Jeffrey Dahmer was one of the United States of America's most notorious serial killers - murdering 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. He went undetected for more than a decade despite various close brushes with the law and suspicions arising by those closely surrounding him.
Netflix have this week launched a true crime series entitled Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, deep diving into the warped mind, twisted life and unspeakable crimes of the 'Cannibal Killer'. But it doesn't make for light viewing, with many complaining that they were left felling 'sick to their stomach' moments into the first episode.
For those who are interested in learning more about the dark corner of history surrounding Dahmer's life, we've put a bit of a background together about the monster behind the crimes.
Warning: The content below may distress some readers.
Read more: Netlix's new Jeffrey Dahmer true crime series leaves viewers 'sick to their stomach'
Who was Jeffrey Dahmer?
The Mirror reports that Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father Lionel was a research chemist with his mother Joyce being a teletype machine instructor during Jeff's childhood. Although Dahmer had a relatively normal childhood, his parents early noticed that he was a loner and preferred to be by himself most of the time, rather than in the company of others.
He also became further subdued after suffering a double hernia which required surgery.
Home life was tense for Jeff, with his mother suffering from extreme anxiety and constantly arguing with Lionel, often in front of Jeffrey and his younger brother, David. Joyce also attempted suicide with an overdose of medication she found herself addicted to.
In elementary school, Jeffrey became much more shy and timid - whilst taking a keen interest in dismembering animals. He would do this alone most of the time, but would also invite friends to join him.
On one occasion, Jeffrey decapitated a dog's carcass and nailed its skull to a nearby tree.
Jeffrey's curiosity with regards to animals was encouraged by his father, who showed him things like how to dissolve chicken bones in bleach aged just eight years old. In high school, Jeffrey was a bit of an outcast and developed alcoholism by 14-years-old.
He got average grades despite being praised for having high intellect and intelligence.
During these years, Dahmer discovered that he was homosexual - but would suppress this from his family. He even went on to have a brief relationship with another boy, but never had sex.
Jeffrey then began to have rape fantasies, with elements of dominance and sadism incorporated. As well as this, mutilation was a factor, in line with the interests he had with dissecting animals. Jeffrey first thought about enacting on this with a jogger who he occasionally spotted while driving, and subsequently became obsessed with.
His parents separated just before Jeffrey was set to graduate, with Lionel moving out and Joyce moving away to a new family home with relatives. Jeffrey was left all alone with no one else around for this brief period.
Who was his first murder victim?
An 18 year-old hitchhiker named Steven Mark Hicks. Not long after he graduated in 1978, Dahmer picked up Steven and lured him back to his now empty family home under the pretext of drinking. When Steven tried to leave, Dahmer bludgeoned him with a dumbbell and then strangled him to death with it.
Dahmer buried his body in a shallow grave in the garden. Jeffrey returned weeks later to cut the flesh from the bones, which he later dissolved in acid, while smashing the bones and scattering them in the nearest woods.
His time in the army
After dropping out of Ohio State University in part due to his alcoholism, Dahmer joined the army at his father's request. Initially, Jeffrey was deemed as having a good performance in the military as a combat medic, but his issues soon resurfaced.
Jeffrey is reported to have raped two soldiers in his time at Baumholder in West Germany, one repeatedly over the year and a half he was there. Dahmer was discharged from the military in 1981, as he was deemed unfit for service due to his alcoholism.
Not wanting to face his disappointed father, Jeffrey travelled to Miami Beach in Florida, but when his alcoholism drained his funds, he eventually called his father for help and went to live with him and his new wife in Ohio.
Dahmer's first arrest
He was arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour in Ohio in 1981, which resulted in an unsuccessful attempt by Lionel and his wife to get him off alcohol. Eventually Jeffrey was sent to live with his Grandmother in Wisconsin, who he loved dearly and initially everything went well.
Before losing his job as a phlebotomist in Wisconsin, Dahmer was arrested for indecent exposure in a public park in 1982. In 1985, Dahmer began to explore the gay scene in Wisconsin.
Dahmer was not arrested, however, for the drugging and raping of patrons of bathhouses that he had begun to frequent. Dahmer was banned for 12 inappropriate instances, but continued to do this in hotels, lacing drinks with sleeping pills to rape his victims while unconscious, as he disliked their movement during sex when his partners were conscious.
The Ambassador Hotel
On an evening in 1987, Dahmer took home 25-year-old Steven Tuomi from a bar in Wisconsin and persuaded him to return to the Ambassador Hotel with him, where he planned to drug and rape him. The morning after, Dahmer claimed to have woken up to find Toumi beneath him with his chest crushed and badly bruised.
Dahmer says he had no memories of killing him, but knew from his fists that he had. Dahmer transferred Toumi's corpse in a large suitcase to his Grandmother's house, where he proceeded to sever the body and place pieces into plastic garbage bags, once again snapping the bones.
Steven Tuomi's remains were never found.
Who were Dahmer's victims?
- Steven Hicks, 19
- Steven Tuomi, 24
- Jamie Doxtator, 14
- Richard Guerrero, 25
- Anthony Lee Sears, 26
- Raymond Lamont Smith, 33
- Edward W. Smith, 27
- Ernest Miller, 22
- David Thomas, 23
- Curtis Straughter, 19
- Errol Lindsey, 19
- Anthony Hughes, 31
- Konerak Sinthasomphone, 14
- Matt Turner, 20
- Jeremiah Weinberger, 23
- Oliver Lacy, 23
- Joseph Bradehoft, 25
How was Dahmer caught?
On July 22, 1991, Dahmer approached some men to pose for paid nude photographs. Tracy Edwards agreed and went back to Dahmer's apartment, where he noticed boxes of hydrochloric acid and a foul smell.
Dahmer proceeded to handcuff one of Edwards' wrists and lead him to his bedroom for the photos. Inside Edwards noticed nude male posters, the film The Exorcist III playing on the TV, and gallon drum with a foul smell emanating from it.
Dahmer threatened Edwards with a knife, but Edwards persuaded Dahmer to calm down and said he was his friend.
They moved into the living room at Edwards' suggestion where he then went to use the bathroom. On a second request to use the bathroom, when noticing Dahmer's attention lapse momentarily, Edwards punched Dahmer in the face and fled the apartment where he flagged down two police officers and told them his story.
The police investigated Dahmer's apartment, and found his Polaroid photos of his dismembered bodies taken in the apartment. Caught out, Dahmer attempt to flee but was over-powered and arrested. The police then discovered a severed head in Dahmer's fridge, before soon finding all of his preserved victims'' body parts - including seven skulls.
Pinned down, Dahmer exclaimed: "For what I did, I should be dead."
Dahmer was interrogated by authorities for weeks, and admitted to killing 16 victims, and dismembering their bodies and performing necrophilia on some of their bodies.
Dahmer reasoned that he had been "swept along" with an obsessive desire to be with someone at whatever cost. He also described how he was keeping the bones of victims to create a shrine on a black table beneath his window with black curtains, where he would sit in a throne of black leather. He said it would have been a place of meditation, for him to draw power from.
How did he die?
Dahmer was on cleaning duty on November 28 1994 when he was murdered by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver, along with another inmate, Jesse Anderson. Dahmer had been bludgeoned with a metal bar and his head struck repeatedly against a wall in the showers he was cleaning.
He was rushed to hospital, but died from his wounds. Scarver said that Dahmer made no noise as he was attacked.
Scarver claimed that the altercation arose after the men had poked and laughed at him, but then cornered Dahmer with a newspaper clipping of his crimes before killing him. Scarver claimed Dahmer was not repentant for his crimes and was detested by the other inmates and prison staff - who knowingly left him alone with Scarver, who they knew hated him.
Dahmer had no service for him and was cremated, as per his wishes.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is now streaming on Netflix
Read next:
- Netflix is launching cheaper package in weeks - but there's a catch
- Netflix password sharing could be a thing of the past as bosses trial new technology
- Netflix shares plummet as streaming service loses 200,000 subscribers
- Shaun Ryder's four word wish for Paul's legacy after death at 58
- Sam Fender honours North Shields landlord with London gesture
