Psychology - Serial Killers

b) Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994) was an American rapist and serial killer; who during 1978 and 1991 raped, killed and dismembered 17 boys and young men. In his later murders, there was evidence of cannibalism, necrophilia and permanent preservation of body parts. He was found sane at his trial, and was sentenced with 15 terms of lifetime imprisonment at Columbia Correctional Institution. On 28th November, 1994, Dahmer was beaten to death by an inmate. [1] c) Jeffrey’s mother, Joyce, had troubles during her pregnancy with Jeffrey, resulting in her having to take various drugs. This could have had a biological effect on Jeffrey’s brain during foetal development, resulting in perhaps a deficit in cognitive functions. It is stated that Jeffrey had troubles with social interactions as a child growing up, and struggled to form relationships, so perhaps his reason for killing his victims was due to a lack of being able to form a bond with them, even after they had sexual intercourse. When he was younger, his father said he was “oddly thrilled” by the sound of bones as he found them underneath the family house.[ http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/dahmer/14.html/index.html
] They may have simply been a “play” thing to him, like the animal bones. His father, Lionel, was scarcely around when Jeffrey was growing up due to work commitments, and the mother battled with depression and other psychological problems. d) Dahmer’s lack of being able to form relationships with people throughout his life had a social influence on him. This could have been determined by the lack of attention he had growing up, however he had free will, as no one made him commit the murders. The fact that as a child he was “thrilled” by animal bones found under the house meant that from a psychodynamic perspective, he associated the death of the animal with something he found to be exciting. Therefore, he found the thought of something dead