Research Paper

Running head: JEFFREY DAHMER AND CRIMINALITY 1

JEFFREY DAHMER AND CRIMINALITY 21

Jeffrey Dahmer and Criminality

Student’ name

Institutional Affiliation

Jeffrey Dahmer and the Theories to explain is Criminality

Abstract

A society that stresses conformity, individualism, and hedonism may create confusion and frustration in its members and, at times, plunge them into a moral crisis. Such a type of society reduces reason to mere calculation. "Reason can [then] impose no limits on the pursuit of pleasure, [or] on the immediate gratification of every desire, no matter how perverse, insane, criminal, or merely immoral." The above social panorama quickly brings about behaviors on some individuals that are socially perturbing and unacceptable. Indeed, without minimizing personality factors, one could opine that such a social climate breeds psychopathic behaviors and, at times, severe criminal acting out. Holmes and DeBurger, writing on serial murder, expressed their view that the social and cultural context in which the killer and victims live may be a cofactor in serial murder genesis. They stated that "socialization is unfortunately saturated with norms, values, beliefs and behavioral models that carry the firm potential for normalizing violence in interpersonal relationships." They referred to the excessive violence in mass media entertainment in the United States, the anonymity and dehumanization of urban society, and Americans' excellent mobility as possible facilitators of criminal acting out. Undoubtedly, all of the above factors play a significant role in unleashing the antisocial homicidal fury of a psychopathic serial killer. Therefore, the paper will select a serial murderer case and give a bio about the individuals involved. It will also support the individuals to move into crime and explain several criminality theories citing their behavior.

Keywords

Loneliness, nemesis, narcissistic tendencies, psychopathy, serial killer, malignant narcissism, lust killer

Introduction

Antisocial behavior should be viewed as a continuum of increasing degrees of psychopathy. Such actions range from the simple antisocial personality disorder to the psychopathic personality disorder, with its severe antisocial conduct (Tithecott, 1997). The socially destructive hostility of a psychopath is often an unconscious means to overcome feelings of worthlessness. It gives persons who have filled with anger a spurious sense of pseudo-omnipotence that allows them to control and dispose of their innocent and unsuspecting fellow humans (Anderson, 2014). Such psychopathic behaviors are strictly connected to the widespread phenomenon of serial killing. In its worst manifestations, psychopathic behavior becomes malignant, similar to malignant narcissism.

Psychopathy is a social construct that describes a combination of personality traits and socially deviant behaviors. Attention to this phenomenon has been given during the past centuries by numerous scholars, from Lombroso to Cleckley to Kernberg and Hare. The psychopath has been illustrated by them all as a selfish, impulsive, aggressive, loveless, remorseless, heartless, two-dimensional individual; a person can use emotions to his advantage. However, a distinction between the ordinary psychopath, who acts antisocially, are frequently impulsive, and whose crimes are characterized by an affective reaction, consciously related to pursuing materialistic gains (Quinney, 2017). Moreover, the malignant type of psychopath (a predatory, violent individual whose goal is the gratification of vengeful or sexual sadistic fantasies).

With the malignant type of psychopath, the antisocial behavior is repetitively similar. Such a psychopath is akin to the malignant narcissistic individual described by Kernberg (4). He displays a combination of narcissism, egosyntonic antisocial aggression, sadism, and paranoid features. He voices distrust and feelings of rejection and of not being accepted. Morally restless, he Narcissism, Sadism, and Loneliness: Jeffrey Dahmer disregards society's values. Halleck accurately described the psychopath as a too egocentric individual who wants to suit the world to his needs (Quinney, 2017). Those traits are an integral part of a serial killer's personality. Generally, the serial killer is a lonely person, cold, distant, callous, and ruthless in his violence. He entices his victims with a charming but deceitful and manipulative approach. His purpose is to achieve complete control over them.

Contrary to the ordinary psychopath, the malignant psychopath/serial killer can control his impulsivity. Although able to control his impulses, he uses his sadistic fantasies to construct a murderous scenario, typical of a predator. He can organize, program, and direct his destructive impulses, unleashing them at the most opportune moment for achieving what he wants. The malignant psychopath/serial killer has difficulty forming lasting bonds with others, exhibiting a deficit in object relations. Psychoanalysts theorize that this is a consequence of his misperception of his mother's behavior during the infantile period. That could well explain this killer's lack of empathy, his ambivalence, and noncaring attitude toward others. Also, he tends to misinterpret social cues. However, Blair and colleagues looking at psychopaths concerning the Theory of Mind, or mentalizing, which tests an individual's capacity to appreciate others' mental states (thoughts, desires, hopes, feelings), found that psychopaths do not have a deficit in mentalizing regarding the case. But appear to lack the emotional apparatus to feel empathy or guilt. This is typical of the malignant psychopath/serial killer who disregards them even though aware of his victims' feelings (Quinney, 2017). Indeed, through the reification of the victims, he can carry out the sadistic torture and killing.

Jeffrey Dahmer (bio): The Man and the Killer

Typical of the organized, nonsocial lust murderer, Jeffrey Dahmer made local, national, and international news at the time of his apprehension in 1991 following the discovery of his crimes. Dahmer, a white man, was 31 years old when examined by the author to ascertain his mental status and criminal responsibility at the time of his killings. He was tall, well developed, and well-nourished (Hagan et al., 2018). He had a light complexion, his hair was brownish-blond, and his face was unshaven. His posture was erect and his ambulation normal; on observation, there was no evidence of neurological deficits, unusual facial mimicry, tics, or mannerisms. He sat up straight in his chair; a bit tense only during the first part of the many hours of interviews, and his attitude was one of cooperativeness and friendliness. Calm and free from any apparent emotional lability, his speech was clear and understandable. His answers and statements were coherent, relevant, and logical. He spoke lacking any circumstantiality, and his thinking did not display any incompetence or delusional as well as hallucinatory impressions. He generally provided direct and full answers to questions posed to him, and he appeared to have a high level of intelligence. He showed reflective capacity and unimpaired and rational thinking. He assumed complete responsibility for all of the murders with which he was charged. He was emotionally tranquil and at ease as he recounted the many memories pertinent to his offenses. He gave the impression of being happy to unburden the conscience of his horrendous crimes finally.

Dahmer recounted several changes of residence for family reasons as he was growing up. He described himself as surrounded by arguing parents at home and "arrogant jerks" in school. He claimed that he was prone to violent fits of anger and occasional rage during adolescence and said that his deceitful behavior at home was frequently reprimanded (Palermo, 2008). He became angry when he was found to be lying but eventually would admit his wrongdoing. He denied sibling rivalry with his younger brother, David. He said that his father's strict demands and his mother's unpredictable and argumentative behavior, toward both his father and himself, angered him; and he spoke of their frequent arguing during a long pre-divorce period. However, he also recalled that he and his father often used to massage each other's backs, almost as a routine; he voiced no sexual feelings about it (Palermo, 2008). When he was not sulking, he would often express his resentment by destructive activity in his backyard.

Dahmer was interested in taxonomy and collected insects for various projects. He claimed that when he was 15 or 16 years old and attending biology dissection classes at school, he developed an interest in dissecting animals, using formaldehyde to preserve them. They were mostly dogs and foxes but also smaller animals that he found dead on the road. He intended to keep the bones and make a statue out of them, he said, but he never actually did so. He remembered taking home from school the head of a pig and keeping the skull. He graduated from high school at age 18 with a C grade average.

During his early adolescence, Dahmer was involved in homosexual experimentation on a few occasions and streaked (running naked). At age 13, he began to drink alcohol, alone and with friends. However, most of his heavy drinking and marijuana smoking (three or four joints daily) started at age 17. He experienced some drunkenness and hangovers, and several times he passed out. He said that he did not think highly of himself during childhood and adolescence. That was probably the beginning of the low self-esteem that he later claimed. He described himself as a loner who frequently became upset with classmates and others who teased him, but said that he never got into fights. He was unable to express his anger openly for fear of retaliation. That inability may have been an expression of his deep feelings of inadequacy as well as aggression. He stated that he had never enjoyed sports, always thinking that the other guys were better than he. He was envious of them and stated that at times felt so angry that he had thoughts of killing them. He said that he masturbated daily while looking at pictures of good-looking men in magazines—trim with right muscle tone, youngish, not older than 30. He stated that he admired their physical appearance, and when he imagined himself in bed with them, it was always as male practicing sodomy (Bergstrom, 2020). He enjoyed sodomizing people but hated the thought of being sodomized himself. He stated that he had no racial preferences in his fantasies. He had never had any heterosexual experiences.

While he was growing up, Dahmer was disturbed about his increased weight due to his continuous use of marijuana. He attended college in Florida, but while there, he felt directionless and without clear ideas. At college, his drinking increased, and he felt isolated and lonely. He was shy and somewhat uncomfortable when having to start new relationships. He felt attracted to men and helpless and frustrated in his desire to change his sexual orientation and his social timidity; he was withdrawn and sad. After a semester at college, at his father's suggestion, he joined the army; and he seemed 94 Palermo to be proud of having gone through basic training. He became a medic, and after two weeks, he was transferred overseas to Germany. He had been taught cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and basic first-aid, including setting bones and stopping bleeding. While overseas, he drank heavily—a six- or twelve-pack of beer a night—and at times, other alcoholic drinks. At camp, he was involved in a few fights and yelling matches, for which he was punished. His sexual activity, he claimed, was limited to looking at pornographic magazines and masturbating himself. He disclaimed any romantic or nonromantic homosexual relations at that time, stating that he was afraid of engaging in any such relations while in the army. In reply to specific questioning, he stated that while stationed in Germany, he never killed anybody. (Interpol had questioned him about several unsolved murders that had taken place at the time of his military service there.)

Honorably discharged from military service, Dahmer returned to the United States. After a brief period in Ohio with his father, at his father's suggestion, he moved to Milwaukee to live with his paternal grandmother, hoping that his heavy drinking might diminish by living with her (Bergstrom, 2020). At first, he limited his drinking mostly to weekends, but eventually, he began to drink more. He went to local taverns and often got drunk, returning home at 2 to 3 a.m. or occasionally staying out all night. On three occasions, he was arrested for drunkenness and jailed overnight. He was fired from his job at the city's blood plasma bank after one year because of poor performance. He had been ambivalent about the job, and, ironically, he stated that he did not like to stick people with needles (Bergstrom, 2020). He did temporary, odd jobs until he was hired by a local chocolate manufacturing company where he worked for seven years.

Dahmer claimed that he resided at his grandmother's when he began to go to church with her, attempting to stop drinking, stop his homosexual behavior, and turn his life around. He claimed that he did not drink for two years until one day, while in a public library quietly reading a book, one of the library patrons handed him a note inviting him to have sex with him downstairs in the library bathroom. Even though he had dismissed the offer, he claimed that the episode changed his life for the worse.

While still living at his grandmother's house, again drinking heavily, Dahmer began going to porno bookstores, gay bars, and Chicago bathhouses. He started his homosexual behavior at the bathhouses again and, wanting to be in control of the relationship, began to give his occasional sexual partners drinks containing dissolved sleeping pills. He sodomized his partners and left the locale when they were still asleep for fear of being sodomized himself, to Narcissism, Sadism, and Loneliness: Jeffrey Dahmer 95, which he had previously agreed. The bathhouse patrons reported his behavior to the management, and he was denied further admittance.

In 1989, he moved to his apartment in the inner city because he stated he wanted a place close to work and had low rent. He stated that he did not want his drinking behavior to upset his grandmother any longer and, at the same time, wanted to be free of her supervision. Even more central to this move was the fact that by that time, he had been turned out of the bathhouses and had no place to go to engage in homosexual relations. Shortly after his move, he was charged with and convicted of second-degree sexual assault for enticing a child for immoral purposes and was placed on probation for five years. During that period, he had to report to the state correctional service.

When specifically questioned about the offenses with which he was currently charged, Dahmer explained calmly and spontaneously that his 15 homicide charges did not include his killing a white male victim after a rendezvous in a hotel in Milwaukee and his taking the victim's body from the hotel in a large piece of luggage to dispose of him. Nor did it include that of a young man his age that he had killed after a brief encounter when he was 18, and whose dismembered body he had buried in the backyard of his family's home in Bath, Ohio. Asked whether he remembered how far back his mixture of homosexual and homicidal fantasies and behavior went, he said that when he had been about 15 years old. And out for a walk a few miles from his home, he saw a good-looking young man slightly older than he, and he began to fantasize about hitting him on the back of the head with a baseball bat and then having sex with him. He admitted to frequent sadistic sexual fantasies after that, in which he eventually killed his victim.

While discussing each murder, Dahmer was coherent, relevant, and logical. In a calm, controlled, perfunctory way, he went into specific details about his victims' enticement and sexual seductions, love-making, use of drugged drinks, how he killed them by strangling or stabbing, and the trophy collection of some of their skulls (Krebs, 2016). He also recounted his photographing the dead persons or parts of the dead bodies. He explained what he did with the dead bodies, dismembering them, disemboweling them, cutting them to pieces, and then boiling the flesh in a large boiler he had purchased for that purpose to get rid of the stench of the many accumulated cadavers. He added that in some cases, he attempted to preserve some body parts. He also defleshed six of his victim's skulls. It was evident that his murderous actions were performed in a calm, calculated, prearranged plan on every occasion (Krebs, 2016). He described how he obtained all the necessary items for his heinous crimes and how he felt compelled to secure his apartment with a high-quality security system.

Theories

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) summarized the personality traits of the serial killer as “a sense of social isolation, preference for autoerotic activities and fetishes, rebelliousness, aggression, chronic lyinglack of trust and commitment to a world of rules and regulations and a personal affective life dependent on fantasies." Fantasies play a large role in the criminal conduct of narcissistic, lust serial killers, who often spend a great deal of time imagining how they will go about their criminal actions. Morally restless and often nonsocial, disregarding society's values and norms, they create fantasies that become the primary source of emotional arousal.

Typical of serial killers are sadism, narcissism, and loneliness. During the 18th century, the erotic and passionate writings of the libertine Marquis de Sade shocked the world with their descriptions of cruel, sadistic violence and unbound perverted lust. De Sade believed that instincts are the motivating force in life and that pleasure is the most important goal for which one should aim. His books about evil and acts of sexual violence were written while he was in jail for poisoning and sodomy, and his life ended in a 88 Palermo lunatic asylum. Years later, in 1869, Richard von Krafft-Ebing coined the term sadism; the term acquired the meaning of a sexual perversion. The pervert forced upon the subject of his sexual attraction physical or moral suffering, deriving sexual pleasure from his actions (Ingebretsen, 1998). The infliction of pain seems to be part of the complete mastery of another person. As one killer stated, the most radical aim of a sadistic act is to make the person suffer because there is no greater power over another person than inflicting pain. Nevertheless, it has been hypothesized that rather than to express cruelty in and of itself, the object of sadism is to procure strong emotions.

Brittain’s seminal work in 1970 laid the foundation for a possible typology of a sexual sadist. His description is that which fits some present-day sadistic murderers. He described the sadist as a secretive male individual who is generally nonviolent in everyday life (Ingebretsen, 1998). Still, he is obsessive, insecure, and selfish, often suffering from hypochondriasis, a loner with a rich fantasy life. He believed that the sexual sadist creates sadistic scenes in his fantasies that he later acts out in his killings. This type of killer is single and may hate his mother; his perversion starts early in life, and he exhibits an interest in pornography and is excited by cruelty. Brittain’s description of the sexual sadistic murderer is remindful of Jeffrey Dahmer. A typical charming psychopath behaved well even on apprehension but hid behind his calm and socialized appearance destructive sexual fantasies.

Fantasy

Many of the fantasies found in the serial killer, as stated above, are sadistic sexual fantasies. Sexual fantasies, at times violent in type, are also present in juvenile offenders and, when frequent, may degenerate into sadistic sexual fantasies. In such cases, they are sometimes the forerunners of homicidal acting out (Ingebretsen, 1998). According to MacCulloch et al., the sadistic sexual fantasies have their origins at the time of traumatic episodes, such as sexual or physical abuse during early childhood (12). It has been theorized that the sadist may suffer from an arrest of psychosexual development, possibly at the anal stage (the anal-sadistic stage), or from a neurotic regression to that level. Fantasies of rape or murder were found in 86% of adults' cases in one study of serial sexual homicide conducted by Robert Prentky and colleagues. Similarly, Janet Warren and colleagues found evidence of violent fantasies in 80% of their cases.

MacCulloch et al. emphasized the vital role of sadistic fantasies, mostly repetitive masturbatory fantasies, in these killers. That of daydreaming and compulsive masturbation was reported by Prentky and colleagues and by others (15,16). Although Sigmund Freud first viewed sadistic Narcissism, Sadism, and Loneliness: Jeffrey Dahmer 89 drives as primary instincts camouflaged by the drive to dominate, he later believed that sadism is the extreme outward manifestation of the death instinct (17). The gratuitous cruelty of sadism is possible because of insufficient control by the primary mechanism of defense. It can be theorized that the sadistic, power- and control-driven serial killer's behavior reflects a curious child's conduct during the demolition of his toys.

Malignant Narcissism

Various theories of behavior can be considered when trying to understand the serial killer’s malignant narcissism. Kohut( 18) hypothesized that a child's narcissistic trauma during the process of individuation does not enable him to tame the archaic, exquisite, and exhibitionistic self, which is necessary for healthy development. Therefore, because of this inability to develop correctly, the child—future adult—carries within himself not only a disappointing parental image but an image of his archaic grandiose self. This could explain the serial killer's deeply rooted violent hostility and his feelings of omnipotence.

Mahler (19), instead, posited that if hampered in his efforts while individuation and while attempting to distance himself from his mother, the child may become frustrated and develop a neurosis. He becomes exceptionally ambivalent toward his mother, whom he sees as a castrating person; a mounting rage takes root because of his difficulty in achieving a reasonable separation from her. He develops feelings of hostility, frustrated dependence, and a tendency to explosive behavior. These are all particular psychological characteristics of serial killers.

Klein (20) theorized that during infancy, the child perceived his mother's breast in an ambivalent way, not only as a source of nourishment but as a frustrating object. This ambivalence may be translated into paranoid anxieties and fears, which lead to ambivalent relationships during adult life if not corrected. A tendency to paranoia is present as a feature of the personality disorder of the serial killer.

Narcissistic tendencies, part of the grandiose self-described by Kohut, are often present in the serial killer. Initially described by Freud, narcissism was later subdivided by Kohut into primary and secondary narcissism. Primary narcissism is seen as the investment of libidinal energy in the achievement of object love, empathy, and possible creativity; secondary narcissism is the withdrawing of the original psychic libidinal energy from objects back to the ego. The latter mechanism seems to be present in the psychodynamics of serial killers. They are indeed not only pathologically narcissistic but unrealistically grandiose, and their exaggerated self-importance is fragile and sensitive to shame.

Walsh expressed his belief that when aggression is defined sadistically, it increases self-esteem and grandiosity confirmation. Serial killers assume a detached stance that eventually erupts into destructive fury. Almost without exception, they choose vulnerable victims who are easy to dominate. The apparent indifference, not hatred toward the victim, allows the killer to depersonalize him or her. The experience of killing seems to increase the killer's willingness to kill again, even more brutally. In so doing, he asserts his pseudo-superiority, which covers up for his basic feelings of inadequacy.

Loneliness

Serial killers generally are lonely persons. Loneliness appears as a feeling and a state of separation from others. Preconscious awareness of others' immediacy and accessibility and a memory of past togetherness are prerequisites for loneliness. Infrequently loneliness involves some kind of choice and willful separation (22).

Loneliness is an ancient nemesis. It can involve excruciating physical and mental suffering and is implicated in numerous somatic, psychosomatic, and psychiatric diseases (23). It is a mundane yet arcane human affliction that is often hazardous to health and hostile to happiness. There are distinctive types of loneliness, such as emotional (Eros loneliness), social (friendship loneliness), cultural, ethical, ontological, existential, communicative, epistemological, and metaphysical (24). Thus, extreme loneliness may lead to internal hardening, social and moral numbing, indifference, and anger.

Philosophically speaking, loneliness has been described as the defining feature of human awareness and human existence's fundamental question (25). Jaspers viewed it as a possible springboard to self-realization and as a presupposition of communication (26). However, not every lonely human being can make the step from loneliness to contact. Longlasting loneliness may lead to a painful belief in one's inability to be a part of humankind and severely distort reality. One result of social isolation is an associated lack of the possibility to utilize the constructive psychosocial, emotional, and moral feedback of others.

In a retrospective study of a Dutch population of violent, forensic psychiatric patients (n = 634), Martens (27,28) found that a systematic distortion of reality, as well as too much contact with the harsh dimensions of reality (when these negative experiences concerning validity differ fundamentally from the real experiences of other people), may result in pathological loneliness, social isolation, and devastating feelings of being cast out and thrown away. However, severe social isolation and correlated loneliness may also result from a lack of social support, neglect and emotional/physical abuse, mental Narcissism, Sadism, and Loneliness: Jeffrey Dahmer 91 disorders and associated cognitive impairments, and social-emotional and moral incapacities (29).

A study by Seidman et al. found that sex offender was both lonelier and more deficient in intimacy than other offenders and community controls (30). Intimacy seemed to be the essential deficit among the sex offenders they studied. In another study indicating a link between loneliness and sexual offending, child sexual offenders reported significantly more emotional loneliness than nonsexual offenders (31).

Lonely, people are bound to focus on their inner conflicts. Because of their tendency to withdrawing from others, their ability to express love and warmth in a normal relationship is greatly diminished. Deviant sexual and nonsexual fantasies take the place of regular socialization, and at times they become destructive and fuel antisocial acting out. Many psychopathic killers verbalize feelings of loneliness and low self-esteem and feelings of shame for not being able to live up to family and societal expectations.

The Lust Killer

The description and dynamics of the lust killer or sexual sadistic killer are the same as those of the larger serial killers group. In a study of serial killers by Stone, 71 of 77 male subjects met SPD criteria (sadistic personality disorder) (32). The FBI classification subdivides the serial lust killer into the disorganized asocial murderer and the organized nonsocial murderer.

The disorganized asocial murderer frequently has a severe mental disorder, is usually of below-average intelligence, is socially inadequate, is an unskilled worker, is sexually incompetent, has a low birth order status, and was harshly disciplined as a child by a father who was an unstable provider. He claims to be somewhat anxious during the perpetration of his crimes, uses small amounts of alcohol, and reacts strongly to minimal environmental stress. He usually lives alone and lives and works near the crime scene. He has little interest in the news media, and his behavior is often erratic.

The organized nonsocial, lust murderer, on the other hand, is of average to above-average intelligence, is socially competent, is often a skilled worker, is sexually capable, and usually displays a personality disorder (Hagan et al., 2018). He has a high birth order status. His father held a stable job, and his childhood discipline was inconsistent. He is usually well controlled during the offense, even though he uses moderate amounts of alcohol before or during the crime. A mixed form of organized/disorganized serial killer also may be encountered.

Biblical view

A possible explanation for Dahmer’s abhorrent conduct is that he was driven by compulsive hostile aggressivity. His violence was so profound that he killed, cut, dismembered, and dissected in an obsessive, sadistic way, the body that attracted and repelled him at the same time—a body that he wanted to torture and destroy because he felt that by doing so he would be able to get rid of his inner, torturing homosexual drives and unwanted attraction to men—a body he really did not love, contrary to what he wanted to believe or wanted others to believe. The possible anthropophagy of his young victims may have been the expression of his desire to incorporate and make his own their attractive qualities, or perhaps it simply demonstrated a superstitious, atavistic tribal belief. His actions may have, in some way, saved him from committing suicide. Even his sadism was the exercising of power and violence upon another for the assertion and preservation of self. He joined a long list of sexual murderers. He shared with them not only a deeply violent, destructive hostility but also boredom, loneliness, sadism, and narcissism.

Conclusion and Reflections

Repressed hostility, frustrated acceptance, and intense fear of rejection by his peers were freely voiced by Dahmer when questioned explicitly about them. He claimed to suffer from intense loneliness and his remarks that he did not want to lose his victims but wanted to keep some mementos testifying. He said that at times he lay next to the corpses of his victims, kissing them. He attributed the motivation for his actions to lust. He described his maneuvering to keep some of the victims in a zombie-like state and how he intended to make fetishes out of some of their body parts. Parts of the victims' bodies, isolated bones, or entire skeletons and skulls found in his apartment testify to their symbolic fetishism for him. Sexual sadism seemed to be based on his desire to keep his victims sedated while sexually abusing them and drilling holes into their skulls. The latter was done to inject muriatic acid into their brains to dissolve the brain substance and obtain, as he wished, a perfect nonsectioned skull. He claimed that occasional anthropophagy climaxed some of the brutal scenes.

During the various examinations, Dahmer clearly stated that he always wanted to control his life and at the time of his homicides. Asked about his fantasies' central theme, he replied that they were more about lust than power and said that he believed that he had made them the most powerful thing in his life. He admitted to getting a thrill from the killing. He drank moderate amounts of an alcoholic beverage while carrying out his criminal acts but said that he was always aware of what he was doing. He demonstrated only lip-service remorse for what he had done.

Sexual immaturity, perverse sexuality, frustration, passivity, loneliness, fear of nonacceptance by a hostile world, and a mixture of emotional detachment and aggressive, hostile behavior are encountered in the psychopathology of serial killer's personality Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer's ambivalence about his own confused sexuality and his feelings of anticipated rejection by others brought about compulsive, sadistic sexual behavior, destructive of the object of his pseudo-sexual attention.

Dahmer was a loner as a child, growing up in a dysfunctional family. Frequent quarrels between his mother and father lead to his hostile feelings toward them. A neurotic, depressed mother and a frequently absent father who was absorbed in his career did not allow Jeffrey Dahmer a complete masculine identification. Since adolescence, he had medicated his anger and frustration with alcohol. He was greatly ambivalent about his homosexual tendency, felt frequently frustrated by it, and eventually channeled his hostility into sadistic behavior against people who accepted his homosexual advances. Attraction Narcissism, Sadism, and Loneliness: Jeffrey Dahmer 97 and rejection exploded in his first murder at age 18 while he was alone in his parents’ home in Ohio. After strangling, in a fit of rage, his first young victim by exercising pressure on his throat from behind with a weight-lifting bar (someone he had met casually who was not himself a homosexual), he destroyed the body by cutting it into pieces that he buried in his backyard.

Later, in Milwaukee, Dahmer actuated a methodical program of enticing to his home 15 young victims, mostly in their twenties, who were attracted by his promises of money for posing for photographs and an unspoken exchange of sexuality. He had sex with them, sodomizing them, frequently after having handcuffed them and offering them intoxicating drinks containing soporific substances. Afterward, while they were still under the effect of the soporific substance, he killed them and he later dismembered their bodies (Lax, 2018). The survivor of his last encounter stated that Dahmer had been charming, calm, and completely normal in his behavior when he invited him to his apartment. He described him as the opposite of the person who dismembered his victims’ bodies, boiled the body parts to destroy the flesh and to keep the bones and skulls as fetishes, and/or photographed symbolic body parts and whole naked bodies in sexually suggestive positions, a typical signature for him, since, he later said, he wanted to keep them as mementos—to keep him company.

In the author’s view, Dahmer’s destructive behavior and his symbolic fetishes were the expression of his deep ambivalence about his own homosexual behavior and a love–hate relationship with his victims. He was clearly sadistic in his cruelty to his victims. His sexual involvement with his victims was paraphilic in nature. Even though his behavior was not due to psychosis, he showed ananchastic features; and it was of a programmed, meticulous, distorted sexual type (Lax, 2018). With his tendency to act on weekends, he showed calculated planning with risk avoidance. Because most of his victims were black, he told the author; the media interpretation that his behavior was racially oriented concerned and frightened him. He was afraid of possible retaliation by the Black prison community. In that, he seemed to have foreseen the future because he was eventually killed in prison by a Black inmate.

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