Intro:
Why did Jeffrey Dahmer’s inmate kill him? The dust had settled in one of the most gut-wrenching cases in America. That was the moment the infamous Milwaukee cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences in February of 1992.
He was locked up in the Columbia Correctional Institute. The victims and their families could at least take some form of respite knowing that he’d suffer for long or so they thought just over two years into his sentence. On the morning of the 28th, of November 1998, Dahmer and two other inmates walked into the toilet block for cleaning duties. Dharma and one of the other inmates never walked out. What had just happened here and who was the third inmate? Who walked out undetected by the gods.
To have been convicted of 15 counts of first-degree murder and receive a sentence of over 900 years in prison can only imagine the things Jeffrey Dahmer must have done. If there’s one thing we can be sure of sometimes. When the law is involved, the consequence is usually commensurate with the crime, and you’ll find that in Jeffrey’s case as well.
Jeffrey Dahmer Victim:
Dahmer committed his first murder when he was 18. He had been driving when 19-year-old Steven Hicks who was heading to a rock concert at Chippewa Lake Park, Ohio decided to hitchhike with him. Jeffrey brought up the idea of Stephen going with him to his house to have a few drinks as they drove. After drinking Stephen told Jeffrey that he wanted to leave.
Jeffrey didn’t want him to. It turned out that Jeffrey was hoping he would act on his feelings for Stephen seeing as he couldn’t stop Stephen from leaving. Jeffrey used a 10-pound dumbbell to strike Stephen twice on the back of the head. As soon as Steven passed out Jeffrey used the bar of the dumbbell to strangle him.
The next day Jeffrey dismembered Steven’s corpse and buried the parts of his body in his backyard. Because he didn’t want to leave the evidence behind he dug up Steven’s body. Weeks after peeling the flesh off the bones and dissolving it in acid he then flushed the output down the toilet. Before crushing the bones with a sledgehammer and spreading them around his backyard like mulch.
After Jeffrey killed Stephen he went on to kill his next four victims. 25-year-old Stephen Tuomi, 14-year-old James Doxtator, 22-year-old Richard Guerrero and 24-year-old Anthony Sears. This was between 1987 and 1988. In the years of 1989-1991 Jeffrey met and murdered his remaining 12 victims and his last victim was 25-year-old Joseph Bredehoff.
To get rid of the dead bodies in his apartment Jeffrey bought a large tank filled with acid and threw the torsos of his victims into it. He also cooked the dismembered body parts and constantly ate them.
How Tracy Edwards Escaped Dahmer
A few years into Jeffrey’s crime spree a man named Tracy Edwards came dangerously close to becoming one of his many victims. Say for the fact that he followed his instincts. Tracy and Jeffrey met in July of 1991 and as usual, Jeffrey convinced Tracy to follow him to his apartment. Tracy said that when he got there he sensed that something was off.
He was fortunate enough to get out of the apartment and run for dear life. While running down the street, he stopped a police car and told the police officer how he felt something wasn’t right about Jeffrey. This incident mocked the beginning of the end for the 31-year-old killer. The police officer Tracy spoke to called for backup and together with other cops who responded to his call.
How Was Jeffrey Dahmer Caught?
He raided Jeffrey’s apartment to their sheer horror. The authorities found several pictures of dismembered body parts. All over the apartment about four or five decapitated heads in Jeffrey’s freezer and dismembered body parts in both pots and pans. They also found in the large tank the torsos Geoffrey had dissolved using acid.
Jeffrey was immediately arrested and taken into police custody. His Day of Reckoning had come but things would only get worse for him from then on. After six weeks of being in police custody, Dahmer finally confessed to his crimes via pages of writing. During his trial, he pled Guilty because of insanity but he was deemed legally sane at his trial.
At the end of his largely publicized trial on February 17, 1992, Jeffrey Dahmer was convicted of 15 murders and was sentenced to 15 terms of life imprisonment. A presiding judge ruled that Jeffrey would live out his days in the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage Wisconsin.
Life behind bar
The nature of Jeffrey’s crimes placed him in people’s bad books. As a result, he was placed in protective custody and held in isolation in the same vein. He was never let out of his cell except when he was bound. After a year of being held in the isolation cell, Jeffrey appealed to prison officials to move him to a different unit stating that he had been cooperative and never caused any trouble. His appeal Was Heard and he was moved to a unit for inmates with emotional and mental challenges.
In this unit, Jeffrey was able to relate with other inmates. He started attending classes and even signed up for work duties. Lionel Dahmer met a prison Minister Roy Ratcliffe whom he reportedly often shared remorseful remarks about The Murders he had committed around this time. Jeffrey also started going to Chapel in May of 1994 Jeffrey sought to be baptized and he was baptized by Ratcliffe in a water tub in prison. After his baptism, he began to share with other inmates.
Dahmer behavior with inmates
The correspondences he’d been getting concerning his Newfound Faith according to several reports, it was during this time that Jeffrey began to display certain behaviors that other inmates didn’t appreciate. He often made jokes about cannibalism saying that he was going to bite them. Dahmer also had a knack for molding his food to look like dismembered body parts. As if that wasn’t bad enough he would proceed to cover the food with ketchup to complete the look.
While some Reports say, he ate the food afterward. Others say, Jeffrey left these rather disturbing pieces of food art lying around for the other inmates to find. Whatever the case, the inmates didn’t like this sick game. The armor was playing but there was a particular inmate who took his dislike to the extreme and this inmate was none other than Christopher Scarver.
Christopher Scarver Story
Scarver was born in Milwaukee Wisconsin just like Jeffrey. After he dropped out of high school and got kicked out of the house by his mother. He joined a youth conservation Court program. Where he secured a position as a trainee Carpenter. During the program, a supervisor reportedly told Scarver that he was sure to become a full-time employee. As soon as he completed the program however that did not happen. So on June 1st, 1990, angry Scarver made his way to the office of the training program.
Declaring that the program owed him money. One of the people he happened to meet that day was his former boss Stephen Lowman. When he asked Stephen for his money Scarver said that Stephen gave him $15. This reportedly provoked the father to the point that he shot Stephen in the head. After Scarver fired the first shot at Stephen, he went out of control and ended up shooting the wounded man three more times.
Still armed with a murder weapon Scarver demanded that the manager write him a check for three thousand dollars. He then proceeded to steal the manager’s credit card before heading to his pregnant girlfriend’s apartment. The police found Scarver outside his girlfriend’s Apartment hours later and since the murder weapon was still in his possession. The authorities had arrested Scarver. His girlfriend had already given birth. Scarver was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes in 1992 the same as Jeffrey.
Why does Scarver hate Dahmer?
But according to Scarver despite the few similarities that they shared he stayed away from Jeffrey. Scarver didn’t like Jeffrey for the gruesomeness of his crimes. He also didn’t like how he was usually causing trouble. While speaking on the issues, Scarver pointed out that many of the other inmates shared his sentiment. He even recalled how a fellow inmate Osvaldo Dorothy had attempted to cut Jeffrey’s throat with the razor he hid inside a toothbrush.
Despite his obvious dislike for the serial killer Scarver pretty much didn’t mind Jeffrey and did his best to stay away from him up until 1994. November 28, 1994, Scarver, Jeffrey, and another inmate Jesse Anderson had been assigned to clean the bathrooms in the prison’s gym. Scarver said that while they were cleaning someone poked him in the back and when he turned to look, he found both Jeffrey and Jesse laughing under their breath.
Why did Christopher Scarver kill Jeffrey Dahmer?
Although this greatly angered Scarver. He didn’t do anything and decided to wait until Jeffrey went to the locker room. Moments later, Scarver removed a metal bar from a piece of exercise equipment in the prison weight room and followed Jeffrey into the locker room. In the locker room, Scarver bludgeoned 34-year-old Jeffrey Dahmer to the brink of death. He then went after Jesse and did the same to him. Jeffrey died as he was being rushed to the hospital. While Jesse died two days later.
When Scarver was asked why he did? What did he do? He claimed that he was the chosen one and that he had to do it. Scarver also claimed that the correctional officers knew that he didn’t like Jeffrey and that they intentionally had them work together. So that he could kill Dahmer. Of course, there is no proof to back up these outrageous claims. Regardless of whether or not the correctional officers intentionally set the pair up the deed was done and Jeffrey Dahmer had died after serving three years of what was supposed to be a life sentence.
Following the brutal murders, Scarver was catapulted into the spotlight. He received a lot of commendations and backlash from the general public. While some people said he was still a criminal a greater number applauded him for getting rid of Jeffrey Dahmer. Whom they had always thought deserved to die. Some accounts even state that Scarver received thank-you notes from the families of some of Jeffrey’s victims.
The aftermath
While the court of public opinion did its thing the truth remained that Scarver had committed cold-blooded murder and needed to be punished for his crimes. The case was brought before a court of law and in addition to the life sentence. Scarver was already serving. He was given two more life sentences. Scarver is still alive today. He’s currently in a medium-security prison in Wisconsin. Where he self-publishes poetry. He has been spending his free time writing songs, music compositions, short stories, poetry, and prison policy proposals as well as creating original art.
According to his Amazon buyer currently, Scarver has multiple poetry books for sale including 2015’s The Child Left Behind. He managed to remain in contact with his son. Scarver also wishes to attend college to study mechanical and electrical engineering through the American Prison Repatriation Act initiative. Needless to say, Scarver is dedicated to making the most out of life despite being confined to a prison cell.
