At the height of his spree, how many did Jeffrey Dahmer kill?
Jeffrey Dahmer was one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history, with a body count of 17 people across 14 years. From 1978 to 1991, he committed heinous acts that shocked the nation and changed the way that law enforcement looks at serial killers. His victims were mostly young men, mostly gay or bisexual, between the ages of 16 and 37.
In this article, we will take a look at who exactly these victims were and how their lives were tragically taken by Jeffrey Dahmer.
Who was Jeffrey Dahmer?
Jeffrey Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender who committed the rape, murder, and dismemberment of seventeen men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer targeted mostly African-American men, whom he drugged, sexually assaulted, strangled, or bludgeoned to death before performing necrophilia and dismembering their bodies.
In 1992, he was convicted of fifteen of the sixteen murders he had committed in Wisconsin and sentenced to fifteen terms of life imprisonment. He was later sentenced to an additional life sentence for an earlier murder in Ohio. Dahmer died in a county jail while awaiting trial in 1994 after a fellow inmate beat him to death.
Dahmer & his victims
The first victim of Jeffrey Dahmer was Steven Hicks, a 19-year-old hitchhiker whom he murdered in 1978 after bringing him back to his home when they’d been out hitchhiking near Akron. From then onwards, Jeffery Dahmer went on to kill 16 more young men from various states including Ohio, Wisconsin & Illinois between 1979 – 1991.
Sometime later, Jeffrey moved to Milwaukee where he targeted vulnerable individuals such as those living on streets or in homeless shelters during the 1980s This is evident through reports of him targeting Richard Guerrero (known as Jimmy), who had been living rough in the area prior to being murdered in 1981. Other names include Eddie Smith, Ernest Miller, Errol Lindsey, and Jamie Doxtator; all identified via DNA testing posthumously.
By the year 1987, Dahmer had begun using date rape drugs on his victims before killing them – something which would become an infamous trademark throughout time. Notable examples are Anthony Sears & Curtis Straughter; who were killed while they were both under influence! Likewise, Richard Guerrero has also drugged up with Rohypnol prior death as well.
Also noteworthy is Larry MacDonald’s case; believed to be the first dismemberment done by Jeffrey in 1988 where the body was found with parts spread around a hotel room (unfortunately there wasn’t enough evidence for police officers to determine what happened). Moreover, there were a record number of six victims disposed of through acid baths; starting from Errol Lindsey in July 1990 until the last one Joseph Brandehoft two months later in September.
Finally, over the course of fourteen years, Jeffrey accumulated a list of seventeen names; real lives; unique stories lost too soon due dark paranoid world that created his own making. While some may feel sympathy towards him given the circumstances leading up murders, ultimately can only offer condolences to those whose lives were taken away without warning or remorse!
