Jeffrey Dahmer

Jeffrey Dahmer, born May 21, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sometimes referred to as the “Milwaukee Cannibal” or the “Milwaukee Monster,” was a notorious American serial killer and sex offender whose heinous crimes horrified the world.

Jeffrey Dahmer’s murderous rampage continued unchecked for 13 horrifying years. His victims – predominantly vulnerable young men of color, many from Black, Latino and Asian communities – fell prey to his calculated deception.

Dahmer killed and dismembered 17 young men and boys from 1978 to 1991. His crimes—which included necrophilia and cannibalism—plumbed the depths of human depravity, sparking intense debates about mental illness, systemic failures in law enforcement, and the darkest aspects of human behavior.

CRIMINAL PROFILE

NAME: Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer

ALIAS: Milwaukee Cannibal, Milwaukee Monster

DOB: May 21, 1960

DIED: Nov 28, 1994 (age 34)

COUNTRY: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

VICTIMS: 17

ARREST: July 22, 1991

SENTENCE: 16 consecutive life sentences: 15 life sentences – Feb 1992 + 1 life sentence – May 1992

IMPRISONED AT: Was imprisoned at Columbia Correctional Institution, Wisconsin

Crimes Committed

Jeffrey Dahmer’s murderous rampage continued unchecked for 13 horrifying years.

His victims – predominantly vulnerable young men of color, many from Black, Latino and Asian communities – fell prey to his calculated deception. Dahmer exploited their trust, baiting them with offers of cash, drinks, or the simple promise of human connection.

Once inside his apartment, his victims faced unimaginable horrors. After drugging and sexually violating them, Dahmer typically ended their lives by strangulation. But his depravity didn’t end with murder. He committed unspeakable acts with their corpses – engaging in necrophilia before dismembering their bodies and consuming flesh. Police made gruesome discoveries in his home: preserved skulls, severed genitalia, and Polaroids documenting his atrocities.

His confirmed victims numbered seventeen:

Jeffrey Dahmer’s confirmed victims:

1. Steven Hicks – June 1978

Dahmer’s descent into murder began with 18-year-old Steven Hicks, who had just celebrated his high school graduation three weeks prior. On June 18, 1978, while hitchhiking to a concert at Chippewa Lake Park, Hicks accepted a ride from the seemingly harmless 18-year-old Dahmer.

What began as an afternoon of beers and music at Dahmer’s family home turned deadly when Hicks attempted to leave. In a sudden, violent outburst, Dahmer struck Hicks twice in the head with a barbell, rendering him unconscious. Not content with merely incapacitating his victim, Dahmer then methodically strangled the life from Hicks’ body.

The horror continued even after death. In the basement of his family home, Dahmer dismembered Hicks’ corpse with chilling precision. In a grotesque postscript to the murder, Dahmer initially buried the remains in a shallow grave, only to later exhume them. He then pulverized the bones and scattered the fragments across the property, attempting to erase all evidence of his crime.

2. Steven Tuomi – September 1987

Dahmer first encountered 25-year-old Steven Toumi at a Milwaukee bar where Toumi worked as a bartender. After drinking together, the two checked into the Ambassador Hotel on September 15, 1987. Dahmer would later tell investigators he had only intended to drug and sexually assault Toumi, claiming complete amnesia about the actual killing. He awoke to find Toumi’s lifeless body beside him in bed.

Dahmer purchased an oversized suitcase specifically to transport Toumi’s corpse to his grandmother’s basement. There, in a grotesque ritual, he violated the body before systematically dismembering it. The remains were eventually discarded with household trash, ensuring their disappearance among the city’s waste.

Despite Dahmer’s eventual confession, crucial evidence vanished with Toumi’s unrecovered body parts. This lack of physical evidence, combined with Dahmer’s hazy account, meant no charges were ever filed in Toumi’s death – making it one of Dahmer’s few officially unprosecuted killings.

3. James Doxtator – October 1988

Just weeks later in October 1987, Dahmer preyed upon 14-year-old James Doxtator, luring the vulnerable teenager to his grandmother’s home with an offer of $50 to pose for photographs. Once inside, Dahmer strangled Doxtator to death—marking a grim evolution in his methods.

In a disturbing escalation of his rituals, Dahmer meticulously processed Doxtator’s remains—boiling and bleaching the skull before pulverizing it. This case represented one of Dahmer’s earliest experiments with skeletal preservation, foreshadowing the even more gruesome acts that would follow.

4. Richard Guerrero – March 24, 1988

On March 24, 1988, Dahmer escalated his killing spree by murdering 22-year-old Richard Guerrero—luring him with the same deceptive $50 offer he’d used before. This attack marked a sinister evolution in Dahmer’s methodology: for the first time, he began systematically drugging his victims to incapacitate them before carrying out his brutal assaults and murders.

5. Anthony Sears – March 25, 1989

On March 25, 1989, 24-year-old Anthony Sears became another victim of Jeffrey Dahmer’s killing spree. The two met at a Milwaukee nightclub before Dahmer lured Sears back to his grandmother’s residence. After engaging in sexual activity, Dahmer drugged the young man before strangling him to death.  

This case marked a particularly macabre milestone in Dahmer’s crimes. Investigators later discovered Sears’s skull in Dahmer’s apartment – meticulously cleaned, bleached, and even painted with gray spray paint, demonstrating Dahmer’s disturbing tendency to preserve his victims’ remains as grotesque trophies. The skull’s preservation provided some of the most chilling physical evidence recovered after Dahmer’s 1991 arrest.

6. Raymond Smith (Ricky Beeks) – May 1990

33-year-old Ricky Beeks encountered Jeffrey Dahmer at a Milwaukee nightclub, where Dahmer enticed him with an offer of money in exchange for nude modeling. Beeks became yet another victim of Dahmer’s gruesome pattern—after being drugged and strangled to death, his corpse was subjected to postmortem sexual violation.  

During the 1991 investigation, authorities made one of the most disturbing discoveries in Dahmer’s apartment: Beeks’ skull, meticulously cleaned and painted, serving as a macabre trophy of Dahmer’s atrocities. This grim artifact, like others found at the scene, provided irrefutable evidence of the killer’s penchant for preserving his victims’ remains as sickening mementos.

7. Eddie Smith – June 1990

Jeffrey Dahmer’s seventh victim marked a disturbing departure from his usual pattern – 27-year-old Edward Smith wasn’t a stranger, but an acquaintance. Witnesses had seen the two together multiple times at Milwaukee clubs, and Smith’s brother would later testify that his sibling had genuinely tried to befriend the killer.  

This personal connection made Dahmer’s actions particularly chilling. After murdering Smith, Dahmer stored portions of his body in a freezer, where they slowly decomposed until becoming unrecognizable. The gruesome preservation attempt ultimately failed as the remains deteriorated – a macabre detail that underscored both Dahmer’s disturbing compulsions and the ultimate fragility of his attempts to maintain control over his victims.

8. Ernest Miller – September 15, 1990

On September 15, 1990, 22-year-old Ernest Miller encountered Jeffrey Dahmer outside a North 27th Street bookstore. Dahmer enticed him with an offer of money to pose for photographs at his apartment—a familiar ruse. Once there, Dahmer attempted to drug Miller with a sedative-laced drink after performing oral sex on him.  

Unlike most victims, Miller resisted the effects of the sleeping pills. This unexpected resistance forced Dahmer to improvise—he slashed Miller’s throat in a violent departure from his usual strangulation technique. In a further break from his routine, Dahmer consumed portions of Miller’s remains, ensuring no trace of the young man would ever be recovered. 

9. David C. Thomas – September 24, 1990

On September 24, 1990, 23-year-old David Thomas encountered Jeffrey Dahmer on a Milwaukee street, where Dahmer lured him with an offer of money in exchange for coming to his apartment. Unlike many of his other victims, Dahmer did not engage in sexual acts with Thomas—instead, he immediately drugged him before proceeding with the murder.  

In a chillingly methodical fashion, Dahmer photographed the entire dismemberment process, documenting his gruesome handiwork step-by-step. These photographs, later recovered by investigators, provided some of the most disturbing evidence of Dahmer’s detached, almost clinical approach to dismembering his victims.

10. Curtis Straughter – February 18, 1991

Following a temporary lull in his killing spree, Jeffrey Dahmer resumed his horrific crimes with the murder of 17-year-old Curtis Straughter. True to his established pattern, Dahmer lured the vulnerable teenager to his Milwaukee apartment under the pretense of paying him for nude photographs.  

Once inside, Dahmer administered drugs before strangling the unconscious victim. In a gruesome escalation of his rituals, he then photographed Straughter’s corpse before dismembering it with methodical precision. The killer preserved select body parts for dual purposes: some for cannibalistic consumption, others kept as morbid trophies – a practice that had become signature to Dahmer’s increasingly depraved methodology.

11. Errol Lindsey – April 7, 1991

On April 7, 1991, 19-year-old Errol Lindsey became another victim of Jeffrey Dahmer’s escalating brutality. After luring Lindsey to his apartment and killing him, Dahmer conducted one of his most disturbing post mortem experiments – drilling a hole into Lindsey’s skull and pouring hydrochloric acid directly into the brain cavity.  

This gruesome act represented Dahmer’s twisted attempt to create a “zombie” – part of his delusional fantasy of constructing compliant, living companions from his victims’ remains. The acid injection marked a particularly savage evolution in Dahmer’s methodology, demonstrating his willingness to push his macabre rituals to new extremes of depravity.

12. Anthony “Tony” Hughes – May 24, 1991

On May 24, 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer claimed his thirteenth victim – 31-year-old Anthony Hughes, a deaf man who communicated with his killer through handwritten notes. This murder demonstrated Dahmer’s chilling adaptability, as he modified his methods to exploit Hughes’ disability, gaining his trust through written promises before drugging and strangling him.

13. Konerak Sinthasomphone – May 27, 1991

On May 27, 1991, Dahmer preyed upon 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone – shockingly, the younger brother of a boy he had sexually assaulted three years prior. In a horrifying twist of fate, the teenager briefly escaped Dahmer’s apartment, only to be returned to his killer by Milwaukee police officers. Dahmer deceived authorities by claiming the disoriented Laotian boy was his adult lover.  

Moments after police left, Dahmer murdered Sinthasomphone – a catastrophic failure of law enforcement that would later spark national outrage. This case became emblematic of the systemic failures that allowed Dahmer’s killing spree to continue unchecked, particularly highlighting how racial biases and homophobia influenced police decision-making.

14. Matt Turner – June 30, 1991

On June 30, 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer crossed state lines to lure 20-year-old Matthew Turner from Chicago to Milwaukee under the guise of a paid modeling opportunity. This marked one of Dahmer’s rare instances of actively recruiting a victim outside Wisconsin.

Upon arriving at Dahmer’s apartment, Turner met a horrific fate – drugged, strangled, and dismembered with terrifying efficiency. In a signature act of preservation, Dahmer systematically bagged Turner’s body parts, storing them in his freezer alongside other victims’ remains. The frozen remains would later serve as crucial evidence, demonstrating both Dahmer’s meticulous organization and the shocking duration of his undiscovered crimes.

15. Jeremiah Weinberger – July 5, 1991

Jeffrey Dahmer’s most frenzied period of violence began with 20-year-old Jeremiah Weinberger in July 1991. The two met at a Chicago bar, where Dahmer convinced Weinberger to accompany him to Milwaukee for what was presented as a weekend getaway.  

During their night together at Dahmer’s apartment, the encounter turned nightmarish. After drugging Weinberger, Dahmer performed one of his most torturous experiments – twice injecting boiling water directly into his victim’s brain through holes drilled in the skull. The excruciating procedure left Weinberger in a coma until his death two days later, marking the first of three murders Dahmer would commit in just twelve days.

16. Oliver Lacy – July 15, 1991

In July 1991, 23-year-old Jeremiah Weinberger became another victim of Jeffrey Dahmer’s escalating violence, killed during the same horrific month as Oliver Lacy. Dahmer subjected Weinberger to unspeakable torture – drilling holes into his skull and injecting boiling water directly into his brain, leaving him in a vegetative state.  

During Weinberger’s three-day agony, Dahmer committed further atrocities against his unconscious victim. The young man ultimately succumbed to his injuries, marking one of Dahmer’s most prolonged and sadistic murders.

17. Joseph Bradehoft – July 19, 1991

In July 1991, shortly after losing his job, Jeffrey Dahmer targeted 25-year-old Joseph Bradehoft – luring the vulnerable man to his Milwaukee apartment under false pretenses. After strangling Bradehoft to death, Dahmer left the corpse wrapped in bedsheets for two full days, allowing decomposition to begin.  

In a chilling display of his evolving rituals, Dahmer then severed Bradehoft’s head, preserving it in his refrigerator alongside other victims’ remains.

Capture & Investigation

The day Dahmer was finally caught – July 22, 1991

On the evening of July 22, 1991, Milwaukee police officers encountered 32-year-old Tracy Edwards—disheveled, frantic, and handcuffed to one wrist—who claimed he had barely escaped a “freak” holding him captive in a nearby apartment. What began as a routine disturbance call would unravel into one of America’s most infamous serial killer cases.

Edwards recounted how Dahmer had lured him to his Oxford Apartments unit earlier that day. Upon entering, Edwards was immediately struck by a putrid stench and stacks of chemical containers. Dahmer attempted to cuff both of Edwards’ wrists but only secured one before pulling a knife, insisting they move to the bedroom for “nude photos.” Playing along—repeatedly calling himself Dahmer’s “friend”—Edwards seized his chance when Dahmer glanced away, delivering a punch that allowed him to bolt to safety.

When officers entered Dahmer’s apartment, he initially cooperated, even directing them to the handcuff keys. But the investigation took a horrifying turn when an officer spotted Polaroids in a bedroom drawer—images of dismembered corpses in various stages of mutilation.

Dahmer lunged for escape but was swiftly restrained. Then came the discoveries: a severed head in the refrigerator, four additional skulls in the kitchen, two preserved human hearts, seven more skulls in the bedroom, a frozen torso, dissected genitalia and skeletal remains, acid-filled containers holding decomposing body parts.

Edwards’ escape finally ended Dahmer’s 13-year spree, uncovering a house of horrors that would forever stain Milwaukee’s history.

‘Prison is the best place for me‘

In post-arrest interviews, Dahmer displayed chilling indifference. He confessed to enjoying his “exciting and thrilling” lifestyle and admitted that, if freed, he would resume killing. “Prison is the best place for me,” he told investigators.

Catastrophic systemic failures – frustratingly inept policing

The case exposed catastrophic systemic failures—most notoriously, the May 1991 incident where officers returned 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone back to Dahmer, despite his neighbors vigorous protests, only for the boy to be murdered hours later.

Extra notes: Aaron David Weinberger lawsuit against probation officer Donna Chester

In 1995, Aaron David Weinberger filed a lawsuit ^[3] against probation officer Donna Chester, alleging that her negligence contributed to his son becoming one of Dahmer’s victims. The suit claimed Chester failed to conduct mandatory home visits to Dahmer’s residence while he was on probation for sexual assault—an oversight that, if properly carried out, might have uncovered evidence of his crimes earlier and prevented further killings.

Weinberger’s legal action highlighted systemic failures in Wisconsin’s probation supervision, arguing that closer monitoring could have disrupted Dahmer’s spree. The case underscored the devastating consequences of institutional lapses in the Dahmer investigation.

Trial & Convictions

Early arrests and convictions of Dahmer

1981 – Arrest for disorderly conduct and resisting officers

After receiving an early discharge from the Army in 1981, a directionless Dahmer drifted to Miami Beach, where he spent months homeless, sleeping on the sand. His downward spiral culminated in a drunken arrest for disorderly conduct and resisting officers – an incident that prompted his concerned father to insist he return to Wisconsin.

1986 – Conviction for disorderly conduct (lewd act)

In 1986, Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested for disorderly conduct after masturbating in front of two 12-year-old boys at a public park. Initially, Dahmer attempted to claim he was merely urinating, but ultimately confessed to the lewd act when confronted by police.

The Milwaukee County Circuit Court sentenced Dahmer to one year of probation for this offense – a lenient punishment that failed to address his dangerous predatory behavior. This incident marked his second documented sexual offense involving minors.

1988 – Conviction for second-degree sexual assault, and child enticement.

In a disturbing escalation of his predatory behavior, Dahmer was arrested in 1988 for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy he had lured to his apartment. Authorities charged him with a second-degree sexual assault, and child enticement.

The 1989 sentencing handed down by the court included 12 months jail time and 5 years probation.

Despite the serious nature of his crimes, Dahmer served only 10 months of his sentence before being released on bail in November 1989 – a shockingly brief incarceration that allowed him to resume his activities. This early release proved tragically consequential, as his most deadly killing spree would begin just months later in 1990.

Jeffrey Dahmer – Murder Trial – 1992

Jeffrey Dahmer pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of murder on September 10, 1991. The proceedings, which began on January 30, 1992, drew massive crowds to the Milwaukee County Courthouse, where spectators were separated from the courtroom by an 8-foot bulletproof barrier.

On January 13, 1992: Dahmer changed his plea to guilty but insane, shifting the trial’s focus solely to his mental state. Families of victims watched as psychiatrists debated whether Dahmer’s necrophilia, cannibalism, and compulsive killing spree constituted insanity:

• Defense Attorney Gerald Boyle argued Dahmer was a “sick man,” not evil, driven by an uncontrollable mental disorder.
• Prosecution DA Michael McCann urged jurors not to be fooled, displaying graphic photos of victims to counter the insanity claim.

On February 15, 1992: Jurors rejected Dahmer’s insanity defense (10-2), finding him legally sane. Dahmer’s calm demeanor in court—coupled with his admission that he enjoyed his crimes—sealed his fate as a remorseless, calculating murderer, not a mentally ill man unable to control his actions.

Sentence:

Judge Gram sentenced him to 15 consecutive life terms, totaling 957 years in prison, effectively ensuring he would never leave prison.

On May 1, 1992: He received an additional life sentence for the 1978 murder of Steven Hicks in Ohio.

REFERENCES / CITATIONS:

1. Independent: How did Jeffrey Dahmer die and who is his killer Christopher Scarver?
2. GRILLING DAHMER: The Interrogation Of “The Milwaukee Cannibal” Paperback – June 24, 2021
3. JUSTIA: Weinberger v. State of Wis., 906 F. Supp. 485 (W.D. Wis. 1995) – Sep 28, 1995