Netflix series Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, has been gripping viewers with its portrayal of the horrific true story of one of the world’s worst serial killers. American Horror Story’s Evan Peters stars as Dahmer in a performance that has been lauded by critics. Peters has said that he was attracted to the role because of the complexity of Dahmer in that he is “regretful and has guilt” for his crimes.
In a behind-the-scenes clip from the series, which was released on September 21, Peters comments on how Dahmer’s “docile” and “disassociated nature” intrigued him. Exploring YouTube for clips of the prolific killer enabled him to portray the story in an authentic way.
But who was Jeffrey Dahmer and how did he earn the title of the Milwaukee Cannibal? Read on to find out more about the man responsible for the murder and dismemberment of 17 men and boys.
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Born in May 1960, Dahmer was the first of two sons born to Joyce Annette and Lionel Dahmer - a teletype machine instructor and research chemist. Lionel Dahmer, who grew up in America, was of both German and Welsh ancestry as his mother Catherine Hughes, was from Wales, although Lionel didn't know the exact location.
Sources are divided over the state of Jeffrey Dahmer’s childhood. The 2011 book, Sadism Linked to Loneliness: Psychodynamic dimensions of the Sadistic Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, claims that Dahmer was deprived of attention as an infant. Other sources, meanwhile, say that he was well looked after by his parents and had a decent childhood.
Dahmer’s mother, Joyce, was a hypochondriac who suffered with depression and spent an increasing amount of time in bed, looked after by her husband. This, in turn, prompted Dahmer to become a quiet, reserved person in elementary school.
From a young age, Dahmer displayed a fascination with dead animals. According to his father, he was "oddly thrilled" by the sound of their bones and occasionally searched the family home for additional bones, and explored the bodies of live animals to discover where the bones were located.
At around 14 years old, Dahmer started drinking heavily, thus beginning a long battle with alcoholism. During his high school years, he realised that he was gay and started to have dark sexual fantasies involving unresponsive sexual partners and dissection. His fascination with the dead would gradually evolve into something more sinister and at the age of 18, he committed his first murder.
In 1978, Dahmer took the life of Steven Mark Hicks. On June 18 that year, he lured the 19-year-old hitchhiker to his house and bludgeoned him with a 10-pound dumbbell before eventually strangling him to death. A day later, Dahmer dissected Hicks’ body in the basement of his house and buried it in a grave in his backyard. This would be the first of 17 crimes that would take place between 1978 and 1991.
Dahmer would take the life of his second victim in the late 1980s after a stint in the army and continued for years up until his arrest in 1991. His victims were predominantly Black, Asian and Latino men, ranging in age from 14 to 33. His shocking crimes involved cannibalism, dismemberment and necrophilia.
Between 1988 and 1991, the rate in which Dahmer killed his victims increased rapidly and during this time, 15 of the 17 murders he’d committed took place. During this time, he documented his crimes using a polaroid camera and from 1989, he also began storing body parts of people that he’d murdered. This included several skulls, hearts, biceps and genitals - All of which were stored in his freezer.
In 1991, Dahmer was ultimately caught when one of his victims, Tracy Edwards, escaped from his apartment and was found running down the street with a pair of handcuffs dangling from his wrist. He told police that Dahmer was trying to kill him, with authorities going on to find body parts preserved in his apartment.
After being arrested, Dahmer confessed to the crimes that he had committed and said that he had "created this horror and it only makes sense [he] do everything to put an end to it." He admitted to murdering 16 young men in Wisconsin since 1987, with one further victim - his first, Steven Hicks, killed in 1978. Dahmer told police that he had been preserving his victims' skulls and skeletons to build an altar, where he could “meditate” and “feel at home”.
Dahmer was ultimately jailed for life in 1992 - given 15 consecutive life sentences, equating to 957 years in prison. He was also later issued a 16th life sentence and reportedly told the court, "I never wanted freedom. Frankly, I wanted death for myself. I knew I was sick or evil or both. Doctors have told me about my sickness and now I have some peace. I know how much harm I have caused. I feel so bad for what I did to those poor families."
In 1994, just two years into his lengthy sentence, Dahmer was attacked and killed by fellow prison inmate Christopher Scarver, who hit him over the head with a metal bar. In an interview with New York Post, Dahmer’s killer said: "Some people who are in prison are repentant - but he was not one of them."
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is now available to watch on Netflix
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