Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer |
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Jeffrey Lionel "The Milwaukee Monster" Dahmer (May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994) was an American homosexual serial killer, necrophile and cannibal, who murdered 17 men between 1978 and 1991 (with the majority of the murders occurring between 1989 and 1991).
Early life
Dahmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At age eight, his family moved to Bath, Ohio, near Akron. From his earliest youth he was extremely shy. He didn't commit acts of animal cruelty, like many serial killers do, but he did show a vivid interest in dissecting already dead animals. He struggled with substance abuse and suffered from extremely low self-esteem. His parents divorced when he was a teenager. Dahmer committed his first murder at the age of 18, killing Steven Hicks. Dahmer had invited Hicks over to his house, and killed him because he "didn't want him to leave".
During his college studies it is alleged he removed a door from its hinges and used it as a bar during a rowdy party in his dormitory. Witnesses were reported to be amazed at his ingenuity. His father convinced him to join the military, and he appeared to recover some vitality as he became an army medic. Dahmer was stationed in Germany but later was discharged because of alcoholism. In 1988 he was arrested for sexually fondling a 13-year-old boy, for which he served one year in a work release camp and was required to register as a sex offender. Shortly afterward, he began the string of murders that ended with his arrest in 1991.
Murders
Most of his victims were gay black men. He achieved notoriety after his arrest following the discovery of several decaying bodies in acid vats in his apartment. Severed heads were found in his refrigerator and plans for an altar of candles and human skulls were found in his closet. Accusations soon surfaced that Dahmer had practiced necrophilia and cannibalism. Dahmer admitted to eating the biceps of his eighth victim, Ernest Miller, whose skeleton he also kept, noting that human flesh "tasted like meat" to him.
Dahmer reportedly had a history of abandonment and feared loss and rejection. After a bitter divorce, his mother left with his brother, David, leaving Dahmer behind on the assumption that his father would care for him. However, his father had previously left as well, refusing to speak with his wife, with each not knowing the other's whereabouts. It is thought that these feelings of abandonment, filtered through his mental illness, created the internal logic that allowed him to justify his actions to himself. Parallels with the British serial killer Dennis Nilsen are often drawn.
Many people were outraged to learn that Milwaukee police returned one of Dahmer's naked, dazed, victims, Laotian teenager Konerak Sinthasomphone, to Dahmer after Konerak had managed to escape from his captor in 1991. During those early hours on May 27, 1991, Dahmer convinced officers that the 14-year-old boy was his adult 19-year-old homosexual lover. Later that night, Dahmer dismembered Sinthasomphone and kept his skull as a souvenir. Konerak Sinthasomphone was the younger brother of the boy Dahmer molested in 1988.
John Balcerzak (Elected president of the Milwaukee Police Association union in May 2005) and Joseph Gabrish, the two police officers who returned Sinthasomphone to Dahmer, were terminated from the Milwaukee Police Department after their actions were widely publicized. The two officers appealed this termination and were reinstated with back pay. They were named officers of the year by the police union for fighting a "righteous" battle to regain their jobs.
By summer 1991, Dahmer was on a dizzying killing spree, murdering around one person every week. Matt Turner was killed on June 30th, Jeremiah Weinberger on July 7th, Oliver Lacy on July 15th, and finally Joseph Brandehoft on July 19th, just three days before Dahmer was finally arrested.
Capture and death
On July 22, 1991, with handcuffs still attached to one wrist, another man, Tracy Edwards, successfully escaped from Dahmer's apartment and flagged down a police squad car. Police were led back to Dahmer's apartment where the remains of eleven victims were found. The officers found, in the refrigerator of Dahmer's kitchen, photographs of the victims (before, during, and after their deaths) and the victims' skulls. Dahmer reportedly scuffled with police trying to arrest him as the remains were being discovered. After being charged with fifteen counts of murder, he entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. On February 17, 1992, a court rejected his plea of insanity and sentenced Dahmer to fifteen consecutive life sentences, which required a minimum of 936 years' imprisonment. Wisconsin does not have capital punishment.
Dahmer served his time at the Columbia Correctional Institute in Portage, Wisconsin. On 28th November, 1994, fellow inmate Christopher Scarver, a double murderer, beat Dahmer and another inmate, Jesse Anderson, to death with a bench-press bar from the prison's weight room. All three were on work detail cleaning a bathroom in the guards' quarters at the time (Because of this incident, American maximum security prisons no longer have a free-weight room). Scarver stated that he was the "son of God" and was acting out his "Father's" commands to kill Dahmer and the other inmate during cleaning duties. Some believe, however, that race played a role in Scarver's motivation, as most of Dahmer's victims were black, and Anderson had killed his wife and blamed it on a black man. Shortly before his death, Dahmer had been rebaptized into Christianity.
His father refused to grant permission for his son's brain to be examined for scientific research. Though willing to help the case study of his son in other ways, he declined this particular request on religious grounds. Dahmer's father wrote a book, A Father's Story, in 1994 about what he saw as his failure to reach his son, as well as the effect Dahmer's crimes had on his family. After Jeffrey Dahmer's death and subsequent legal proceedings regarding the study of his brain were over, his remains were cremated and divided in half, between his birth mother Joyce and his father Lionel, who had remarried a woman named Shari.
Aftermath
After the murders, the Oxford Apartments were razed and the site is now a vacant lot. At the time the apartments were demolished there were plans to turn the site into a memorial garden, but no garden exists on the site today. The site is mostly overgrown with grass and a tall chain link fence surrounding the perimeter of the property and is generally considered to be in a poor neighborhood of Milwaukee.
The families are continuing to struggle with their grief, but after Lionel Dahmer published his book A Father's Story, the majority of the family members reached out to him and his wife Shari. He donated a portion of the proceeds from his book to the victims and their families, but used the rest to pay legal fees by the person who sued him for being an irresponsible father. He has retired from his career as an analytical chemist and resides with his wife today in Medina, Ohio. He consults on the evolution versus creationism topic occasionally, and his wife is a member of the board of the Medina County Ohio Horseman's Council. Both of them continue to carry the name Dahmer and still love their son despite his crimes. Lionel Dahmer's first wife, Joyce, died of cancer some years after the trial.
The movie Jeffrey Dahmer: The Secret Life was released in 1993, starring Carl Crew as Dahmer. In 2002, the biopic Dahmer, starring Jeremy Renner in the title role, premiered in Dahmer's hometown. The film, which portrayed Dahmer in a human (if not sympathetic) light, met with protest from the victims' families, and quickly went to video. In a 2004 article in 3DShroom Magazine, Dahmer was described as the "most pitied serial killer in American history." The article described Dahmer's life as pathetic in comparison to less repentant killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy.
Dahmer was one of the serial killers emulated by the villain in the movie Copycat. Like Dahmer, the villain went to gay bars and drugged his victims' drinks. He also cut off one victim's head with a surgical saw. The Canadian grindcore band Dahmer is named after Jeffrey Dahmer. American heavy metal band Macabre have written a concept album about Jeffrey Dahmer titled Dahmer. The songs "Arc Arsenal" by At the Drive-In and "213" by Slayer are also believed to be about Jeffrey Dahmer. As is the song "Dahmer is Dead" by the Violent Femmes. There is a track on Venetian Snares' album Meathole titled Sinthasomphone. Cradle Of Filth makes a reference to Dahmer in their song "Lord Abortion", when describing the technique and mindset of the necrophiliac the song is written about. In the movie "Waiting," Andy Milonakis raps [I eat that pussy like Jeffery Dahmer].
Victims
| Name | Photo | Age | Date of Death |
| Steven Hicks | File:StevenHicks.jpg | 19 | June, 1978 |
| Steven Tuomi | File:Stevenwtuomi.jpg | 24 | September, 1987 |
| James "Jamie" Doxtator | File:Jamesdoxtator.jpg | 14 | October, 1987 |
| Richard Guerrero | File:Richardguerrero1.jpg | 23 | March, 1988 |
| Anthony Sears | File:AnthonySears.jpg | 26 | February, 1989 |
| Raymond Smith (aka Ricky Beeks) |
File:Raymondlamontsmith.jpg | 33 | May, 1990 |
| Eddie Smith | File:Edwardsmith.jpg | 27 | June, 1990 |
| Ernest Miller | File:Ernestmiller.jpg | 22 | September, 1990 |
| David Thomas | File:Davidthomas.jpg | 23 | September, 1990 |
| Curtis Straughter | File:Curtisstraughter.jpg | 19 | February, 1991 |
| Errol Lindsey | File:Erollindsey.jpg | 19 | April, 1991 |
| Tony Hughes | File:Anthonyhughes.jpg | 31 | May 24, 1991 |
| Konerak Sinthasomphone | File:Konerak.jpg | 14 | May 27, 1991 |
| Matt Turner | File:Mattturner.jpg | 20 | June 30, 1991 |
| Jeremiah Weinberger | 23 | July 5, 1991 | |
| Oliver Lacy | File:Oliverlacey.jpg | 23 | July 12, 1991 |
| Joseph Bradeholt | File:Jospehbradehoft.jpg | 25 | July 19, 1991 |
Attempted victims
| Name | Photo | Age | Date of Abduction |
| Tracy Edwards | File:Tracyedwards.jpg | 22 | July,1991 |
References
- A Father's Story, ISBN 068812156X - Confessional book by Jeffrey Dahmer's Father
- In the song "The Joker's Wild" by horrorcore rap group ICP: "Tell me who killed 17 people and later ate their dead bodies?" "Jeffrey Dahmer." "No, the correct answer would be your mother."
External links
- BBC's Infamous Criminals
- Crime Library article on Dahmer
- Rotten.com article on Dahmer
- IMDb Entry
- Find A Grave Entry
- Oxford Apartments in Milwaukee Wisconsin - This is an aerial view of the now demolished Oxford Apartments in Milwaukee Wisconsin. They are located on the corner of North 25th Street and Kilbourn.
- Oxford Apartments in Milwaukee photo taken 1998
- Young Jeffrey Dahmer - comic book by Derf about his school acquaintanceship with Dahmer
