Dahmer’s Behaviour In Prison

Jeffrey Dahmer’s murder crime scene:

The twenty-inch bar that Christopher Scarver used to beat Jeffrey Dahmer to death.

The crime scene photograph of the bathroom of Columbia Correctional Institution where Jeffrey Dahmer was killed.

On the morning of November 28, 1994, Dahmer left his cell with other two inmates to conduct his assigned work detail. At approximately 8:10 a.m. Dahmer was discovered on the floor of the bathrooms of the gym suffering from extreme head wounds: The inmate Christopher Scarver beat him to death hitting him with a bar. His head had also been repeatedly struck against the wall in the assault. Although Dahmer was still alive and was rushed to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead one hour later. Dahmer’s official decease was set shortly after 9 A.M.

Source: Monster: The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders, book by Anne E. Schwartz

Hello! I am a fan of true crime and its psychology. Dahmer's case also catches my attention. And I must say, I am fascinated by your blog full of information about this peculiar serial killer. Also, I love your drawing style! Do you upload your drawings on any other social platform? Where else can I follow your art? Sorry if this is written wrong. English is not my first language and I used Google translate. Greetings from Mexico! 😁

Hey!

Wow my first post after all this time!

Anyway thanks for compliments, but I’d rather keep my true identity separated from this. I don’t want my art accounts and this blog to coincide, so I prefer my identity to stay anonymous, nothing will come out publicly.

Hope you understand!

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While we’re here, about the future of this page - at the moment I’m not planning to return, I have so much to do in life and this blog would take too much time. But I don’t want to throw it away, and I wish, someday, to comeback posting regularly. The comeback is a thing, I want it to happen, but the when is uncertain.

Jeffrey Dahmer - A Psychological Insight

We all know about the atrocities of the Milwaukee Cannibal, but what drove him to commit such acts?

Dahmer pled guilty but insane before the actual trial. Psychiatric experts testified that he knew right from wrong, regardless of psychological state. So what did Dahmer suffer from, and how did this impact his crimes?

 Psychological Summary

There are many different possible diagnoses for Jeffrey Dahmer. Upon psychological inspection, many different possibilities arose for Dahmer’s mental state. 

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Perhaps the most obvious diagnosis, APD is a disorder that has been flirted with by psychologists to explain Dahmer’s behaviour. It is catagorised by the following: 

- Exploit, manipulate and violate the rights of others - No remorse or regret - Irresponsible, no regard for social norms - Very few long term, meaningful relationships  - Problems with temper and frustration - Lack guilt for their actions - Blame others for their own short-comings - Break the law consistently

This may seem like, on the surface, an appropriate diagnosis for Dahmer. However, the way in which he killed, and his self professed reasons for doing so, do not fit the criteria. Many psychologists deny this as the driving force behind his crimes, as his motives seemed to be propelled more by insecurity, self gratification and instability, rather than anger. 

Autistic Development Disorder 

Many children suffer from a form of Autistic Spectrum Disorder, which inevitably carries through to adulthood. It is categorized by the following:

- Social & communication difficulties  - Exhibit behaviours that other would deem “different” and “repetitive” - Intense obsessions  - Is often coupled with Social Anxiety and General Anxiety Disorder - Monotonous or flat speech - Uncomfortable with human touch

No two people present the same Autistic behaviors, so categorization is difficult.

Jeffrey Dahmer developed from a very young age an obsession with bones, namely animal bones. Lionel Dahmer (father) said in his book “A Fathers Story” that he encouraged this behavior, as he felt it may lead to a career in the medical field. He ultimately viewed this obsession as a harmless one.

In school, Dahmer had a lot of trouble with social interaction. He spoke of this himself in a later interview from prison, stating that  “The subtleties of social life were beyond my grasp. When children liked me, I did not know why. Nor could I formulate a plan for winning their affection. I simply didn’t know how things worked with other people…. And try as I might, I couldn’t make other people seem less strange and unknowable” 

Experts that assessed Dahmers behaviour, say that there is a connection between Aspergers and sexual development, aggressive behavior and low mood.

Borderline Personality Disorder 

After molesting a 13 year old, psychologists found Dahmer to be uncooperative, angry, manipulative and emotionally unstable. He later told his probation officer that his life lacked meaning and purpose. Could this empty feeling, coupled with an unstable disposition be a sign of BPD?

Categorization:

- Emotional Instability - Disturbed patterns of thinking or perceptions - Impulsive and reckless behavior - Unstable sense of self - Extreme fear of abandonment and rejection - Intense and unstable relationships with others  - Obsessive behaviors such as obsessing over other people

In his confession, Jeffrey Dahmer said he murdered the men to prevent them from leaving and abandoning him. This intense fear of being “left” is very common among BPD sufferers, and this, coupled with his extreme denial of his homosexuality (unstable sense of self) may make BPD a likely diagnosis. 

Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified; with Schizoid, Antisocial, and Schizotypal Traits

Psychiatrists that assessed Dahmer found that they were unable to conclude what afflictions he suffered from. The above diagnosis was given.

How would JD have been treated on the outside?

There are many different therapies that are available for the above mental health problems. Below is a selection of these that may have been implemented: 

Borderline Personality Disorder 

- DBT - Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Coupled with medication for related depression and anxiety

Aspergers  - A combination of Social Skills Training, Speech and Language therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Applied Behavioral Analysis and Medication

Many psychologists also think that a combination of Psychotherapy, Psychopharmacology and Hormone Therapy would have helped Dahmer to live a functional life.

How was Dahmer treated in prison?

Dahmer received no official therapy in prison for his mental health issues, other than the pastoral care of the prison minister.  He converted to Christianity whilst in prison. Was this a genuine move one Dahmer’s part to seek forgiveness and live a better, more fulfilling life? Or was it yet another desperate attempt to fit into a group and establish an identity for himself? 

Had Jeffrey been given the opportunity to receive quality mental health assessments and care, some believe he could’ve served as a “guinea pig” in how to treat extreme deviance such as this. 

Oxford apartments neighbor speaking about Jeffrey Dahmer

One evening in June of 1990, I held my first conversation with our neighbor who lived across the hall. I introduced myself to him as Vern and he introduced himself to me as Jeff.

He appeared to be very polite as he and I stood in the hall in front of our apartments. He stated he was leaving to go to the corner store to buy a pack of cigarettes and when he saw I had a pack in my shirt pocket he asked if I had a cigarette I could spare.

Of all the times I had seen this guy he was always casually dressed in faded jeans, a flannel shirt and casual shoes. He wore glasses and his hair was cut medium length always looking well groomed. He had the appearance of a college student or someone who had been to college. He was clean shaven and had boyish look.

I guess the word I would choose to describe my impression of him is intelligent, highly intelligent. He had a slim built appearing to be 6 feet tall, weighing maybe 165 pounds. I'd guess his age to be 30 or 31 years old.

Through the times that I'd see him our conversations would mainly be small talk about my car, my job, the weather, his job and the building or something of that nature. He always appeared to be soft spoken as we would stop in the hall on his way in or out of his apartment.

Never did he give me any impression that he had hang ups about living in a dominantly black building or living in the neighborhood which also was dominantly black. As time went on Pam also had begun to have small conversations with him. She also thought that he was pretty pleasant to talk to. We were neighborly with all the tenants living in the building.

Being that I was the only black man at my place of employment and Pam being raised in Madison where blacks were few, neither she nor I had a problem with him being white. Our typical conversations went something like this whenever we would talk to each other in the hall.

"What's happening?"

"Hey Vern, not much."

He would notice that I would be just getting in from work most of the evenings when we'd see each other...

"How was your day?"

"Not too bad," I'd reply. From earlier conversations in our passing, I had informed him that I was a Draftsman. He like-wise told me he worked 3rd shift at a chocolate factory downtown and that he's been employed there for a couple of years.

"Do you have to punch in tonight?"

"Yeah, got to pay rent."

"Talk to you later," I'd respond. His reply was... "yeah, take care."

There had been various other conversations and I must admit talking to him made me feel appreciative of our small conversations. I felt sad for the guy living alone, never seeing him associate with anyone or have friends visit him at his apartment.

Amongst all of the tenants in the building Jeff stood out the most, not only because he was white but to me because he never had visitors or a girlfriend which to me appeared strange but not the type of out of the way strange. He was always alone.

He didn't own a car therefore, his means of transportation was the city bus. After becoming acquainted with him, we'd see Jeff standing on the bus stop or getting off the bus walking towards the apartment building.

He appeared to be weird to the other tenants but I never thought of him as such because of the fact that the area where we lived was nothing but a danger zone and keeping to himself was a safe thing to do. It was not safe for anyone walking that didn't fit in.

It was no surprise to see Jeff wearing his light gray jacket walking at 9:00pm through someone's backyard or taking a short cut through the alley headed towards the Oxford Building. He'd walk among dope peddlers to have them approach him and ask him "you looking..?" "You straight..?"

Meaning do you want to buy drugs but He would either shake his head negatively or ignore the peddlers all together.

He would be approached by addicts trying to con him in any way possible for money and women working the streets would confront him with offers of sexual pleasures for money but he would ignore them all.

I recall once telling Pam that I thought he had a lot of heart to live in this area. He never showed any sign of being fearful, he didn't have a kick ass type of attitude. It was more of an "I don't bother you and you don't bother me" type of attitude.

In June there was a series of burglaries and apartments in our building were broken into. Everyone was on lookout for any strangers walking through the halls. The police were called and they questioned everyone that lived in the building to see if anyone may have seen anyone or knew anything. Two apartments were broken into and everyone in the Oxford Apartments had high concerns about the break-ins.

The tenants began to look out for each other's apartments when the tenant was away. I had two of my nearest neighbor's phone numbers and I had also given them our number to inform each other when we were going to be out of our apartments. Our neighbor Jeff had gotten a phone but said he had it for only a week or so because he couldn't afford the bill.

"Hey Jeff, we're starting to look out for each other's apartment due to the break-ins. Give me your telephone number so that we can call you to just let you know when we're not going to be in so that you can keep an eye on our apartment."

"Vern, my phone was turned off because I'm having a hard enough time paying my rent and feeding myself, so there's no reason to give me your phone number. I do however intend to get a burglar alarm for when I'm away at nights working. There's no way I can afford to have my stuff ripped off and there's no real security around here that I trust."

"Yeah, it's getting pretty tough around here." I said.

"Yeah Vern I know what you mean. Any news about the guys' stuff that was stolen?"

"None! You know how that goes."

"Well I'll talk to you later."

"Sure Jeff, later."

Extract from Vernell Bass’ book “Across the Hall”, chapter 2. If you’re interested to know more support the author and get the book!

The Dahmer Case and The Cannibalism Topic

“Cannibal” was the adjective used by media to refer Dahmer the most as they learnt of the man’s gruesome acts. It was synonymous of terror and horror at that time, the name of Jeffrey Dahmer echoed not only in the city of Milwaukee but also around the entire world. It was unusual to hear of a criminal who eat his victims, it was a shocking news, and the name of Jeffrey Dahmer was remembered under the name of "The Milwaukee Cannibal”. But what was behind this name? What did it mean for Dahmer and where's cannibalism come from?

Jeffrey Dahmer in 1991

The Cannibalism for Jeffrey Dahmer

The cannibalism act didn’t occur immediately but it happened later with his sixth victim Raymond Smith (aka Ricky Beeks). Jeffrey Dahmer just moved in his new apartment in Milwaukee, at 924 N. 25th St., and he was ready to live by himself after leaving his grandma's house. It was already some years that Dahmer decided to attend gay clubs, where he frequently had encounters with strangers for one night stands. It was 1990 and Dahmer already doped and raped many boys, killing five of them too. But it was starting to not be enough, Dahmer was unsatisfied and he needed more. Cannibalism presented itself as a "simple" next step for Dahmer: after experiencing gay sex, to then having an unconscious body on his hands, on wishing to preserve all that pleasure, and seeing the people as objects, cannibalism subsequently followed as a inevitable action.

Dahmer's desire was to keep people with him, to do not forget the experiences he had with them. The previous attempts as doping the person or seeking for a corpse were a way to feel people close to him at his complete availability for Dahmer, motionless. He thought about the next step: "I began to feel that I needed more of a rush. I thought to myself, I want more. I wanted to keep this one, but I wanted him in me. I wanted him to become a part of me. That's when the idea of eating part of his body occurred to me." (- s. Grilling Dahmer). Dahmer's act wasn't a way to feel more evil or powerful, this was an action of a man who wanted to feel his victims closer. It happened again on his act on cutting and wearing the victims' skin, he wanted to become one with them, wrapped on their skins. At the end he also had the idea of "creating" living zombies willing to follow his orders and to stay with him forver.

The first article ever published on July 23, 1991, on The Journal, written by reporter Anne E. Schwartz, the first and only reporter to come to the scene visiting Dahmer's apartment.

Public’s Take on Dahmer’s Cannibalism

Predictably, people's reaction to Dahmer's cannibalism was shock. Local Milwaukee citizens didn't expect something like Dahmer's case to happen, Milwaukee was a pretty quiet city in Wisconsin where nothing like that ever happened. Soon the morning after Dahmer's arrest, Oxford apartments were already printed in the first page of The Journal, and Jeffrey Dahmer's case was already in people's mouth.

The most concerning, disgusting and shoking element on the case was surely the cannibalism, as already expressed before. At the beginning the cannibalism was an unverified uncertain information, and the reporters had to confirm it by looking at the confession, but soon after that it quickly became a first page topic. Dahmer’s cannibalism was printed on the first pages of newspapers, aimed at shocking people even more. For this reason journals of that time looked for the most unconcerning news, making fake news at times as well. Cannibalism became a topic of so much discussion, almost distorted, the main Dahmer’s case object to be so overused that journalists kept inventing fake news just to shock people even more. They made Dahmer appear like a sadistic monster who felt pleasure when eating all his victims, while the story was quite different as expressed in the paragraph before. Even Dahmer himself had fun with these kind of articles: “Isn't it amazing what they come up with?” he said.

(1)(2)Two articles taking about Dahmer’s cannibalism. (1) Courtesy of jdapt213. (3) Dahmer showing the fake news in court, 1992.

Specialists talking about Dahmer's cannibalism

Psychiatrists and experts tried to give an explaination on Dahmer’s cannibalism. Writer Brian Masters develops an interesting point when talking about infantile play, of parents pretending to be animal ready to devour them and the kids responding to be ferocious cannibal animals. Dr Morrisons also says: "Jeffrey Dahmer was not the only individual who was a cannibal or bit his victims, using his teeth as a weapon. If you remember about infancy, if we go purely psychologically, the only way an infant interacts with the world around him is to touch, feel and teeth, and this is a way that babies explore their world with their mouths. That’s what they use, that’s how they relate to the world. What is evident in all the serial murders is this trait of very oral or mouthing or biting or eating, ingesting, which is very infantile. But it seems a way in which they can be with their victim.”

Even through sexual acts, mouth is an important way to express love. Activities as biting or oral sex rekindle the childish instinct where loving and eating are bounded together. “The adult who prefers oral sex above other sexual experiences indicates an infantile need for nourishment, a wish to recreate the moment of being mothered.” Brian Masters writes. If we look back at Dahmer’s infancy, we notice some early behaviours which indicates some connections to his cannibalism. As already expressed before, cannibalism was just a consequence which came after as Dahmer’s needs continued to evolve. Yet Dahmer always had a lack of social skills, he had difficulties on creating bounds with other people and he was often so isolated. His father Lionel was out bacause of his job, while his mother Joyce struggled with her mental health. Jeffrey found himself alone with the mother's unconscious body some times, there it might have been the moment where he put his hear on his mother's chest to check if her heart was still working, action which was subsequentially repeated with his classmates in highschool and later with his victims. People always left, he was alone, and his lack of social bonds brought him to be even more introvert. Eating an individual is the deepest connection a person can ever get, it removes the feeling of alienation since the victim will live inside them forever and become a permanent part of themselves.

Jeffrey Dahmer's drawing project on creating a shrine where to put his victims' skulls and skeletons, a place to remember and collect his thoughts (Dahmer - 1993 interview).

Cannibalism in history and religion

In modern society cannibalism is almost seen as a taboo, something vile and inhumane. However, this isn't an exact definition, and cannibalism is deeply rooted in our origins. During Europe’s Age of Exploration distant people were often portrayed as cannibals, almost rapesented as bestial creatures. Instead, during 20th Century, the figure of the cannibal was studied more, the new approach wanted to explain more of this behavior, inserted into a certain context. The reasons that lead people to a person could be multiple: a warrior could eat the heart of his opponent to feel more powerful and take his power; a person can eat a relative body to express love and grief for the loss; or again some people can eat a human body as a necessity to survive.

The firsts reports on cannibalism can be found in ancient Greek times with the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer or Histories by Herodotus, but anthropologists suggest that cannibalism dates back to prehistoric times. Moving on, the discovery of cannibals by Cristoforo Colombo in America made people question about the topic on Christian doctrine of the resurrection for example. For that reason Christianity is probably the best example to take in consideration: one fo the most diffused religion in the world, the tenet of paganism, has a mystic ritual of "eating and drinking" the flesh and blood of Christ. For love, the person can be ate, based on this religion. In other cultures, the Iroquois and Fijians ate the flesh of their defeated enemies in order to absorb their power; for peoples of Papua New Guinea ate the heart or brains of their deceased elders to honour them; In medieval and modern European culture the practice of eating human was prevalent for religious or medicinal purposes. About medicinal purposes again, Chinese compounds included human organs as well as nails and hair, while, in early Greece, human blood was thought to treat epilepsy.

The Sons of Pindorama, Cannibalism in Brazil in 1557 as described by Hans Staden. Gravure de Théodore de Bry, 1562.

Cannibalism around the world

Dahmer was obviosly not the first criminal cannibal, names as Albert Fish, Issei Sagawa and Andrei Chikatilo are still remembered for their crimes and their cannibalism. As said before, the reason of cannibalism change based on the person and his deeds- the cannibal Armin Meiwes (aka Rotenburg Cannibal) ate 20 kilograms (44 lb) of human flesh of his victim, after that this last one agreed and wanted to be slaughtered, for sexual pleasure; Joachim Kroll (aka The Ruhr Cannibal) had a practical view and consumed his victims’ meat to save on his grocery bills, because meat was expensive. Albert Fish, on the other hand, eating the meat of the victims was like a trophy and liked to describe how the kids tasted to their parents.

Today, cannibalism among the population is rare, but still exists. Because of poverty, people living in Olinda slum are usual to consume human meat. Otherwise, there are tribes and cultures where cannibalism is still present. In Western New Guinea there’s a tribe called Korowai, whose tribesmen believe mysterious deaths are attributed to a demon, and their duty is to consume the dead’s meat in order to take revenge. In Fiji (previously named “Cannibal Island”) was famous for cannibalism, even if now this practice almost died out in the recent years. In India there’s a sect of Indian Monks called Aghori, whose few remaining members are used to drink from human skulls and cover their body in burnt human remains. There are also rumours of some cannibalism acts happened in The Democratic Republic of The Congo, Cambodia, Nuku Hiva and Liberia.

In animals cannibalism is common as well, mostly in invertebrates and fishes, but it occurs in other animal groups too. The filial cannibalism (usually when the young can’t last much because is sick, deformed or the mother can’t provide enough food, it becomes nutrient for the parent) is present in major species as leopards, African lions, Tonkean Macaques and fishes. The infanticide (males killing infants who aren’t theirs) is present in North American red squirrels, lions and chimpanzees. The matriphagy is when the mother is ate by the infants, another cannibalism form diffused within insects and arachnids. At last but not least, cannibalism can be diffused way earlier with eggs. The Burton’s Mouthbrooders carry their eggs in their mouths, and sometimes more than three-quarters eggs are been ingested. The female sharks instead, carry hundreds on eggs inside them, while they’re mating with multiple male sharks. Inside the womb, developing sharks will eat the unfertilised eggs and their siblings, leaving at the end only two unborn sharks, each one for each uterus.

(1) Tadpoles eating another tadpole, picture by Georgette Douwma, Nature Picture Gallery. (2) Korowai tribesmen, picture by Kristian Cabanis.

Sources: The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer; Grilling Dahmer; Monster: The True Story Of The Jeffrey Dahmer Murders; Britannica; Anthroencyclopedia; Jeffrey Dahmer trails on Court.tv; NBC; The Sun; National Geographic.

▵ Hello everyone, Pyramid here! ▵

I wanted to thank you all for the support you showed me since I opened this blog (very few days ago). I had a very warm welcome and I met a very nice community. I opened this blog to post news, facts and informations, and the response is been more than great! Unfortunately it’s my very first approach with Tumblr, I hope I can learn fast, please be patient!

I hope the blog will last as much as it can, I’ll keep doing my best to give you the best posts and I can’t wait to see yours! Thank you all!

Remember: my goal is to make this blog an educational place only. I don’t mean to post anything about Dahmer’s glorification but informations.

Jeffrey Dahmer and the relationship with animals

Unlike other serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer never found interest on harming or torturing animals. In fact, abusing animals since childhood it’s an important factor which may link to future violence towards humans. However, hurting animals wasn’t under Jeffrey Dahmer’s radar.

“We’d go out and play in the fields, run around, she was a good dog to have.” -Jeffrey Dahmer

Childhood:

Since he was a kid he showed interest in animals, having a goldfish and a turtle as pets at only 18-months-old. The mother, Joyce, remembered those moments with affection, affirming the kind relationship his boy had with the animals: “Jeff was so very gentle with the turtle”.

He also had a cat, Buffy, during the time the family was living at Pammel Court. Unfortunately, due to the father’s job, The Dahmers had to move in Bath, Ohio, and they had to be sell Buffy. It was at that time, at age 7, that Dahmer was given a puppy to help distract him from the recent move. He named the puppy Frisky, she was a lovely black and white dog, and Jeffrey was very close to her.

Also around that time Jeffrey’s brother, David , was born. He loved his brother, yet he loved his dog more, as Joyce recalled: “…More adjusting for Jeff, but he loves Davy and is good to him. Frisky comes first in his heart, though. They really romp and play”. Jeffrey spent time playing and running out the camps with the dog.

Jeffrey Dahmer and a cat, possibly Buffy

Around age two or three, a curious fact had happened. His father was riding his bicycle with Jeffrey seated on the handlebars, when Jeffrey spotted what looked like a ball of dust (in the eyes of Lionel). Curious and pointing at it, Jeffrey encouraged the father to come closer, when Lionel noticed it was a baby nighthawk which had fallen from the nest. With Jeffrey’s urging, Lionel took the little bird at home and raised it with Jeffrey on his side. At the beginning they nursed it feeding it a mixture of milk and corn syrup, to switch with solid food later once the bird became strong enough. It almost became a pet, and a name was given: “Dusty”. “It was almost like a pet. It would come back when you called it, eat out of your hand and stuff like that.” Joyce said. When the bird grew and became stronger, it was ready to be released. It was Lionel who cradled it and took it outside, and when he opened the hand the bird flew away. It was a delightful moment, and all the three members of the family were happy.

Around age seven or eight instead, the first violent act of the child showed up. Jeffrey developed a certain fondness for the assistant teacher at school, and so he decided to give her a present. It was an innocent child gesture, a naive gift, but significant for little Jeffrey. He caught a bowl of tadpoles in a stream nearby a school where the family was used to go, to give them to the teacher as a sign of affection. Unfortunately after some time he would’ve found out the bowl was given to his friend Lee. He felt betrayed and as a sign of revenge he sneaked into Lee’s house garage (where the tadpoles were kept) and killed the animals pouring motor oil into their water.

“It stood about as tall as this table, short fur, looked like a Doberman, real friendly dog. My dog was chasing it into the street and this car came by and both dogs were together, right next to each other, and that car slammed into the big dog and just missed mine by that much. Boy, did I feel lucky.”

Dahmer remembering an episode with Frisky and the dog of his neighbours

Adolescence:

During adolescence he focused on his single hobby, started years before. At first he began watching and starring animals, such as snakes, toads, crabs, turtles, fish and wild rabbits. When living in Bath, Ohio, Jeffrey spent a great amount of time in a hut next to the house, collecting rests of animals. There was a skeletons collection, with the rests of squirrels, birds and chipmunks, and there was a jars collection with insects inside in formaldehyde. He even had a graveyard outside where he buried the dead animals.

However, his interest grew more and more, and it evolved in road-kills interest: he picked up dead animals in the streets, which were invested by cars, bringing them home. He was interested on the “mechanics” of the inside, and he wanted to know how it “worked”. He cut them open down the front, exposing the innards. Still, none of the animals were alive during the process, as he picked up dead creatures specifically. He usually found foxes, opossums, cats, raccoons and dogs. One of the dogs he found was very large, and after he brought it home as his usual, he waited for the skin to rot off to collect the bones later then. Another one was a Beagle, and after examining the insides, he grabbed the skull of the creature, putting it on a pole. Curiously, another time again, a chilling fact occurred, when he kidnapped a dog of a neighbour with the intent of killing it. He didn’t find the courage to do so after watching at the dog, and so he freed it. There’s also been one time in school where he stole the feral pig from the biology laboratory, taking it home and once in the garage, he removed the skin and flesh and kept the skull of the pig.

When in highschool, Jeffrey Dahmer shared a friendship with a certain Jeff Six, another student of the Revere High School. The friendship wasn’t deep at all, and it required no specific commitment. It was with him that Jeffrey spent some time in his car. Unfortunately, Six had a weird sadistic habit which Jeffrey didn’t like at all. While on the road, if a dog was spotted, Six would speed up to hit the animal. “His big thrill was to find a dog that was walking in the road and speed up real fast and hit it. It just amazed me. In one day he went through four dogs. How many dogs just walked into the road in front of him . . . He’d speed up real fast and just tick them off.” Dahmer said subsequently. One time in particular marked Dahmer quite a lot, when Six hit a little puppy, and when the latter looked back and Dahmer noticed his terrified eyes, he insisted to stop the car so he could go away, sickened by these acts.

The dog’s skull on a pole

Jeffrey Dahmer never killed an animal himself. It is frequently the case that people who grow into multiple murderers have evolved from sadistic children, and cruelty to animals in childhood is a common characteristic shared among them. Dahmer’s case is different in this regard as in most others. He displayed no cruelty, and was not interested in watching an animal suffer or react to pain.

- The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer

Adult life:

When living with his grandmother in West Allis, Wisconsin, he took care of the grandma’s cat, Jody, who liked. Jeffrey expressed his love for cats even with his neighbours, Vernell and Pamela Bass, when he saw their cat on their apartment. “He was very impressed when he saw our cat walk out of the bedroom picking her up and saying he liked cats a lot.” Vernell explained. Douglas Jackson, downstairs neighbor, also stated he was used to see Dahmer in the backyard smoking cigarettes or drinking beers surrounded by cats, which followed him wherever he went.

As he moved in his own apartment in Milwaukee, Apt 213 at 924 North 25th Street, he allowed himself to get a fish tank. It was a 30-gallon aquarium bought from The Fish Factory, a fish shop where he would usually wander around admiring the variety of fishes there, from their colours to their shapes. He was so fascinated indeed, so much that when he got caught they found books about fish care in his apartment. “It was nice, with African cichlids and tiger barbs in it and live plants, it was a beautifully kept fish tank, very clean . . . I used to like to just sit there and watch them swim around, basically. I used to enjoy the planning of the set-up, the filtration, read about how to keep the nitrate and ammonia down to safe levels and just the whole spectrum of fish-keeping interested me.” Dahmer said. He was so enthusiastic about trigger fish and puffer fish as well. He reminded the time when he saw the puffer fish in the store with enthusiasm: “I once saw some puffer fish in the store. It’s a round fish, and the only ones I ever saw with both eyes in front, like a person’s eyes, and they would come right up to the front of the glass and their eyes would be crystal blue, like a person’s, real cute.”. This was a very precious hobby for Dahmer, and after his arrest he would recall his aquarium moments with nostalgia, missing them.

Jeffrey and Jody at grandmother’s house in 1990.

“The cat's doing fine. She always wants to be brushed."

Jeff nodded.

"You know how she likes that."

"Yeah."

"She's always trying to be brushed," I said. "Remember how you used to do it?"

He stared at me silently.

- Excerpt From A Father's Story

Sources: The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer - Brian Masters; A Father’s Story - Lionel Dahmer; Across The Hall - Vernell Bass; Step into My Parlor - Edward Baumann; My Friend Dahmer - Derf Backderf

Jeffrey Dahmer’s murder crime scene:

The twenty-inch bar that Christopher Scarver used to beat Jeffrey Dahmer to death.

The crime scene photograph of the bathroom of Columbia Correctional Institution where Jeffrey Dahmer was killed.

On the morning of November 28, 1994, Dahmer left his cell with other two inmates to conduct his assigned work detail. At approximately 8:10 a.m. Dahmer was discovered on the floor of the bathrooms of the gym suffering from extreme head wounds: The inmate Christopher Scarver beat him to death hitting him with a bar. His head had also been repeatedly struck against the wall in the assault. Although Dahmer was still alive and was rushed to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead one hour later. Dahmer’s official decease was set shortly after 9 A.M.

Source: Monster: The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders, book by Anne E. Schwartz

Murphy and Kennedy extras

I forgot these two extra drawings I made time ago, with Det. Murphy included. These sketches date back to the first time I sketched Pat, and they’re part of a bigger drawing.

Detective Dennis Murphy

Dennis Murphy is been another essential element of Dahmer’s case, and he joined the interrogation with detective P. Kennedy and W. Patrickus. He joined the interrogation a bit later, differently to Kennedy who was with Dahmer since the beginning.

Murphy was one of the detectives who took Jeffrey Dahmer's 160-page confession during 60 hours of interviews. He was a professional man at his job, with many years of experience and the top interrogator of the unit. He was known for his attention to detail. At first he didn’t gain Dahmer’s trust immediately, but day after day he gained Dahmer’s respect, and they soon started to talk as if they were friends. After the interrogation Murphy was called for his testimony during the trial, taking the stand for more than three hours.

After some years Murphy found himself in the prison where Dahmer was kept and decided to visit him. Dahmer greeted him happily and they talked a bit, and Dahmer confessed him he wanted to be put on general population.

Today we don’t have news on Murphy, but he appeared on the last Netflix’s documentary “Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes”

“Murphy is a solid and reliable man, unexcitable, sensible and decent, and he soon formed a useful rapport with the suspect which enabled them both to relax in the midst of these tales of madness. He liked Dahmer. He appreciated his frankness, his lack of guile, and his shame. They were both private and undemonstrative. Detective Murphy sensed that it was the inability to express emotion rather than the crude denial of it which lay at the root of Dahmer’s seemingly offensive blandness.” - The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer.

Thank you very much for your support with this post, I saw so many compliments and reblogs, that’s so heartwarming and I feel less guilty for sketching something about the case. You know, I made more drawings about Jeffrey Dahmer but I don’t feel confident to share them publicly due to heaviness of the case. Still I won’t share anything, but still thank you very much for your support! I really appreciate!

Tribute to P. Kennedy, G. Palermo, P. Dietz and M. McCann for their job

Detective Patrick Francis Kennedy

Detective Kennedy is the one who led the Dahmer’s interrogation with detective D. Murphy and the attorney W. Patrickus. Better known as “Pat”, he decided to follow his father’s and great-grandfather’s steps becoming a policeman, turning himself a detective in the crime division later after moving to Milwaukee.

He received the order to go to the Oxford Apartments, and proceeded with the arrest of the suspect Jeffrey Dahmer. Subsequently he led the interrogation and, thanks to his endearing personality, he succeeded on creating a bond with the serial killer himself. With a mutual trust, he spent lot of time with Dahmer for several weeks getting a full confession, for then attending and testify the man’s trial.

After years, Pat went back to the academy and later began teaching criminal justice at two Wisconsin institutions. He also joined various documentaries about the Dahmer’s case, as the most notorious one “The Jeffrey Dahmer Files” - came out in 2012. He even wrote a book telling his experience (it was called “Dahmer Detective” at first but then it changed to “Grilling Dahmer”).

Pat died in 2013 because of an heart attack at 59.

“I can’t say that I really did, because when I looked at Jeffrey Dahmer, what surprised me the most during the six weeks I talked to him was how very much like you and me he really was. I had breakfast with him, I had lunch with him, I would bring the paper in, showing what the people were saying about him. And it sounds weird that we became friends but we were kind of friendly. We were friends.” - P. Kennedy, 2012.

Doctor George B. Palermo

The psychiatrist George Palermo (whose real name is Giorgio Benito Palermo) was born in Tarquinia, an old city in Italy, and he graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Bologna in 1951. After moving back and forth from Rome to Wisconsin, he came back as a Professor of Criminology at Marquette University.

During Jeffrey Dahmer’s trial psychiatrist G. Palermo was called to offer an objective assessment of the defendant’s mental state. He took stand on 6th February 1992, where Dahmer pleaded guilty to the murders but claimed he was insane, a claim that was shot down by Palermo at trial. Palermo is been one of the few people who irritated and made Dahmer laugh, shaking him out of his stone-like stand.

Palermo served on the faculties of schools around the world and wrote books and scholarly articles, and lectured in places like Russia, China and Japan on a subject many might find revolting. He also liked visiting galleries in Rome because he was an art lover. On October 22, 2005, the Mayor of that time Alessandro Giulivi conferred on him the honorary citizenship of Tarquinia.

George died in 2016 at age 91.

“He looked as if he was used to it, that the courtroom was no hostile environment as far as he was concerned, and that he would get this over with nice and quickly. He was relaxed, urbane, smiling, often joking, slightly superior in manner, friendly and patient. He was patently a nice man and an amusing companion who would make a splendid dinner-guest.” - The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer.

Doctor Park Elliot Dietz

Differently to his physician father and grandfather, Dietz is a forensic psychiatrist, criminologist and he also has consulted for television shows as Law & Order, Law & Order: Los Angeles and Kiss The Girls. He even published books called “Autoerotic Fatalities” and “Psychotherapy and the human predicament: A psychosocial approach”. He’s known for forensic psychiatry and for his expert testimony in high profile criminal cases.

Dietz was hired by the prosecution to evaluate Dahmer's claim that he was "guilty but insane", and so he spent 18 hours with him. He spoke with Dahmer, they watched Dahmer’s favorite movies and porns together, and Dahmer talked with him about the shrine. During his two days of testimony, Dietz held the trial professionally going through every one of the fifteen counts of homicide with a view to deciding in each case whether Dahmer knew right from wrong at the time of the offence and whether his actions betrayed a capacity to conform to the law if he had wanted to.

Park Dietz is also president and founder of Park Dietz & Associates, Inc. and TAG - Threat Assessment Group, Inc. The first is an association of professionals in the psychiatric and forensic field. The second is about educating institutions and individuals about the prevention of violence.

Today the psychiatrist P. Dietz is still alive at age 74, still working.

“Dr Park Dietz made his appearance in the witness-box on Wednesday, 12 February. It was immediately apparent why he was saved until the last, for there was about him an aura of unassailable proficiency. He was alert, meticulous, fastidious, precise, patiently prepared to suffer the task of explaining difficult concepts to the untutored. Like a reluctantly cynical professor, he had learnt that you have to speak slowly if people are to grasp your meaning, and you have to use simple words.” - The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer.

Attorney Edward Michael McCann

E. Michael McCan was both attorney and politician, an he prosecuted numerous high-profile cases during his tenure as district attorney. He went to Milwaukee after he studied and graduated in Detroit and Cambridge, and he served as a prosecutor working under district attorneys, handling criminal appeals heard by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

McCann is a catholic moral man who was asked to obtain the conviction of Jeffrey Dahmer in 1991. After two weeks of the trial, McCann delivered his closing argument for the prosecution, describing Dahmer as a sane man, in full control of his actions, who simply strove to avoid detection. He argued that by pleading guilty but insane to the charges, Dahmer was seeking to escape responsibility for his crimes. Once again, McCann defeated Boyle’s defence, and Dahmer was ruled to be sane and got his sentence to life imprisonment.

Unfortunately in the last years McCann was in the middle of critics of political, social and economic nature, and so he abandoned the scene in 2007. Following his departure from office in January of that year, McCann joined Marquette University Law School, where he became a Boden Teaching Fellow and adjunct professor of law. Today he’s retired and he’s living quietly at age 87.

“Opposing him would be the District Attorney, Michael McCann, a kindly, compassionate man who felt the burden of his duty to represent the community and give expression to their outrage. He was thorough in preparation, remorseless in presentation, and only appeared unforgiving. He was a deeply moral man whose passionate advocacy reflected his outrage and did not have to be contrived.” - The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer.

Drawing note: I started sketching this art with Pat, as I saw his unique, even goofy, appearance. He looked like a Pixar character, so I decided to draw him in my style to have some fun. I didn’t plan to make a whole drawing with multiple characters at first, but then I sketched Palermo as well since his appearance was so cartoonish too. At the end I decided to amplify the canvas so I could add two additional characters and I decided to include Dietz and McCann. These four are the involved people of Dahmer’s case who hit me the most, and I decided to dedicate them a drawing. I don’t mean to minimize the gravity of the case with this drawing, I don’t want to treat it like a tv series making fanarts out of it, but instead it wants to be a tribute for their amazing job during the case, in my personal own artist way. I don’t mean to offend/disrespect anybody with it. If this causes troubles or unease to somebody, I won’t think twice and I’ll delete it right away. Thank you for reading!

Jeffrey Dahmer reaction to George Palermo misunderstandings

Context: during his trial Jeff complained about some of Dr Palermo states, writing down some notes.

Official paper where Dahmer wrote his considerations

Published notes and Jeffrey reaction, writing the notes down

Real notes source: