Jeffrey Dahmer: The Mind Of A Serial Killer

Jeffrey Dahmer was a notorious serial killer in the late 70’s throughout the early 90’s. What made him stand out from most serial killer’s was what he did to the bodies of his victims. During this research paper, I will cover his childhood life, what led to his lifestyle of killing and cannibalism and also the crimes that were committed during his murderous acts. I will also compare what theories relate to Jeffrey Dohmer and what could possibly be the reason why he did what he did.

Serial killers have fascinated the imaginations of people for a long time. One of the most notorious serial killers is Jeffrey Dahmer whose gruesome murders shocked the nation. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer also known as Milwaukee monster was a notorious American serial killer and sexual offender in the 1980s and early 1990s. Between 1978 and 1991 Dahmer had murdered 17 men. His victims were usually raped, tortured, dismembered, and cannibalism was also involved. Jeffrey was a troubled child psychologically and his social skills had a lot to be desired. All the way through his childhood he was ignored and had queer fantasies of cadavers. In his adulthood this psychosocial status quo didn 't change and was in fact aggravated.

Jeffrey Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960 in West Allis,Wisconsin. He and his parents, Lionel Dahmer and Joyce Annette, were an average american family who strived for the best. Jeffrey’s father was a graduate student who wanted to pursue a career as an analytical chemist. His mother worked as a teletype machine instructor. However, Jeffrey Dahmer’s mother was not a stable women. She had a history of psychological problems which meant that her son was susceptible to mental illness due to genetic factors. Growing up, Jeffrey had trouble with interacting with his peers. He also had a peculiar fascination with dead animals and “according to his father, his son was ‘oddly thrilled’ by the sound the bones made and instantly developed a fixation for playing with and collecting animal bones (“Jeffrey Dahmer” Wikipedia).” As he got older, he developed an addiction to alcohol. He started drinking heavily during high school which negatively affected his grades. Another issue that Dahmer faced in his early life was

Jeffrey Dahmer, also commonly known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, is one of America’s most notorious serial killers. In the span of nearly 15 years, between the years 1978 and 1991, it is estimated that Dahmer was responsible for the death of fifteen to seventeen young men (Radford University). As his nickname suggests Dahmer was known for drugging his victims, then raping them, then disembodying them, and if the mood fit him, cooking and eating his victims. Dahmer’s unique case resulted in him being psychologically analyzed and diagnosed by at least seven different psychologists during his trial (Palermo & Bogaerts, 2014). This paper seeks to explore the diagnostics given to Jeffery Dahmer and prove, through the use of available information, their accuracy.

Jeffrey Dahmer is a notorious man and it is for all of the right reasons that he has been labeled notorious. From 1987 to 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer murdered, sexually assaulted, and dismembered seventeen young men. He has been defined as many different things: necrophile, sadist maniac, psychotic, and many more. There were many signs that led up to his deviant behavior. A look into his adolescence will show some of those clear signs.

He was a major alcoholic and was forced to join the army by his father which he hated and left. After he left his drinking got worse. Then he went out to party and got hookups all the time with dudes. The amazing Jeffrey Dahmer not only got his victims drunk and drugged and raped them, he murdered them then cut them up, ate certain body parts and kept the genitals for sex toys, because it gave him ’power’ also take pictures and masturbate to the photos. Murdered 17 males starting at June 6, 1978 and he was 18, his last victim was in July 19,1991 and he was 31.

The people who knew Jeffrey Dahmer best never suspected that there was a grotesque serial killer within their mist. As a young boy Dahmer was extremely vicious, he loved to imitate mentally challenged people like it was the best game he had ever played. He was considered funny by his class mates but, in a very cruel way. During high school, his fellow classmates defined him as definitely a bit different but not dangerous. Little did anyone know that this was when Jeffery Dahmer started on his bloody progression into murderous criminality.

There are many theories as to why people become serial killers. Almost all of these concepts are associated with the Nature vs. Nurture theory. Are serial killers born with the need to kill, or is it something that they learn to long for as they grew up? Many believe that the nurture theory is the likely concept to believe; that serial killers are created from bad childhood experiences including being abused by their parents, or molested at an early age. Psychologist and sociologist have interviewed serial killers and picked apart their minds, to find out what it is that makes them feel the need to perform these heinous crimes. It is the nature theory that they are looking for when

Jeffery Dahmer is arguably the most notorious serial killer -cannibal in history. Targeting men and boys, Dahmer‘s life of crime began with drinking and sex offending. His murders were exceptionally gruesome, often involving rape, torture, necrophilia, dismemberment, and cannibalism. The media often commented on how “normal” Dahmer appeared. Jeffrey Dahmer made everyone question how one develops into such a monster. By the time of his apprehension, Dahmer had sodomized, murdered, and cannibalized at least seventeen men, mostly black, Hispanic or Asian, in the Milwaukee area between the years of 1978 until his arrest in 1991 (Williams pg.1).

Psychology”). He had become very distant, and started to show a very low tolerance to frustration. Dahmer also showed signs of two different paraphilias: sadism and necrophilia, along with cannibalism.

Jeffery Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Lionel and Joyce Dahmer. During his early childhood he seemed to be a happy normal child. When he was six years old he had to go in for an operation, which scared him not only physically but also emotionally. “He became increasingly insular and lacking in self confidence” ("Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer."). This was one of the first signs of Dahmer’s psychopathic tendencies showed. During this time the family moved from Iowa to Ohio. As Dahmer got into his early teens he was very isolated and friendless. The biggest stressor in his life was his parent’s tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce. The fighting of his parents would have had and affect on him, taking the fights personally caused Dahmer psychological stress leading to him becoming a murderer. These events show how much Dahmer’s childhood was not as perfect as some are led to believe. The imperfections are what led to his psychopathy. Dahmer later went on to become a sex offender and serial killer for which he killed 17

“Serial killers are human black holes; they scare us because they mirror us,” spoke Shirley Lynn Scott, known author and psychologist. This stands true throughout history, as most serial killers blend in with society. Serial killing is formally defined by the FBI as “a series of three or more killings, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors.” But what exactly drives someone to kill another human being? What plays as a more drastic motivator for their actions, nature or nurture?

The mind of a serial killer has been researched for years and years. Since the earliest serial killers to the most recent, everyone wants to know what goes on in a serial killers’ mind. Do they just kill because they want to see people suffer or deep down is there something wrong with them? It could be that they are “working for the devil” as some people may say. It may just be that these people are downright crazy and killing is what they want to do. A lot of things in the mind can force a serial killer to kill, whether it is the mental disorder they are suffering from, the feelings they have (lust, glory, rage, et cetera), or it is the history of mental, physical, and sexual abuse they have gone through.

According to available information, Jeffrey Dahmer led a virtually pretty normal childhood. He was born May 21 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to his parents’ Lionel and Joyce Dahmer. When he was six years old his brother David Dahmer was born and the family moved to Ohio. During the move Jeffrey became more shy and withdrawn. When he was ten years old his mother was admitted to the hospital for her anxiety. This put a strain on his parents marriage. Also, when he was around 14 or 15 years old, he started to have more thoughts about violence and sex, but “didn't know how to tell anyone about it so he didn't” (Jeffrey Dahmer). Throughout high school, he saw his

Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men between the years of 1978 to 1991 in which he participated in necrophilia, dismemberment and cannibalism (Meyer, 2006). As a child, Dahmer was shy and suffered from low self-esteem. At a young age, Dahmer displayed abnormal behavior starting with the collecting of dead animals and using acid to strip off the meat having necrophilia desires. This escalated in his teen years turning into fantasies of killing and mutilating men. After graduating from high school, he was living alone and the feelings of abandonment returned giving him justification in his mind to commit crimes. Throughout his teens years he abused alcohol, which also lead to abnormal behavior. By the