Crimson Stain

Ed is shunned from his Brownhill Amish community and is allowed to see his children for one hour once a year. He writes and receives letters from them and his family. He is currently at a specialized Amish community with people of his faith who also have similar mental problems, where he helps counsel, and works 15 miles away for a Mennanite farmer doing mechanical work. He recently rebuilt a molding machine that can be used to make tongue and groove flooring. He's staying on his medication regimen and communicates "normally", and clearly. He sounds like he is in fairly good spirits over the phone. I talked to him for about a half an hour on October 30, 2005 and we talk several times a year. Katie's mother moved to NY state to get away from the area and the memories of all that had happened. Katie's brother, Emmanuel Shetler, built my house and several out buildings. This entire tragedy would have never happened if his community and family understood that mental illnesses do exist and that Eddie suffered greatly. By simply saying "the Devil" was in him or made him do it, is a poor summary of the situation. With the proper medication, from the right doctor, this could have all been prevented. And for those of you who labeled Eddie as a quick-tempered bully, I've known Ed 2 years before the tragedy and never heard him raise his voice. We drove 6 hours to Lancaster, PA to look at a diesel engine that he saw advertised in an Amish paper, and when we got there and saw the engine, it was not as described in the ad. He did not show any anger or hostility. Not one negative comment.

Jim Fisher's account of a murder in a small Northwestern Pennsylvania town compares right there with Joe Wambaugh's "The Onion Field". One has to wonder that if the Crawford County prosecutors had dug into the facts with as much detail as Fisher, if the verdict would not have been different. Fisher's detail of Gingerich's life, his crime, the investigation and the trial reflect his background as a lawyer, FBI Agent and private investigator. With Fisher's account, I found myself standing at the crime scene, in the lawyer's office and in the courtroom during the trial. For those that want to read great true crime, Fisher gives it to you from several perspectives.

This is the best book about a crime committed in the Amish community since "Abandoned Prayers" was published in 1990. This book gives an excellent glimpse into the world of Amish culture and beliefs.Ed Gingerich was a dangerously mentally ill man. Volatile and erratic, he displayed streaks of violent behavior towards his brothers as a boy. These volatile tendencies would follow him into adulthood. Bitter and apparently chafing at living within the tighly knit, close knit Amish community which allows for only a minimal nod to the modern society, Gingerich seemed determined to leave the Amish community from an early age. Irate that one of their own was siding with the "English," (an Amish term for any non-Amish person), other Amish began rejecting Ed. His wife Katie, a traditional Amish wife was often the target of his wrath. He inflicted mental and physical cruelty upon her and was hospitalized after an especially violent psychotic episode. He ultimately kills Katie in front of their children! After Katie's death, Ed Gingerich became the first Amish man ever tried for murder and committed to a hospital. Ed Gingerich, at the time of this writing remains a living casualty of mental illness and is still in a maximum security hospital.

Like a monkey's eye to a key hole...Crimson Stain, Jim Fisher's research into a murder in an Amish community, has given insight into a rigid and little understood people. They are revealed in a daily dialogue of tradition and like even the most common of us, the potential for murder and maddness. How similar are we, to those who are so different? Hat's off to you Jim - a plain people handsomely portrayed in an empathetic and nonjudgemental manner.

Author Jim Fisher is not only a fine and careful journalist and social historian, he's a first-class storyteller. I just finished his latest book, "Crimson Stain", and I could not put it down! Fisher skillfully takes the reader into the darkest shadows of Amish life. No writer, to the best of my knowledge, has ever been able to probe so deeply into the lives of these fascinating and mysterious people--and since no Amish person has ever been accused of murder, Fisher's book is a one of a kind read. And what a read it is, brutal in its reality but written with the haunting, imaginative touch of a top notch novelist. "Crimson Stain" is a complex, artfully layered tale of desperation, secrecy and fear. On one level Fisher tells the gripping story of progressive madness erupting into deadly violence. On another plane Fisher shows how ill-equipped the criminal justice system is in dealing with paranoid schizophrenia and murder. There is more: a Fisher wild card, subtle yet powerful, involving a zealous evangelical connection, allows, as well, the possibility of an indirect casualty in an ongoing holy war. And finally, Fisher challenges the reader to reconsider the unholy relationship between serious mental illness and criminal homicide. Is it the madness that kills or the person beneath it? Regarding murder, is madness an association or cause? These are big questions worthy of consideration and it's obvious the Fisher knows this. On this point alone "Crimson Stain" is an important and timely book. Jim Fisher's relentless, brutally accurate and insightful presentation of violence and sudden death as it really is--dangerous and evil--will reshape our thinking of the rampage killers America seems to be breeding at an alarming rate. This is true crime at its best with Fisher at the top of his game. A must read with this warning: don't start the book on a bus, if you do you'll miss your stop. Even so, it will be worth the ride. Trust me on this one.