This Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the arrest of Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. Dahmer was convicted of the murder and cannibalism of 15 men in the Milwaukee, Wis., area and sentenced to 957 years in prison.
What many fail to realize is that Dahmer was an Ohio native and a former Ohio State student. He grew up with his parents in the upscale community of Bath, Ohio and after graduating high school in 1978, attended OSU for a quarter before failing out.
Although Dahmer was convicted of 15 slayings, he admitted to killing 17 people, the first while living in Bath shortly after graduating high school. According to Crimelibrary.com, He picked up a young hitchhiker named Steven Hicks. They partied and had sex, but when Hicks wanted to leave, Dahmer crushed his skull with a barbell. He then cut the body up, placed it in plastic bags and buried it in the woods behind his parents’ house.
After OSU, Dahmer entered the military and was kicked out for alcoholism, forcing him to return to Ohio. Once home, he dug up and sledge-hammered Hick’s bones and scattered the remains throughout the woods. For over 13 years, Jeffrey Dahmer subjected 16 victims to strangulation, dismemberment and cannibalism, all ending on July 22, 1991 in Milwaukee.
The first officers to arrive at Dahmer’s apartment found an unreal scene. According to Crimelibrary.com, “(The officer) noticed photographs lying around that shocked him: dismembered human bodies, skulls in the refrigerator. While the one officer subdued Dahmer, the other one went to the refrigerator and opened it. He shrieked loudly at the face that stared out at him and slammed the door.”
A jury deliberated for five hours before deciding Dahmer was not insane, as his defense attorney argued during the trial, and convicted him of 15 counts of murder. Dahmer entered the Columbia Correctional Institute where he was a model prisoner, convincing authorities to allow him contact with other inmates.
On Nov. 28, 1994, Dahmer was left on work detail with another convicted murderer named Christopher Carver. Guards later discovered Dahmer with his head crushed and a bloody broomstick lying on the floor. The career of one of the sickest chapters in U.S. history came to an ironic end.
During Dahmer’s trial, District Attorney Michael McCann argued Dahmer’s sanity to the jury. According to Don Davis’ book “Milwaukee Murders, Nightmare in Apartment 213; The True Story,” McCann asked the jury, “Did he attack other soldiers while he was in the army? Other students while at Ohio State University?”
These questions, among others, will remain unanswered as the world reflects on the life and times of an Ohio-bred serial killer.
