Background
Jeffrey Dahmer was a convicted offender who lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and who admitted responsibility for the deaths of 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. His first killing took place in Ohio in 1978; about nine years later, from 1987, the killings continued in Wisconsin.
In January 1989 Dahmer pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault of a boy and enticing a child, and in May 1989 he received five years' probation and a year in a house of correction with work release. This history later became part of debates over how reports and missing-person inquiries were handled.
Arrest
The arrest took place on 22 July 1991. Tracy Edwards escaped from Dahmer's Milwaukee apartment and alerted patrol officers. When they entered the apartment, they found photographs and remains; Dahmer was arrested and soon described the killings.
One of the most widely debated episodes was that on 27 May 1991 police returned a 14-year-old boy who had been found in the street to Dahmer's apartment. The officers logged it as a domestic dispute, and the boy died afterwards. The episode drew intense criticism of the police response and deepened questions of trust in the city.
Trial
In January 1992 Dahmer entered a plea of guilty but insane to the 15 Wisconsin charges. In February 1992 the court found him legally sane and he was convicted of 15 murders in Wisconsin. Together with the Ohio killing he received 16 life sentences, calculated at a total of 941 years.
On 28 November 1994 Dahmer died after being attacked by another inmate at Columbia Correctional Institution. At the hearings the victims' families spoke about the loss they had suffered and the justice they sought.
The defence argued that Dahmer could not be held responsible because of mental illness, while prosecutors argued that the crimes were planned and deliberate. The court's agreement with the latter view made the case an example in debates about criminal responsibility and mental health. Fifteen killings were charged in Wisconsin, while one was dealt with separately in Ohio.
Where it stands today
In Milwaukee the case continues to recall both the memory of the victims and the rebuilding of trust in law enforcement. On this page Dark Location puts the victims, their families and their search for justice ahead of the offender and his story.
Among the central lessons of the case are taking reports seriously, examining missing-person inquiries carefully, and protecting people in vulnerable situations.