A Mass of Contradictions

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Myths and Rumors about Jeffrey Dahmer

Many things were said about Jeffrey Dahmer in the 90’s, some of which were patently false. Over the years, several myths and rumors developed from the case and some of them were never verified as being true or false. Here is a list of a few rumors and stories that developed around the Dahmer case, and where possible, I’ve included the plausibility of each. This list has been compiled using several sources including Jeffrey Dahmer’s FBI files, Dr. Lionel Dahmer’s book A Father’s Story, and footage of Jeffrey Dahmer’s trial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as well as the accounts of witnesses to the events of the trial (including Anne E. Schwartz, the reporter who broke the case on July 22, 1991, criminal profiler Robert Ressler and criminal psychiatrist, Dr. Park Dietz). If you’d like to contribute or correct anything on this list, please send me a message!

1. Jeffrey Dahmer was sexually molested as a child.

There is debate, but if we can believe Jeffrey and his father, then this claim is definitely false. On numerous occasions, Jeff denied that he was ever molested by anyone - he states that his first sexual experience was with a neighbor boy at about the age of 14 and that it was consensual. During Jeff’s incarceration, detectives in Florida were asked to consider him as a possible suspect in the Adam Walsh case. In order to rule him in or out of the case, special agents from Miami and Hollywood, Florida came to Columbia Correctional Facility in Portage, Wisconsin to interview Dahmer. In the course of conversation, the agents asked Jeff about his childhood, his time spent in the Army, his move to Miami, his homosexuality and his crimes in Ohio and Wisconsin. The following exchange is an excerpt from that interview which occurred on August 13th, 1992:

Agent: At what age in your life did you feel that there was something different about you?

Dahmer: Oh I knew I, I knew what my orientation was at around 13.

Agent: That’s preferably homosexual?

Dahmer: Uh huh.

Agent: That was at 13 you say?

Dahmer: Right.

Agent: Was it some specific incident that made you realize that there was something different about you?

Dahmer: No it just seemed to be the way things were and… there was no specific incident that triggered it. You know, they say people are molested by someone that’s what makes them become homosexual; that never was in my case.

Agent: You were never a victim of child abuse?

Dahmer: No. So it just seemed to be inborn whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. But that’s the way it seems to me.

Sorry! Ha ha. Couldn’t help myself.

Anyway, so according to Jeff, the suggestion that he was molested at 8 by a neighbor is false. Further, Jeff’s father, Lionel, was accused of sexually abusing Jeff, a claim which both of them deny. The initial charge against Lionel was made on national television by someone no one in the Dahmer family knew. The account of that charge was detailed in A Father’s Story:

“Two days later, on September 12, the Geraldo Rivera show devoted its entire program to Jeff’s case… Two [other] guests shocked and appalled me… Pat Snyder, a former Ohio acquaintance, who knew nothing of our family and had met Jeff no more than three times, each time very briefly, accused Shari of being ‘the epitome of the evil stepmother,’ which was as deep and hurtful a lie as one human being has ever told about her… But far worse than anything Pat said was the accusation of a man who refused to give his identity and who sat behind a screen while making the accusation. ‘Nick’ claimed that he had maintained an extended homosexual relationship with Jeff. It had begun at the end of June 1985, and had continued for the next two months. According to ‘Nick,’ Jeff had been a jealous lover, but not a violent one, and as the relationship had deepened, Jeff had finally revealed the darkest secret in his life, the fact that his father had ‘sexually abused him.’

Only eleven days later, ‘Nick’ … repeated his appalling accusation to Phil Donahue, in spite of the fact that I had provided a warning of this Nick-Snyder act to Donahue prior to air time. ‘Jeff’s first sexual experience,’ he said, ‘was with his father.’ Jeff had continued to be sexually abused, ‘Nick’ added, until the age of sixteen.

My son immediately filed a legal affidavit denying that I had ever sexually molested or abused him. He also denied that he had ever met ‘Nick.’”

The claim of child abuse in Jeffrey Dahmer’s life is generally accepted as being false.

2. Jeffrey Dahmer abused/tortured animals before he moved on to humans.

This is false. While Jeff was known to experiment with dissolving animal carcasses in acid, it is confirmed by several sources that he did this with roadkill and never tortured living animals. All of the carcasses he used were either roadkill or just dead animals he found in the forest surrounding his home.

From the exchange with Hollywood and Miami agents, Jeff flatly confirms this fact:

Agent: Before killing a human, did you experiment ever killing animals?

Dahmer: No I never killed animals. Never did that. I always used dead ones just for experimentation.

Notably, while explaining his relationship to animals, Jeff was asked if he had ever engaged in beastiality; he stated that he did not. Another quote from Dahmer’s FBI file should be considered:

“DAHMER was asked by the interviewing agent if he had ever killed an animal, and DAHMER stated that he intended to on one occasion, where he had found an Irish Setter and brought it home and was going to kill it and then skin it and dissect, but when the dog looked at him with its eyes, DAHMER could not kill it, so he just let the dog go.”

According to Jeff, while he was riding as a passenger in a friend’s car in high school, he recalls being appalled and saddened by his friend purposely swerving the car to hit dogs on the road. On one occasion, his friend hit a beagle and the sound of the impact and the dog’s agonizing cry genuinely bothered Jeff and he stated that he had “never heard anything so horrible.”

The only true incident of animal cruelty that Jeff ever exhibited, as told by a high school friend who documented the event in a comic about his friendship with Jeff, was when Jeff and his friends would catch fish at a nearby lake. Apparently, Jeff took out a pocket knife on one occasion and cut a live fish he caught into pieces to “see what it looked like on the inside.” Other than this, there is no evidence of animal cruelty in Jeff’s childhood or adolescence.

3. Jeffrey Dahmer killed Adam Walsh.

This is patently false. The evidence ruling Jeff out as a suspect in the Adam Walsh case is so overwhelming, it would be ridiculous for me to outline it here. It was confirmed in 2008 that serial killer Ottis Toole was the actual murderer.

The reason Jeff was even considered a suspect was based on the fact that Jeffrey had a history of child molestation and was in Florida at the time Adam was abducted. It was Jeff’s own father who called investigators in Hollywood, Florida offering Jeff up as a possible suspect. He did this for two basic reasons: (1) Jeffrey was in Florida at the exact same time of the abduction and (2) Lionel knew nothing of Jeffrey’s sexual preference - that is to say, he didn’t know the specific details. Jeff wasn’t interested in 6-year-old boys; he seemed to prefer teens and adults. But how was Lionel supposed to know any of this? All he knew at the time of Jeff’s 1991 arrest was that his son was a homosexual (he found this out when Jeff’s grandmother found a mannequin in Jeff’s closet at her house), a child molester (as per Jeff’s 1988 arrest for fondling then-13-year-old Somsak Sinthasomphone, brother of Konerak Sinthasomphone), and a serial killer. That seemed to sum up the suspect profile of whoever abducted Adam Walsh. And the Walsh case was national news at the time; Lionel was just trying to aid in that case, and in a way, trying to confirm Jeff’s involvement, probably for his own peace of mind. Try to see Lionel’s point of view in this case - finding out if Jeff was the one who abducted and beheaded this child would bring closure not just to himself, but also to Adam’s father, John Walsh.

4. Jeffrey Dahmer’s favorite band was Skinny Puppy and he lured victims from a few of their concerts.

Probably one of the craziest rumors to come from the 1990’s was that Jeff’s favorite band was the Canadian industrial group, Skinny Puppy and that he would go trolling for victims at their concerts.

This is completely false. First of all, no one knows Jeff’s favorite band for sure, but confirmed bands that he would listen to include Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, and Def Leppard.

Jeff was extremely forthcoming in describing how he lured victims back to his home; at no point was it ever discovered that he met any of his victims at concerts. All of them, except for the first victim, were encountered in or around gay bars or shopping malls in Milwaukee and Chicago.

I’m unsure of how this rumor even got started, but it perpetuated among young people in the 90’s.  Here is evidence that I’m not making this up.

5. Jeffrey Dahmer’s favorite band was Clock DVA and the song “Buried Dreams” was playing on his stereo the night of his arrest.

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. First of all, let me reiterate again that no one knows for sure who Jeff’s favorite band was, but more than that, let me say that if this rumor is true, it’s gotta be the most hilarious one to date.

If you don’t know Clock DVA, don’t worry - they’re a really obscure, late 70’s industrial band that made this experimental album called “Buried Dreams.” The song which bears the album title is actually quite impressive, except, if you listen to it, you’ll realize that this rumor could only have been spread by angsty 90’s hipsterish goth teens. Why? Because the song sounds like it belongs to a ten-dollar “Greatest Halloween Hits of the 1990s” album. It’s so outlandish, I can’t even…

Listen to it here, BUT BEFORE YOU CLICK THE LINK LET ME WARN YOU: make sure your family and/or roommate isn’t around or that you have headphones on, because it’s going to sound like a goth porno. If you don’t like sex sounds, avoid it entirely.

Now, if you did listen to the song, can you please join me in a thought experiment? Ok, open that shit in a new tab, press play again and just imagine the night of Jeff’s arrest: Tracy Edwards, handcuffs still attached, comes back to Jeff’s apartment flanked by two Milwaukee police officers. They walk up a flight of stairs, walk down a dimly-lit hallway and knock on the door marked 213. Cue music as Jeff opens the door, clearly intoxicated. They ask him for the keys to the cuffs while Jeff stares at them blankly. They ask to come inside and Jeff opens the door further and lets them in. Again they ask for the keys. Jeff, in a daze, points to the bedroom. All the while, “Buried Dreams” is playing on the stereo in the background. One cop goes into the bedroom, sees the Polaroids of dismembered bodies, freaks out and yells “Cuff him!” As the other officer attempts to cuff Jeff, there is a scuffle between them. The other officer rushes out of the bedroom to aid his partner and they both manage to subdue Jeff and hold him down on the floor. Now, one officer is restraining Jeff on the floor as the other calls for back-up. As Jeff is now under control, one officer gets up and starts searching around the apartment. He gets to the kitchen, opens the fridge and starts screaming, “There’s a fucking head in the refrigerator!” At which point, it was said that Jeff, too, started screaming, presumably because he realized that he was royally fucked-for-life. Meanwhile… Fucking “Buried Dreams” is still playing in the background.

That’s just a little too dramatic and Halloween-y for it to be true. It seems like a wonderful and appropriate soundtrack to the event, but here’s my question: Who the fuck would’ve known what the hell was playing on the stereo even if it were true? The cops? The neighbors? Fucking Tracy Edwards? You think these people had any fucking idea who Clock fucking DVA was? I mean, I believe in miracles, but come on. I highly doubt it on this one. Who the hell even started this rumor? Was there a random hipster goth kid in the crowd of spectators at the Oxford Apartments that night going “HOLY SHIT IS THAT ‘BURIED DREAMS’ I HEAR IN THE DISTANCE? NO FUCKING WAY!” as they hauled Jeff away? Mind you, it’s not impossible, but it’s definitely got “low probability” written all over it.

Again, I am not making this shit up. Scroll all the way down.

6. Jeffrey Dahmer used to post cannibal recipes to alt.tasteless.

This rumor is unconfirmed - it is not altogether implausible.

If you look at Jeff’s FBI files, you will see a list of items taken from his apartment as evidence. Each item was given a letter (or letter/letter combination) and items marked N, O, P, and Q were of note:

N. Myoda lap-top computer, model LT3500, ser/35002853 

O. Software, Central Point software kit

P. User’s manual for lap top computer, model LT3500

Q. Computer guide - Micro soft learning dos

Lionel Dahmer makes mention of Jeff’s laptop as well in A Father’s Story:

“In September, I received an official list of all the things that had been collected from Jeff’s apartment… There were symbols of the modern world: a computer and a software manual, a guide to learning DOS, a blue-and-white laptop box cover.”

The Usenet newsgroup alt.tasteless was founded in 1989, and seeing as Jeff was arrested in 1991, it is possible that in the time that he owned the laptop, he could have learned enough about computers and Usenet groups that he found and joined alt.tasteless and contributed content. Alt.tasteless users who have been part of the group since its inception claim that they saw posts from a “jdahmer@net.cord.wisc.edu” (sometimes listed as “.com”) posting recipes using human meat (specifically, “the bicep of a boy”) prior to his arrest.

It turns out that, after a thorough investigation of Jeff’s computer for illegal content, the FBI found that there was nothing on Jeff’s computer that linked him to other crimes or any other illegal activity. He was not found to have any incriminating files anywhere on his hard drive; however, that does not necessarily mean he did not post to alt.tasteless. While I don’t doubt the FBI were aware of Usenet groups such as alt.tasteless, perhaps they didn’t think to check any newsgroups Jeff might have joined? Or even if they did, maybe Jeff posted via library or other public computers. Whatever the case, there is no credible source linking Jeff to the alt.tasteless posts.

What the users at alt.tasteless insist on is the date of the posts - they occurred shortly before Jeff’s arrest in 1991. These are among the most dubious claims because the electronic evidence is no longer available and we are left to trust the word of a handful of people who claim they saw these posts first-hand. These “jdahmer” human recipe posts on alt.tasteless are still unconfirmed to either be true or false. Jeff was always one for morbid humor, so, who knows?

As an aside, for anyone who remembers AOL, immediately after Jeff died, someone swiped the name “JeffDahmer@AOL.com” and posted ridiculous commentary around the internet (in chat rooms, e-mails and profiles) such as “Currently eating Cream of Sum Yung Guy and hand sandwiches.” Again, at first, people thought it was the real Jeffrey Dahmer, until “Jeff” started saying exponentially more hilarious things like, “The fires of Hell are fueled by AOL free disks.” You’re all probably too young to know why I’m laughing my ass off right now.

7. Jeffrey Dahmer had Asperger’s Syndrome.

Highly likely. There are several articles and studies on the subject of serial killers and the possibility of a few of them having Asperger’s. The wealth of information on this subject overhwleming, but if you are interested, I will be glad to help you find articles. For now, you can look at one of the most significant articles written in the Journal of Forensic Science dated November 2002 here.

8. Jeffrey Dahmer was sodomized/killed with a broom handle.

Both of these claims are false. Jeff was never sodomized before his death with a broom handle (or anything else for that matter), nor was he killed with one. He was beaten with an iron rod - a piece of equipment taken from the prison gym. Suffering extensive head trauma, Jeff died on the way to the hospital.

9. Jeffrey Dahmer’s death was a conspiracy - the prison allowed Christopher Scarver to kill him.

This is unconfirmed. While I personally doubt that the Columbia Correctional Facility prison guards would allow violence among inmates to occur, it actually does happen in prisons all across the country. A lack of supervision on the part of the guards may have played a role in the incident; however it was routine for guards to leave Jeff with other inmates under low or no surveillance. Prison authorities investigated the matter in an attempt to determine whether Scarver acted alone or if a prison worker had aided him in a plot to kill Jeff. Results of the investigation seemed to indicate that guards followed protocol and that Scarver did, in fact, act alone.

Despite this, Lionel Dahmer and one of the attorneys working for the Dahmer family adamantly believe that Jeff’s death was not unplanned. They maintain that it was known of and allowed to occur. Lionel briefly mentions his feelings on the matter in a 2004 interview with Larry King.

And that’s that. Very tl;dr! Sorry! If you have anything to add, please let me know! I’d be glad to hear it!

I am sincerely trying to limit my Dahmer posts.. Just one more for now ok?