Jeffery Dahmer

Jeffrey Dahmer was a strange kid growing up. His mother was considered, by most, to be unstable, and his father was a workaholic. Hence, Jeff did not receive a much attention as a child. To make up for this lack of attention, he played games with imaginary friends, and scared off his real friends with strange antics.

During adolescence, Jeff had a strange fetish with dead animals. He loved to perform his own autopsies and explore the innards of road kill. Neighbors also claimed that Jeff once put a dog's severed head on a stick behind his house. Eventually, Jeff's parents separated and he left with his mother. Jeff soon discovered that it was boys and not girls, which caught his attention. Around this time, Jeff recognized drugs and alcohol as means to forget his problems.

One night when Jeff was driving home, he picked up a hitchhiker, 19-year-old Steven Hicks. The two of went back to Jeff's where they drank beer and smoked marijuana. However, it seems as though Jeff must have really liked Steve because when Hicks said that it was time he left, Jeff decided that he did not want his new friend going anywhere.

Jeff picked up a weight lifting dumbbell and struck Hick's in the back of the head rendering him unconscious prior to strangling him. Jeff then dragged the body into the crawlspace under the house. Eventually the smell became quite strong so Jeff cut the remains into pieces, placing them into small plastic bags. He then put the bags in the bushes behind the house, and eventually buried them. After a while, Jeff began to worry about the neighborhood kids digging up the remains so he dug them up and smashed the bones into pieces, which he scattered around the woods.

Over the next 9 years, Jeff was somehow able to control these urges to kill again. Eventually, Jeff joined the United States Army and ended up stationed in Germany. However, within a few short years, Jeff was discharged due to erratic drinking.

After his military career ended, Jeff accepted homosexuality and became a regular at Milwaukee's gay bars. At one point, he was arrested for flashing his penis at two 12-year-old boys in a park. He was placed on probation until September 9, 1987 for the incident. Just six days after the probation ended, his urge to kill became too strong to control any longer.

On September 15, 1987, Jeff spent the day drinking at a gay bar named Club 219, and met Steven Toumi. They chatted with each other for a few hours and eventually went to the Ambassador hotel and rented a room. Jeff claims he can't remember what happened once they got to the hotel, only that he drank a lot. He was not even sure if they had any form of sexual relations. However, when he woke up Toumi was dead. It seems Jeff beat him very badly and strangled him. After this, Jeff went out and bought a large suitcase and stuffed the body inside. He then took a taxi back to his grandmother’s house where he lived in the basement. Once there, he cut up the body into pieces and placed them in the garbage bags. Once his deed was complete, he put the bags out by the curb with the rest of the trash.

On January 16, 1988, Jeff approached 14-year-old James Doxtator, a young male prostitute. Jeff offered James money in exchange for participating in a homemade adult film with him. Doxtator agreed and Jeff took him home. Once in the basement, Jeff gave Doxtator a sleeping drug concoction. Once the youth was lost consciousness, Jeff strangled him, stripped the body of all flesh with acid, and smashed the bones into pieces with a sledgehammer. Afterwards, he scattered the bone fragments.

On March 24, 1988, Jeff met Richard Guerrero at a bar called the Phoenix. Guerrero was broke so Jeff offered him money if he would come back to his place and make a video. Guerrero agreed and once back at Jeff's, the two had oral sex. Afterwards, Jeff offered him a laced drink and Richard accepted. Shortly after passing out, Richard was strangled, dismembered and disposed of.

Jeff's Grandmother soon began to worry about the foul smell coming from the basement. When Jeff’s father Lionel Dahmer inspected the room he found a black sticky residue, similar to what acid does to flesh. Upon questioning his son about this, Jeff told his father he had been experimenting with animals. Since Lionel never really cared about what Jeff did, he accepted Jeff's explanation and didn't bother about it any further. Nonetheless, Jeff’s grandmother was not satisfied and he was asked to move out.

Jeff soon moved into his own place. Just 24 hours after moving into his new apartment, Jeff got himself into trouble with the police. Jeff had conned a Laotian boy, 13-year-old Keison Sinthasomphone, into coming up to his apartment. Once there, Jeff drugged and molested him. However, when the boy came to, he left and reported the incident to the authorities. Jeff was charged with sexual assault and enticing a child for immoral purposes. He spent 1 week in jail before being released on bail. On January 30, 1990, Jeff was found guilty. During sentencing, Jeff asked the judge for leniency saying, "I am an alcoholic and a homosexual with sexual problems." Judge William Gardner sentenced Jeff to 5-years probation and 1½ year stay at a halfway house.

On March 25, 1990, Jeff met Anthony Sears at La Cage gay bar. Jeff took Sears back to his grandmother’s house. Once there, they had sexual intercourse. Afterwards, Jeff made Anthony a drink, murdered him and decided to keep the skull as a trophy. This would mark the beginning of his macabre collection of human souvenirs.

After serving his time in the halfway house, Jeff rented a place at the oxford apartments, apartment #213. Just 2 weeks after moving in, Jeff met Ray Smith at Club 219. Ray was a newcomer to Milwaukee and had obviously ran into the wrong guy at the wrong time. Jeff asked Ray back to his place to pose for some photos and Ray accepted. Once back at the apartment, Jeff offered Ray a laced drink. After Ray passed out, Jeff strangled him and stripped the body prior to having necrophiliac sex with the corpse. After he was finished, Jeff dismembered the body and threw it out with the trash. All except for the skull that is. He kept it and painted it to preserve it.

On June 14, 1990, Jeff met Eddie Smith and went the two went back to Jeff's apartment where they had oral sex. Afterwards, Jeff offered Eddie a drink. Soon thereafter, Eddie passed out. Jeff strangled him, dismembered the body, and threw the remains out with the trash.

On July 8, 1990, Jeff had a 15-year-old Hispanic kid posing for photos when he picked up a mallet and tried to hit the boy in the head. The kid fought back, eventually escaped, and went to police. However, when he begged the police not to tell his foster parents that he was gay, the police decided to leave it alone.

On September 3, 1990, Jeff picked up Ernest Miller, took him home, had intercourse with him, drugged him, and then changed his game plan a little. He did not strangle Miller he cut his throat instead. He then sliced off the biceps and put them in the freezer. Upon taking all the flesh from the bone, Jeff decided to keep the entire skeleton.

Jeff's neighbors soon began to complain about the putrid smell coming from his apartment. Jeff explained to the landlord that his fridge was broken and he would get it fixed as soon as possible.

In October of 1990, Jeff met David Thomas. The two were soon drinking in Jeff’s apartment when Jeff gave him his "special drink". Jeff didn't want to kill Thomas, however, he was worried he might be upset when he woke up. Hence, Jeff decided the best thing to do was to kill him anyway. This time he filmed the whole dismemberment and took photos of Thomas' severed head in various positions in the apartment. These photos were later viewed by Thomas' sister for identification purposes.

On February 18, 1991, Jeff met Curtis Straughter. Curtis wanted to be a model, so when Jeff suggested that Curtis posed for him, Curtis gladly agreed. He was strangled while giving Jeff oral sex. Jeff kept the skull and painted it to preserve it. In addition, he decided to keep the hands and penis.

On April 7, 1991, Jeff met 19-year-old Errol Lindsey (also known as Earl Lindsey), at a local bus stop. Jeff paid Errol to come back to the apartment. Once there, Jeff offered him a drink and soon was performing oral sex on Errol’s corpse. Jeff kept the skull.

On May 24, 1991, Jeff met Tony Hughes at club 219, Hughes was a deaf mute so Jeff wrote his offer on paper and handed it to Hughes. $50 to pose for photos and watch videos. Well as I am sure you have probably already guessed, Dahmer drugged and strangled Hughes. He then left the corpse lying around his bedroom for a few days before dismembering it.

On May 27, 1991, Jeff met 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone, at a local bus stop. Coincidentally, Konerak was the younger brother of the guy who charged Jeff with sexual assault, although Jeff never knew it at the time. Jeff got the kid into his apartment, drugged him, had sexual intercourse with him, drilled a hole in his head, and injected acid, then left to get some beer. His plan was to make a zombie out of the youth. However, somehow the kid woke up and was able to make it out of the building into the streets, where police eventually found him wandering around dazed and nude. To them he was just a drunk homosexual, and when they spoke to Jeff, their thoughts were confirmed. They went back to the apartment, noticed nothing out of the ordinary, and left Konerak with Jeff. The police even made a joke about it on the CB. Needless to say, Jeff added another skull to the collection, which he also painted to preserve.

On June 30, 1991, Jeff travelled to Chicago for Gay Pride Day. While at a bus depot he met Matt Turner another guy that wanted to be a model. Jeff talked him into coming back to Milwaukee with him and paid for Greyhound bus tickets for them. They were soon off on their 90-mile ride. Once safely back in the confides of his apartment, Jeff drugged and strangled Turner. He then cut off Turners head, wrapped it in a plastic bag and placed it in the freezer. The torso was placed in a blue 57-gallon barrel.

On July 4, 1991, Jeff decided to pay another visit to Chicago. While there, he met 23-year-old Jeremiah Weinberger, at a local gay watering hole. Jeremiah asked his roommate what he thought of Jeff, "He seems all right" was the reply. Hence, Jeremiah decided to go back to Milwaukee with Jeff. Once they arrived back at Jeff's apartment, they had mutual sex and Jeremiah spent the night. However, when Jeremiah got sick of having sex with Jeff and said he was going home, Jeff agreed and offered him a farewell drink. Afterwards, Jeff strangled him.

On July 12, 1991, Jeff met 23-year-old Oliver Lacy. They went back to Jeff's place, had a drink, fooled around, and then Jeff strangled him. Jeff decided sodomized the corpse, and sliced the right bicep off and ate it. He then placed Lacy's head in the fridge next to an open box of baking soda. The heart was placed in the freezer for a later lunch, the flesh into the trash, and he kept the entire skeleton.

Jeff was soon suspended from his job at the Ambrosia chocolate factory. It seems that he spent a too many days at home with his "friends". This really upset Jeff. Nonetheless, he was soon fired.

On July 19, 1991, Jeff met Joseph Bradehoft at a local bus stop. It was poring down rain and Joseph had a 6-pack beer on him, so he decided to go back to Jeff's to party a bit. Once there, they had oral sex, Jeff drugged and strangled him. Jeff slept with the corpse for the next few days until the head became infested with maggots. Jeff cleaned it, and put it in the freezer along with the heads of Turner and Weinberger. He placed the torso in the 57-gallon barrel in the bedroom. Jeff seemed to have very little control at this point. He was becoming extremely sloppy, and it was only a matter of time before his world would completely collapse.

On July 22, 1991, Jeff met 32-year-old Tracy Edwards. The two went back to Jeff’s place for some drinks. Jeff since claimed to remember little of this evening. But it was something Edwards would never forget. According to Edwards, Jeff pulled out a knife and went from being Mr. nice to being a cold hearted son-of-a-bitch. Jeff managed to get a handcuff onto one of Edwards’s hands. However, Edwards fought back and got away. Police officers Mueller and Rauth were doing their nightly patrol down Kilbourn Avenue, when they reached the corner of 25th Street, where they were flagged down by a black man with a handcuff dangling from his wrist. Hysterically, Edward’s explained to the officers that he had been drinking with a man who handcuffed him and tried to kill him. The officers tried to remove the handcuff from Edwards' wrist but their keys would not fit so they escorted Edward’s back to the suspect’s apartment located at 924 North 25th Street. Jeffery Dahmer, the 31-year-old white male, opened the door to apartment 213. The inside of the apartment was neat and clean and Jeff acknowledged that he was responsible for the handcuff and pointed the officers in the direction of the bedroom, which is where he thought the keys would be. He also said, "I just lost my job, and I want to drink some fucking beer!" After looking around inside, one of the officers opened up the fridge and exclaimed, "OH MY GOD! THERE'S A GOD DAMN HEAD IN HERE! HE'S ONE SICK SON OF A BITCH!" Jeff suddenly turned on them and fought as the other cop tried to handcuff him. After subduing Jeff, they took him in.

Upon searching the apartment, the box of baking soda in the refrigerator hardly absorbed the odors of a decomposing severed head. The freezer had three more heads, stored neatly in plastic bags and tied with plastic twisty. There was a door that led to the bedroom, bedroom closet and bath, which had been outfitted, with a dead-bolt lock. Anne E. Schwartz, the first reporter on the scene, described what she saw in her book The Man Who Could Not Kill Enough: "...... in the back of the closet was a metal stock pot that contained decomposed hands and a penis. On the shelf above the kettle were 2 skulls. Also in the closet were containers of ethyl alcohol, chloroform, and formaldehyde, along with some glass jars holding male genitalia preserved in formaldehyde...Polaroid photos taken by Dahmer at various stages of his victim’s deaths. One showed a man's head, with the flesh still intact, lying in a sink. Another displayed a victim cut open from the neck to the groin, like a deer gutted after the kill, the cuts so clean I could see the pelvic bone clearly." Some of the photos were his victims before he murdered them in various erotic and bondage poses. The case became the biggest serial murder case of the decade.

Jeff’s bail was originally set at $1 million. On August 6, it was raised to $5 million, when eight more murder charges were added. In the end, Jeff had 15 murder charges against him. The longest sentence Jeff muttered at any of the preliminary hearings was, "I understand, your honor", when the judge asked if he understood the charges against him.

On July 13, 1992, Jeff ignored his lawyer's advice to plea guilty on the ground of insanity. According to Don Davis in The Milwaukee Murders, "The declaration turned the case on its head. Now, instead of having to prove his man did not commit the murders, defense attorney Gerald Boyle would unroll one of the goriest tapestries ever seen in an American courtroom. His task was to convince the jury that Dahmer was crazy, because only an insane person would do the things he did."

Two detectives took turns reading the 160-page confession. It was a catalog of sexual perversion. Detective Dennis Murphy stated that Jeff "felt a tremendous amount of guilt because of his actions. He felt thoroughly evil." Then he quoted from Jeff's own confession, "It's hard for me to believe that a human being could have done what I've done, but I know that I did it." He claimed that his fear of being caught was overwhelmed by his excitement of being completely in control.

The battle of psychiatrists over whether Jeff was legally responsible and able to control his actions seemed to confuse the jury. Finally, Boyle drew a chart for the jury, which He read them off quickly, "Skulls in locker, cannibalism, sexual urges, drilling, making zombies, necrophilia, drinking alcohol all the time, trying to create a shrine, lobotomies, defleshing, calling taxidermists, going to graveyards, masturbating. This is Jeffrey Dahmer, a runaway train on a track of madness." Prosecutor McCann rebutted, "He wasn't a runaway train, he was the engineer! He was satisfying his extraordinary sexual cravings. Ladies and gentlemen, he's fooled a lot of people. Please don't let this murderous killer fool you."

The jury deliberated for 5 hours and decided that Jeff did not deserve to spend the rest of his life in a hospital, but in a prison cell. On all 15 counts, Jeff was found guilty and sane.

Jeff wrote an apology to the judge covering his 13-year bloodbath. "Your Honor, It is now over. This has never been a case of trying to get free. I didn't ever want freedom. Frankly, I wanted death for myself. This was a case to tell the world that I did what I did, but not for reasons of hate. I hated no one. I knew I was sick or evil or both. Now I believe I was sick. The doctors have told me about my sickness, and now I have some peace. I know how much harm I have caused. Thank God there will be no more harm that I can do. I believe that only the Lord Jesus Christ can save me from my sins. I ask for no consideration. I have to question whether or not there is an evil force in the world and whether or not I have been influenced by it. Although I am not sure if there is a God, or if there is a devil, I know that as of lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about both." Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms or a total of 957 years in prison.

Jeff adjusted very well to prison life at the Columbia Correctional Institute in Portage, Wisconsin. Initially, he was not part of the general population of the prison, which would have jeopardized his safety. As it was, he was attacked on July 3, 1994, while attending a chapel service, by a Cuban whom he had never seen before.

While in prison Jeff was sued twice for 3 billion dollars even though he was penniless. Jeff, the model prisoner, convinced the prison authorities to allow him more contact with other inmates. He was able to eat in communal areas and was given janitorial work with other inmates.

On November 28, 1994, Jeff, while working bathroom clean-up detail, had been paired up with 2 highly dangerous men - Jesse Anderson, a white man who had murdered his wife and blamed it on a black man, and Christopher Scarver, a black delusional schizophrenic in for first degree murder, who thought he was the son of God. It was not difficult to imagine how Scarver viewed Anderson, and Jeff who had butchered so many black men. It was a disastrous combination. Just 20 minutes after they started, a prison guard came by to check on them and found Jeff lying face down in a pool of blood with his head bashed in while Anderson was lying in a pool of blood in one of the showers. Upon arriving at the hospital, Jeffrey Dahmer was pronounced dead at 9:11 A.M. Jesse Anderson died shortly thereafter from having his head bashed against the floor and walls repeatedly. They compared his injuries to those of a car accident. Scarver claimed, "God told me to do it!" Nevertheless, he received yet another life sentence for his actions.

Jeff was cremated and his parents, who are divorced, each received half of his remains after a court battle over his ashes.