. Before committing suicide, he wrote "Forgive me please" in the dust atop a bucket in an attempt to ask for forgiveness from those he hurt.