“I’m on 25th and State, and there is this young man. He’s buck naked. He has been beaten up … He is really hurt … He needs some help.”
-Nicole Childress
Jeffrey Dahmer’s youngest victim Konerak Sinthasomphone
Fourteen-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone is the 13th victim of Jeffrey Dahmer. He is also the youngest Victim of Jeffrey Dahmer. What makes this case different from this notorious killer’s 16 other victims is the heartbreaking circumstances around it.
Dahmer captured Konerak, who managed to escape. However, the failure of law enforcement to protect one of their citizens meant Dahmer was allowed to take him back to his house of horrors and early death.
The Sinthasomphone Family’s Journey
By 1991, the Sinthasomphone family had been living in Milwaukee for over a decade after fleeing repression in their home country of Laos. The father, Southone, had been threatened with losing his rice farm. So, he took his family and fled to Thailand in 1979, where they spent a year living in a refugee camp.
The family moved to America in 1980, joining relatives in an area already flourishing with Laotian immigrants. The family adjusted to American life quickly, with the children becoming fluent in English and those old enough to take jobs to earn their way.
What happened to Konerak Sinthasomphone’s brother?
But in 1988, this family’s American dream was about to become a nightmare as Jeffrey Dahmer began a campaign of terror against them that would span three years but last a lifetime. When Konerak’s brother Somsack was only 13, still an innocent child, Dahmer approached him with an offer to earn some extra cash.
Dahmer wanted to take Samsak home and take photographs of him for money. The job, however, came with a sickening twist: he had to pose naked. While he was there, he was abused in the most sickening ways and given narcotics to make him easier to control so Dahmer could have his way with him. Luckily, Konerak escaped and reported it to the police. Dahmer was arrested for his twisted crime and sentenced to second-degree sexual assault and luring a minor for immoral purposes.
This is where the Konerak family’s story with Jeffrey Dahmer should have ended. Their son had survived a brutal ordeal, and the man responsible was locked away. But the first of many crazy decisions or failures by the authorities meant this was only just the beginning.
Inside The Tragic Death Of Konerak Sinthasomphone
Dahmer was released a year into his sentence and given five years probation. Many more families were about to go through heartbreak. After his release, over the next five years, he would claim 12 victims and picked up on his murderous spree.
Before long, one family would have to face the terror of one of the world’s sickest men all over again. A terror they had no idea was coming. Police claimed they informed the Sinthasomphone family of his early release, but the family says differently.
Three years later, Konerak, who did not know Jeffrey Dahmer or what a psycho he was, found himself in the same position as his brother. Dahmer asked him to come to his home where he would pay him to take photos, again posing naked. What Konerak didn’t know was that Dahmer’s last victim, Tony Hughes, was inside the bedroom, and his body was beginning to give off a smell.
He never had the chance to discover this sickening secret as Dahmer gave him narcotics and tortured him before holding him down and performing one of the most despicable acts one person can do to another. He drilled directly into Konerak’s skull and injected hydrochloric acid into the hole.
The Failed Rescue of Konerak
On the night of May 27, 1991, he was found on the street by several women. One of them, Nicole Childress, made the call to 911. During this time, Dahmer returned home and wanted his victim back. But just in time, the police arrived, and it looked like Konerak was saved. Three officers and paramedics arrived on the scene quickly.
Supposedly, the witness told the police the young man seemed to be the victim of assault and was bleeding from his private area. No matter how hard he tried, Konerak could not speak properly as the acid in his brain had already caused damage, leaving the officers to either take the word of these three witnesses or a man who would turn out to be a cold-blooded killer. But get this, even though he had called Konerak several different names before managing to gain control of him.
Why did police return Konerak Sinthasomphone to Jeffrey Dahmer?
Police still took the word of Jeffrey Dahmer over these three very concerned witnesses. He claimed the young man was 19 years old, staying with him, and was just simply drunk. Incredibly, the officials on the scene could dismiss the concerns. The pair were escorted by the police to Dahmer’s home where, again, these officers had the chance to stop a serial killer but somehow failed to act in the face of some strange circumstances.
Inside his home, Dahmer showed the officers photos of Konerak. Dahmer had taken the day before as proof that they knew each other. While they were there, they could not escape the unusual smell in the apartment—a smell they should recognize as death. Several victims were still somewhere in Dahmer’s apartment. And the officer who went to check out the smell should have been the one to discover his gruesome secret. Dahmer himself has said that the officer looked into his bedroom, where the smell seemed to be coming from, but did not investigate further.
The Aftermath Of Konerak Sinthasomphone Murder
This time, the acid injected into Konerak’s brain was enough to kill him. A sad, heartbreaking end to an innocent life that should have been saved more than once. As if to add insult to injury, his body was dismembered, stripping this boy of all dignity. A few months later, Dahmer was eventually caught after his final victim successfully escaped and alerted police.
Police found remains of several men inside the apartment, including Konerak’s skull. For his crimes, Dahmer would spend the rest of his life in prison. That should at least give the families of his victims some closure. But the Sinthasomphone family will never forget their encounters with one of America’s most deranged men who took one of their sons away and left another scarred for life.
Estate of Sinthasomphone v Milwaukee
Why didn’t the police act on what those witnesses and their own eyes saw that night? These are questions Konerak’s family was prepared to ask. They were ready to make the police department answer for their failures in court.
The family filed a lawsuit claiming the department had shown discrimination against certain areas of the community. In this case, anyone who is of an ethnic minority or LGBT citizen. They claimed the police didn’t listen to the witnesses at the time because of their ethnic background, and this was not an isolated incident.
Shockingly, the officers who attended were accused of making homophobic comments and jokes about the pair. Which should tell us why they showed little concern and left Konerak at the apartment with Dahmer. The Sinthasomphone family settled with the city for almost a million dollars, and the officers were fired. Although they were reinstated in a controversial decision. This family has suffered more heartbreak than most could ever endure. And will never be the same again after their encounters with one of the world’s most evil men, Jeffrey Dahmer.
