The Chilling Case of Jeffery Dahmer Ask any adult American to name a serial killer. Chances are the top answer would be Jeffery Dahmer, a name that has grown infamously through the late 1900s and continues to stay relevant today. But did his childhood influence his actions? How was he not put behind bars sooner? And how did he meet his demise? Through his turbulent childhood, heinous crimes, and luck in avoiding the law, Jeffery Dahmer is without a doubt one of the most famous serial killers of our time. Mr. Dahmer’s childhood is well like those of other serial killers, and many have now come to question whether or not this played a significant role in the crimes he committed. Jeffery was considered a happy, go-lucky child until the age of …show more content…
Although Dahmer was young, lack of attention from his parents ultimately left a mark on him that later led to abandonment issues. This served as a catalyst and reason as to why he would kill the young men he took home from bars and clubs. Dahmer later admitted that he never wanted to kill others; he felt that he had to, because he did not want to be alone. As if being extremely quiet and reserved wasn’t enough to separate him from other children his age, he also picked up disturbing hobbies which his father introduced him to. Carl Wahlstrom, a forensic psychiatrist who interviewed Dahmer recalls: “He and his dad, as a father-son activity, bleached the connective tissue and the hair off rodent corpses.at the time, the unusual hobby wasn’t about a love for gore—it was practiced out of an interest in science. Dahmer’s father, Lionel Dahmer, was a research chemist.” While some may argue that Dahmer’s strange upbringing and his parents' absent attitude may not have affected his later life choices, it is clear that they did due to the similar nature of dissection that Jeffery performed on his victims, and the reasoning behind why he took the lives of