The Milwaukee Cannibal

As kids, growing up, our parents always told us that monsters don't exist. At 23, I now know that monsters very much exist and they are everyday, normal people, like you and me. I think that's where the fascination comes from. Looking at someone like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, and even John Wayne Gacy, no one would've guessed that these were some of the evilest people on earth. They were "normal". They seemed "normal". Living everyday lives, keeping their composure. But they were all keeping a big, big secret.

To his neighbors, to his family, he was an ordinary man who worked at a blood bank, even worked at a chocolate factory by day, and by night he was quiet and kept to himself. He lived and committed his crimes in Ohio and Wisconsin. Most who knew him said he was gentle and kind.

He would frequent bars and bathhouses looking for men willing to come home with him. Other victims were tricked into doing a photoshoot, while some were drugged right off the bat. All of his victims were men and boys.

Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, born May 21, 1960, was one of the world's most notorious serial killers. He killed 17 young men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer usually tricked his victims into coming home with him in numerous ways; if he didn't meet anyone at the bars, he would go to bathhouses and lure someone with money. He would already have the sleeping pill ready, for them to drink. They would fall asleep, he would have his way with them and then strangled them while they were unconscious.

On June 18, 1978, days after graduating high school, Dahmer always had fantasies of picking up a hitchhiker that's when he murdered 18-year-old Steven Hicks. He knew that this was wrong, but this murder was not planned. Dahmer crushed his skull with a barbell, strangled him to death, and dismembered and buried his corpse. Not long after Dahmer panicked, dug up Steven's remains, and drove to the dump. On the way, he was pulled over by a police officer for his erratic driving. But Dahmer was able to keep his cool, said his parents were getting a divorce and he couldn't sleep so he decided to take the trash to the dump. He was only given a ticket and sent on his way. Little did the police know that in that bag were the remains of Steven Hicks.

On September 15, 1987, nine years after Steven Hicks was murdered, 25-year-old, Steven Tuomi, became Dahmers' second victim. Dahmer picked him up from a bar and took him back to his hotel room. The next part is still unknown because Dahmer then stated he woke up the next day next to Tuomis' beaten, dead body. Dahmer has no memory of what happened or of committing the crime. Because Dahmer committed the crime on a blacked-out impulse, he was never convicted for killing Steven Tuomi. This is the only murder he confessed to that he was not convicted of.

January 16, 1988, 14-year-old, James Doxtator

March 24, 1988, 22-year-old, Richard Guerrero

On September 26, 1988, Dahmer lured a Laotian boy to his apartment by offering him cash for a nude modeling session. Not long after, he was arrested for sexual assault. He was convicted in January 1989, he was to serve one year in prison. He was released after 10 months.

On March 25, 1989, Dahmer murdered 24-year-old, Anthony Sears.

On May 20, 1990, 32-year-old, Raymond Smith

June 1990, 28-year-old, Edward Smith

In September 1990, 22-year-old Ernest Miller, a dance student, became Dahmer's 8th victim. Dahmer met him outside of a bookstore. Dahmer then murdered him, stuffed his entire skeleton in the bottom of a filing cabinet in his apartment, and put his heart and biceps in the freezer.

On September 24, 1990, 22-year-old, David Thomas

February 1991, 17-year-old, Curtis Straughter

April 7, 1991, 19-year old, Errol Lindsey

On May 24, 1991, 31-year-old, Tony Hughes

Konerak Sinthasomphone went missing on May 16, 1991, he was the brother of the boy Dahmer molested in 1988. He was seen the next day- naked, dazed, bleeding from head wounds. He managed to escape Dahmer's apartment and ran out to ask bystanders for help. Dahmer came back and was able to convince the police that they were lovers and because the boy didn't speak any English they released him back to Dahmer. Sinthasomphone was murdered in May 1991 at the age of 13. Later, in an interview with Inside Edition, Dahmer stated how shocked he was that when the police came into his apartment, they didn't notice another dead body laying on the floor in his bedroom.

On June 30, 1991, 20-year-old, Matt Turner

July 1991, 23-year old, Jeremiah Weinberger

July 15, 1991, 23-year-old, Oliver Lacy

July 19, 1991, 25-year-old, Joseph Brandehoft

July 22, 1991, Dahmer lured 32-year-old Tracy Edward into his home. Dahmer promised his money in exchange for his company. Dahmer then forced Edward into the bathroom with a knife. Edward's managed to escape that same night and ran into the street with the handcuffs still around his wrist. He managed to flag down a police car and lead them to Dahmer's apartment. This led to Dahmer's arrest.

Police found 80 photographs of naked, posed, and dismembered victims. Severed heads, bleached skulls, and a 57-gallon drum of acid used to dissolve human flesh. Neatly packaged body parts in the fridge and stand-alone freezer. Police said it was something out of a horror movie.

Dahmer was arrested the night of July 22, 1991. His trial began on January 30, 1992. He pleaded insanity due to his disturbing and uncontrollable impulses. Two weeks into the trial, however, the court declared him sane and fully aware of the things he was doing. He was found guilty of 15 counts of murder and was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms. That's over 900 years in prison.

In May 1992, he was flown back to Ohio where he was sentenced to an additional life sentence for the murder of Steven Hicks.

The arrest, of course, shocked them, but Shari and Lionel Dahmer, the father and stepmother of Jeffrey Dahmer, visited him every chance they could while he was in prison. Lionel said he never got mad at his son. He said what was the point in getting mad at something he couldn't fix or change. Shari always sympathized with Jeffrey, saying to her he was always gentle and kind.

Jeffrey Dahmer's mother, Joyce Flint, however, was very hurt by her son's actions. She had said that there were never any warning signs her son gave that could've hinted at the person he was going to become. Nevertheless, she spoke to Dahmer every Sunday while he was in prison. She always made sure to ask if he was safe even though his answer was always the same, "It doesn't matter, mom. I don't care if something happens to me." She said she will always love her son, she will never stop loving her son. She said, "He was a beautiful baby. He was a wonderful child. He has always been loved."

Jeffrey's younger brother, David Dahmer, however, changed his name and does not want to be associated with the infamy of his brother's actions. No one knows what he changed his name to or if he's even still alive.

When he was in prison, Dahmer was attacked twice. The first attempt to cut his throat failed and only left him with superficial wounds.

On November 28, 1994, Dahmer was cleaning a shower when a fellow inmate, 25-year-old, Christopher Scarver, murdered him with a barbell from the prison gym. The same thing he used to kill Steven Hicks 16 years earlier. Other inmates had said Dahmer didn't even put up a fight when he was attacked.

After his death, his mother and father, Joyce and Lionel, engaged in a court battle over their son's remains. Flint wanted her son's brain studied to determine if biological factors were behind her son's behavior. Which would have meant that she thought he killed due to those aspects. The brain, however, was never studied because the court sided with Dahmer's father who wanted to cremate the body due to Jeffrey's wishes. His ashes were then split between the parents.