Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960 and killed in jail on November 28, 1994. He was in jail for fifteen life sentences delivered for the seventeen lives he had taken, being convicted of only fifteen of them. His crimes were gruesome and involved torture, rape, cannibalism, necrophilia and dismemberment. His arrest and the evidence against him shocked the world when he was arrested in Milwaukee in 1991. He wanted the men he killed to stay with him forever and was attempting to turn them into "zombies". He had many different body parts, chemicals and organs scattered throughout his apartment. The building he lived in and killed in was eventually destroyed to pay respect for the victims and the victim's families.
He was born to two parents who loved him. He was wanted, loved and cherished. How did this great start in life turn into the beginning of a story of one of America's most notorious serial killers? Was Jeffrey Dahmer a "born killer" or did he become conditioned to become so awful? The famous "nature vs. nurture" debate rages on. The truth nearly always is some mixture of both -- he was genetically predisposed to violence and the life he lead triggered these predispositions. It's difficult to understand that serial killers are often more like us than not like us. They blend into crowds and disappear looking like any other ordinary person. In fact, Jeffrey Dahmer himself was once quoted as saying: "When I was a little kid, I was just like anybody else." I don't know about you but that scares the crap out of me. Here's ten weird facts about Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood.
Jeffrey Dahmer's mother, Joyce, had a difficult time carrying him.
It's been said that Joyce had a very difficult pregnancy and relied on many different medications to help with nausea and assorted pregnancy woes. It's also been said that "every little thing seemed to annoy her" after the birth of Jeffrey. Perhaps she was suffering from post partum depression which can lead, in some instances, to a difficulty bonding to the baby. Difficult pregnancies and childbirths have also been associated with a difficult bonding process between new mothers and babies. Although it has also been reported that Joyce made an extensive scrapbook for her precious son Jeffrey including his first words, the first time he walked, many photos and even a description of his first scolding.
Jeffrey Dahmer was an animal lover.
He's seen here with a photo of his dog. There have been many rumours that Dahmer tortured and killed animals. However, these rumours are untrue. He spoke of an incident of his friend trying to run dogs down in the road while they were driving to school and how disgusted he was by that. He seemed to genuinely feel badly about the animal's deaths.
He may not have tortured and killed animals but he did like to examine their dead bodies.
He had a fascination with dead animal bones and dead animals. He stated once that he liked the sound of the bones clicking together in a bucket. He liked to dissect dead animals and bleach their bones. There is no evidence that he actually killed the animals that he sickeningly "played" with. Once upon finding a dead dog, he impaled it's head upon a stick. This fascination seems to have started with his father finding a dead animal under the family home's porch. This fascination with death and remains appears to have stayed with him until his death.
He underwent a double hernia surgery at the age of four.
He was not told, or perhaps didn't understand, the details of the surgery. This event seemed to turn a happy, normal child into someone who is confused and withdrawn. He didn't realize the reason for the surgery and was shocked when doctors and nurses were touching him and examining him without explanation. One source even states that Dahmer asked his mother if his genitals had been removed because he was in so much pain. This would be horribly traumatizing and confusing for a boy at such a young age.
His parents fought openly and constantly in front of him before their divorce.
It seems that the Dahmer's marriage was strained from the very beginning. After Dahmer's birth, their arguing began effecting someone besides themselves. Dahmer has been quoted as saying: "I decided I wasn't ever going to get married because I never wanted to go through anything like that." Research has shown that marital squabbles in front of children can deeply scar them and effectively, change who they become.
