Jeffrey Dahmer Research Papers

While all of these sinful and unjust murders were taking place, no one even suspected that Dahmer would harm a fly, let alone his fellow man. Fed up with his late night drunkenness and strange behavior, Jeffrey’s grandmother kicked Dahmer out in March of 1988 (Biography). It was becoming increasingly difficult to hide victims in his grandmother’s basement, and neighbors would often complains of weird smells coming from the place. Jeffrey would explain it away as expired meat, and they believed him (“Cannibal and Serial Killer”). At the time, Dahmer was working as a mixer at Ambrosia Chocolate Factory, and he could afford a small, one bedroom apartment on North 24th Street in Milwaukee (“Jeffrey Dahmer Biography”). Dahmer’s father was helping

Despite the fact that Dahmer had confessed to the murders of seventeen victims, he initially pleaded not guilty, but eventually changed his plea to “guilty by virtue of insanity” (Biography). The judge wanted the jury to have an “objective” point of view, so he appointed two psychiatrists to assess Jeffrey’s mental state at the time of the murders. Dr. George Palermo, forensic psychiatrist, concluded that because Dahmer had chosen never to defend himself when he was teased as a child, he had internal feelings of hostility. He also speculated that because of his chronic inability to form relationships, his frustrated homosexual desires had developed until he turned into a sexual sadist. Jeffrey’s aggressive, hostile tendencies turned into homicide after a while, and he would channel all his sexual desires into the killing of his victims. Dr. Palermo concluded that Dahmer “killed men because he wanted to kill the source of his homosexual attraction, and in killing them, he killed what he hated most in himself.” He also believed that murders kept his victims silent. Dr. Samuel Friedman, psychiatrist, instead believed that Dahmer killed because of a longing for companionship. Dr. Friedman described Jeffrey as “amiable, pleasant to be with, and a bright young man.” Despite this praise,

His impact on law enforcement and psychology is that awareness and hypervigilance is key. In over thirteen years, no one noticed there was a man murdering and dismembering men right under their noses. There were close calls such as when his neighbor reported the fourteen year old boy, who was clearly incoherent and roaming the streets naked, but nothing further was done because the police did not look deep enough into it to save the boy’s life. The same goes for when Jeffrey would buy suspicious items, like the fifty gallon drum full of chemicals, and when the smell of putrid flesh was evidently coming from his apartment. If one person had noticed that the situation was abnormal, then Dahmer’s actions would have prompted an investigation leading to his capture. Psychologically, Jeffrey was very disturbed and the signs were there. Apathy and the fascination with animal anatomy, that included taking home roadkill to dissect, were not normal things for a fourteen year old boy to be experiencing. His parents were too caught up in their own lives to notice these warning signs or Jeffrey would have gotten the mental help he needed. What should be taken away from the Dahmer case is that individuals should be aware of those around them and pay special attention to odd behavior, even if it turns out to be nothing. It could mean the difference between a serial