Before Scarver: The Man Who Attempted to Kill Jeffrey Dahmer

Jeffrey Dahmer knew someone would kill him in prison. He knew his crimes were horrific, and guards and other inmates at Columbia Correctional Institution would agree. Maybe he believed he deserved to die for the horrific things he did to those 17 young men. Christopher Scarver succeeded at killing the Milwaukee Cannibal, as the media had dubbed him, in 1994. But did you know another inmate attacked and tried to kill Dahmer just months earlier?

The Man Who Wanted to Kill Jeffrey Dahmer

Osvaldo Durrherty was his name. Serving time on a drug conviction at another Wisconsin prison, he was repulsed after hearing about Jefrey’s crimes. How could anyone kill, cannibalize, necrophilize, and eat another person? Many people were angered that he chose Black and Asian men as his primary victims, linking it to racism or bias toward people of color.

In the 1990s, crimes like Dahmer’s were practically unheard of, shocking everyone who saw the story on the news or in the local paper. A story of this magnitude became national news. People from Wisconsin to Tennessee to Colorado and California heard the horror stories.​

Dahmer’s Crimes

Killing men was only half the story. Dahmer wanted to keep his victims as his own, forever. The best way to do this, in his depraved mind, was to turn them into zombies. Apartment 213 on 924 North 25th Street became a shrine of dead men. Police found Polaroid photos showing some of the victims positioned provocatively, all deceased, and being used for the killer’s sick fantasies.

Jeffrey confessed that he drilled holes in the men’s heads and injected them with muriatic acid to keep them confused and disoriented. He then had sex with them, killed them, and had sex with the corpses. Dismembering the bodies and storing them in the fridge and freezer became an obsession. He even cooked some of the remains on the stove.

Neighbors wonder if Jeffrey, who was very friendly to them and often shared food, ever served them human remains.​

He had killed Stephen Hicks in 1978 before moving to Milwaukee. He buried the man’s remains in his family’s backyard in Bath, Ohio.

Jeffrey was sentenced to 16 consecutive life terms. As expected, he was heavily disliked behind bars. He expected the disgust and hate. He knew what he had done to those men was wrong and expected someone to kill him.

He was right. It was all a matter of time.​

Attempted Murder

Many people wished Dahmer dead or threatened his life. Osvaldo was serious. He wanted to become the one who killed Jeffrey Dahmer. In his mind, killing the depraved man would make up for all the bad things he’d done in his life.

He devised a plan: he would feign mental illness, securing a move to CCI. His plan worked, and by early 1994, he had a new prison home alongside the Milwaukee Cannibal.​

Osvaldo landed in the same unit as Dahmer. He immediately began creating a shank using razor blades and a toothbrush.

On July 3, 1994, Dahmer and Osvaldo were among inmates attending church services. Seated across the room from his target, Osvaldo told the guard he had an upset stomach and needed to use the bathroom. After removing the shank from his waist to his sock, he walked back to the services and took a seat directly behind Dahmer.

Moments later, he attacked him from behind, slicing Dahmer in the neck several times before breaking the shank. When the weapon broke, he used the moments before guards tackled him to punch Jeffrey in the face.

Durruthy “Doesn’t Regret” Attempting to kill Jeffrey Dahmer

Durruthy earned five additional years in prison for the attack, but later said that it was worth kicking Dahmer’s ass. He told The Daily Mail he “wanted to kill Dahmer; he ate people”. He would later say that he “doesn’t have an ounce of regret” and that he was “glad someone else got him.”

Durruthy was released from prison in 2016. He is a grandfather of two, living in Madison, WI.