Jeffrey Dahmer Had Seventeen Male Victims — Here's What You Should Know About Them (2024)

Warning: highly graphic content ahead that may be disturbing for some readers

Jeffrey Dahmer is one of the most horrifying serial killers of all time. Known for taking the lives of seventeen men (but likely more who have never been found), he was known for luring his victims back to his apartment, where he would drug, strangle and sexually assault them.

Over time, his fantasies grew even darker and more disturbing, prompting him to commit heinous acts upon his victims corpses in an attempt to preserve the bodies or keep them in a permanently induced, zombie-like state.

Netflix’s new series, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, hopes to shine a light on Dahmer’s victims and their families, who were tragically forgotten in the hysteria of the crimes he committed. While many of their voices were silenced during his spree, including a nearby resident Glenda Cleveland who was instrumental in his takedown, we cannot understate the tragedy he inflicted on his victims’ families.

Dahmer’s entire case shone a light on the institutionalised racism and hom*ophobia which ran rampant through the American criminal justice system and police force at the time of his crimes. These biases allowed him to continue killing for far longer than he ever should have been able, increasing his death toll and ruining countless lives in the process.

Victim impact statements given by the families during Dahmer’s trial were nothing short of heartbreaking, highlighting the devastation cause by one man that will continue to haunt them for generations.

Below, the seventeen innocent men whose lives Dahmer took.

steven hicks, 18

June 1978

Dahmer picked up his first victim, Steven Hicks as a hitchhiker, three weeks after his high school graduation. Dahmer promised Hicks a ride to a concert, but first, took him back to his family home where he had been living alone. He was 18 at the time.

Dahmer claims to have drunk beer with Hicks while talking and listening to music, but when Hicks tried to leave, Dahmer became enraged and struck him in the back of the head with a barbell before strangling him.

According to The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer, he masturbat*d over his corpse, dissected his body in the basem*nt and buried his remains in a shallow grave in the backyard. Several weeks later, he unearthed the remains and dissolved the flesh in acid, crushed the bones with a sledgehammer and scattered them in the woodland behind his family home.

Steven Tuomi, 24

1987

Nine years later, Dahmer claimed the life of his second victim, Steven Tuomi. At the time, Dahmer was living with his grandmother, so he picked Tuomi up at a bar and took him back to the Ambassador Hotel in Milwaukee.

According to Dahmer, his intention wasn’t to kill Tuomi, he just wanted to drug him and explore his body. Per, Jeffrey Dahmer – Serial Killer and Cannibal – Lust, Booze & Murder, he awoke in the morning to find Tuomi’s chest “crushed in”, with blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. He claims to have no memory of killing him.

Dahmer transported Tuomi’s body back to his grandmother’s house in a suitcase, where he dismembered him and pulverised his bones. He kept Tuomi’s severed head for two weeks, before reducing it to a skeleton and disposing of it, per The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer.

James Doxtator, 14

1987

After killing Tuomi, Dahmer switched up his tactics and began actively pursuing his victims. He lured 14-year-old Doxtator to his grandmother’s basem*nt promising him $50 in exchange for posing for photos.

He drugged and strangled him to death, leaving the body for a week before dismembering him.

Richard Guerrero, 22

1988

Dahmer lured Richard Guerrero to his grandmother’s basem*nt, offering him $50 if he promised to spend the rest of the night with him. He drugged him with sleeping pills before strangling him and dismembering his body.

Anthony Sears, 24

1989

Just two months after being convicted of second-degree sexual assault against a 13-year-old boy, Dahmer was able to strike given that he was not forced to serve any prison time.

Aspiring model Anthony Sears met Dahmer at a gay bar, where he again lured him back to his grandmother’s basem*nt before drugging and strangling him. He preserved his head and genitalia because he claimed to have found Sears “exceptionally attractive,” per Jeffrey Dahmer – Serial Killer and Cannibal – More Murders, More Arrests.

Raymond Smith, 32

1990

Raymond Smith was a male prostitute, and the first person Dahmer murdered in his Oxford apartment. Dahmer lured him there with the offer of $50 in exchange for sex, before lacing his drink with sleeping pills and strangling him.

For the first time, he took polaroid photos of his victim in various suggestive poses before dismembering him. He kept Smith’s skull alongside Sears’ inside a metal filing cabinet which acted as a shrine, per Milwaukee Massacre – Jeffrey Dahmer and the Milwaukee Murders.

Edward Smith, 27

1990

Dahmer lured Edward Smith back to his apartment where he drugged and strangled him, but due to missteps was unable to retain any parts of his body, meaning Smith’s remains were never found.

Ernest Miller, 22

1990

After encountering Ernest Miller outside a bookstore, Dahmer lured the dance student back to his apartment. This time, he only had two sleeping pills available, so he murdered Miller by slashing his carotid artery which caused him to bleed out within minutes. He kept parts of his body which he allegedly intended to eat later.

David Courtney Thomas, 22

1990

Dahmer met David Courtney Thomas near the Grand Avenue mall, where he lured him back to his apartment with the promise of money in exchange for posing nude. He laced his drink with sedatives, but reportedly felt no attraction to him, so intentionally didn’t retain any of his body parts. Thomas’ remains were never found.

Curtis Straughter, 17

1991

Dahmer approached Curtis Straughter as he waited at a bus stop near Marquette University, enticing him back with the offer of money in exchange for posing for photographs. Here, he drugged and strangled him, before dismembering his body and taking photographs of each of his steps.

Errol Lindsey, 19

1991

Dahmer encountered Errol Lindsey on the street, convincing him to come to his home. Here, he drugged him, but this time was different as Lindsey was the first person whom Dahmer conducted experiments on.

Dahmer drilled a hole in Lindsey’s skull and poured acid into it, in an attempt to induce a zombie-like state. By some miracle, Lindsey woke up, but Dahmer drugged him once again and strangled him, later dismembering and disposing of his body.

Anthony Hughes, 31

1991

Dahmer met Anthony Hughes at a gay bar, convincing him to come to his house to pose for photographs as Hughes was an aspiring model. Hughes was also deaf, communicating with Dahmer through written notes, per The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer.

Dahmer strangled Hughes and left his body on the floor for three days before dismembering him and photographing the process.

Konerak Sinthasomphone, 14

1991

Dahmer lured Konerak Sinthasomphone back to his apartment while Hughes’ body was still on the floor. Here, he drilled a hole into his skull, but after leaving the apartment, Sinthasomphone awoke and escaped, crying out for help.

Glenda Cleveland, who lived in the building opposite Dahmer and was already suspicious of him, saw Sinthasomphone and called the police immediately. While trying to get information from the boy, Dahmer returned and managed to convince police that the boy was actually 19-years-old and his lover. He claimed Sinthasomphone was an alcoholic to explain his dazed state, with police actually allowing Dahmer to take the teenager back inside, where he killed him within seconds. He dismembered his body but kept his head in the freezer.

It was Konerak’s younger brother whom Dahmer had previously sexually assaulted in 1989.

Matthew Turner, 20

1991

After encountering Matthew Turner at a bus stop after the the Chicago Pride Parade, Dahmer lured him back to his apartment to pose for a photoshoot. Here, he was drugged, strangled, and dismembered, with Dahmer placing his torso in a 57-gallon drum filled with acid.

Jeremiah Weinberger, 23

Dahmer met Jeremiah Weinberger at a gay bar in Chicago, where he convinced him to come and spend the weekend with him in Milwaukee. Once there, Dahmer drilled a hole in Weinberger’s skull and poured boiling water in, before also placing his torso in the drum.

Oliver Lacy, 24

1991

Oliver Lacy was a bodybuilding enthusiast whom Dahmer lured to his apartment with the promise of money for photos. He was drugged and strangled, with his head being placed in the fridge and his skull in the shrine.

Joseph Bradehoft, 25

1991

Dahmer’s last victim, Joseph Bradehoft, was a father of three from Minnesota who was looking for work in Milwaukee. He was left on the killer’s bed for two days before being decapitated, with his head placed in the fridge and his torso in the drum.

Hayu’s series Dahmer on Dahmer: A Serial Killer Speaks also digs deeper into the life of Jeffery Dahmer and the heinous crimes he’s committed. Stream it now on Hayu, live & on demand with a 7 day free trial.