Jeffrey Dahmer Pt. 3

Summary

Mind of a Serial Killer: Jeffrey Dahmer Pt. 3 – Detailed Summary

Episode Release Date: October 14, 2024
Hosts: Vanessa Richardson and Dr. Tristan Engels
Podcast: Mind of a Serial Killer, Crime House Studios

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Introduction

In the third installment of their four-part series on Jeffrey Dahmer, hosts Vanessa Richardson and Dr. Tristan Engels delve deeper into the escalating violence and psychological unraveling of one of history’s most notorious serial killers. This episode meticulously traces Dahmer's progression from his second murder to his eventual capture, offering both a narrative of his heinous acts and an expert psychological analysis of his disturbed mind.

Recap of Previous Episode

The episode begins with a brief recap of the previous episode, where Dahmer's first murder—Stephen Hicks in 1978—and his subsequent struggles to repress his murderous instincts were examined. Vanessa highlights Dahmer's initial ability to temporarily stave off his violent urges through alcohol abuse, setting the stage for his later descent into unrestrained brutality.

Dahmer’s Second Murder and Increasing Violence

Stephen Twomey’s Murder ([04:41])

On November 21, 1987, 27-year-old Jeffrey Dahmer murdered his second victim, Stephen Twomey. Dahmer lured Twomey to the Ambassador Motel in Milwaukee, drugged him with sleeping pills, and claimed to have no memory of the act. Vanessa narrates the grim aftermath, detailing Dahmer's method of disposing of Twomey's body using a wheeled suitcase and hiding it in his grandmother Catherine's cellar.

Psychological Implications ([06:34])

Dr. Tristan Engels discusses Dahmer's alleged memory loss during the murder, suggesting possibilities such as dissociative rage or intentional repression to avoid the discomfort of his actions. He posits, “If he truly does not remember it, it could likely have been a dissociative rage.”

Escalation of Murders and Ritualistic Behavior

James Doxtator’s Murder ([12:00])

Less than two months after Twomey’s murder, Dahmer killed James Doxtator, a 14-year-old boy. Unlike previous victims, Doxtator was significantly younger, redefining Dahmer’s victim profile. Post-murder, Dahmer engaged in necrophilia, a first in his series of crimes. Dr. Engels explains, “Necrophilia is the use of a corpse for sexual pleasure,” highlighting Dahmer’s deepening obsession with retaining his victims.

Richard Guerrero and Ronald Flowers ([19:42] – [27:48])

Dahmer continued his spree by murdering Richard Guerrero and later Ronald Flowers, the latter of whom survived Dahmer’s attack. Flowers’ escape led to increased tension, with Dahmer’s grandmother Catherine asking him to move out due to his erratic behavior and constant drinking. Vanessa notes, “With good behavior, he was released two months early, on March 20, 1990.”

Psychological Evaluation and Legal Maneuvering

Court Proceedings ([27:48] – [30:24])

Dahmer underwent psychological evaluations as part of his court case for sexually assaulting Somsack Sinthasemphon. Dr. Engels differentiates between psychological evaluations and therapy, emphasizing their role in determining criminal responsibility and suitability for mental health programs. Despite multiple psychologists labeling him a menace, the judge sentenced Dahmer to only a year in a minimum security facility with work release, a decision Vanessa critiques as dangerously lenient.

Setting Boundaries with Dahmer ([28:35] – [29:29])

Vanessa inquires about managing a patient like Dahmer, to which Dr. Engels responds, “It’s very important to make sure that they know that there are limits to how far they can push anybody and to not reinforce bad behavior.” This highlights the challenges mental health professionals face when dealing with individuals exhibiting extreme antisocial behavior.

Continuation and Intensification of Murders

Relocation and New Victims ([38:51] – [48:49])

After his release, Dahmer moved to a low-income neighborhood in Milwaukee, believing the community’s indifference would help him evade detection. He murdered Raymond Smith and Eddie Smith, adopting increasingly gruesome methods, including setting up a ritualistic altar with their remains. Dr. Engels observes, “He needs to keep a piece of them with him forever,” underscoring Dahmer’s compulsive need to possess his victims.

Cannibalism and Further Escalation ([47:55] – [48:49])

Dahmer’s crimes grew more horrific with attempted cannibalism, as seen in his murder of Ernest Miller and David Thomas. Dr. Engels explains, “Eating a part of them is a very symbolic way for him to feel as if they're becoming part of him and therefore with him forever,” shedding light on Dahmer’s twisted motivations.

The Breaking Point and Near Capture

Konerak Sinthasemphone’s Survival ([49:31] – [52:25])

On May 27, 1991, Dahmer murdered Konerak Sinthasemphone, the younger brother of one of his near-victims, Somsack. However, Konerak survived Dahmer’s gruesome attempts to create a “human vegetable,” leading to his rescue by bystanders and immediate police intervention. Vanessa describes this as Dahmer’s first close encounter with law enforcement: “For the first time, he'd been caught red-handed and he had no idea how he was going to talk himself out of it.”

Conclusion and Foreshadowing

The episode concludes with the revelation of Konerak’s survival, setting the stage for the investigation into Dahmer’s crimes in the upcoming episodes. Vanessa reflects on Dahmer’s relentless pursuit of his dark fantasies, despite numerous warnings and legitimate threats of exposure.

Notable Quotes

• Dr. Tristan Engels ([06:34]): “There’s another aspect here of like, a dissociative rage. And I think that is what explains Jeffrey’s behavior in this case.”

• Dr. Tristan Engels ([11:07]): “Those mementos allow them to relive covertly the memories and the associated thrill of the crime.”

• Dr. Tristan Engels ([15:14]): “Necrophilia is not something that is very common. But in the case of Jeffrey, this is the ultimate way for him to have sexual gratification with somebody who cannot reject him.”

• Dr. Tristan Engels ([34:17]): “I think it’s pretty consistent with what’s happened after each victim, is that he needs to keep a piece of them with him forever.”

Final Thoughts

This episode of Mind of a Serial Killer offers a chilling exploration of Jeffrey Dahmer’s descent into deeper depravity, coupled with insightful psychological analysis that helps listeners understand the complexities of his motivations and behaviors. Vanessa Richardson and Dr. Tristan Engels provide a comprehensive narrative that not only recounts Dahmer’s crimes but also probes the dark recesses of his mind, posing the haunting question: What makes a serial killer?

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Transcript

[Vanessa Richardson]

This is Crime House. Obsessions can be some of the most dangerous emotions we feel. They consume us, cloud our judgment, and make us do things we might never normally do. Take, for instance, the Beanie Baby craze of the late 90s. Why on earth would people spend all their money on a bunch of little stuffed animals? But when you're sufficiently obsessed with something, you don't think about that. All you want to do is scratch that itch. Find some way to fulfill that obsession. Tragically, Jeffrey Dahmer had an obsession, too. And thanks to that obsession, almost 20 people lost their lives. The human mind is fascinating. It controls how we think, how we feel, how we love, and how we hate. And sometimes the mind drives us to do something truly unspeakable. When that happens, people wonder, how could someone do such a thing? Well, on this show, that's what we're going to try and answer. This is Mind of a Serial Killer, a Crime House original. Every Monday, we'll be taking deep dives into the minds of history, history's most notorious serial killers and violent offenders. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing and following Mind of a Serial Killer. Wherever you get your podcasts, your feedback truly matters. And for ad free and early access to Mind of a Serial Killer plus exciting bonus content, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe now for instant access to all four episodes of our limited series on Jeffrey Dahmer. I'm Vanessa Richardson.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

And I'm Dr. Tristan Engels. As Vanessa takes you through our subject stories, I'll be helping her dive into these killers minds as we try to understand how someone could do such horrible things.

[Vanessa Richardson]

This is the third of four episodes on Jeffrey Dahmer, perhaps the world's most famous serial killer, who was responsible for murdering at least 17 people in Wisconsin and Ohio from 1978 to 1991. Last week, we examined the fallout of Jeffrey's first murder and his failed attempts to repress his murderous instincts. Today, we'll follow Jeffrey as he becomes increasingly violent and unhinged, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. And as always, we'll be asking the question, what makes a serial killer?

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[Vanessa Richardson]

In our last episode, we focused on Jeffrey Dahmer's shifting feelings after his first murder, when he killed Stephen Hicks in 1978. Elation, arousal, and eventually guilt and fear. We talked about his attempts to push down those emotions mainly through the abuse of alcohol. Although he was able to fight off his violent urges for a while by the late 80s, he wasn't able to hold them back anymore. And on the night of November 21, 1987, 27 year old Jeffrey Dahmer killed his second victim, a young man named Stephen Twomey. After meeting at a bar, Jeffrey convinced Stephen to accompany him to a room at the Ambassador, a seedy motel in downtown Milwaukee. As the night wound down, Jeffrey handed Steven a drink laced with sleeping pills. He'd done the same thing to a lot of other men over the past few years or so without killing them, and this time seemed to be going like all the others. After about a half hour, Steven passed out on the bed, completely unconscious. Then Jeffrey cuddled up next to him, placing his head on Steven's torso. A few minutes later, he was asleep. The next morning, Jeffrey woke up with a killer headache. The last thing he remembered was cuddling next to Steven, stroking his chest. As he came to, Jeffrey realized he was still lying on top of Steven and he was dead. There was blood dripping out of Steven's mouth and his chest was severely bruised. There was no questioning what happened. Jeffrey had killed him, but at least according to him, he had no memory of actually doing it.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

There's a lot of different reasons why that can occur. For some, it's due to a heightened state of psychosis or mania. A lot of times there's a loss of memory during those states. Just because you're disoriented, you're not in touch with reality. There's also reasons that can happen from substance use or misuse or dependence that can also create impairment in memory. And in some cases, for people with long term dependency on alcohol, there's a thing called Korsakoff Syndrome, which can actually create an amnestic sort of process. I don't think that's what's happening here with Jeffrey. There's another aspect here of like, a dissociative rage. And I think that is what explains Jeffrey's behavior in this case. If he truly does not remember it.

[Vanessa Richardson]

Is there a possibility that he could have just lied about not remembering?

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

Yes. That's another thing is, like I said, if he truly doesn't remember it, it could likely have been a dissociative rage. But also he's intentionally not wanting to remember it. Intentionally or consciously or subconsciously repressing the memory because it's discomforting to him. If you think about defense mechanisms, repression is one of the defense mechanisms. And they do that because they're trying to avoid uncomfortable feelings. And what we know about Jeffrey, Jeffrey wants to keep people around. He probably wasn't done with Steven yet. He wasn't able to do what he really wants to do with Steven yet. So there is a motive there, whether at a conscious or unconscious level, to intentionally not remember what happened.

[Vanessa Richardson]

Whether Jeffrey actually remembered killing Stephen Twomey or not, he still had a big problem on his hands. What to do with the body again. Somehow he had to get it out of the hotel undetected, then figure out what to do with it from there. So he hung the do not disturb sign on the door, then headed for the nearest apartment store and picked up the biggest wheeled suitcase he could find. When he got back to the hotel, he managed to cram the body inside, then waited until the middle of the night and called a cab. Jeffrey didn't have a car of his own at this point, so he couldn't drive to the middle of nowhere and dump the remains. He had to take it home and remember he was still living with his 83 year old grandmother Catherine at the time. Thankfully for Jeffrey, Catherine was fast asleep when the cab pulled up to her house, so he didn't have to answer any difficult questions. He lugged the suitcase inside, then dragged it into the cellar. Jeffrey's plan was to wait for another quiet evening, then cut the body into more manageable pieces. But there was just one hitch in that plan. Catherine wouldn't be going anywhere for the next few days because the whole Dahmer family was coming over for Thanksgiving. So for the next week, Jeffrey went about life as usual, mingling with relatives during the day and going to his job as a mixer at a chocolate factory during the night. It was, in his words, anxiety ridden. Luckily for him, there was no reason for anyone to go down to the cellar. Also, the suitcase he bought held in any bad smells from the decomposing body. His relatives left without incident. And late that Sunday night, it was finally time to get rid of the evidence. Once Catherine was asleep, Jeffrey tiptoed into the cellar and laid a plastic sheet on the floor. Over the next two hours, he butchered Steven's body and split the remains into several garbage bags. Before the sun came up, he simply dropped the bags into the trash, which was getting picked up in the morning. He kept one piece of the body, the head. But he wasn't ready to say goodbye to Steven forever. One day, when Catherine must have been out of the house, he boiled the head into bleach and a detergent called Soilex, so he could keep the skull as a memento. He'd done something similar when he'd killed his first victim, Stephen Hicks, in 1978. But back then, he'd only kept the head and had to throw it away. This time he wanted something more permanent.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

Those mementos allow them to relive covertly the memories and the associated thrill of the crime. And with the first Stephen, he was not able to keep the head as long as he wanted to. This time, he's now preparing it so that it can withstand a longer period of time with him.

[Vanessa Richardson]

Do you think there's a reason that he chose the skull specifically?

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

I think in the first case, it was chosen for sexual gratification, but also it represents the more personal aspect of the human body, of the person themselves. And in Jeffrey's case, probably represents more of a camaraderie, of a connection, of a companion than any other part of the body.

[Vanessa Richardson]

Another difference between his first and second murders was that Jeffrey didn't feel any real guilt or shame after killing Stephen Tuomi. He didn't bother Trying to fight the urges that consumed him. Although he was still drinking as much as ever, killing Stephen Twomy reminded him of how pleasurable it was to live out his dark fantasies. Now, simply drugging other men and letting them leave in the morning wasn't enough. He had to have them forever. And if he had to kill them for that to happen, so be it. Now that Jeffrey was no longer trying to repress his dark urges, he went back to frequenting Milwaukee's gay bars, looking for his next victim. And sometime around the night of January 17, 1988, less than two months after he killed Stephen Tuomi, Jeffrey laid eyes on James Doxtator. It was at a bus stop outside a bar called Club 219, and Jeffrey offered James $50 to spend the night with him. He had no idea that James was only 14 years old, but even if he did, there's no indication that he wouldn't have continued with his plan. The two of them jumped on a bus, then headed back to Jeffrey's grandmother's house. At first, Jeffrey brought James into the living room, but after about an hour, he suggested they move into the basement. Most likely he was afraid Catherine would wake up because what he was about to do next could possibly get very noisy.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

So one of the things I'd like to also point out about him moving to the basement, I think that's a pretty powerful move because he could have moved outside, he could have moved to his bedroom. I do think, you know, there is a motivation of not wanting to wake up his grandmother. But also in the basement was where he kept his trophy of Steven. So bringing him down there was much more powerful for him. I think that magnified what was going to happen next.

[Vanessa Richardson]

Jeffrey and James spent another hour or two together at that point until about 4am at which point James said he would need to head home soon. It's unclear if Jeffrey was planning to hurt James before this, but as we've covered throughout this series on Jeffrey, we know that the fear of abandonment set something off in him. He convinced James to stay for one more drink, which of course was laced with several sleeping pills. About a half hour later, James was fast asleep in Jeffrey's arms. Jeffrey cuddled him for a few minutes, then picked James up and laid him on a sheet on the ground. And then he strangled him to death and headed upstairs to have breakfast with his grandmother. This was a Sunday morning, so Catherine headed off to church. After breakfast, Jeffrey had the house to himself, so he was free to do whatever he wanted. But he wasn't ready to get rid of James body. Yet he still had a horrifying fantasy to live out. Once Catherine was gone, Jeffrey went back into the basement, carried the body up to his room and had sex with it.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

Firstly, necrophilia is not something that is very common. But in the case of Jeffrey, this is the ultimate way for him to have sexual gratification with somebody who cannot reject him. That's the excitement for him.

[Vanessa Richardson]

And just for me to clarify too.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

Necrophilia is the use of a corpse for sexual pleasure.

[Vanessa Richardson]

It seems like this was the first time that Jeffrey Dahmer actually defiled one of his victims in this way. Why now? Why specifically this young boy?

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

I think in this particular case, this was more premeditated and planned out. Whereas the first Stephen, it happened a little bit quickly. He wasn't sure what to do after. He didn't really know what he was doing. With the second Stephen, he doesn't recall what happened. So he didn't have time to really plan accordingly. But now the more that he's been thinking about this, obsessing about it, and he has been obsessing about this since he was a bit fixated on that jogger, he has time to really plan this out and to really think about what he wanted to do. So he knew his grandmother was gonna be gone. He knew that he could take his time with this particular individual doing the things that he ended up doing.

[Vanessa Richardson]

Now. Before his grandma got back from church, Jeffrey returned James body to the basement. He didn't seem worried that Catherine would go down there, because he didn't really try to hide it. Over the next few days, he continued to violate it whenever Catherine was asleep. But as the week came to a close, decomposition set in and the body smelled so bad that the scent permeated the entire house. When Catherine said something about it, Jeffrey told her it was just the cat's litter box that needed cleaning. And he promised he'd get right to it. At this point, Catherine didn't have a reason not to believe him. So she took Jeffrey at his word for the time being. And sure enough, by the following Monday morning, the so called cat litter had been taken out with the trash and the smell was fading. Of course, Catherine had no idea that the day before, while she was at church, Jeffrey had spent the morning dismembering James Doxtator's body and boiling his skull. At this point, Jeffrey had devised a system and it was working. A couple months later, on March 27, 1988, he killed 23 year old Richard Guerrero in the Same manner he'd killed James Doxtator. The only difference was that since the next day was Sunday, he immediately got rid of the body. Instead of keeping it for a week and letting it fester, the only thing he kept was the skull, which he boiled to avoid decomposition setting in. But maybe because Jeffrey didn't get to spend enough time with the rest of the body, Jeffrey very quickly decided to seek out another victim. The next weekend, which happened to be Easter, Jeffrey went to his usual haunt, Club 219. While there, he struck up conversation with 25 year old Ronald Flowers, whose car had broken down. Jeffrey offered to help and suggested they grab a cab back to his house. Then they could take Jeffrey's car back to the bar and he could give Ronald a jump start. Of course, that wasn't Jeffrey's plan at all. He was going to lure Ronald into his house, give him a drink laced with sleeping pills, then kill him. But this time, the night would not go like Jeffrey had planned.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

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[Vanessa Richardson]

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[Dr. Tristan Engels]

There are two kinds of pedophilia. There's pedophilia that are prepubescent, meaning that the individual's attraction falls on for minors who are not quite in their puberty years. And then there's pubescent, the ones who have already gone through puberty. So I think Jeffrey approaching Somsack is because he's an easier target. One, he's alone, walking home from school, he's vulnerable, he's likely influential, he's going to be more easy to groom, and he's easier prey, for lack of a better word. But I don't necessarily think that he falls under pedophilia specifically. He definitely has some paraphilic disorder, but because he doesn't simply target minors, he's targeted people from all different ages. But I think now his focus on minors is simply because they're easier prey for him.

[Vanessa Richardson]

So regardless of what Jeffrey's motivations for targeting Somsack were, he was throwing caution to the wind by approaching him in the middle of the day. He told Somsak that he'd just bought a new camera and wanted to practice with it. He offered Somsack $50 to let Jeffrey take pictures of him for an hour. Somsack was rightfully wary of Jeffrey, but he still agreed to it. At first, everything seemed pretty normal, or at least as normal as it could be in a situation like this. Jeffrey snapped a few pictures, chatted with Somsack, then made him a cup of coffee. And at that point, the situation turned dangerous. After Somsak drank his coffee, Jeffrey tried to get him to take his pants off. When the boy hesitated, Jeffrey grabbed him and tried to do it himself. Somsack managed to wiggle away and bolt out of the apartment. Jeffrey. She didn't chase after him, maybe because it was the middle of the day. Luckily, Somsak had escaped before the sleeping pills in his drink could kick in. But he started to feel the effects as he ran home. By the time he got through the door, he was extremely woozy, and his dad realized something was seriously wrong. He took his son to the hospital, where they diagnosed the effects of drugs. After Somsack was recovered and could tell the doctors what had happened, the police came to get his story. This time, Jeffrey wasn't able to talk his way out of it. The police tracked him down at work and arrested him on the spot, charging him with second degree sexual assault and enticing a child for immoral purposes. While Jeffrey waited in jail. The police searched his apartment. They found the sleeping pills and some Polaroids Jeffrey had taken of Somsack. But there was one crucial piece of evidence they missed. The skull of the last person he murdered, Richard Guerrero. But as fate would have it, the skull remained hidden. And so did Jeffrey Dahmer's darkest secret. And even though what he was accused of doing to Somsack was truly horrible, it wasn't enough to keep him locked up until his trial. Jeffrey was released on bail, and his lawyer arranged for him to undergo psychological evaluation ahead of his next court appearance on January 30, 1989.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

It's based on what the psychological evaluation is for. If a lawyer is requesting it, it has to get the approval from the judge, and then it's appointed to myself or someone like my. And a lot of those evaluations really are. Are they competent? Are they. Is there criminal responsibility questions? Are they suitable for a mental health diversion program? And in some cases, they want to know what diagnosis, if any, you would give. So how I would handle that is based on what the evaluation request is for. But in terms of treating patients like this, I've had patients like this on my caseload when I worked in corrections. And boundary setting is extremely important when dealing with people like Jeffrey.

[Vanessa Richardson]

I know we can't break doctor patient confidentiality for specific cases, but as far as setting boundaries, how would you set boundaries with someone like Jeffrey Dahmer?

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

In this instance, I would expect that someone like Jeffrey is going to be quick to value and devalue the evaluator, meaning that he's going to try to present favorably initially. And when and if that does not work to the way that he wants it to, he's going to go to immediate devaluing of the evaluator, which would include possibly anger outbursts, aggressive language, hostile behavior. And at that point, you have to set the boundaries so that the individual knows that that behavior is not going to get results. It's very important to make sure that they know that there are limits to how far they can push anybody and to not reinforce bad behavior.

[Vanessa Richardson]

What's the difference between the psychological evaluation and, say, a regular therapy session?

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

Yeah, great question. A psychological evaluation really is a referral question that they want answered. So whether that question is stemming from the lawyer, that's approved by the court, if it's stemming from the client themselves, if it's Jeffrey. Sometimes clients in criminal proceedings might ask to have an evaluation. It really is what is the referral question? And then it's assessing to provide the appropriate response to the court therapy is more of a prolonged experience where they're meeting with a mental health provider on a regular basis to treat the diagnosed condition. And when we're doing psychological evaluations, we are not doing any type of treatment, we're simply doing the evaluation to answer the referral question.

[Vanessa Richardson]

Obviously, Jeffrey didn't confess to murder in these psychological evaluations, although he did admit to being extremely anxious and what he called in significant psychological distress. But it doesn't seem like he was actually feeling guilty. He was just nervous about getting caught and going to jail. After all, if he really regretted any of the things he'd done, this was the perfect opportunity to get it off his chest. But when it came to his current situation, he knew there was no getting out of it. So when he went back in front of the judge In January 1989, Jeffrey pleaded no contest, which means that he wasn't pleading guilty, but he also wasn't contesting the facts in the case. Before the judge made a decision, he wanted some time to consider the psychological evaluations Jeffrey had undergone. So he let Jeffrey remain a free man for the moment, at least until his sentencing hearing in May. Now you'd think Jeffrey would use this opportunity to be a model citizen and stay quiet. And maybe he really tried to. But two months later, on March 25, he couldn't keep it in any longer. After going to his old haunt, Club 219, he ended up at another popular game bar and for once someone approached him. 24 year old Anthony Sears. Anthony came up to him outside the bar asking if he had any cocaine on him. They started chatting and Anthony agreed to go home with Jeffrey, who had moved back in with his grandma Catherine after he was arrested. So around 3am One of Anthony's friends gave them a ride to Catherine's house. This time she didn't wake up when Jeffrey walked through the door. The two of them went up to Jeffrey's bedroom and after a while Jeffrey asked how long Anthony could stay. Had Anthony known what that question really meant, he would have promised to stay as long as Jeffrey liked. But instead he said he had to leave soon and this was probably just a one time thing. So then Jeffrey just nodded his head, offered to make Anthony a coffee and said he'd be right back. A half hour later, Anthony passed out and Jeffrey strangled him to death. Shortly after, the sun came up and Jeffrey enjoyed his usual Sunday morning breakfast with Catherine before she headed to church. While she was out, he decided to dispose of Anthony's body immediately rather than let it start to decompose because Jeffrey had really enjoyed spending the night with Anthony. And this time he wanted an extra special memento. After having sex with the body, Jeffrey hacked it into multiple pieces. Keeping the head. He decided to keep something else too. 2. The genitals. Once the rest of the body was disposed of, Jeffrey called up a taxidermist under the guise of wanting to know the best way to preserve an animal. Following his advice, Jeffrey went out and bought a 10 gallon bucket that he hid in his bedroom closet. He dumped acetone in it, then placed his morbid mementos inside and sealed it. A week later, they were perfectly preserved and Jeffrey could do what he wished with them.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

I think it's pretty consistent with what's happened after each victim, is that he needs to keep a piece of them with him forever. Something that's accessible, something that can withstand so that they're with him.

[Vanessa Richardson]

Why the change now in terms of what he keeps from his victims, why the genitals?

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

Well, there was one difference here with this particular victim, Anthony. Anthony approached Jeffrey. Jeffrey didn't have to approach Anthony. Jeffrey didn't have to groom or earn the trust to get somebody to come back to his home. Anthony was already a willing participant. He was already interested. He was attracted to Jeffrey. That's the difference between Anthony and the rest of his victims. So that's what makes Anthony extra special in this case and why he would want to keep a little bit more of Anthony with him.

[Vanessa Richardson]

A few days after Anthony was murdered, one of his friends went over to his apartment and realized he hadn't been home in a while. She reported him missing, and the police got in touch with the friend who had given Anthony and Jeffrey a ride to Catherine's house. He was able to give them a full description, but unfortunately, he didn't know the exact address because Jeffrey had asked him to drop them off a few blocks away. The police asked around a bit, but it doesn't seem like they put much effort into the case. So once again, Jeffrey escaped arrest by the skin of his teeth. But he wasn't out of the woods yet because he still had to be sentenced for what he'd done to Somsak Synthasemfon. On May 23, 1989, Jeffrey reported to the courthouse to receive his punishment. The judge had gone over his psychological evaluations, and they weren't exactly glowing. Multiple psychologists had examined him, and they all basically concluded that Jeffrey was a menace to society and was likely to commit more crimes. If the judge had any idea how horrific those crimes were he surely would have put Jeffrey behind bars for as long as the law would allow. But instead, he was swayed by Jeffrey's promise that he would use this opportunity to turn his life around. Instead of putting him in the maximum security prison where he surely belonged, the judge sentenced Jeffrey to a year in a minimum security county correctional facility and and granted work release. For all intents and purposes, Jeffrey Dahmer was still a free man. And despite his promises to the judge, he wasn't going to change. If anything, he was about to become much, much more dangerous.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

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[Vanessa Richardson]

From your fryer to the table, it's a quick trip for crispy fries. But how about across town delivery? McCain sure. Crisp fries are designed to go from fryer to container to carrier to passenger.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

Seat across town during rush hour down a shortcut that wasn't all that short to a doorstep before they hit the table.

[Vanessa Richardson]

And that first bite?

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

The crispiness speaks for itself. Mmm.

[Vanessa Richardson]

To the last fight.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

McCain's sure crisp fries go the distance.

[Vanessa Richardson]

See how far our fries can take your [e-mail] Delivery after he was sentenced on May 23, 1989, Jeffrey Dmer reported to the County House of Corrections to begin his year long sentence. He'd been granted work release, which meant he could continue to work his overnight shifts at the Chocolate Chocolate Factory. But he had to go straight back to the correctional facility right after, so he didn't have time to seek out any new victims. All in all, he'd escaped any real punishment and with good behavior, he was released two months early, on March 20, 1990. But instead of trying to turn his life around, Jeffrey immediately planned on resuming his life as a serious I think.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

Jeffrey has become emboldened and I also think that a lot of racial disparities and social constructs that existed back then and still exist to this day also serve to embolden him. Because a lot of his victims were people of color or black young black men. And he is a white blonde haired male and he goes in front of a judge despite being told by psychologists who had evaluated him that he was as you quoted a menace to society, although I don't think we would put it in those terms these days. But he was for sure going to go out there and reoffend. Also, the history of being pulled over and being able to talk himself out of when he was driving under the influence and driving erratically leading up to this, it just served to embolden him even more that I can get away with this, I can talk myself out of it. I'm more privileged than others.

[Vanessa Richardson]

After everything that had happened, Jeffrey's grandmother Catherine probably didn't feel comfortable with letting him back in. Jeffrey was back on his own. And even though he'd managed to escape any real attention from the police for killing five people, he wanted to keep a low profile. He settled on a low income neighborhood in downtown Milwaukee where he figured the police would be so busy pursuing other crimes that they wouldn't pay attention to him him. His building was the kind of place where everyone minded their own business and didn't pry into people's personal lives. Jeffrey could come and go as he pleased at all hours of the night without raising much suspicion. Once Jeffrey moved in, he didn't wait long to seek out another victim. On May 20, less than a week after moving in, he headed to his favorite spot, Club 219. While he was there, he started talking to 32 year old Raymond Smith, who had a reputation for engaging in sex work. He gladly accepted $50 to head back to Jeffrey's apartment. But for Raymond, $50 only went so far and he told Jeffrey he wouldn't be there very long. Obviously, Jeffrey didn't take that well. He offered to fix Raymond a drink and within an hour, Jeffrey killed him. Now that Jeffrey was back on his own, he was eager to see how far he could push his twisted fantasies. But unlike what had happened with Anthony Sears, Jeffrey wasn't interested in keeping any part of Raymond as a memento. Although the pieces Jeffrey had preserved lasted a while, he still had to get rid of them eventually, except for some of the skulls. Now he wanted to try something that would last him much longer. With many of his victims, Jeffrey invited them over under the guise of wanting to take pictures of them. In those instances, it seemed like it was little more than an excuse to get them into his home. But in this case, he wanted to create a ritual around it. When Jeffrey moved in, he'd bought a long black table that he placed in his living room. In his mind, this table would serve as an altar to the men he killed. He placed the body on the table and placed it in various poses, snapping photos on his Polaroid. Looking at the pictures was extremely arousing for him. Finally, he had the control he'd been seeking, and he didn't have to worry about it not lasting. Once Jeffrey was done taking pictures of the body, he was faced with a new problem. Getting rid of it. He was in a crowded apartment complex, and even though people gave each other a wide berth, he had to do it as subtly as possible. Basically, he bought a giant 80 gallon pot and boiled the remains in Soylex until just the bones were left. Then he put those into a barrel full of acid. The only thing he kept was the skull to add to his collection. A week later, the remains had turned into a thick black slush that Jeffrey had poured into the toilet. He'd successfully pulled off a brutal murder in a packed apartment building, and he was ready to do it again. About a month later, Jeffrey found himself at one of his regular spots, A place called the Phoenix Club. He lured a man named Eddie Smith back to his apartment, and a few hours later, Eddie was dead. It seems like Jeffrey thought this ritual with Raymond Smith went well because he did the same thing with Eddie's body. After taking pictures of it on his so called altar, he eventually placed the remains in a trash can full of acid and waited for them to break down. In addition to his first murder back in 1978, Jeffrey had now killed six other men in less than three years. It seemed like Jeffrey had fully settled into a macabre routine. But when he went out to find his next victim, something happened that he never saw coming. On the night of July 6th, Jeffrey noticed 15 year old Louise Pinette at the Phoenix bar. Jeffrey recognized him as a busboy at Club 219 and decided to say hello like he'd done with so many of his other victims. Jeffrey offered Luis money to come home with him, and he said yes. It seemed like this night was doomed to go the same way as so many others. However, as their night wound down, something happened that truly surprised Jeffrey. Luis didn't try to leave. He fell asleep in Jeffrey's arms without the use of a sleeping pill cocktail. And in that moment, Jeffrey decided not to kill him.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

This is a pretty significant experience for Jeffrey because it's the first individual that he was able to bring back to his home who didn't want to leave the moment they got there. Jeffrey just operates on this fear of real or perceived abandonment and rejection which we've talked about throughout the episodes. And this is the first time that someone did not make Jeffrey feel rejected or abandoned? I don't think it was mercy. I think Jeffrey was very curious about this and wants to see if he'd stick around even more.

[Vanessa Richardson]

Do you think that Jeffrey was even capable of mercy at this point?

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

No. I think Jeffrey is just doing what Jeffrey wants to do.

[Vanessa Richardson]

So despite letting Luis live, Jeffrey had no interest in stopping his murder spree. If anything, he only became more unhinged. And yes, that was somehow possible. He killed his next victim, Ernest Miller, in September 1990. After dismembering the body in his bathtub, Jeffrey tried eating some of the remains. And less than a week later, when he killed his next victim, David Thomas, Jeffrey added yet another element to his horrible ritual. After David was dead, Jeffrey spent two hours carefully flaying the skin from the body in one piece. After killing David Thomas, Jeffrey laid low for a while and didn't kill anyone from October 1990 to February 1991. But then, out of the blue, he decided to start again. And on February 17th, he killed Curtis Strter. Following that, he killed about one person a month. Errol Lindsey in April and Tony Hughes in May. By this point, Jeffrey had stopped being careful. He didn't really do anything to mask the smells coming from his apartment, and there were strange noises coming from it at all hours of the night. And after he killed Tony Hughes, the rest of his building finally spoke up. On multiple occasions, his building manager knocked on Jeffrey's door, asking what the horrible smell was. Every time Jeffrey made some excuse. Spoiled meat, the fish in his aquarium had died, that sort of thing. And even though there was a lot of attention on him, Jeffrey never even considered stopping. If anything, he was more determined to keep going. He was still desperate to find a way to keep his victims around forever. The preserved remains and perverse pictures weren't enough for him. And for his next victim, he devised a new plan that made everything he'd done so far pale in comparison.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

This is actually quite common with serial killers. They'll start small, where they're maybe stalking or monitoring the comings and goings, and then work their way up to their initial attack, their initial kill, their initial victim. And then from there, it'll just get increasing in what they'll do, the extent of what they'll do, and the frequency of how they do it. So this is pretty characteristic, especially since he's never been caught. He's gotten away with quite a bit so far, and he has a sense of invincibility and almost like a fable, like it's his life, it's his fantasy. We're all just living in it at.

[Vanessa Richardson]

This point, I'd be remiss. Not to mention this new thing that just happened, cannibalism. He has tried. He has eaten a piece of one of his victims. Why would he do that?

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

So with Jeffrey, as we know, he wants people to stay with him forever. He wants the connections he makes to be with him forever. And eating a part of them is a very symbolic way for him to feel as if they're becoming part of him and therefore with him forever. And the timing of this is quite interesting given that he's been a bit on law enforcement radar and just curtailed a lengthy jail sentence. So it might be amping up simply because of that potential risk of getting caught at some point.

[Vanessa Richardson]

On May 27, 1991, Jeffrey was out for lunch when he noticed 14 year old Konerak Sinthasimphone. Konerak happened to be the younger brother of one of Jeffrey's near victims, Somsack. Now Jeffrey didn't know that, but maybe Konerak reminded him of his failed attempt to kill Somsack and he saw this as a second chance. So he approached the boy and as usual, offered him money in exchange for photographs. And just like his brother, Konerak agreed. Once Konerak was passed out, Jeffrey decided to begin his gruesome experiment. He pulled out a drill and made a hole in the top of Konerak's head. Then he took a syringe of acid and injected it into Konerak's brain. Now, Jeffrey's intention here was to create a sort of zombie and basically turn Konerak into a human vegetable that he could use as a sex slave. While he waited to see if it would work, he headed out for a couple beers, maybe even. He realized how sick and demented this was and needed to step away for a minute. And whether this was some sort of moral dilemma or not, it ultimately kept Konerak alive for the moment. Somehow he survived the attack and woke up while Jeffrey was gone. At around 2am Konerak had enough brain function to stagger out of the apartment and onto the street, naked and bruised. Three women saw him staggering down the road and stopped to help him. Him. Konerak was completely incoherent at this point and because his hair obscured the hole in his head, they just thought he was on drugs. While this was going on, Jeffrey was on his way home and noticed the commotion. He told the women he would take care of Konerak and tried to drag him back to his apartment. But these helpful bystanders weren't buying it, and one of them called the police. A few minutes later, a squad car pulled up to the curb. Two officers stepped out and pulled Jeffrey away from Konerak. They sat Konerak on the hood of their car and wrapped him in a blanket. Jeffrey just stood there dumbfounded. He'd been in hot water with the law before, but never like this. For the first time, he'd been caught red handed and he had no idea how he was going to talk himself out of it. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next Monday as we discuss the investigation into Jeffrey Dahmer.

[Dr. Tristan Engels]

Mind of a Serial Killer is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at crime house on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review and follow Mind of a Serial Killer wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference.

[Vanessa Richardson]

And for ad free and early access to Mind of a Serial Killer plus exciting bonus content, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcast. Subscribe now for instant access to all four episodes of our limited series on Jeffrey Dahmer. We'll be back next Monday. Mind of a Serial Killer, a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios, is executive produced by Max Cutler. This episode of Mind of a Serial Killer was produced and directed by Ron Shapiro, written and developed by Alex Benedon, fact checked by Claire Cronin, and included production assistance from Paul Libeskin, Sarah Carroll, and Kristen Acevedo. Mind of a Serial Killer is hosted by Vanessa Richardson and Dr. Tristan Engels.