Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, born May 21, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was an American serial killer responsible for the murders of 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Most of his killings occurred in Wisconsin, particularly in Milwaukee and the nearby city of West Allis, although his first known murder took place at his family's home in Bath Township, Ohio. Dahmer became one of the most notorious serial killers in American history because of the prolonged period over which he offended, the mutilation and preservation of victims' remains, acts of necrophilia and cannibalism, and the repeated opportunities authorities had to discover his crimes before his eventual arrest.
Dahmer's known pattern generally involved approaching young men or teenage boys and persuading them to accompany him to a residence or hotel room. He commonly offered money for photographs, companionship or sexual activity, and frequently gave victims drinks containing sedatives. Many victims were strangled after becoming unconscious. Dahmer then photographed and dismembered bodies and disposed of or attempted to preserve portions of the remains. With some later victims, he admitted eating portions of their bodies. During 1991, he also conducted disturbing experiments intended to render victims permanently compliant by drilling into their skulls and introducing liquids into the openings. These acts resulted in severe injury and death rather than the submissive state he claimed he was attempting to create.
The First Murder: Steven Hicks
Dahmer committed his first acknowledged murder shortly after graduating from high school. On June 18, 1978, he encountered Steven Mark Hicks, who was hitchhiking to a concert at Chippewa Lake Park in Ohio. Dahmer offered Hicks a ride and invited him to the Dahmer family residence in Bath Township, where the two drank alcohol.
When Hicks eventually wanted to leave, Dahmer attacked him. Hicks was struck and strangled. Dahmer subsequently dismembered the body and concealed the remains on the family's property. He later crushed portions of the bones and scattered them in the wooded area behind the residence. Hicks remained missing for more than 13 years. After Dahmer's arrest in Wisconsin in 1991, he confessed to the murder and investigators recovered human bone fragments from the Ohio property.
A Long Gap and the Murder of Steven Tuomi
Dahmer did not acknowledge another murder until 1987. On November 20, 1987, he met Steven Walter Tuomi in Milwaukee and rented a room at the Ambassador Hotel. Dahmer later claimed that he had intended to drug Tuomi but had not consciously planned to kill him. After the two spent the night in the hotel, Dahmer said he awakened the following morning and discovered that Tuomi was dead and that he himself had injuries to his hands and arm consistent with having beaten someone.
Because Dahmer claimed to have no memory of the actual killing, Tuomi's precise time of death is uncertain and is best described as the night of November 20-21, 1987. Dahmer transported Tuomi's body in a large suitcase to the West Allis home of his grandmother, Catherine Dahmer. There he dismembered the body and ultimately disposed of the remains. Tuomi's remains were never recovered, leaving investigators dependent largely upon Dahmer's confession.
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