List Of Items Found In Jeffrey Dahmer's Cell After His Death

Important announcement!

Hello everyone, Pyramid here.

I wanted to tell you I’ll take a break from tumblr and from Jeffrey Dahmer’s case in general. My mental health needs a pause because it’s suffering a lot from it. I already had my personal issues and now they got worse, and Dahmer case’s not helping, but it brings lot of negativity and depression instead. Actually I only need to take a breath and a change of scenery. The comeback’s date is still unsure, it all depends on my recovery. I frankly hope it will be as soon as possible because I love to manage this blog and I still have a lot to say, I want to give my contribute because I’m so fascinated by Jeffrey Dahmer, but at the same time I don’t want to force anything and I want to take my time.

So bye for now, hopefully we will see each other again soon! Stay healthy and take care!

Grilling Dahmer - Chapter 18:

“I concentrated on the man himself. The most surprising thing was how very much like me and other regular people he was. In between sessions or during lunch, I pulled out the daily Milwaukee newspaper and read aloud what was being reported. Dahmer perused the latest info on the case, and we discussed other current world events. He was intelligent and articulate, pleasant and polite at all times. The give and take between us went so smoothly that anyone observing would conclude that we were friends. He displayed all the normal human emotions of love, fear, anger, and loneliness during these conversations, and it was only when we returned to his deeds that a distinct "other" personality emerged. Sitting erect and emotionless, he slipped into a trance-like monotonous state as he described the horror of his actions, his blue eyes glazed over and lifeless. Only then did I feel the chill of evil. It was extraordinary.”

Extract from “Grilling Dahmer” book. Fanart by me.

If you’re interested to know more support the author and get the book!

! On a personal note, I always found the relationship between the two men fascinating, and I’m a bit sad we got nothing of Dahmer and Kennedy together, so I decided to draw a moment of the two together. “If we don’t have any photos of the duo, then I’ll create one by myself”, that’s what I told myself. However, I ask to be respectful with this drawing of mine, since I’m still reluctant about posting it. I feel like drawing something about this case can be very delicate, I don’t want to be disrespectful in any way and mostly I don’t want to glorify Jeffrey Dahmer. If you don’t mind, I ask to do not save/post this somewhere else in other socials without my consent. Let’s keep it here and let’s consider it as a “journalistic” piece, since my intent was to document a specific scene which happened. Hope you can understand, thank you!

What’s the story of your username ?

I like pyramids. But my first idea was Pyramidhead. Then it was already taken and this name was a creature from Silent Hill. I changed my mind and I put soul instead of head. There’s no particular reason behind it

The Dahmer Case and The Cannibalism Topic

“Cannibal” was the adjective used by media to refer Dahmer the most as they learnt of the man’s gruesome acts. It was synonymous of terror and horror at that time, the name of Jeffrey Dahmer echoed not only in the city of Milwaukee but also around the entire world. It was unusual to hear of a criminal who eat his victims, it was a shocking news, and the name of Jeffrey Dahmer was remembered under the name of "The Milwaukee Cannibal”. But what was behind this name? What did it mean for Dahmer and where's cannibalism come from?

Jeffrey Dahmer in 1991

The Cannibalism for Jeffrey Dahmer

The cannibalism act didn’t occur immediately but it happened later with his sixth victim Raymond Smith (aka Ricky Beeks). Jeffrey Dahmer just moved in his new apartment in Milwaukee, at 924 N. 25th St., and he was ready to live by himself after leaving his grandma's house. It was already some years that Dahmer decided to attend gay clubs, where he frequently had encounters with strangers for one night stands. It was 1990 and Dahmer already doped and raped many boys, killing five of them too. But it was starting to not be enough, Dahmer was unsatisfied and he needed more. Cannibalism presented itself as a "simple" next step for Dahmer: after experiencing gay sex, to then having an unconscious body on his hands, on wishing to preserve all that pleasure, and seeing the people as objects, cannibalism subsequently followed as a inevitable action.

Dahmer's desire was to keep people with him, to do not forget the experiences he had with them. The previous attempts as doping the person or seeking for a corpse were a way to feel people close to him at his complete availability for Dahmer, motionless. He thought about the next step: "I began to feel that I needed more of a rush. I thought to myself, I want more. I wanted to keep this one, but I wanted him in me. I wanted him to become a part of me. That's when the idea of eating part of his body occurred to me." (- s. Grilling Dahmer). Dahmer's act wasn't a way to feel more evil or powerful, this was an action of a man who wanted to feel his victims closer. It happened again on his act on cutting and wearing the victims' skin, he wanted to become one with them, wrapped on their skins. At the end he also had the idea of "creating" living zombies willing to follow his orders and to stay with him forver.

The first article ever published on July 23, 1991, on The Journal, written by reporter Anne E. Schwartz, the first and only reporter to come to the scene visiting Dahmer's apartment.

Public’s Take on Dahmer’s Cannibalism

Predictably, people's reaction to Dahmer's cannibalism was shock. Local Milwaukee citizens didn't expect something like Dahmer's case to happen, Milwaukee was a pretty quiet city in Wisconsin where nothing like that ever happened. Soon the morning after Dahmer's arrest, Oxford apartments were already printed in the first page of The Journal, and Jeffrey Dahmer's case was already in people's mouth.

The most concerning, disgusting and shoking element on the case was surely the cannibalism, as already expressed before. At the beginning the cannibalism was an unverified uncertain information, and the reporters had to confirm it by looking at the confession, but soon after that it quickly became a first page topic. Dahmer’s cannibalism was printed on the first pages of newspapers, aimed at shocking people even more. For this reason journals of that time looked for the most unconcerning news, making fake news at times as well. Cannibalism became a topic of so much discussion, almost distorted, the main Dahmer’s case object to be so overused that journalists kept inventing fake news just to shock people even more. They made Dahmer appear like a sadistic monster who felt pleasure when eating all his victims, while the story was quite different as expressed in the paragraph before. Even Dahmer himself had fun with these kind of articles: “Isn't it amazing what they come up with?” he said.

(1)(2)Two articles taking about Dahmer’s cannibalism. (1) Courtesy of jdapt213. (3) Dahmer showing the fake news in court, 1992.

Specialists talking about Dahmer's cannibalism

Psychiatrists and experts tried to give an explaination on Dahmer’s cannibalism. Writer Brian Masters develops an interesting point when talking about infantile play, of parents pretending to be animal ready to devour them and the kids responding to be ferocious cannibal animals. Dr Morrisons also says: "Jeffrey Dahmer was not the only individual who was a cannibal or bit his victims, using his teeth as a weapon. If you remember about infancy, if we go purely psychologically, the only way an infant interacts with the world around him is to touch, feel and teeth, and this is a way that babies explore their world with their mouths. That’s what they use, that’s how they relate to the world. What is evident in all the serial murders is this trait of very oral or mouthing or biting or eating, ingesting, which is very infantile. But it seems a way in which they can be with their victim.”

Even through sexual acts, mouth is an important way to express love. Activities as biting or oral sex rekindle the childish instinct where loving and eating are bounded together. “The adult who prefers oral sex above other sexual experiences indicates an infantile need for nourishment, a wish to recreate the moment of being mothered.” Brian Masters writes. If we look back at Dahmer’s infancy, we notice some early behaviours which indicates some connections to his cannibalism. As already expressed before, cannibalism was just a consequence which came after as Dahmer’s needs continued to evolve. Yet Dahmer always had a lack of social skills, he had difficulties on creating bounds with other people and he was often so isolated. His father Lionel was out bacause of his job, while his mother Joyce struggled with her mental health. Jeffrey found himself alone with the mother's unconscious body some times, there it might have been the moment where he put his hear on his mother's chest to check if her heart was still working, action which was subsequentially repeated with his classmates in highschool and later with his victims. People always left, he was alone, and his lack of social bonds brought him to be even more introvert. Eating an individual is the deepest connection a person can ever get, it removes the feeling of alienation since the victim will live inside them forever and become a permanent part of themselves.

Jeffrey Dahmer's drawing project on creating a shrine where to put his victims' skulls and skeletons, a place to remember and collect his thoughts (Dahmer - 1993 interview).

Cannibalism in history and religion

In modern society cannibalism is almost seen as a taboo, something vile and inhumane. However, this isn't an exact definition, and cannibalism is deeply rooted in our origins. During Europe’s Age of Exploration distant people were often portrayed as cannibals, almost rapesented as bestial creatures. Instead, during 20th Century, the figure of the cannibal was studied more, the new approach wanted to explain more of this behavior, inserted into a certain context. The reasons that lead people to a person could be multiple: a warrior could eat the heart of his opponent to feel more powerful and take his power; a person can eat a relative body to express love and grief for the loss; or again some people can eat a human body as a necessity to survive.

The firsts reports on cannibalism can be found in ancient Greek times with the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer or Histories by Herodotus, but anthropologists suggest that cannibalism dates back to prehistoric times. Moving on, the discovery of cannibals by Cristoforo Colombo in America made people question about the topic on Christian doctrine of the resurrection for example. For that reason Christianity is probably the best example to take in consideration: one fo the most diffused religion in the world, the tenet of paganism, has a mystic ritual of "eating and drinking" the flesh and blood of Christ. For love, the person can be ate, based on this religion. In other cultures, the Iroquois and Fijians ate the flesh of their defeated enemies in order to absorb their power; for peoples of Papua New Guinea ate the heart or brains of their deceased elders to honour them; In medieval and modern European culture the practice of eating human was prevalent for religious or medicinal purposes. About medicinal purposes again, Chinese compounds included human organs as well as nails and hair, while, in early Greece, human blood was thought to treat epilepsy.

The Sons of Pindorama, Cannibalism in Brazil in 1557 as described by Hans Staden. Gravure de Théodore de Bry, 1562.

Cannibalism around the world

Dahmer was obviosly not the first criminal cannibal, names as Albert Fish, Issei Sagawa and Andrei Chikatilo are still remembered for their crimes and their cannibalism. As said before, the reason of cannibalism change based on the person and his deeds- the cannibal Armin Meiwes (aka Rotenburg Cannibal) ate 20 kilograms (44 lb) of human flesh of his victim, after that this last one agreed and wanted to be slaughtered, for sexual pleasure; Joachim Kroll (aka The Ruhr Cannibal) had a practical view and consumed his victims’ meat to save on his grocery bills, because meat was expensive. Albert Fish, on the other hand, eating the meat of the victims was like a trophy and liked to describe how the kids tasted to their parents.

Today, cannibalism among the population is rare, but still exists. Because of poverty, people living in Olinda slum are usual to consume human meat. Otherwise, there are tribes and cultures where cannibalism is still present. In Western New Guinea there’s a tribe called Korowai, whose tribesmen believe mysterious deaths are attributed to a demon, and their duty is to consume the dead’s meat in order to take revenge. In Fiji (previously named “Cannibal Island”) was famous for cannibalism, even if now this practice almost died out in the recent years. In India there’s a sect of Indian Monks called Aghori, whose few remaining members are used to drink from human skulls and cover their body in burnt human remains. There are also rumours of some cannibalism acts happened in The Democratic Republic of The Congo, Cambodia, Nuku Hiva and Liberia.

In animals cannibalism is common as well, mostly in invertebrates and fishes, but it occurs in other animal groups too. The filial cannibalism (usually when the young can’t last much because is sick, deformed or the mother can’t provide enough food, it becomes nutrient for the parent) is present in major species as leopards, African lions, Tonkean Macaques and fishes. The infanticide (males killing infants who aren’t theirs) is present in North American red squirrels, lions and chimpanzees. The matriphagy is when the mother is ate by the infants, another cannibalism form diffused within insects and arachnids. At last but not least, cannibalism can be diffused way earlier with eggs. The Burton’s Mouthbrooders carry their eggs in their mouths, and sometimes more than three-quarters eggs are been ingested. The female sharks instead, carry hundreds on eggs inside them, while they’re mating with multiple male sharks. Inside the womb, developing sharks will eat the unfertilised eggs and their siblings, leaving at the end only two unborn sharks, each one for each uterus.

(1) Tadpoles eating another tadpole, picture by Georgette Douwma, Nature Picture Gallery. (2) Korowai tribesmen, picture by Kristian Cabanis.

Sources: The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer; Grilling Dahmer; Monster: The True Story Of The Jeffrey Dahmer Murders; Britannica; Anthroencyclopedia; Jeffrey Dahmer trails on Court.tv; NBC; The Sun; National Geographic.

The most bizzarre incident with Dahmer according to Backderf

“The 1978 Revere variety show, Acts from Our Attic, ran for three performances, March 9–11, 1978. The comedy troupe, the Acme Ash Company, named after the local garbage hauling company that picked up the trash in Bath, was essentially the members of the Dahmer Fan Club. All the bits were written by us. The Hitler skit was the hit of the show (CAL, The Reverie 1978).”

-My Friend Dahmer, Derf Backderf

Derf Backderf (real name John Backderf) is an American cartoonist whom most famous work is “My Friend Dahmer”, an international bestseller. Backderf grew up in Richfield, Ohio, and he attended Revere High School. He was a classmate of Jeffrey Dahmer, and one of the founders of the “Dahmer’s Fanclub”. My Friend Dahmer is the culmination of a comic book project first started in 1994, and it tells various facts and stories of a shy kid, a teenage alcoholic, and a goofball pre-murderers Jeffrey Dahmer.

If you’re interested to know more support the author and get the book!

▵ Hello everyone, Pyramid here! ▵

Long time no see, how are you? Almost two months have passed since my inactivity here, and I must say I had huge results. I feel better and I’m doing so good. Jeffrey Dahmer’s case interest is been so much reduced and moderate, I can happily say it’s not an obsession-like thing, it was so unhealthy. Now the big question is what to do with this blog, I considered it almost as an exaggeration, something I could avoid, yet I have some things more to post. I decided I can post some things Dahmer case related without obligation, just when inspired. But because of this I can take my time not considering this blog a “job” (-never has been but still).

As always this blog was born and still wants to be an informative blog about Dahmer, I disassociate myself from some questionable behaviors from some people of the community and most of all I don’t condone anything Dahmer did, this is a purely educational place only. Thanks to everyone who stayed with me till now, see you soon with more content!

Incredible how I asked to be respectful and this is what I got

Not allowed repost, and when I let them notice that’s been the answer

Do you know any way I can report this? I really hate to ask that but can you guys help me somehow? I’m very pissed off…

Grilling Dahmer - Chapter 18:

“I concentrated on the man himself. The most surprising thing was how very much like me and other regular people he was. In between sessions or during lunch, I pulled out the daily Milwaukee newspaper and read aloud what was being reported. Dahmer perused the latest info on the case, and we discussed other current world events. He was intelligent and articulate, pleasant and polite at all times. The give and take between us went so smoothly that anyone observing would conclude that we were friends. He displayed all the normal human emotions of love, fear, anger, and loneliness during these conversations, and it was only when we returned to his deeds that a distinct "other" personality emerged. Sitting erect and emotionless, he slipped into a trance-like monotonous state as he described the horror of his actions, his blue eyes glazed over and lifeless. Only then did I feel the chill of evil. It was extraordinary.”

Extract from “Grilling Dahmer” book. Fanart by me.

! On a personal note, I always found the relationship between the two men fascinating, and I’m a bit sad we got nothing of Dahmer and Kennedy together, so I decided to draw a moment of the two together. “If we don’t have any photos of the duo, then I’ll create one by myself”, that’s what I told myself. However, I ask to be respectful with this drawing of mine, since I’m still reluctant about posting it. I feel like drawing something about this case can be very delicate, I don’t want to be disrespectful in any way and mostly I don’t want to glorify Jeffrey Dahmer. If you don’t mind, I ask to do not save/post this somewhere else in other socials without my consent. Let’s keep it here and let’s consider it as a “journalistic” piece, since my intent was to document a specific scene which happened. Hope you can understand, thank you!

Jeffrey Dahmer - A Psychological Insight

We all know about the atrocities of the Milwaukee Cannibal, but what drove him to commit such acts?

Dahmer pled guilty but insane before the actual trial. Psychiatric experts testified that he knew right from wrong, regardless of psychological state. So what did Dahmer suffer from, and how did this impact his crimes?

 Psychological Summary

There are many different possible diagnoses for Jeffrey Dahmer. Upon psychological inspection, many different possibilities arose for Dahmer’s mental state. 

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Perhaps the most obvious diagnosis, APD is a disorder that has been flirted with by psychologists to explain Dahmer’s behaviour. It is catagorised by the following: 

- Exploit, manipulate and violate the rights of others - No remorse or regret - Irresponsible, no regard for social norms - Very few long term, meaningful relationships  - Problems with temper and frustration - Lack guilt for their actions - Blame others for their own short-comings - Break the law consistently

This may seem like, on the surface, an appropriate diagnosis for Dahmer. However, the way in which he killed, and his self professed reasons for doing so, do not fit the criteria. Many psychologists deny this as the driving force behind his crimes, as his motives seemed to be propelled more by insecurity, self gratification and instability, rather than anger. 

Autistic Development Disorder 

Many children suffer from a form of Autistic Spectrum Disorder, which inevitably carries through to adulthood. It is categorized by the following:

- Social & communication difficulties  - Exhibit behaviours that other would deem “different” and “repetitive” - Intense obsessions  - Is often coupled with Social Anxiety and General Anxiety Disorder - Monotonous or flat speech - Uncomfortable with human touch

No two people present the same Autistic behaviors, so categorization is difficult.

Jeffrey Dahmer developed from a very young age an obsession with bones, namely animal bones. Lionel Dahmer (father) said in his book “A Fathers Story” that he encouraged this behavior, as he felt it may lead to a career in the medical field. He ultimately viewed this obsession as a harmless one.

In school, Dahmer had a lot of trouble with social interaction. He spoke of this himself in a later interview from prison, stating that  “The subtleties of social life were beyond my grasp. When children liked me, I did not know why. Nor could I formulate a plan for winning their affection. I simply didn’t know how things worked with other people…. And try as I might, I couldn’t make other people seem less strange and unknowable” 

Experts that assessed Dahmers behaviour, say that there is a connection between Aspergers and sexual development, aggressive behavior and low mood.

Borderline Personality Disorder 

After molesting a 13 year old, psychologists found Dahmer to be uncooperative, angry, manipulative and emotionally unstable. He later told his probation officer that his life lacked meaning and purpose. Could this empty feeling, coupled with an unstable disposition be a sign of BPD?

Categorization:

- Emotional Instability - Disturbed patterns of thinking or perceptions - Impulsive and reckless behavior - Unstable sense of self - Extreme fear of abandonment and rejection - Intense and unstable relationships with others  - Obsessive behaviors such as obsessing over other people

In his confession, Jeffrey Dahmer said he murdered the men to prevent them from leaving and abandoning him. This intense fear of being “left” is very common among BPD sufferers, and this, coupled with his extreme denial of his homosexuality (unstable sense of self) may make BPD a likely diagnosis. 

Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified; with Schizoid, Antisocial, and Schizotypal Traits

Psychiatrists that assessed Dahmer found that they were unable to conclude what afflictions he suffered from. The above diagnosis was given.

How would JD have been treated on the outside?

There are many different therapies that are available for the above mental health problems. Below is a selection of these that may have been implemented: 

Borderline Personality Disorder 

- DBT - Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Coupled with medication for related depression and anxiety

Aspergers  - A combination of Social Skills Training, Speech and Language therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Applied Behavioral Analysis and Medication

Many psychologists also think that a combination of Psychotherapy, Psychopharmacology and Hormone Therapy would have helped Dahmer to live a functional life.

How was Dahmer treated in prison?

Dahmer received no official therapy in prison for his mental health issues, other than the pastoral care of the prison minister.  He converted to Christianity whilst in prison. Was this a genuine move one Dahmer’s part to seek forgiveness and live a better, more fulfilling life? Or was it yet another desperate attempt to fit into a group and establish an identity for himself? 

Had Jeffrey been given the opportunity to receive quality mental health assessments and care, some believe he could’ve served as a “guinea pig” in how to treat extreme deviance such as this. 

"Jeffrey is a very, very, very private person," said his lawyer, Gerald Boyle. “He's very cordial, very polite, very, very ashamed of what he is."

His demeanor changed only once. The afternoon the case went to the jury, he carried into court a copy of a supermarket tabloid with his picture on the corner. The headline read: ‘Milwaukee Cannibal Kills His Cellmate.' The accompanying story said Dahmer also ate the man.

"Isn't it amazing what they come up with?" Jeff quipped, flashing the tabloid which had been doctored to include The Milwaukee Journal's masthead.

The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer - The Child

The baby was born at the Evangelical Deaconess Hospital in Milwaukee at 4.34 p.m. on 21 May, 1960. Weighing 6 pounds and 15 ounces, he was 181⁄2 inches long, with auburn hair and luminously blue eyes. Lionel and Joyce were entranced by him, their life together momentarily joyous as a result. Joyce began a baby scrapbook in which his every twitch and turn were lovingly recorded, remarking that the baby ‘scared us by having correctional casts on his legs from birth till four months’, but all was fine. He would only need 1 1⁄8 inch lifts on his shoes up to about the age of six. Otherwise, he was absolutely perfect. They named him Jeffrey Lionel.

If you’re interested to know more support the author and get the book!