Dahmer was born in 1960 on the 21st day of May in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He died in 1994 on the 28th day of November in Portage Wisconsin. He murdered a total of seventeen men between the years of 1978-1991. He was eighteen years of age when the first murder occurred and thirty-one at the last murder. His nicknames were Milwaukee Monster and Milwaukee Cannibal, which are quite fitting considering his methods of murder. These included strangulation, bludgeoning, necrophilia, drugging, cannibalism and dismemberment.
He also kept trophies, like many serial killers do, to remind him of each murder. These included skeletons, skulls, torsos, heads, scalps hands, genitals, skin, internal organs and photographs. Dahmer was quite proficient in the use of acid to dispose of unwanted body parts that he did not want to keep or eat. Dahmer was eventually caught and brought to justice for his crimes. He was beaten to death by another inmate after he was convicted and sent to prison (The Serial Killer Database, 2007).
Problems started for Jeffrey Dahmer before he was even born. His mother Joyce Dahmer had quite a few problems during her pregnancy with her son. She had constant morning sickness and even the smell of food cooking seemed to bother her immensely. She developed muscle spasms and started taking powerful drugs to try to lessen them. Nothing seemed to work and she would sometimes take up to 26 pills a day. After the long trial of Joyce Dahmer's pregnancy and a move to her husband Lionel Dahmer's parent's house in West Allis, Wisconsin, Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was finally born on May 21, 1960.
There was a lot of tension living in Lionel Dahmer's parent's house so the Dahmer's moved into their own place, on the east side of Milwaukee, with their son. The family seemed relatively happy after this move. When Jeffrey Dahmer was 2, his father noticed how his son violently pushed blocks down and like to fiercely rip up leaves. This might have been the first slight sign of what was to come.
In 1962, the Dahmer's moved once again after Lionel Dahmer got a better job working as a research assistant in Ames, Iowa. He began working with chemicals and lab equipment to obtain his PhD at Iowa State University. During this time his son seemed to get sick all the time with one infection or another. He received countless injections for this problem. Despite this fact, Jeffrey Dahmer seemed like a happy child and even helped his father nurse a hurt bird back to health.
When Jeffrey was four, his father noticed an odd smell coming from under the house. He investigated and found a mass of dead animals in various stages of decay. He retrieved the bones and noticed how Jeffrey put his hand in them to crack them in pieces. He seemed to enjoy this immensely. Soon after this incident, Jeffrey's father took him to the lab where he worked. Jeffrey seemed to show no interest in the various chemicals and tubes. He seemed to like the bones he had touched much better. This should have been a sign that everything was not as it should be.
Over the next year, Jeffrey Dahmer's father grew increasingly preoccupied in finishing his PhD. He barely spent any time with his son and when he did see him he noticed how Jeffrey shied away from competitive or physical games. Instead, Jeffrey seemed to focus on games like hide and seek or games that involved stalking or concealing.
In 1964, Jeffrey grew sick and had to have a hernia operation. It took him quite awhile to recover. He seemed to grow sadder and sadder during this period. By the year 1966, Jeffrey Dahmer's appearance had changed dramatically. His hair grew dark and his eyes changed to a deeper shade. He seemed to spend a lot of time just sitting silently, almost without moving. He smiled less and less and seemed isolated and withdrawn.
Jeffrey's parents moved to Akron, Ohio in 1966 also. His father received his PhD and found a job as a research chemist. Joyce Dahmer was pregnant when they moved and had problems once again with her pregnancy. She took medicine for her nervous condition but it did not seem to help. Her son, David Dahmer, was born in December of 1966.
Just before Jeffrey Dahmer's brother was born, he entered first grade. He immediately had problems. He was terrified to go to school and did not like to be around people. His teacher notified his parents after only one month of Jeffrey being in school that he was not interested in school assignments and was shy and reclusive. She suggested that he receive some type of help but he never got it. He grew increasingly isolated and had no friends.
