Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (/ˈdɑːmər/; May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster,[4] was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismembered seventeen males between 1978 and 1991.[5] Many of his later murders involved necrophilia,[6] cannibalism, and the permanent preservation of body parts—typically all or part of the skeleton.[7]
"Dahmer" redirects here. For other uses, see Dahmer (disambiguation).
Jeffrey Dahmer
November 28, 1994
Homicide by bludgeoning (severe skull and brain trauma)[3]
- The Milwaukee Cannibal
- The Milwaukee Monster
- First-degree murder (16 counts)[n 1]
- Disorderly conduct (2 counts)
- Second-degree sexual assault and enticing a child for immoral purposes[1][n 2]
Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (x16; total of 941 years imprisonment)
17
1978–1991
United States
July 22, 1991
Columbia Correctional Institution, Portage, Wisconsin
Although he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD),[8] schizotypal personality disorder (StPD),[9] and a psychotic disorder, Dahmer was found to be legally sane at his trial. He was convicted of fifteen of the sixteen homicides he had committed in Wisconsin and was sentenced to fifteen terms of life imprisonment on February 17, 1992.[10] Dahmer was later sentenced to a sixteenth term of life imprisonment for an additional homicide committed in Ohio in 1978.
On November 28, 1994, Dahmer was beaten to death by Christopher Scarver, a fellow inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin.
Early life
Childhood
Jeffrey Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[11] the first of two sons to Lionel Herbert Dahmer, a Marquette University chemistry student and later a research chemist, and Joyce Annette Dahmer (née Flint), a teletype machine instructor.[12][13] Lionel was of German and Welsh ancestry,[14] and Joyce was of Norwegian and Irish ancestry.[15]
Some sources report Dahmer was deprived of attention as an infant.[16] Other sources, however, suggest that Dahmer was generally doted upon as an infant and toddler by both parents, although his mother was known to be tense, greedy for both attention and pity, and argumentative with her husband and their neighbors.[17]
As Dahmer entered first grade, Lionel's studies kept him away from home much of the time. When he was home, his wife—a hypochondriac who suffered from depression—demanded constant attention and spent an increasing amount of time in bed.[18] On one occasion, she attempted suicide using Equanil.[18] Neither parent devoted much time to their son, who later recollected that, from an early age, he felt "unsure of the solidity of the family",[19] recalling extreme tension and numerous arguments between his parents during his early years.[20]
Dahmer had been an "energetic and happy child" but became notably subdued after undergoing double hernia surgery shortly before his fourth birthday.[21][22] At elementary school, Dahmer was regarded as quiet and timid. One teacher recollected she detected early signs of abandonment[23] due to his father's absence and mother's illnesses, the symptoms of which increased when she became pregnant with her second child.[24] In elementary school, Dahmer had a small number of friends.[25]
In October 1966, the family moved to Doylestown, Ohio.[26] When Joyce gave birth in December, Dahmer was allowed to choose the name of his new baby brother; he chose the name David.[27] The same year, Lionel earned his degree[28] and started work as an analytical chemist in nearby Akron, Ohio.[29]
From an early age, Dahmer manifested an interest in dead animals. His fascination with dead animals may have begun when, at the age of four, he saw his father removing animal bones from beneath the family home. According to Lionel, Dahmer was "oddly thrilled" by the sound the bones made, and became preoccupied with animal bones, which he initially called his "fiddlesticks". He occasionally searched beneath and around the family home for additional bones, and explored the bodies of live animals to discover where their bones were located.[18]
In May 1968, the family moved to Bath Township, Summit County, Ohio.[30][n 3] This address was their third in two years, and the Dahmers' sixth address since marriage.[32][n 4] The home stood in one and a half acres of woodland, with a small hut a short walk from the house where Dahmer began collecting large insects and the skeletons of small animals, such as chipmunks and squirrels.[33] Some of these remains were preserved in jars of formaldehyde and stored within the hut.[34]
Two years later, during a chicken dinner, Dahmer asked Lionel what would happen if the chicken bones were placed in bleach.[35] Lionel, pleased by what he believed to be his son's scientific curiosity, demonstrated how to safely bleach and preserve animal bones. Dahmer incorporated these preserving techniques into his bone collecting. He also began collecting dead animals—including roadkill[36]—which he would dissect and bury beside the hut, with the skulls occasionally placed atop makeshift crosses.[37]
According to one friend, Dahmer explained that he was curious as to how animals "fit together".[38] In one instance in 1975, Dahmer decapitated the carcass of a dog before nailing the body to a tree and impaling the skull upon a stick in the woodland behind his house.[39] As a "prank", he later invited a friend to view the display, claiming he had discovered the remains by chance.[40] The same year Lionel taught his son how to preserve animal bones, Joyce began increasing her daily consumption of Equanil, laxatives and sleeping pills, further increasing her emotional distance from her husband and children.[35]
Late teens and early 20s: first murder
Murder of Steven Hicks
Dahmer committed his first murder in 1978, three weeks after his graduation. On June 18,[64] Dahmer picked up a hitchhiker named Steven Mark Hicks, who was almost 19.[65][66] Dahmer lured Hicks to his house on the pretext of drinking. Hicks, who had been hitchhiking to a rock concert at Chippewa Lake Park, Ohio, agreed to accompany Dahmer to his house upon the promise of "a few beers" with Dahmer as he had the house to himself.[65]
According to Dahmer, the sight of the bare-chested Hicks standing at the roadside stirred his sexual feelings, although when Hicks began talking about girls, he knew any sexual passes he made would be rebuffed.[67] After several hours of talking, drinking and listening to music, Hicks "wanted to leave and I didn't want him to leave."[68] Dahmer bludgeoned Hicks with a 10-pound (4.5 kg) dumbbell. He later stated he struck Hicks twice from behind[69] with the dumbbell as Hicks sat upon a chair. When Hicks fell unconscious, Dahmer strangled him to death with the bar of the dumbbell, then stripped the clothes from Hicks' body before exploring his chest with his hands, then masturbating as he stood above the corpse. Hours later, Dahmer dragged the body to the basement.[69][n 6]
The following day,[71] Dahmer dissected Hicks' body in his basement. He later buried the remains in a shallow grave in his back yard.[72] Several weeks later, he unearthed the remains and pared the flesh from the bones.[73] He dissolved the flesh in acid before flushing the solution down the toilet; he crushed the bones with a sledgehammer and scattered them in the woodland behind the family home.[74] Hicks' necklace and the knife used to dismember him were thrown from the West Bath Road bridge into the Cuyahoga River.[75]
College and Army service
Six weeks after the murder of Hicks, Dahmer's father and his fiancé returned to his home, where they discovered Dahmer living alone. That August, Dahmer enrolled at Ohio State University (OSU), hoping to major in business.[76] Dahmer's sole term at OSU was completely unproductive, largely because of his persistent alcohol abuse.[77] He received failing grades in Introduction to Anthropology, Classical Civilizations, and Administrative Science. The only course Dahmer was successful at was Riflery, where he received a B− grade. His overall GPA was 0.45/4.0.[78][79] On one occasion, Lionel paid a surprise visit to his son, only to find his room strewn with empty liquor bottles. Despite his father having paid in advance for the second term, Dahmer dropped out of OSU after just three months.[80]
Late 20s and early 30s: subsequent murders
Ambassador Hotel
On November 20, 1987, Dahmer, at the time residing with his grandmother in West Allis, encountered a 25-year-old man from Ontonagon, Michigan, named Steven Tuomi at a bar and persuaded him to return to the Ambassador Hotel in Milwaukee, where Dahmer had rented a room for the evening. According to Dahmer, he had no intention of killing Tuomi, but intended to simply drug him and lie beside him as he explored his body. The following morning, Dahmer awoke to find Tuomi lying beneath him on the bed, his chest "crushed in" and "black and blue" with bruises. Blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth, and Dahmer's fists and one forearm were extensively bruised. Dahmer later said he had no memory of having killed Tuomi,[116][117][119] and that he "could not believe this had happened".[120]
Dahmer purchased a large suitcase, in which he transported Tuomi's body to his grandmother's residence. One week later,[121] he severed the head, arms, and legs,[117] then filleted the bones from the body before cutting the flesh into pieces small enough to handle. Dahmer placed the flesh inside plastic garbage bags.[121] He wrapped the bones inside a sheet and pounded them into splinters with a sledgehammer. The dismemberment process took Dahmer approximately two hours. He disposed of all of Tuomi's remains, excluding the head,[122] in the trash.[123]
For two weeks following Tuomi's killing, Dahmer retained Tuomi's head wrapped in a blanket. After two weeks, Dahmer boiled the head in a mixture of Soilax[124] (an alkali-based industrial detergent) and bleach in an effort to retain the skull, which he then used as stimulus for masturbation. Eventually, the skull became too brittle by this bleaching process, so Dahmer pulverized and disposed of it.[122]
Intermediate murders
According to Dahmer, Tuomi's murder was a pivotal incident after which he did not try to control his compulsions.[125] He began to actively seek victims, most of whom he encountered in or around gay bars and would typically lure them to his grandmother's home. He would drug his victim with triazolam or temazepam before or shortly after engaging in sexual activity with them. Once his victim was unconscious, he strangled them to death.[126][127]
Two months after the Tuomi killing, Dahmer encountered a 14-year-old Native American prostitute, James Doxtator.[128] Dahmer lured him to his grandmother's residence with an offer of $50 to pose for nude pictures. They engaged in sexual activity before Dahmer drugged Doxtator and strangled him on the floor of the cellar.[129] Dahmer left the body in the cellar for one week before dismembering it in much the same manner as he had with Tuomi. He placed all of Doxtator's remains (excluding the skull) in the trash. The skull was boiled and cleansed in bleach before Dahmer found that it, too, had been rendered brittle by the process. He pulverized the skull two weeks later.[130]
On March 24, 1988, Dahmer met a 22-year-old bisexual man, Richard Guerrero, outside a gay bar called the Phoenix.[130] Dahmer lured Guerrero to his grandmother's residence, offering him $50 to spend the night with him.[131] He drugged Guerrero with sleeping pills, strangled him with a leather strap, and performed oral sex on the corpse.[131] Dahmer dismembered Guerrero's body within 24 hours, again disposing of the remains in the trash and retaining the skull before pulverizing it several months later.[132]
On April 23, Dahmer lured Ronald Flowers Jr. to his house; however, after giving Flowers a drugged coffee, both he and Flowers heard Dahmer's grandmother call, "Is that you, Jeff?"[133] Although Dahmer replied in a manner that led his grandmother to believe he was alone, she observed that he was not alone. Because of this, Dahmer was unable to kill Flowers. After Flowers became unconscious, Dahmer took him to the County General Hospital.[134][135]
In September 1988, Dahmer's grandmother asked him to move out, largely because of his drinking, his habit of bringing young men to her house late at night, and the foul smells emanating from the basement and the garage. Dahmer found a one-bedroom apartment at 808 North 24th Street[103] and moved into the residence on September 25.[136] Two days later, he was arrested for drugging and sexually fondling a 13-year-old boy whom he had lured to his home on the pretext of posing nude for photographs.[137][138]
Dahmer's father hired attorney Gerald Boyle to defend his son. At Boyle's request, Dahmer underwent a series of psychological evaluations prior to his court hearings. The evaluations found that Dahmer harbored deep feelings of alienation. A second evaluation two months later revealed Dahmer to be an impulsive individual, suspicious of others, and dismayed by his lack of accomplishments in life. His probation officer also referenced a 1987 diagnosis of Dahmer suffering from a schizoid personality disorder for presentation to the court.[139]
On January 30, 1989, Dahmer pleaded guilty to the charges of second-degree sexual assault and of enticing a child for immoral purposes.[2] Sentencing was suspended until May.[140] On March 20, Dahmer commenced a ten-day Easter absence from work, during which he moved back into his grandmother's home.[141]
Two months after his conviction and two months prior to his sentencing, Dahmer murdered his fifth victim, a 24-year-old mixed-race aspiring model, Anthony Sears, whom he met at a gay bar on March 25, 1989. According to Dahmer, on this particular occasion he was not looking to commit a crime; however, shortly before closing time that evening, Sears "just started talking to me". Dahmer lured Sears to his grandmother's home, where the pair engaged in oral sex before Dahmer drugged and strangled Sears.[6]
The following morning, Dahmer placed the corpse in his grandmother's bathtub, where he decapitated the body before attempting to flay the corpse.[6] He stripped the flesh from the body and pulverized the bones, which he disposed of in the trash. According to Dahmer, he found Sears "exceptionally attractive", and Sears was the first victim from whom he permanently retained any body parts: he preserved Sears' head and genitalia in acetone[142] and stored them in a wooden box, which he later placed in his work locker.[n 9] When he moved to a new address the following year, he took the remains there.[144]
On May 23, 1989,[140] Dahmer was sentenced to five years' probation and one year in the House of Correction, with work release permitted so he could keep his job. He was also required to register as a sex offender.[145] Two months before his scheduled release, Dahmer was paroled from this regimen.[146] His five years' probation imposed in 1989 began at this point.[147] Dahmer temporarily moved back to his grandmother's home in West Allis.[148]
Arrest
Capture
On July 22, 1991, Dahmer approached three men with an offer of $100 to accompany him to his apartment to pose for nude photographs,[214] drink beer and simply keep him company.[215] One of the trio, 32-year-old Tracy Edwards, agreed to accompany him to his apartment. Upon entering Dahmer's apartment, Edwards noted a foul odor and several boxes of hydrochloric acid on the floor, which Dahmer claimed to use for cleaning bricks. After some minor conversation, Edwards responded to Dahmer's request to turn his head and view his tropical fish, whereupon Dahmer placed a handcuff upon his wrist. When Edwards asked, "What's happening?" Dahmer unsuccessfully attempted to cuff his wrists together,[216] then told Edwards to accompany him to the bedroom to pose for nude pictures. While inside the bedroom, Edwards noted nude male posters on the wall and that a videotape of The Exorcist III was playing.[215][217] He also noted a blue 57-gallon drum in the corner, from which a strong odor emanated.[218]
Dahmer then brandished a knife and informed Edwards he intended to take nude pictures of him. In an attempt to appease Dahmer, Edwards unbuttoned his shirt, saying he would allow him to do so if he would remove the handcuffs and put the knife away. In response to this promise, Dahmer simply turned his attention towards the TV. Edwards observed Dahmer rocking back and forth and chanting before turning his attention back to him. He placed his head on Edwards' chest, listened to his heartbeat and, with the knife pressed against his intended victim, informed Edwards he intended to eat his heart.[219]
In continuous attempts to prevent Dahmer from attacking him, Edwards repeated that he was Dahmer's friend and that he was not going to run away.[220] Edwards had decided he was going to either jump from a window or run through the unlocked front door upon the next available opportunity. When Edwards next stated he needed to use the bathroom, he asked if they could sit with a beer in the living room, where there was air conditioning. Dahmer consented, and the pair walked to the living room when Edwards exited the bathroom. Inside the living room, Edwards waited until he observed Dahmer have a momentary lapse of concentration before requesting to use the bathroom again.[221] When Edwards rose from the couch, he noted Dahmer was not holding the handcuffs, whereupon Edwards punched him in the face, knocking Dahmer off balance, and ran out the front door.[222]
At 11:30 p.m. on July 22, Edwards flagged down two Milwaukee police officers, Robert Rauth and Rolf Mueller, at the corner of North 25th Street. The officers noted Edwards had a handcuff attached to his wrist,[223][224] whereupon he explained to the officers that a "freak" had placed the handcuffs upon him and asked if the police could remove them. When the officers' handcuff keys failed to fit the brand of handcuffs, Edwards agreed to accompany the officers to the apartment where, Edwards stated, he had spent the previous five hours before escaping.[223]
When the officers and Edwards arrived at Apartment 213, Dahmer invited the trio inside and acknowledged he had placed the handcuffs upon Edwards, although he offered no explanation as to why he had done so. At this point, Edwards divulged to the officers that Dahmer had also brandished a large knife upon him and that this had happened in the bedroom. Dahmer made no comment to this revelation, indicating to one of the officers, Mueller, that the key to the handcuffs was in his bedside dresser. As Mueller entered the bedroom, Dahmer attempted to pass Mueller to retrieve the key himself, whereupon the second officer present, Rauth, informed him to "back off".[225]
In the bedroom, Mueller noted there was a large knife beneath the bed. He saw an open drawer that, upon closer inspection, contained scores of Polaroid pictures—many of which were of human bodies in various stages of dismemberment. Mueller noted the decor indicated they had been taken in the same apartment in which they were standing. Mueller walked into the living room to show them to his partner,[226] uttering the words, "These are for real."[225]
When Dahmer saw that Mueller was holding several of his Polaroids, he fought with the officers in an effort to resist arrest. The officers quickly overpowered him, cuffed his hands behind his back, and called a second squad car for backup. At this point, Mueller opened the refrigerator to reveal the freshly severed head of a black male on the bottom shelf.[227] As Dahmer lay pinned on the floor beneath Rauth, he turned his head towards the officers and muttered the words: "For what I did I should be dead."[228]
A more detailed search of the apartment, conducted by the Milwaukee police's Criminal Investigation Bureau, revealed a total of four severed heads in Dahmer's kitchen. A total of seven skulls—some painted, some bleached—were found in Dahmer's bedroom and inside a closet.[229] Investigators discovered collected blood drippings upon a tray at the bottom of Dahmer's refrigerator, plus two human hearts[230] and a portion of arm muscle, each wrapped inside plastic bags upon the shelves. In Dahmer's freezer, investigators discovered an entire torso, plus a bag of human organs and flesh stuck to the ice at the bottom.[231]