After Jeffrey Dahmer’s Arrest, German Police Reopened Unsolved Murder Cases That Happened During His Time In the Army
Netflix’s DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story hit the streaming giant in late September, but throughout the 10 true crime episodes, there was only a glimpse into his time spent in the Army. The notorious serial killer served over two years in the Army before they discharged him for excessive drinking. After the Milwaukee police finally arrested Dahmer, the police force in Germany reopened at least five unsolved murder and disappearance cases that happened during Dahmer’s time serving there. Here’s everything we know about Jeffrey Dahmer’s time serving in the Army and the reopened cases in Germany.
Why did Jeffrey Dahmer get kicked out of the Army?
Jeffrey Dahmer served in the United States Army for over two years, from January 1979 to March 1981. He trained as a medic at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Then he was deployed to Baumholder, West Germany, where he served as a combat medic in the 2nd Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment in the 8th Infantry Division. His superiors honorably discharged Dahmer from the Army in March 1981 because of excessive alcohol abuse.
In DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, viewers discover that Jeffrey Dahmer’s father, Lionel Dahmer, forced him to enlist in the Army in 1979. Then the series jumps to one year later. Viewers discover that Jeffrey became a medic but stole medication from the infirmary — Halcion. He used sleeping medication to drug his victims, similarly to those he assaulted and murdered at his Oxford apartment in Milwaukee.
German police reopened unsolved murder cases after Jeffrey Dahmer’s arrest in 1991
Four days after Jeffrey Dahmer’s arrest in July 1991, German police reopened several files of unsolved murders and disappearances that could be linked to his time serving in the Army. They wanted to re-examine five unsolved murder cases while Dahmer was stationed in Germany. (via AP News).
Four of the five murder victims were women. So, the cases did not fit Dahmer’s pattern of assaulting and killing men and young boys.
″We have no concrete information, for the time being,″ Willi Fundermann, the federal police spokesperson, told AP News at the time. ″But we are investigating.″
The German Police also investigated Dahmer’s possible involvement in a 10-year-old boy’s murder. However, the only connection they made was the time frame. The authorities never charged Dahmer with any murders in Germany.
Two soldiers reported that Jeffrey Dahmer raped them while stationed in Germany
Preston Davis and Billy Joe Capshaw both came forward since Jeffrey Dahmer’s arrest to share their stories from serving in the Army with the serial killer. As shown in DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Davis believes that Dahmer drugged him first and then raped him inside an armored vehicle while in Germany.
Capshaw shared a room with Dahmer at the age of 17. He told the Independent that the convicted murderer “tortured and raped” him for over 17 months. However, Dahmer denied sexually assaulting anyone while serving in the Army in Germany.
Law enforcement never convicted Dahmer for any crimes he allegedly committed while serving in the Army in Germany.
All 10 episodes of DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story are currently streaming on Netflix.
