Jeffrey Dahmer victims: the true story of serial killer’s victims, as Evan Peters series Monster hits Netflix

Evan Peters has an eerie resemblance to Jeffrey Dahmer in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Netflix’s new true-crime series about the serial killer.

The 10-part series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan follows the story of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims, while exploring the police’s role and the impact his crimes had on society at the time.

*This article contains descriptions of Dahmer’s killings which may be disturbing*

Who was Jeffrey Dahmer?

Jeffrey Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender who murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991.

Many of his later murders included necrophilia, cannibalism and the preservation of body parts — usually the entire or a portion of the skeleton.

Dahmer was judged legally sane at his trial despite being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, and a psychotic disorder.

In 1992, he was sentenced to 15 terms of life imprisonment for 15 of the 16 murders he committed in Wisconsin. He was later sentenced to a 16th life sentence for another murder committed in Ohio in 1978.

Dahmer was beaten to death in November 1994 by Christopher Scarver, a fellow inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin.

Who were Dahmer’s victims?

Dahmer, who was also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, was active as a killer between 1978 and 1991. The serial killer murdered 17 male victims - many involved dismemberment.

Steven Hicks, a hitchhiker he met and brought over to his parents' Ohio home for beers in June 1978 was his first victim. He used a dumbbell to knock the 18-year-old unconscious, strangled him, dissected his body, and buried the bones in a shallow grave in the garden.

Steven Tuomi was his second victim, murdered in November 1987 in a rented room at the Ambassador Hotel in Milwalkee. Dahmer claimed he had no intention of killing the 25-year-old, but when he awoke, found him dead on his bed.

In January 1988, Dahmer met 14-year-old James Doxtator outside a gay bar in Wisconsin. The killer enticed Doxtator to his grandmother's house in West Allis, where he strangled him and stored his body in the basement before dismembering and disposing of his body with the rubbish. No remains were ever discovered.

Dahmer drugged and strangled Richard Guerrero in his West Allis bedroom in March of the same year. He kept Guerrero’s skull for several months after dismembering and discarding the 22-year-old's body.

A year later, Dahmer poisoned and strangled Anthony Sears at his grandmother's house. When Dahmer was caught in 1991, Sears’ skull and genitals were discovered in a filing cabinet at his home.

Dahmer murdered four men in the course of six months while living in his Milwaukee apartment in 1990.

In May of that year, he strangled Raymond Smith in his flat after drugging him with sleeping pills - he later spray painted the 32-year-skull old's and again kept it in a filing cabinet.

A month later, he poisoned and strangled a former acquaintance, Edward Smith; he inadvertently destroyed all of the remains and was thus unable to keep any body parts.

In September 1990, Dahmer met Ernest Miller outside a bookstore, drugged him, and then knifed him in the neck inside his home. Three weeks later he strangled and dismembered David Thomas at his apartment - there were no remains discovered.

Dahmer began the most prolific stage of his killing rampage in 1991, killing eight men before his capture.

Curtis Straughter, 17, was enticed to his apartment in February, where Dahmer drugged and strangled him; the killer was able to keep his victim’s head, hands and genitals.

In April, Errol Lindsey was murdered after Dahmer drilled a hole in his head, and the following month, the killer murdered Tony Hughes and Konerak Sinthasomphone, the latter just 14-years-old.

The teenager had managed to flee Dahmer’s apartment flat and call the police, but the killer convinced authorities they were lovers.

In June 1991, Dahmer met Matt Turner at the Chicago Pride Parade and took him back to his apartment, where he drugged and strangled him.

The next month, he murdered Jeremiah Weinberger by drilling into his skull, and took the life of Oliver Lacy by drugging and strangling him.

Finally Dahmer murdered father-of-three Joseph Bradehoft.

What is the Netflix series about?

The Netflix series stars Evan Peters, who is known for his roles in American Horror Story and Mare of Easttown.

The 35-year-old was announced to play Dahmer back in March 2021, speaking to Variety about his new role, he said; “I’ve read so much, I’ve watched so much.

“I’ve seen so much, and at a certain point, you’ve got to say, ‘All right, that’s enough. There are beautifully written scripts. You can have all the backstory you want, but at the end of the day we’re not making a documentary.”

Other cast members include Niecy Nash, Penelope Ann Miller, Richard Jenkins, Shaun J Brown, and Colin Ford, and the show has been directed by Carl Franklin and Janet Mock.

When can I watch it?

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to stream on Netflix now.