In the final years of his brutal killing spree, Jeffrey Dahmer was living alone in his apartment and free to indulge his horrifying urges with little oversight from family members. He lured multiple young men to his home and experimented with dismemberment and the preservation of body parts. It was during this time that Dahmer came closest to detection, when one of his victims, a 14-year-old boy, was found walking the streets near Dahmer’s home, naked and delirious.
The boy had been drugged, but police officers who responded to a complaint from one of Dahmer’s neighbors failed to perceive that what had befallen him was non-consensual, nor did they realize that the victim was a minor. Instead, they characterized the scene as a domestic incident and returned the boy to Dahmer, who later killed him with an injection of hydrochloric acid to the brain. Had the police taken more than a cursory glance around the killer’s home, they would have discovered multiple human remains that would have alerted them to his true nature. Instead, he remained free to kill again.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
