Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 victims in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin between 1978 and 1991, then collected and cannibalized their remains.
On the morning of May 27, 1991, Milwaukee police responded to an alarming call. Two women had encountered a naked boy on the street who was disoriented and bleeding. But as the police arrived at the scene, a handsome blond man approached and assured them all was well. But that man was the notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
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Jeffrey Dahmer’s murders came to an end after his capture by police in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 23, 1991. |
Dahmer calmly told the police officers that the boy was 19 years old and his lover. In reality, Konerak Sinthasomphone was just 14. And he was about to become Dahmer’s latest victim.
But the officers believed Jeffrey Dahmer. Although the women tried to object, they were told to “shut the hell up” and “butt out” of this “domestic” dispute. On their way back to the station, the officers joked about the gay “lovers” — completely unaware that they’d just allowed a murder to happen.
It was but one of 17 murders that Jeffrey Dahmer would commit between 1978 and 1991. Before long, the 31-year-old Dahmer was arrested and charged with murdering Sinthasomphone, along with other men and boys. Tragically, Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims were often young, ranging in age from 14 to 31.
This is the disturbing story of history’s most notorious cannibalistic serial killer — and how he finally got caught red-handed.
Jeffrey Dahmer: A Little Boy Fascinated With Death
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960, to a middle-class family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At a young age, he became fascinated with all things related to death and began collecting the carcasses of dead animals.
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Jeffrey Dahmer’s high school yearbook photo |
Earily, Dahmer’s father Lionel noted how his son was “oddly thrilled” by the sounds of clanking animal bones.
By the time Dahmer was in high school, his family had moved to Bath Township, a sleepy suburb of Akron, Ohio. There, Dahmer was an outcast who quickly became an alcoholic. He drank heavily at school, often hiding beer and hard liquor in his army fatigue jacket. To fit in, Dahmer would often pull practical jokes, like pretending to have seizures. He would do this so frequently that pulling off a good practical joke became known around the school as “doing a Dahmer.”
During this time, Jeffrey Dahmer also realized that he was gay. As his sexuality blossomed, so too did his increasingly abnormal sexual fantasies. Dahmer began fantasizing about raping men and became aroused by the idea of completely dominating and controlling another person.
As Dahmer’s violent fantasies grew stronger, his control weakened. Just weeks after he graduated high school, Dahmer committed his first murder.
Jeffrey Dahmer’s Murders Begin
Jeffrey Dahmer’s parents divorced the same year he graduated high school. Dahmer’s brother and his father decided to move into a nearby motel, and Dahmer and his mother continued living at the Dahmer family home. Whenever Dahmer’s mother was out of town, he had full control of the house.
On one such occasion, Dahmer took advantage of his newfound freedom. He picked up 18-year-old hitchhiker Steven Mark Hicks, who was on his way to a rock concert in nearby Lockwood Corners. Dahmer convinced Hicks to join him at his house for some drinks before he went to the show.
After hours of drinking and listening to music, Hicks attempted to leave, a move that enraged Dahmer. In response, Jeffrey Dahmer bludgeoned Hicks from behind with a 10-pound dumbbell and strangled him to death. He then stripped Hicks naked and masturbated on his lifeless corpse.
