Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the first of two sons of teletype machine instructor Joyce Annette (née Flint; February 7, 1936–November 27, 2000) and Lionel Herbert Dahmer (born on July 29, 1936), a chemistry student at Marquette University who later became a research chemist.
Both Joyce and Lionel Dahmers had ancestors who were of Irish and German descent. According to some stories, Dahmer’s early years were marked by neglect. Although his mother was infamous for being tense, attention-seeking, and confrontational with her husband and their neighbors, other reports indicate that Dahmer was generally coddled as an infant and toddler by both parents.
Three weeks following his graduation from college in 1978, Dahmer committed his first murder. Steven Mark Hicks, who was almost 19 years old, was a hitchhiker Dahmer picked up on June 18. Under the guise of drinking, Dahmer enticed the young person to his home. Hicks, who had been hitchhiking to a rock festival in Ohio’s Chippewa Lake Park, agreed to go to Dahmer’s house with him in exchange for “a couple of beers” since Dahmer would have the place to himself.
Dahmer claimed that when he saw Hicks standing by the side of the road with his chest exposed, it made him feel attracted to him sexually. However, when Hicks started talking about girls, he realized that any advances would be rejected. Hicks “wanted to leave and I didn’t want him to leave” after spending a number of hours conversing, drinking, and enjoying music. Hicks was struck by Dahmer with a 10-pound (4.5 kg) dumbbell. Later, he said that while Hicks was seated in a chair, he attacked him twice from behind with a dumbbell. When Hicks became unconscious, Dahmer strangled him to death with the dumbbell’s bar, then stripped Hicks naked before exploring his chest with his hands and masturbating as he stood above the corpse. Dahmer dragged the body to the basement hours later.
Was any of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims a girl?
Tatiana Banks is the 19-year-old daughter of Errol Lindsey, who was murdered by Jeffrey Dahmer.
