Jeffrey Dahmer's Birthday - 5 things you don't know
Hi!
Here is your weekly dose of “Everything Strange,” literally a list of everything strange happening around us. So let’s start with
Today's Strange History (May 20, 2020)
Non-stop Flight: Exactly 93 years ago, today in 1927 at 7:40 AM, Charles Lindbergh took off from New York to cross the Atlantic for Paris, aboard Spirit of St Louis; which will be recorded as the 1st non-stop flight in history.
1st Woman: In 1932, Amelia Earhart left Newfoundland on her journey to become the 1st woman to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic.
Assassination Attempt: Today in 1944, a group of officers from the German Army made an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler by exploding a bomb in his headquarters during a staffing meeting.
Spy: In 1985, FBI arrested John A Walker Jr, convicted of spying for USSR for financial gain. He was a United States Navy chief warrant officer & communications specialist who was sentenced to life in prison.
Fastest Rapper: Exactly 28 years ago, today in 1992 rapper Twista rapped 597 syllables in under 60 seconds, then making him the fastest rapper in the world according to Guinness World Records.
Oldest tools: In 2015, Journal Nature published findings of the oldest human-made tools from Kenya’s Turkana basin which was 3.3 million years old - 1st found to pre-date the Homo genus.
Strange Case of the day: 5 Strange Things You Didn't Know about Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who committed the murder and dismemberment of 17 men and boys. Many of his later murders involved necrophilia, cannibalism, and the permanent preservation of body parts—typically all or part of the skeleton. So why I am talking about his today?
Exactly 60 years ago, tomorrow i.e. on May 21, 1960 Jeffrey Dahmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So, a day before this monster’s birthday lets look at 5 strange things you may not know about this infamous serial killer:
5. Fascination began in childhood
Dahmer's fascination with sex and death began in his childhood days. His father recalled how his son’s fantasies connected with dead and sex began with roadkill during his childhood. He revealed, “(Jeffrey) cut them open to examine the insides of the animals. He did what most all of us young males do when the hormones kick in tremendously, and he was doing something sexually with them. And I think the neuronal connections, you know, made contact and sort of hard-wired Jeff.”
4. Drank alcohol in school
Jeffrey Dahmer began abusing alcohol as an adolescent. Classmates recalled him smuggling beer, wine, and all manner of hard liquor into class and even stashing bottles in his locker. He achieved average grades, which his teachers attributed to slacking off rather than lack of intelligence. Drinking had a very negative impact on his overall performance as a student and compounded his isolation.
3. Zombie Experiment
According to Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Frederick Fosdal who was hired by prosecutors to examine him - Dahmer carried out lobotomies on some of his victim’s corpses by drilling holes in their head and pouring fluid in the skulls. He injected his victims with Muriatic acid while they were still alive, to see if he was able to keep them under his control. He even confessed to having sex with some of the corpses and also to preserving one man’s heart to eat.
2. Gruesome Photo Collection
After murdering his victims, Dahmer would often take photos of the body in various stages of dismemberment. He would also pose the body in deeply disturbing positions, explaining, “It was my way of remembering their appearance, their physical beauty. If I couldn’t keep them there with me whole, I atleast could keep their skeletons.”
1. Beaten To Death
On the morning of November 28, 1994, Dahmer was assigned to work with 2 other prisoners at Colombia Correctional Institution - Jesse Anderson and Christopher Scarver. The trio was left unsupervised in the showers of the prison gym for approximately 20 minutes. Scarver, who stood 6ft 3” began questioning Dahmer about his crimes against African-Americans as the majority of his victims were actually African-American. Finally, the dispute resulted in Scarver bludgeoning Dahmer to death with a steel bar from a piece of gym equipment. He also attacked the second man - Jesse. Dahmer died from his wounds on the way to the hospital and Anderson died 2 days later.
According to him, Dahmer did not yell or make any noise as he was attacked.
Bonus: He enjoyed Exorcist films
Tracy Edwards, Dahmer's would-be 18th victim who escaped and led police back to Dahmer’s apartment, noted that The Exorcist III was playing as Dahmer tried to subdue and attack him. According to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz's testimony, Dahmer often watched The Exorcist III as well as Star Wars: Return of the Jedi before cruising for victims. Sometimes, as in the case of Edwards, he'd even watch these films with his victims prior to attacking them.
So will end today by giving my best wishes and all the strength to his victim’s families. This is in no way an attempt to glorify his birth date but actually to make people remember about how evil he actually was. And as always, please give me feedback. What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Let me know! Just email me at StrangeButTrue@substack.com
Thanks for reading! Everything I write here is completely for free, just out of my love for researching history, crime, criminals & the paranormal. It would mean a lot to me if you could share this with 1 of your friends; an Instagram or Whatsapp share works too. Bye, talk to you on Saturday.