‘Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes’ Premieres in October – a Backstory of the Grisly Serial Killer

Serial killer documentaries are a hot commodity on streaming platforms. Netflix has done the job of developing addicting docuseries about the worst of the worst, from Ted Bundy to South Korea’s first and most heinous killer. The platform is ready to debut the third installment of Joe Berlinger’s Conversations With a Killer docuseries. Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes dives deep into the serial killer that terrorized men and young boys.

‘Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes’ will premiere in early October on Netflix

Joe Berlinger’s docuseries has enthralled audiences since its debut in 2019 with the harrowing story of one of America’s most infamous killers, Ted Bundy. Now it is time for one of America’s other heinous murderers, Jeffrey Dahmer, to take center stage and for audiences to dive deeply into his destructive mind. According to Variety, Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes will premiere on Netflix on October 7.

Netflix describes the new season will use “never-before-heard audio interviews between Dahmer and his defense team, delving into his warped psyche while answering these open questions of police accountability through a modern-day lens.”

Part of the docuseries’ official description tells the grotesque reality of Dahmer’s sick and twisted reign of terror. “When Milwaukee police entered the apartment of 31-year-old Jeffrey Dahmer in July of 1991, they uncovered the grisly personal museum of a serial killer: a freezer full of human heads, skulls, bones, and other remains in various states of decomposition and display,” reads the description.

Berlinger directs the new Netflix installment alongside executive producers Catharine Park, Jon Doran, Jen Isaacson, Jon Kamen, Rusty Lemorande, Josh Modell, Jamie Fleischel, Matthew Helderman, and Luke Taylor. But before diving into Netflix’s Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, audiences should get to know the killer bit more.

Jeffrey Dahmer’s sadistic mind started to develop in high school

On May 21, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jeffrey Dahmer was born to a teletype machine instructor and a research chemist. His childhood was fairly normal, with some reports claiming he was dotted on or neglected as a child. But at some point, he developed the red flag often seen in serial killers. Dahmer became interested in dead animals. His interest soon continued to manifest as he learned from his father how to preserve animal bones and would collect roadkill.

According to The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer book, he discovered he was gay in high school but kept it a secret. But Dahmer soon developed sick and twisted sexual fantasies about men and dominating sexual partners. In one instance, his fantasy involved a male jogger and dissection.

In 1977, Dahmer’s parents divorced after discovering his mother had an affair. According to Crime Museum, Dahmer committed his first murder soon after graduation. He picked up a hitchhiker named Steven Mark Hicks. After striking him with a dumbbell, Dhamer dismembered and scattered the body parts in his backyard.

Sometime later, Dahmer entered college but received poor grades and was forced into the military by his father. Due to his alcoholism, Dahmer was unsuitable for the military and honorably discharged. He lived in Florida before returning to Ohio. While living with his grandmother, his grotesque sexual fantasies grew.

Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men and young boys from 1978 to 1991

Netflix’s Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes will more than likely explore the array of murders committed by Dahmer. In November 1987, Dahmer committed his second murder, which he claimed was unplanned. He met Steven Tuomi and found him dead with bruises across his chest the following day. To dispose of the body, Dahmer dismembered Tuomi but kept the skull to bleach and use as sexual gratification. Dahmer was also a supposed cannibal.

Thus began his series of violent murders, often targeting young boys, prostitutes, or gay men and luring them to his grandmother’s home. Dahmer’s M.O. was drugging his victims, killing by strangulation, dismemberment, and keeping the head to preserve the skull. His M.O. continued when he moved out.

On July 22, 1991, Dahmer lured 32-year-old Tracy Edwards to his apartment. But Edwards realized what was occurring and used Dahmer’s lack of focus to punch him and escape. He flagged down police and returned to Dahmer’s apartment. Police soon found Dahmer’s polaroids of the dead bodies and other evidence to arrest him. On July 25, 1991, he was charged with first-degree murder and later pleaded guilty but insane to 15 counts of murder. On May 1, 1992, Dahmer received 16 terms of life imprisonment. But on November 28, 1994, while in prison, Dahmer was found with severe head wounds in the gym bathroom and later pronounced dead.