'Jeffrey Dahmer: Mind of a Monster': Notorious serial killer's morbid sense of humor got him killed in prison
Jeffrey Dahmer made headlines in July 1991, when he was arrested by the police on gruesome charges of murder, necrophilia, dismembering humans and cannibalism. He had killed 17 young victims, ranging from the age of 14 to 33 between 1978 to 1991 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He had stayed under the radar until his last would-be victim caught onto his eccentricity and managed to flee from Dahmer's home, just as he was about to be killed. Once outside, he flagged down two cops and led them to Dahmer, where they discovered human body parts scattered all around his house, and heads stored in his refrigerator.
Investigation Discovery's 'ID Presents: Nine at 9', a nine-night event which focuses on true-crime that have made it to the front page, kicked off its season premiere with 'Jeffrey Dahmer: Mind of a Monster'. It shed new light on the serial killer and his "disturbed psyche" through his perspective from his original chilling police interview transcripts.
In November 1994, Jeffrey was found in a pool of his own blood, in a toilet area next to the Columbia Correctional Institution gym, where he had been incarcerated and was serving 16 life sentences. Michael Sullivan, the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections at the time said the 35-year-old serial killer had died of massive head injuries, suffered sometime between 7:50 am and 8:10 am and was officially pronounced dead a little after 9 am. Dahmer was murdered by Christopher J Scarver, a fellow inmate who was serving a life sentence for murder at the prison.
Placed in isolation
Dahmer was sequestered at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin in February 1992, following the global attention that the nature of his crimes had garnered him. The police had thought it better to isolate him from the general population, as there were also concerns for his physical safety should any other inmates try to attack him. While in solitary confinement, Dahmer had to be shackled when not imprisoned in his cell.
A year later and with his consent, he was transferred to a less secure unit for prisoners with emotional problems. He was assigned daily work, where he would clean the toilet block for two hours, each day and was even allowed to attend classes and eat communal meals.
Morbid sense of humor
Dahmer was known for his dark sense of humor, where he would use the nature of his crimes to make jokes and taunt other prisoners. He even once put up a sign advertising a meeting for 'Cannibals Anonymous', and would tell prisoners and guards that were on duty, "I bite", inciting nervous reactions out of them. He would also mold prison food into body parts to resemble severed limbs, and use ketchup as fake blood, which would quite often disturb his fellow prisoners and Scarver in particular was abhorred enough to end up killing him.
In 2015, New York Post reported that Scarver said he'd killed Dahmer for his creepy sense of humor. "He crossed the line with some people -- prisoners, prison staff," the newspaper quoted him as saying. "Some people who are in prison are repentant -- but he was not one of them."
First attempt at being killed
In July 1994, when Dahmer returned to his cell after a weekly church service (he had become a born-again Christian in prison), a fellow inmate attempted to slash his throat with a razor disguised in a toothbrush. However, the attack wasn't fatal and Dahmer was left with only superficial wounds.
Death
Dahmer was on cleaning duty in the prison gym's bathrooms on the morning of November 28, 1994 with two fellow inmates, Jesse Anderson and Scarver. The three had been left to their devices for only 20 minutes when the guards found the bludgeoned bodies of Dahmer and Anderson - both beaten to death by Scarver. Dahmer had been pronounced dead an hour later while Anderson had been severely wounded. However, he too succumbed to his wounds and died, later.
New York Post reported that Scarver said he hit Dahmer twice in the head with a metal bar from the gym's weight room, and then killed Anderson who had been working in a different room. Just before he's killed Dahmer, Scarver said he had confronted the serial killer and cannibal about his crimes in reference to a clipping that Scarver had kept on him that detailed Dahmer's murders. "I asked him if he did those things 'cause I was fiercely disgusted. He was shocked. Yes, he was," the New York Post quoted him.
Scarver was sentenced to two life terms, following the murders of Dahmer and Anderson.