Jeffrey Dahmer, one of America’s most infamous serial killers murdered seventeen young men between 1978 and 1991 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dahmer evaded police for over a decade, specifically choosing victims on the outskirts of society who would not be easily reported as missing. Dahmer was arrested in 1991 and was given 15 consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole. Dahmer’s methods of killing fascinated law enforcement and private investigators, which led to many biographies and documentaries on his life. Jeffrey Dahmer was killed in prison in 1994.
Childhood and Upbringing
Born on May 21, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Lionel and Joyce Dahmer, Jeffrey’s early years appeared atypical. As he got older, Dahmer developed a fascination with animals. He began to collect insects and the bones of small animals and learned how to preserve them in formaldehyde. Dahmer’s teen years were tense due to the family’s frequent moves and parent’s divorce, he remained friendless and isolated. Numerous arguments and fighting at home left most of his life filled with tension. Dahmer claimed that his compulsions toward murder began around the age of 14, around the same time he fell into alcoholism. He continued this behavior throughout high school, and upon graduation, murdered his first victim. In June of 1978, he picked up an 18-year-old hitchhiker named Steven Hicks and took him back to his parents’ house. Dahmer and Hicks spent the afternoon drinking, and when Hicks tried to leave, Dahmer struck him in the head and strangled him with a barbell. Dahmer dismembered Hicks’ corpse and buried the pieces behind his parents’ home. After the murder, his alcoholism spun out of control, and he dropped out of Ohio State University after a quarter of a term. His father then suggested he join the army, and Dahmer enlisted in late December of 1978. He was shipped to Germany soon after.
Military Discharge and First Killings
Dahmer’s drinking problem continued overseas, and the army discharged him in 1981 after he was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct. He returned to Wisconsin and his parents sent him to live with his grandmother in Milwaukee. Dahmer was arrested in 1986 for indecent exposure, and received a year of probation while he was forced to undergo counseling. In 1987, Dahmer killed his next victim, Steven Tuomi. After taking Tuomi back to a hotel room, Dahmer claimed that he woke up the following morning to find Tuomi dead inside of the room. He admitted that he planned on drugging the man but had no recollection of killing him. Dahmer placed Tuomi’s remains in a suitcase and transported it to his grandmother’s basement. He dismembered the body and placed it in the trash but preserved the man’s skull. Later in 1988, Dahmer’s grandmother had become annoyed with frequent guests and foul smells coming from her basement, so she asked her grandson to move out. Within days of securing a one-bedroom apartment, Dahmer was arrested and charged with assault of a minor. He spent a week in jail before he was released on bail. In March of 1989, Dahmer claimed his fifth victim, 24-year-old model, Anthony Sears. He met Sears at a bar and strangled him. Sears was the first of Dahmer’s victims that had body parts removed and preserved as trophies in Dahmer’s apartment. In late 1989, Dahmer was arrested again and sentenced to 12 months of jail time and five years’ probation for second-degree sexual assault. Dahmer was permitted work release to keep his job at the Ambrosia Chocolate Factory. He was paroled two months early, and moved into a new apartment, 924 North 25th Street in Milwaukee.
Run-In with the Police
Over the next two years, Dahmer would kill 12 more people, bringing the total victim count to 17. He began developing rituals with the killings and experimented with chemical means of disposal as well as attempting lobotomies. Things changed with on May 27, 1991, Dahmer’s next-door neighbor, Sandra Smith, called the police to report that a young boy was running naked in the street. When police arrived, the boy was incoherent, and they accepted the word of Dahmer- a white man in a largely poor Black community- that the boy was his 19-year-old boyfriend. Konerak Sinthasomphone, the 14-year-old younger brother of a boy Dahmer molested back in 1988, was brought back inside the apartment where Dahmer injected hydrochloric acid into his brain and killed him.
On July 22, 1991, two Milwaukee police officers were flagged down by a man in handcuffs running in the street. Tracey Edwards, 32, told the officers that a man had tried to hold him captive inside of an apartment on North 25thStreet. Upon police arrival, Dahmer invited the officers inside and admitted he placed the handcuffs on Edwards and that the keys were in his nightstand. When the officer went to retrieve the keys, he noticed an open drawer filled with photos of dismembering corpses. After seeing the images, officers immediately conduced a search of the apartment. Police ended up finding several severed heads, human hearts, and an entire human torso in the freezer. Dahmer was immediately placed into police custody as law enforcement began racking up more evidence needed to convict him. In the end, police found parts from 11 different people in Dahmer’s apartment at the time of his arrest.
The Trial
Dahmer pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of murder on September 10, 1991, and in January pleaded guilty by reason of insanity. This removed the need for a criminal trial, and all further court proceedings focused on Dahmer’s sanity. Dahmer admitted he was wrong in from to the court and explained all his actions in detail. He explained that he killed around 17 men and told the court exactly how he killed each one. The trial lasted around two weeks and was heavily publicized by the media. After 10 hours’ deliberation, the jury found him sane and guilty on all counts. After longer discussion, Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms in prison.
Jeffrey Dahmer’s Death
Dahmer was killed on November 28, 1994, by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver. Dahmer was working with two other inmates and was left unsupervised by prison guards. After being taunted by Dahmer about his crimes, Scarver confronted him. When the officers returned, they found that Scarver had brutally beaten both men with a metal bar. Dahmer was pronounced dead after an hour.
Adaptations in the Media
Several books and movies have adapted the story of Jeffrey Dahmer and his crimes. Dahmer was portrayed by Jeremy Renner in the film, Dahmer. Made in 2000 it displays the motives of the killer, his upbringing, and the relationship with his father. The most popular media adaptation, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, created by Netflix in 2022, starred Evan Peters. This adaptation highlighted the incidents in which Dahmer had escaped police arrest with a focus on how police incompetence lengthened his killing spree. The Netflix adaptation faced controversy when family members of the victims’ made statements on how they were not consulted on the portrayal of their loved ones. Eric Perry, cousin of Errol Lindsey made a statement, “My family found out when everyone else did,” he tweeted. “So when they say they’re doing this ‘with respect to the victims’ or ‘honoring the dignity of the families’, no one contacts them. My cousins wake up every few months at this point with a bunch of calls and messages and they know there’s another Dahmer show. It’s cruel.”
