Even if you are not into true crime, you probably know the names of a few serial killers like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. These serial killers, particularly Jeffrey Dahmer, have been the center of television shows, documentaries, and even the lyrics in pop songs.

Why does his name and story pop up everywhere? It’s not because he killed the most people out of any serial killer or is the “first” serial killer.

Who Was Jeffrey Dahmer?When Was Jeffrey Dahmer Born?Jeffrey Dahmer’s VictimsWhen Was Jeffrey Dahmer Caught?Life In Milwaukee After Dahmer’s ArrestDahmer’s ConfessionHow Did Jeffrey Dahmer Die?

Who Was Jeffrey Dahmer?

When Was Jeffrey Dahmer Born?

Jeffrey Dahmer’s Victims

When Was Jeffrey Dahmer Caught?

Life In Milwaukee After Dahmer’s Arrest

Dahmer’s Confession

How Did Jeffrey Dahmer Die?

Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 people between 1978 and 1991. But he didn’t just kill them. After they were dead, Dahmer dismembered and even ate the bodies. What’s more, Dahmer was a timid man who didn’t endure the abuse or trauma that other serial killers may use as an “excuse” for their crimes.

In interviews, Jeffrey Dahmer gave clear, straightforward answers about his horrific crimes, in some cases admitting his wrongdoing. The story of Jeffrey Dahmer is a wild ride, and it’s more squeamish than many stories of serial killers. Get ready to hear the real story of one of the most infamous serial killers and cannibals of all time.

Jeffrey Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960 in Wisconsin. His parents lived comfortably. While most serial killers have a record of surviving abuse or other traumatic experiences, there’s not much to say about Dahmer’s childhood that could point to his later crimes. Dahmer claimed that he was never abused or molested throughout his lifetime. Although his mother suffered from mental illness and likely took prescription medication that affected Dahmer’s development, all appeared normal throughout his early life.

Jeffrey Dahmer Childhood

Jeffrey Dahmer’s First Kill

Inside, Dahmer started to have fantasies that involved sexual control and dominance. Not knowing how to act on these desires, he began to use violence. At age 18, Dahmer picked up a hitchhiker who was on his way to a rock concert. The two spent some time at Dahmer’s house - when the hitchhiker wanted to leave, Dahmer killed him.

By this time, Dahmer’s father and stepmother noticed that he was acting out. They unsuccessfully tried to enroll him in college, took him to psychiatrists, and eventually encouraged him to join the military. During this time, Dahmer didn’t commit any homicides, although multiple roommates claimed that he drugged, sexually assaulted, and tortured them. He was discharged from the army due to excessive drinking, and ended up moving in with his grandmother.

During this time, Dahmer tried various methods to suppress his urges and bizarre fantasies. He kept a mannequin in his bed, exposed himself to women and children, and started drugging men at bath houses throughout the Chicago and Milwaukee area. After giving one of the men too much of the drugs that he used, he was banned from the bath houses.

Around this time, Dahmer got a job at a chocolate factory.

1998

1989

After sexually assaulting a 13-year old boy in 1989, Dahmer was arrested and convicted of second-degree sexual assault. Due to delays in his sentencing, Dahmer was sent to live at his grandmother’s home for a period of months. During that time, he took another victim. The victim’s head and genitals were preserved after Dahmer disposed of the body. Shortly after, he was sentenced to five years’ probation. His sentencing included work release and mandatory time in counseling due to his remorse in front of the judge.

1990

In 1990, Dahmer moved into an apartment and killed an additional four men. All of these men had come to Dahmer’s home voluntarily, and didn’t anticipate the violence that would take place when they arrived. He had already developed a ritual where he would watch “The Exorcist” before killing his victims.” During this year, he started to change the way he treated his victims after he killed them. He photographed their bodies, storing their bones in a filing cabinet and other parts of the body in a freezer. If not stored, the body parts were placed in vats of acid.

Dahmer planned to build a “memorial” to these victims in the form of an altar. Sketches of this altar showed his desire to paint their skeletons and lay out their skulls on the altar. This bizarre “connection” to his victims grew into even more sickening rituals as he began to cook and eat the remains of his victims. Dahmer would go so far as to look at pictures of his victims while he ate their bodies.

1991

Dahmer killed one more person in 1991 before he tried something new with his victims. With his next two victims, he attempted to make them “zombies,” somewhere between life and death. He did this to try and fulfill a sexual fantasy about having sex with a zombie. Both times, he failed and the victims died.

The police left the 14-year-old child with Dahmer in his apartment. They failed to look around and see that Dahmer’s previous victim was in the next room where they discussed Dahmer’s supposed relationship with the teenager. When neighbors inquired as to the age of the child and whether or not he was actually safe with Dahmer, police assured them that everything was “taken care of.” The day after this encounter, Dahmer killed the 14-year-old boy. Over the next two months, he killed another three victims.

At this point, neighbors contacted their landlord to report on a foul smell coming from Dahmer’s apartment. Three times, he made excuses for the smell, including telling his manager that his fish had recently died. Eventually, these excuses stopped working for the manager, and Dahmer was told that he was going to be evicted.

During this time before his eviction, Dahmer kills one more victim - his 17th. On July 22, 1991, three days after the man was killed, Dahmer would be arrested.

The Arrest

Dahmer took a man back to his home on July 22, 1991. Early in the encounter, he told the man that he was going to eat his heart. But Dahmer had run out of drugs to render the man unconscious, and only managed to get one handcuff on the man’s hand. The man was able to escape and ask the police about how to get the handcuff off.

The police were not able to get the handcuffs off, so they went to Dahmer’s apartment to look for the key. In plain sight, the officers saw the photographs that Dahmer had taken of his victims. These photos included evidence that Dahmer had killed and dismembered multiple victims. At this point, Dahmer was finally put in handcuffs and taken into custody for the murders.

When investigators searched the house, they found all of the remains and evidence of Dahmer’s recent killings.

A Redditor on the Milwaukee subreddit asked users to share theirclose encounters with Jeffrey Dahmer.The stories are crazy, tragic, and haunting:

The next day, Dahmer decided to give a complete confession to the police about everything he had done: murders, dismemberment, cannibalism, and all.

Before the case went to trial, Dahmer gave a confession that lasted for over 160 pages. In this confession, he was willing to confess to every single detail of the killings and dismemberment that he could remember. He recalled it all with frightening accuracy - although he couldn’t remember the names of the men that he killed. Dahmer claimed to also not remember the night that he killed his second victim.

When his trial started, Dahmer had been charged with 15 counts of murder. (One count of murder was charged in another state. Dahmer could not remember killing his second victim, and since there was no physical evidence of the killing at the time, he was not charged for the crime.) His parents attended the trial. Dahmer pleaded guilty but on the grounds of insanity, but he told the jury that he did not wish for any sort of freedom. He believed that he deserved the death penalty.

The state of Wisconsin had abolished capital punishment over 60 years earlier, so Dahmer was not able to get the death penalty. He was, however, sentenced to 15 life sentences plus another 70 years. (He was sentenced to a 16th life imprisonment when he was convicted for his first murder in the state of Ohio.)

While in prison, Jeffrey Dahmer spent his first year in prison in solitary confinement for the safety of his fellow inmates, but was eventually released to a less secure area. He became a born-again Christian, reading the Bible and visiting with a pastor frequently. He was even baptized. But even with the possibility of a new life ahead of him, Dahmer felt that he was ready to die for his crimes.

Infamy

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Reference this article:Practical Psychology. (2021, August).Jeffrey Dahmer (Serial Killer Biography).Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/jeffrey-dahmer/.Practical Psychology. (2021, August). Jeffrey Dahmer (Serial Killer Biography). Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/jeffrey-dahmer/.Copy

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Practical Psychology. (2021, August).Jeffrey Dahmer (Serial Killer Biography).Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/jeffrey-dahmer/.Practical Psychology. (2021, August). Jeffrey Dahmer (Serial Killer Biography). Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/jeffrey-dahmer/.Copy

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