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Jeffrey Dahmer

The Milwaukee Cannibal

By Karen SmithPublished 5 years ago 6 min read
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Lack of remorse. Impulsivity. Superficial charm. Pathological lying. These are all signs of psychopathic tendencies. But what makes someone a psychopath? What causes someone to one day just snap and do the unspeakable? We honestly may never know, but studies are constantly being done to observe what goes on in someone's life to cause them to have these sort of tendencies. Not all psychopaths are criminals; it is a personality disorder that many people actually use to increase their success. Although not everyone with psychopathic traits are criminals, they are more likely to commit crimes than the general population because they have no remorse and are guiltless. They also have a lack of impulse control, so when they have a desire to do something, even if it is illegal, they have to do it.

Jeffrey Dahmer: Early Life

Let's talk about one of the most prolific psychopaths in modern history, Jeffrey Dahmer. He killed 17 young boys and men from 1978 to 1991 when he was finally caught. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconson on May 21, 1960, Jeffrey was a normal boy. His parents described him as very energetic, but when he got to school, his teachers noticed that he was always isolating himself from the other students. To them, it was more than just a child being shy. He would never play with, or talk to his classmates and was mainly friendless. His parents divorced when he was 13 and they moved the family to Ohio. He claims that desires for sexual control, power and dominance started at the age of 15, but that he does not know what caused them.

In an interview two years after his arrest and trial, his father told about when Jeffrey was four years old. His father found some pests under their house that had eaten small rodents and cats and had left their bones under the family home. He brought them out in a small tin can and he explained that Jeffrey was fascinated by them. He would pick one up and drop it in, but at the time, he didn't think anything of it other than a boy being a boy.

Victims

In a jailhouse interview with Inside Edition, Jeffrey talked about his victims, what he would do with them and why he did what he did. He said that his first victim was not planned. He was 18 years old and always had a fantasy to pick up a hitchhiker and bring him home. That's exactly what he did. Steven Hicks was on his way to a nearby rock concert when Dahmer picked him up and took him back to his house for beers. He said that he did not want the young man to leave, so he knocked him out and strangled him with a barbell. Once he killed him, he carefully dismembered his body and eventually scattered his bones throughout the family property. It wasn't until Jeffrey was captured and confessed more than 13 years later that Stevens family finally got the answers they'd been searching for.

In 1979, Jeffrey decided to join the army, but after only two years, he was dishonorably discharged due to excessive alcoholism. Once out of the army, he moved back to Milwaukee to live with his grandmother. He was a regular at gay bars and bath houses in the area. This is where he met his second victim, Steven Tuomi in 1987. They went to a hotel, Dahmer says they drank a lot and then he blacked out. When he woke up, he noticed Steven was dead on the floor with multiple bruises on his ribs. This murder was not planned either, but it sparked his compulsions again. This time, they wouldn't be stopped for another four years. He said after finding Steven dead on the floor, he went to the store and bought a suitcase, dismembered his body and transferred it back to his grandmothers home, finished cutting him up and threw the remains in garbage bags and into the trash cans.

In 1988, he killed two other young men, James Doxtator and Richard Guerrero. He was then convicted of molesting a 13-year-old boy and sentenced to one year in prison, but only served 10 months. Before he was convicted, though, he murdered Anthony Sears in March of 1989. Once he got out of prison, his killing spree began again. In 1990, he killed three other young men and six more before he was captured in July 1991.

In May of 1991, Dahmer kidnapped a 14-year old boy, Konerak Sinthasomphone. When he left the apartment to go to the store, the young boy managed to escape. Bleeding and naked in the middle of the street, concerned neighbors called the police. By the time they go there, Dahmer was already back and convinced the police that it was just a domestic dispute and nothing was wrong. The police handed the young 14-year-old back to this sadistic serial killer. Shortly after they left, Dahmer strangled him.

Capture

Dahmer was finally captured on July 22, 1991 when another victim escaped. His name was Tracy Edwards. He flagged a police car down with handcuffs still dangling from his wrist. He led them to Dahmer's apartment where he calmly offered to unlock the cuffs.

As they entered the residence, they noticed Polaroids of naked young men strewn about the floor. They searched the rest of the house; several heads were found in the refrigerator and freezer, two skulls were on top of the computer, and a 57 gallon barrel was filled acid and several decomposing bodies.

When everything was said and done, the decomposing bodies of 11 out of the 17 victims were found in his small city apartment. Many of the neighbors claimed they smelled something rotting, but Dahmer explained it away as rotten meat. There was also evidence in the house that he had been eating some of the bodies.

Trial

Although once he was arrested, he confessed, his plea in court was guilty by insanity. He claimed that his impulses were uncontrollable, but the verdict came that he was sane and guilty on all 15 counts of murder. He later plea guilty to an additional count for the death of Steven Hicks. He received 16 life sentences. Dahmer was originally put in segregation due to the nature of his crimes and fear from the prison that others would attack him, but somehow manipulated them into allowing him in general population.

Death

On November 28, 1994 while cleaning a bathroom stall, Christopher Scarver attacked Dahmer and another convicted murderer. They were both transported to a hospital where the other inmate died a few days later, but Dahmer died on the way. When asked why he murdered him, Scarver told them that he was disgusted by his crimes and the way he showed no remorse. He claimed that Jeffrey would often fashion limbs out of prison food and put ketchup on it to make it look like blood.

While they were assigned to clean the restrooms, prison guards left them alone. Scarver believes they did it on purpose because they knew he hated Dahmer and wanted him dead. In the interview, he said he confronted Dahmer about his crimes and when he tried to escape, he bashed his head in with a mop handle, found the other inmate and did basically the same thing.

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About the Creator

Karen Smith

29 years old. Fiance. Stay at home mommy to two beautiful little boys. ❤️

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