Police officers investigating Jeffrey Dahmer discovered an alarming dresser drawer filled with nearly 80 Polaroids depicting dead bodies taken by him to satisfy his necrophilia and sadistic sexual fantasies.
From 1978 to 1991, he killed 17 men and dismembered them before disposing of them, taking various body parts such as skulls and genitals as souvenirs.
How did Jeffrey hunt his victims?
Jeffrey Dahmer was well-known before and after his brutal killing spree. Growing up in a middle-class suburb, from the outside, he may have appeared to be just another typical individual, but inside, he suffered from depression and loneliness as well as an intense desire to kill and dismember people.
Dahmer was believed to have experienced a childhood sexual assault, and this trauma may have contributed to his alcoholism, necrophilia, and murderous tendencies. By his late twenties, he spent time visiting a secret animal cemetery he built and filled with roadkill; by 1991, 17 people had been killed due to this erratic life of violence and insanity.
His first killing occurred just weeks after graduating high school when he picked up a hitchhiker who became his victim. Following excessive alcohol and drug consumption, he forced the victim to have sexual relations with him before using a barbell to strike an extra blow while strangling him to death.
After his first murder, Dahmer’s killing became almost routine; he would kill at least one person each week and keep their corpse in his apartment, sometimes engaging in sexual relations with their bodies, keeping skulls and genitals for consumption, or even practicing cannibalism. While his neighbors complained about strange smells or noises from his apartment, Dahmer convinced them it was part of the process.
When Dahmer was caught in 1991, he confessed to 16 17 Milwaukee murders and an Ohio potential victim death. He was sentenced to prison, where he attempted to adjust; his sense of humor and macabre behavior did not sit well with fellow inmate Christopher Scarver, who murdered Dahmer on November 28, 1994, and cremated it for their parents’ use.
What happened to his dresser drawer?
Police discovered a host of shocking things while searching Jeffrey’s apartment. For example, they found his dresser drawer was full of pictures depicting victims whom Jeffrey had murdered; some even featured printed Polaroids that contained graphic depictions of mummified heads, amongst other gruesome details.
Jeffrey lured his victims with money, took pictures of them, and lured them into his house before killing and preserving their bodies until taking more photos to commemorate each killing he committed – an activity that continued for months before finally being discovered by law enforcement officials.
He brutalized his victims through various means, from raped sexual acts and stranglings to killing some by beating them with a metal rod and eating their flesh to avoid burial. Finally, he was caught when Tracy Edwards fled her home and called the police for help.
Police officers conducted a meticulous investigation, uncovering photographs and body parts belonging to Jeffrey that had been dismembered, as well as being able to identify some victims in Jeffrey’s photos, which were quite distressing.
Officers investigating Jeffrey’s murders discovered that some of his bodies had been stored in his refrigerator and freezer. Additionally, he had collected his victims’ blood and kept it in plastic bags in his fridge; additionally, it contained four heads of the deceased.
Another strange discovery was a box containing body parts belonging to both men and women; these could be found in Jeffrey’s bedroom apartment. Additionally, police discovered that serial killers had used some victims’ limbs as sculpture pieces.
“Dahmer – Monster,” premiered on Netflix earlier this year, has experienced tremendous worldwide acclaim. Inspired by Jeffrey Dahmer’s real-life story and featuring shocking scenes that make for riveting viewing for horror enthusiasts everywhere, “Dahmer – Monster” marks a groundbreaking first in horror series history inspired by actual events.
What happened to his other belongings?
The Netflix series about Jeffrey Dahmer has made him a household name, yet we know little of his belongings after his conviction and sentencing. According to the show, Dahmer had a drawer filled with photos of his victims as well as items used to torture them – these were meant to be auctioned off in favor of their families; however, real estate mogul Joseph Zilber and Milwaukee Civic Pride Fund managed to raise enough funds and buy all these items and dispose of them at a waste management site instead.
Zilber believed these items should not be owned by anyone for fear of falling into serial killer fans or “murderabilia hunters” hands and being used for sick pleasures. According to TMZ reports, Taylor James from Vancouver-based Cult Collectibles now holds Dahmer’s glasses, prison bible, letters, and photos; these were given to him by someone who originally owned them but gave them back in exchange for a share of any profits generated from selling them on.
Regarding the rest of Jeffrey’s items, most were disposed of through various means; some went towards medical research, while others were buried or burned. One particularly striking discovery came when a forensic pathologist discovered discarded skeletons belonging to three victims from 1992 that Jeffrey had murdered.
Dahmer appeared remorseful during his trial, clearly recognizing that his actions weren’t solely his responsibility. He was later diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, Schizotypal Personality Disorder, and psychosis – not exactly insane traits! Although not crazy per se, he experienced many relationship difficulties and disordered and black-and-white thinking patterns.
After his conviction, he performed admirably in prison despite being kept apart from the general population at Columbia Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. He worked during the day and returned to his cell at night; Christopher Scarver even killed him, apparently linked to an outstanding bounty put out by a black street gang from Milwaukee.
What happened to his Polaroid pictures?
On July 22, 1991, police discovered several shocking items that would only make Jeffrey’s crimes even more notorious. These included Polaroid photographs featuring naked dismembered bodies in various poses – which would become key evidence in his arrest.
Dahmer used his apartment as bait to lure men in before strangling, sodomizing, photographing, and dismembering them. He kept their body parts for an extended period, mummifying their heads and genitals – the first victim was neighbor and aspiring model Anthony Sears, whom Dahmer took photographs of while they lay unconscious in his grandmother’s basement before placing the body into a stand-up freezer using a toothbrush for cleaning after his murder. Masters notes: After killing, Sears was put into a stand-up freezer along with photographs taken of Dahmer as it lay there – and after strangulation by Dahmer, assimilating the victim was stored, allowing him to take images, thereby mummifying both head and genital parts to then mummifying both heads and genitals mummifying heads and genitals for long after her death.”
Another photograph showed a dead victim lying in a bathtub with their legs propped on a chair, while one of the most shocking images found in the drawer showed blood dripping down the neck and groin of another deceased person.
Photos provided enough evidence for police to identify some of Dahmer’s victims using this evidence. Polaroid photos also gave police enough details to enable identifications to occur.
Police found numerous bloodstained clothes and an unopened bag containing Konerak Sinthasomphone’s 14th-century genitalia from Dahmer’s latest victim, aged 14. Masters believes he had planned on building an altar using these items with incense sticks and globe lights to give the impression he was still killing people.
Dahmer took several Polaroids that depict him masturbating over corpses; others are more graphic and display bodies dismembered at various stages and in sexual positions. These photos sparked speculation of necrophilia; however, Dahmer later admitted only being cannibalistic and was sentenced to life imprisonment at Columbia Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, where he ultimately died two years later due to an attack from another inmate.
