In this guide, we answer some frequently asked questions that people have about the show.
Who Was Jeffrey Dahmer?
Aside from being known as a convicted serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1960. As a young boy, he was said to be interested in dead animals. At one point, it was reported that he collected skeletons of roadkill and small animals. At school, Dahmer was an outsider. Dahmer was found guilty of murdering 17 boys and men from 1978 to 1991. Apart from murdering his victims, it was discovered that he performed necrophilia, dismemberment, and cannibalism. This later landed him the nickname of the ‘Milwaukee Cannibal.’ Some preserved body parts of his victims were found in his home.
Who Were Dahmer’s Victims?
Before being known for his murdering spree, Dahmer was arrested on a number of occasions. One of them was for groping a young boy. Just three weeks after his high school graduation, he committed his first murder. In the late 80s, he continued his killing spree after joining the army. This went on for several years until he was arrested in 1991. Most of Dahmer’s victims were people of color: Black, Asian, and Latino men between the ages of 14 and 33. He met his victims in different places, such as a gay bar and in the mall.
Why Did Dahmer Eat His Victims?
Apparently, killing his victims was not enough to satiate his hunger for attention. In an interview with Inside Edition in 1993 and as documented in a Stylecaster article, Dahmer admitted that after murdering his victims, he “had these obsessive desires and thoughts wanting to control them, to, I don’t know how to put it, possess them permanently.” He felt like he had total domination and ownership over his victims after he consumed them. Dahmer wasn’t angry with his victims but simply wanted to “keep them” with him. He also admitted to frying a man’s biceps in oil and used a meat tenderizer so he could try it. Dahmer said “it tasted like beef.” As his obsession grew, Dahmer moved to saving the body parts of his victims such as their skulls and skeletons. And later on, he kept severed heads in his freezer along with human hearts, and even a whole torso.
How Did Dahmer Get Caught?
One of Dahmer’s victims, Tracy Edwards, managed to escape with a pair of handcuffs. He told police officers of his predicament and led them back to Dahmer’s apartment. Police officers looked for the knife that Dahmer used to threaten Edwards with. But in doing so, they found Polaroid pictures of Dahmer’s other victims. Police arrested Dahmer and got a warrant to search his apartment. There they found disturbing items in his home: a severed head in his fridge, three other heads in his freezer, jars of mens’ genitalia, other “souvenirs,” and a large collection of Polaroid photos of his victims’ dismembered bodies. During his trial, Dahmer reportedly said “I never wanted freedom. Frankly, I wanted death for myself. I knew I was sick or evil or both. Doctors have told me about my sickness and now I have some peace. I know how much harm I have caused. I feel so bad for what I did to those poor families.” He was found legally sane and sentenced to a total of 957 years in prison in 1992. Later, he was issued a 16th life sentence.
Is Dahmer Still Alive?
No, two years into his sentence, a fellow prison inmate attacked and killed Dahmer in 1994. 20 years after his death, Christopher Scarver, the inmate who killed Dahmer by hitting him over the head with a metal bar, said to the New York Post “Some people who are in prison are repentant - but he was not one of them.”
Was Everything in Dahmer Real?
Because of how horrific the crimes were, many can’t help but ask if everything in Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was real. Even though the show is based on a true story, there were some parts of the show that were added by the scriptwriters. Here are some of the things Netflix got right and some that were simply added for the show:
Fact: Dahmer did let Edwards watch The Exorcist in his home.
Changed: Glenda Cleveland lived in a next-door building instead of adjacent to Dahmer (played by Evan Peters).Fact: Victim Konerak Sinthasomphone was returned by Milwaukee police to Dahmer after the latter convinced them that he was his drunk lover. The police that night were fired after discovering the murders.Changed: There are only two locks on Dahmer’s door as seen on photos at the scene.Fact: Yes, Dahmer stole a mannequin from a Boston Store.Changed: Although Dahmer fantasized about attacking a jogger, he never got around to doing it. Meanwhile, the show presented it as something that actually happened instead of just a fantasy of his.Fact: Dahmer was found guilty for sexually assaulting Sinthasomphone’s brother prior to his death.Changed: While Dahmer worked at the Milwaukee Blood Plasma Center, the show made it seem like he drank bags of blood. But it was revealed that he only tried a vial and later spit it out.Fact: Dahmer was pulled over by Ohio police as he was carrying garbage bags containing the remains of his first victim, Steven Hicks. The police officers let him go without realizing what was inside the bags.
Fact: Dahmer was once kicked out of a bathhouse and arrested for indecent exposure at the Wisconsin State FairFact: Dahmer killed his first Milwaukee victim at the Ambassador Hotel.Fact: Dahmer came close to killing Ron Flowers but decided not to because he was unsure he could move Flowers’ body.Fact: Dahmer did give the family of his victims a call and told them to stop looking.Fact: Other tenants in the Oxford Apartments have complained about hearing screams and the smell.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available on Netflix.
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