00;00;00;00 - 00;00;09;29 Unknown That's. 00;00;09;29 - 00;00;31;19 Unknown And higher and higher and. 00;00;31;21 - 00;00;58;14 Unknown If you dig the twisted, admired the outlandish, and are enamored by the unusual, you're in the right place. True crime, the supernatural, the unexplained. Now you're speaking our language. If you agree. Join us as we dive into the darker side. You know, because it's more fun over here. Welcome to Total Conundrum. 00;00;58;17 - 00;01;32;16 Unknown Or someone's first move born for quarter the scope. This discussion is advanced. Welcome back. Conundrum. Q you're tuning in to another episode of Total Conundrum where we dive into the darkest mysteries, most twisted true crime stories, and sprinkle in just enough humor to keep you from sleeping with the lights on. I'm Tracy and I'm Jeremy, and today we're going deep into the disturbing stomach churning case of Jeffrey Dahmer. 00;01;32;18 - 00;01;55;29 Unknown You probably think you already know the story, but trust us, we're covering it all. From his troubled childhood and weird obsession with roadkill to the brutal crimes that earned him the nickname the Milwaukee Cannibal. And let's not forget about the mass of law enforcement fails that let him slip through the cracks way too many times. This dude was literally handed back a victim by the police. 00;01;56;02 - 00;02;17;06 Unknown No joke. We'll get into that later. Yeah. If there's one thing that'll make your blood boil more than Dahmer's crimes, it's about how many chances that they had to stop him. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's start at the beginning. Because, like every nightmare, it started somewhere normal. And in this case, that place was small town. 00;02;17;06 - 00;02;43;12 Unknown Wisconsin. Before we dive into the real life horror of Jeffrey Dahmer. Remember to hit that like and subscribe button on YouTube. Leave us a review on Apple and Spotify. And don't forget to ring that notification bell on YouTube so you're always in the loop with our latest episodes. Your support keeps us going. If you have any story, ideas or recommendations, contact us at Turtle conundrum.com, or you can find us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. 00;02;43;19 - 00;03;09;20 Unknown And because we love keeping you both horrified and entertained. Stick around till the end. We've got some trailers from our podcast pals at Murder and Mimosas podcast, and the Suspended Sentence podcast. Make sure to show them some love and give them a listen. But now let's uncover the disturbing case of Jeffrey Dahmer. We'll be back after these messages. 00;03;09;22 - 00;03;39;09 Unknown Welcome to murder and Mimosas. I'm Shannon, and I'm Danica. Together, as a mother and daughter duo, we host Murder Mimosas true crime podcast with an episode released every Saturday at 10 a.m. you can listen to it during prime brunch time. While we don't require a mimosa, we do highly recommend one. All of our episodes are cases that we found really interesting, or just really stuck with us because we hope to do the same for you. 00;03;39;11 - 00;04;11;00 Unknown You can listen to us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. And back to the show. The man whose gruesome crimes turned his Milwaukee apartment into a house of horrors and shocked the world. Grab your drinks, preferably not an old Milwaukee beer, and settle in. This is going to be a wild ride. When you think of serial killers, you probably imagine someone who is doomed from birth, raised in chaos, destined for darkness. 00;04;11;03 - 00;04;38;25 Unknown But Jeffrey Dahmer, he was born into what seemed like an average middle class family, at least on the surface. Yep. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was born on May 21st, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, first born to Lionel and Joyce Dahmer, a young couple who, let's just say, did not have the picture perfect marriage. Not even close. Lionel was a hard working chemist, but he was gone a lot longer. 00;04;38;25 - 00;05;08;00 Unknown Was that work? Business trips. The whole deal. And Joyce. She was struggling bad. Severe depression, anxiety and dependency on prescription meds. She was often bedridden, emotionally distant, or picking a fight with Lionel. And when she fought, she fought. We're talking about screaming matches, things getting thrown, accusations flying. So while baby Jeffrey was growing up, his home life was, well, a total disaster. 00;05;08;06 - 00;05;33;09 Unknown Now kids react differently to unstable homes. Some lash out, others withdraw. And little Jeffrey, he became quiet, detached, almost like he was just there. But even though he didn't act out in obvious ways, there were still red flags. One big one. He had multiple childhood illnesses and surgery. When he was just six years old, he had a double hernia operation. 00;05;33;12 - 00;06;00;11 Unknown And that's when people say he really started changing. Yeah. After that surgery, he became even more withdrawn. He wasn't an affectionate kid. He didn't like being touched, just distant. And then there was his fascination with death. By the time he was around ten, Jeffrey had a very specific hobby collecting dead animals. And he wasn't just collecting them. He was experimenting on them. 00;06;00;14 - 00;06;27;08 Unknown He'd take roadkill home, dissect it, strip the meat off the bones, and preserve the skeletons. And get this. His dad, Lionel, instead of thinking, maybe my son playing with corpses is a red flag. Actually, he showed them how to bleach and preserve bones. You know, like a fun father and son chemistry project. Yeah, not the father son bonding moment you really want in, Jeffrey? 00;06;27;08 - 00;06;53;28 Unknown He was obsessed with the process. He even had a favorite sound. The plop of bones dropping into a bucket. Well, there goes my ability to ever look at a bucket the same way again. Same. But this wasn't just some weird kid phase. Jeffrey was developing a serious fixation on death. And no one not his parents, not his teachers, had any clue of what was brewing inside of him in school. 00;06;54;00 - 00;07;16;09 Unknown Jeffrey was complicated. He wasn't a total outcast, but he wasn't exactly Mr. Popular either. He was one of those kids that kind of faded into the background until he wanted attention. And when he did want attention, or he got it, Jeffrey became a class clown. But not in the funny way. More like the weird and kind of disturbing way. 00;07;16;11 - 00;07;43;20 Unknown Yeah. His signature move? Faking epileptic seizures in the middle of class. Flailing around, moaning, pretending to be in distress. His classmates actually called it doing a Dahmer. And somehow nobody thought that was concerning. Just. Oh, that's Jeff doing his thing. But what was concerning his drinking? By the time he was 14, Dahmer was showing up to school wasted. 00;07;43;26 - 00;08;11;02 Unknown He carried a flask in his backpack, went straight up drinking class. And when somebody finally asked, hey, Jeff, why are you drinking in the middle of biology class? He just shrugged and said, it's my medicine. Yeah, giant red flag. But nobody did anything. Teachers, clueless parents too, caught up in their own issues. And meanwhile, Jeffrey's just slipping deeper into isolation. 00;08;11;06 - 00;08;33;26 Unknown But at the time, Jeffrey was in his teens. The Dahmer family packed up and moved to bath, Ohio, a quiet middle class suburb that looked normal enough and if you ever lived in a small town, you know the vibe. Peaceful. Uneventful. The kind of place where nothing bad ever happens except, you know this. And here's where things get weirder. 00;08;33;26 - 00;08;59;14 Unknown Because bath, Ohio, is where Dahmer had his first real encounter with death. Yep. One day, Lionel finds a dead raccoon in the crawlspace under their house. He's disgusted. Ready to toss it out. But, Jeffrey, he's fascinated. He wants to keep it. Study it and see what's inside. If that's not a neon sign, screaming future serial killer, I don't know what is. 00;08;59;15 - 00;09;27;22 Unknown By 1978, the Dahmer household was falling apart. Lionel and Joyce's marriage. Beyond saving the fighting worse than ever. And then Joyce takes Jeffrey junior brother David, and moves to Wisconsin, leaving Jeffrey completely alone in the family home. Lionel, meanwhile, was staying at a motel finalizing the divorce. Just like that, Jeffrey is completely alone in the house. No parents, no supervision. 00;09;27;24 - 00;09;51;14 Unknown Just an 18 year old alcoholic, death obsessed teenager left to his own devices. And that's when it happens. Just weeks after his high school graduation, June 18th, 1978, the night Jeffrey Dahmer kills for the first time. And if you think that murder was planned, it actually wasn't. At least not in the way we usually think of serial killers. 00;09;51;16 - 00;10;14;21 Unknown This was pure impulse. Yeah. It's important to note at this point, Jeffrey wasn't some criminal mastermind. He wasn't even sure what he was doing. He later said he didn't want Stephen Hicks to leave. That was it. The idea of being alone triggered something dark inside him. And once he crossed that line, there was no going back. All right, so let's go back to that night. 00;10;14;23 - 00;10;36;02 Unknown Stephen Hicks is 18, just like Jeffrey. He's hitchhiking to a rock concert, and then Jeffrey pulls up all friendly, offering him a ride. He tells Hicks, hey, why don't we stop at my place first and have some beers, and then I'll drive you to the show. And Hicks, he's down. Yeah. And for a while, everything's cool. They drink, they talk. 00;10;36;03 - 00;10;59;19 Unknown It's just the two guys hanging out. But then Hicks says it's time to go. And that's the moment everything changes. Jeffrey panics. He grabs a 10 pound dumbbell and smashes Hicks over the head. Not once, twice. Hicks collapses, and then Jeffrey strangles him to death. And here's where it gets really disturbing. After killing Hicks, Jeffrey sits with the body. 00;10;59;21 - 00;11;21;10 Unknown He later said that for the first time in his life, he felt in control. But reality kicks in fast. Jeffrey knows he has to do something with the body. So what does he do? Trigger warning. He strips the flesh from the bones. He cuts the body into pieces, puts them in the trash bags and stuffs them in a crawl space. 00;11;21;12 - 00;11;47;00 Unknown But that's not all. A few days later, he digs up the remains, smashes the bones in the dust with a hammer, and scatters them in the woods behind the house. Literally erases every trace of Stephen Hicks. And you know what's wild? He got away with it. No one even suspect did him. Now, you might be wondering, how did he get away with this missing teenager? 00;11;47;01 - 00;12;12;08 Unknown A murder, and yet nothing. Well, for one, Hicks disappeared and didn't immediately raise alarms. Hitchhiking was super common in the 70s, and people went missing all the time. Plus, Jeffrey's parents were so wrapped up in their messy divorce they barely noticed him, let alone what he was doing. And Jeffrey. He acted normal, or at least as normal as he could. 00;12;12;11 - 00;12;35;24 Unknown No one suspected a thing. After the murder, Jeffrey had a moment where he could have gone down a different path. He actually tried to live a normal life. Yeah. His dad, completely clueless about what was happening. Was like, you need to get your life together. Time for college. So in the fall of 1978, Jeffrey enrolled at Ohio State University. 00;12;35;27 - 00;13;00;10 Unknown One problem. He was a full blown alcoholic by this point. He barely went to class. He spent most of his time drinking alone in his dorm. His grades a total disaster. And somehow he made it through one semester before flunking out. And Lionel, he's at his wits end. So what does he do? He basically goes. All right, kid, time to man up. 00;13;00;12 - 00;13;24;10 Unknown And he enlists Jeffrey in the army. So in January of 1979, Jeffrey Dahmer joins the U.S. Army. He's trained as a combat medic and gets stationed in bomb holder, West Germany. And for a while, he actually holds it together. But like everything in his life, it doesn't last. The drinking catches up with him, and soon he's getting into trouble. 00;13;24;12 - 00;13;55;15 Unknown Missing duties. Showing up. Wasted. And it gets so bad that in March 1981, just after two years, the army discharges him early. And here's something really disturbing. Years later, two former soldiers accused Dahmer of sexually assaulting them while stationed in Germany. Yeah, these guys came forward saying Jeffrey would drug them, assault them and leave them blacked out. And while there's no proof he actually killed anyone in the army, it's clear his urges were already escalating. 00;13;55;22 - 00;14;21;09 Unknown So now Jeffrey's kicked out of the army. No job, no purpose. And worst of all, he's back home with Lionel. And that lasts about five minutes before Lionel's like, nope, can't deal with this. So he sends Jeffrey to live with his grandmother, Katherine, in Milwaukee. Yeah. And this is actually kind of a turning point because his grandmother, she's probably the only person in his life that Jeffrey genuinely cared about. 00;14;21;12 - 00;14;46;03 Unknown She was sweet, kind, religious. She made him go to church, encouraged him to stay out of trouble. And for a little while, it worked. Jeffrey got a job. Tried to behave. Even followed some of her rules. But the thing about dark urges, they don't just disappear. And in 1987, after nearly a decade of trying to be normal, Jeffrey Dahmer kills again. 00;14;46;08 - 00;15;16;06 Unknown And this time, it's just the beginning. So by 1987, Jeffrey Dahmer wasn't just thinking about killing anymore. He was doing it. And what's terrifying? He developed a system that made him nearly impossible to catch. Yeah, his M.O. was simple, but effective. He found victims at bars and clubs, usually young men, many of them from marginalized communities. And once he got them alone, it was over. 00;15;16;08 - 00;15;38;27 Unknown He had a routine. Like a twisted playbook. First, he'd offer money. Usually it was for nude modeling or sometimes just to hang out. Then he'd bring them back to his place for drinks. Making it seem like a casual, friendly offer. But those drinks. Yeah, they were laced with powerful sedatives, making sure his victims never saw what was coming. 00;15;39;00 - 00;16;04;08 Unknown And once they were unconscious, that's where the real nightmare began. Once his victims were completely unconscious, he had total control. And here's where things get really dark. He didn't just want them dead. He started experimenting, trying to keep them alive longer. He drugged them to the point of unconsciousness. But instead of killing them right away, he tried to create zombies. 00;16;04;11 - 00;16;31;28 Unknown Yeah, he literally drilled holes into their skulls and poured acid or boiling water and said he thought this would keep them alive, but completely submissive. It never worked. Every time he tried, his victims would either die from the procedure or eventually regain consciousness, only for him to kill them anyway. And let's not forget the trophy photos. Every time he killed, he'd take Polaroids of their bodies, their remains. 00;16;32;01 - 00;16;58;22 Unknown Even midsection. He wanted to preserve every moment. Man, that's beyond disturbing. Like it wasn't enough to do these horrific things, but to keep the souvenirs. All right, let's talk about victim number two. The first murder he committed in Milwaukee in November of 1987. Jeffrey Dahmer meets 23 year old Steven Twomey at a bar, then goes back to a hotel. 00;16;58;24 - 00;17;27;22 Unknown They drink, and Dahmer later claims he blacked out and woke up to a dead body. But here's the thing. Steven's chest was crushed. His body was beaten. This wasn't an accident. And instead of calling for help, Dahmer panics. He buys a suitcase, shoves Steven's body inside, and takes it back to his grandmother's basement. Once there, he dismembered the body, strips the flesh from the bones, and crushes the remains into powder. 00;17;27;25 - 00;17;58;03 Unknown No one ever finds Steven to harm his body. After Twomey, it doesn't stop. Over the next four years, Dahmer kills 16 more men, and with each one, his methods become more brutal. He lured them with money, booze and promises of modeling jobs. And once he had them in his apartment, he'd drug, strangle and dismember them. Some of his notable victims include James Dark Stater, just 14 years old in 1988. 00;17;58;06 - 00;18;26;23 Unknown Dahmer promised him money to pose for photos. Instead, he drugged and strangled him, later dissolving his body in acid. And then there was Richard Guerrero, 22. Also in 1988, same twisted method offered money, drugged him, and strangled him before dismembering his body. And then Anthony Sears, 24, in 1989. But this one was different. This was the first time Dahmer kept a trophy. 00;18;26;25 - 00;18;54;00 Unknown He preserved Anthony's skull and genitals, storing them like some kind of sick souvenir. Ernest Miller, 22, in 1990, one of the first victims he experimented on with acid not just to dispose of the body, but to test his horrifying idea of keeping victims live longer. It's like with every victim, he was perfecting his process, pushing his limits, seeing how far he could go. 00;18;54;03 - 00;19;18;11 Unknown And here's where we get into the really disturbing part. Necrophilia and cannibalism. Dahmer didn't just kill his victims. He wanted to keep them. That's when he started consuming parts of them. He admitted to cooking and eating pieces of their flesh because he thought it made them a part of him forever. That's like next level disturbing. Like murder wasn't enough. 00;19;18;12 - 00;19;42;26 Unknown He wanted to literally consume them. It's like he was trying to own them in the most twisted way possible. Now here's the frustrating part. Dahmer should have been stopped in 1988. That's when he was arrested for an incident involving 13 year old Sam. Since that's the film, he lured him with the promise of money for photos. And that's when things took a dark turn. 00;19;42;28 - 00;20;09;00 Unknown The boy was able to get away and report what happened. Finally. Right. Authorities step in and Dahmer was charged. You'd think this would have been enough to put him behind bars for a long time, but nope. What he got instead was shocking. Lenient. One year. Not even in a real prison. Just a work release program where he could leave during the day, go to his job and check in at night. 00;20;09;02 - 00;20;37;02 Unknown After that, only five years of probation. So instead of locking up a clearly dangerous man, they let him continue his life almost like nothing happened. And what did he do while he was still on probation? He kept killing. This next part. It's beyond frustrating because in May of 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer could have should have been caught. But instead, a 14 year old boy was handed right back to him. 00;20;37;04 - 00;21;03;11 Unknown That boy was contract sentence reform. Younger brother of some sort whom we just discussed. Here's what went down. On May 27th, 1991, Dahmer lured contract to his apartment with the same promise he used on so many others money for photos. Once inside, he drugged him and then attempted one of his disturbing experiments to try to keep him under his control. 00;21;03;14 - 00;21;27;22 Unknown But hours later, something happened that rarely did contract out. He was naked, drugged, bleeding, and completely disoriented, stumbling around through the streets of Milwaukee and thank God for two women who saw him and knew something was seriously wrong. They called 901 and begged the police to help. And this should have been the moment Dahmer got caught. But nope. 00;21;27;25 - 00;22;00;08 Unknown Dahmer strolls up the street, calm as ever, and tells the cops, oh, that's just my boyfriend. He's drunk. We had a little fight. It's no big deal. And here's where things get infuriating. The police believe him, despite the fact that contract was a 14 year old kid, clearly in distress, unable to even speak for himself. Despite the woman insisting something was wrong, despite the fact that if they'd just run Dahmer's name, they'd have seen his prior convictions involving Connor own brother. 00;22;00;10 - 00;22;25;04 Unknown But nope. The officers literally walked Connor back to Dahmer's apartment. Inside that hellhole, the smell of death was everywhere. And you know what one of the officers said in his report? Everything seems fine. That's some bullshit laziness there. If only they'd taken a closer look. If only they checked his record. If only they had listened to the woman who tried to save him. 00;22;25;07 - 00;22;54;19 Unknown But they didn't. And as soon as the cops left, Connor, fate was sealed. Dahmer killed him that night. And when the truth finally came out a month later, the outrage was massive. The police had literally delivered a victim back to a serial killer. The fallout was brutal. There were accusations of racial bias, negligence and pure incompetence. The officers were fired, but later reinstated. 00;22;54;23 - 00;23;26;10 Unknown But none of that brought contract back or stopped Dahmer from taking more lives. This was one of the biggest failures in law enforcement history. A boy could have been saved. A monster could have been stopped. But instead, the killing continued. And that was their last chance to stop Dahmer. Because after that, he was unstoppable. After years of hunting in the shadows, years of getting away with murder, Jeffrey Dahmer's reign of terror finally ends. 00;23;26;13 - 00;23;49;09 Unknown And it all comes down to one lucky escape. So here's the setup. Tracy Edwards was the 32 year old guy living in Milwaukee, just out having a normal night when Dahmer approaches him. And what does Dahmer do? The same routine he's done so many times before. He offers crazy money to come back to his apartment, have a few drinks, maybe take some photos. 00;23;49;15 - 00;24;15;12 Unknown And Tracy's thinking, sure. Why not? He has no clue that he's about to walk into a house of horrors. Exactly. The second he steps inside apartment 213 red flags everywhere. First thing, the smell. I mean, we're talking rotting flesh, chemicals, straight up, death in the air. Yeah. But Dahmer, he's smooth. He acts totally normal. Offers him a drink. 00;24;15;19 - 00;24;38;19 Unknown Make small talk. Just another night, right? Nope. Because suddenly Dahmer snaps. He pulls out a pair of handcuffs and locks one of Tracy's wrists. Then out comes the knife. And let's just take a second to appreciate how terrifying that moment must have been. You're in a tiny apartment. It stinks. You got a guy with a knife, and you're handcuffed. 00;24;38;22 - 00;25;05;08 Unknown You're trapped. And to make it even worse, Tracy's starts looking around the room. And what does he see? A giant blue barrel in the corner and inside. He doesn't know it yet, but it's filled with acid and human remains. Not to mention the Polaroids scattered around. Actual pictures of dismembered bodies and that bed bloodstained. Like Tracy's just standing in the middle of a crime scene. 00;25;05;08 - 00;25;35;03 Unknown And Dahmer's just sitting there, rocking back and forth, mumbling to himself. Oh, and did I mention Dahmer? Straight up tells Tracy. Plants to eat his heart. So yeah, not a great situation. At this point, most people would panic, but not Tracy. Tracy stays calm. He knows if he fights, he's dead. So instead he plays along. Yeah. He starts talking to Dahmer, trying to act like a friend, telling him, hey man, I'm not going to run. 00;25;35;06 - 00;26;02;04 Unknown I'm cool. We're cool. He even convinces Dahmer to let him sit on the couch with them. He's buying time, looking for a chance. And after hours? Yes, hours. He sees that Dahmer gets distracted for just a second, and Tracy punches him in the face and bolts for the door, runs out half naked. One hand still in a curve straight into the streets of Milwaukee, and luckily he finds two cops. 00;26;02;07 - 00;26;29;21 Unknown And let's be real. This man was terrified. He tells the cops that some guy tried to kill him and begs them to follow him back to the apartment. And those officers, Robert Roth and Roth Miller, probably thought, okay, this is just another weird domestic dispute. But the second they step into apartment 213, everything changes. First of all, the smell a mix of rotting meat and chemicals. 00;26;29;23 - 00;26;54;26 Unknown One of the officers later said it was so bad it was hard to even breathe. Douma tries to keep it cool, says. Or it's just some bad meat in the fridge. Yeah, sure. Jeff. Just a little expired ground beef situation. Nothing to see here except Officer Mueller spots an open jar. And what's inside? Polaroids. But not just any Polaroids. 00;26;54;28 - 00;27;17;28 Unknown These are the photos of dismembered bodies, severed heads, and even pictures of victims amid dissection. And that's when Mueller looks at his partner and says, these are real. The second those were come out. Dahmer freaks out. He tries to fight the cops, but they take him down and cuff him. At that point, backup arrives and detectives start going room by room. 00;27;18;05 - 00;27;45;23 Unknown And let me tell you, what they found was absolutely horrifying. First, they open the fridge inside a human head. Oh, but don't worry, that wasn't all in the freezer. More body parts, including a human heart. And then they moved to the closet. A collection of skulls. Some painted, some with holes drilled in them. And in the corner of the room, a blue plastic barrel filled with acid. 00;27;46;01 - 00;28;13;19 Unknown And three decomposing torsos inside. This apartment wasn't just a crime scene. It was a house of horrors. We'll be back after these messages. This is Tracy. This is Samantha. This is the suspended sentence. Grab your latte and join us as we enter season two. Starting January 1st of 2024, a year packed full of serial killers that you may or may not have ever heard of. 00;28;13;22 - 00;28;19;18 Unknown Thanks for being there. Stay safe. 00;28;19;21 - 00;28;45;22 Unknown And back to the show. Even the detectives. Guys who have seen some serious stuff were shaken. Some of them had to step outside to keep from throwing up. Dahmer still weirdly calm. As soon as they start questioning him, he confesses to everything like no lawyer. No hesitation. He just starts telling them every single detail about what he had done over the past 13 years. 00;28;45;25 - 00;29;08;13 Unknown And that's how it ended. One escape, one lucky break. And finally, Jeffrey Dahmer was caught. Took them long enough. When they got him to the station. Dahmer didn't even try to lie. He sat down, looked at the cops in the eyes and told them everything. Yeah. He was almost relieved. Like now it was out. He didn't have to hide anymore. 00;29;08;15 - 00;29;39;17 Unknown Over the next two weeks, Dahmer gave full confessions. Every victim. Every gruesome detail and some of those details. They left even the most hardened detective shaken. Oh, yeah. Because this wasn't just murder. It was something darker. Something straight out of a horror movie. First, he admitted to eating victims, literally cooking and consuming parts of their body because in his mind, that meant they would actually stay with him forever. 00;29;39;20 - 00;30;05;03 Unknown Then he explained how he tried to turn them into zombies by drilling into their skulls and pouring acid or boiling water inside. Like he actually believed he could create mindless, obedient people who would never leave him. And when the detectives finally asked him why why he did all this? His answer called flat, almost emotionless. I had to do it. 00;30;05;10 - 00;30;30;25 Unknown No remorse, no real explanation. Just I had to. That's the part that gets me not. I wanted to, not I lost control. Just like it was a requirement. Like breathing. And that's when they knew they weren't just dealing with a serial killer. They were dealing with a monster. Absolutely chilling. So on January 30th, 1992, Jeffrey Dahmer's trial began. 00;30;30;27 - 00;31;01;04 Unknown And from the start, it was chaos. He pleaded guilty, but insane, basically admitting to everything but claiming he wasn't mentally responsible. But the jury? They weren't buying it. After weeks of expert testimony, horrifying details and gut wrenching victim statements, they rejected his insanity defense and the final sentence 15 Life terms 957 years in prison. And the courtroom interrupted. 00;31;01;10 - 00;31;28;07 Unknown This was the moment the victims families finally got to face Dahmer. And their pain, their rage. It was unbearable. One moment that sticks with people. Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey. She was furious. She screamed. She lunged at Dahmer and had to be held back by guards and Dahmer. He just sat there, expressionless, like he was completely detached from reality. 00;31;28;09 - 00;31;57;06 Unknown But justice had finally been served. Jeffrey Dahmer was locked away forever. But here's the thing Dahmer story doesn't really end there, because even in prison, he wouldn't last long. After his sentencing in 1992. Jeffrey Dahmer was officially off the streets. But even behind bars, his story was far from over. Yeah, at first he was kept in isolation, not because the prison cared about him, but because, let's be real. 00;31;57;08 - 00;32;19;20 Unknown Every inmate in there wanted him dead. I mean, can you blame them? This guy wasn't just a murderer. He was a predator, a cannibal. A guy who openly admitted to his crimes without a shred of remorse. But after a year in protective custody, Dahmer asked to be moved to general population. And honestly, that was basically a death sentence. 00;32;19;22 - 00;32;51;16 Unknown It was only a matter of time before somebody made him pay. And that moment came on November 28th, 1994. All right. So on that morning, Dahmer and two other inmates, Christopher Carver and Jesse Anderson, were assigned to clean the prison gym. No guards, no cameras. Just the three of them alone. Minutes later, Dahmer and Anderson were dead. Christopher Carver, a convicted murderer, grabbed a metal bar from a weight machine and beat Dahmer and Anderson to death. 00;32;51;23 - 00;33;14;05 Unknown Yeah, and we're not talking a few hits. Scurvy crush Dahmer. Skull left him bleeding out on the floor. And when the guard showed up, Carver was completely calm. He walked up to them and said, God told me to do it. So the big question is, was this justice or was this just another brutal act of violence? I mean, let's be real. 00;33;14;06 - 00;33;39;16 Unknown A lot of people weren't sad to see him go. Even some of the victim's families admitted that they felt Dahmer got what he deserved. But at the same time, prison isn't supposed to be about revenge. It's supposed to be about justice and Carver. He wasn't some hero. He was a convicted killer, too. Exactly. But whether you see it as karma or just another act of prison violence, one thing is for sure. 00;33;39;18 - 00;34;09;25 Unknown Jeffrey Dahmer didn't get to live out his 957 year sentence. So now that Dahmer's dead, you think that would be the end of his story? But nope. Somehow he became more famous after death than he ever was alive. Yeah, and that brings up a really uncomfortable question. Why are we so obsessed with serial killers? Since Dahmer's death, there have been books, documentaries, movies, TV shows, even a Netflix series that went viral in 2022. 00;34;10;01 - 00;34;34;10 Unknown And that Netflix series, it sparked a massive debate. Some people said it was important to tell the victims stories. Others said it was exploitive, glorifying a killer. And honestly, the victims families were pissed. Yeah, many of them weren't even consulted. They had to relive their trauma all over again without their consent. And that's a big issue with true crime in general. 00;34;34;12 - 00;34;59;08 Unknown Where's the line between educating and exploiting? Because at the end of the day, this isn't just a scary story. These were real people. Real families. 17 young men gone. Families torn apart. And their names, too often forgotten in Dahmer's shadow. That's why we want to take a moment to say their names. Because they mattered. Stephen hex, Stephen, Tommy. 00;34;59;10 - 00;35;35;22 Unknown James, doc Stater, Richard. Guerrero, Anthony. Sears, Raymond. Smith, Edward. Smith, Ernest. Miller, David. Thomas, Curtis. Strother, Aaron. Lindsay, Tony. Hughes, Conrad, Cynthia. Farm, Matt. Turner, Jeremiah. Weinberger, Oliver. Lacy, Joseph. Brad. Hoff. 17 lives. 17 families left. Shattered. These weren't just names. They were people. And they should still be here. So now we leave you with this. Was Dahmer a product of his upbringing? 00;35;35;25 - 00;35;56;22 Unknown A man born to evil? Or just someone who slipped through the cracks of a broken system? And what does that say about us as a society? That we keep making him famous? Whatever the answer, one thing's for sure. We should remember the victims, not the killer. That's it for this episode. Conundrum. Kill. If you stuck with us this far. 00;35;56;28 - 00;36;18;22 Unknown Thank you for listening. We know this one was heavy. And if you want to keep this conversation going, hit us up on social media. Let us know. What do you think? Did Dahmer get what he deserved or where should true crime draw the line? All right. Conundrum kill. That was a deep dive into one of the most twisted, horrifying cases in true crime history. 00;36;18;24 - 00;36;44;05 Unknown And honestly, it's still hard to process. Yeah. Let's recap what we just unpacked, because. Wow. First off, Dahmer's early warning signs. They were all there from the beginning. The obsession with dead animals, the drinking problem, the isolation. It's almost like a checklist of red flags. But instead of somebody stepping in, he slipped through the cracks. And that brings us to our second point. 00;36;44;07 - 00;37;08;04 Unknown The mass of law enforcement failures, so many chances to stop him from the 1988 arrest for molesting a 13 year old to the infamous Cognac Synthesis Fund case, where police literally handed a victim back to him every single time. He just kept getting away with it. And then there's his legacy. Because let's be real, Dahmer shouldn't be a household name. 00;37;08;07 - 00;37;33;09 Unknown But he is. And whether it's because of true crime fascination, media sensationalism, or just plain morbid curiosity, he's more famous than his victims. And that's messed up. So here's the big question. And we want you to think about this. Could this have been prevented if someone had intervened earlier? If police had actually done their jobs? Would those 17 men still be alive today? 00;37;33;11 - 00;37;56;14 Unknown And what does this case say about our justice system, our media, and our culture as a whole? Who conundrum crew. That was a ride. If you made it this far. First off, you deserve a medal. And second, we hope you weren't eating while listening to this. Yeah, seriously, if anybody out there just happens to be snacking during the acid barrel segment, our bad. 00;37;56;21 - 00;38;22;24 Unknown But also, why? What snack pairs? Well with cannibalism and police negligence? But in all seriousness, we want to hear from you. Do you think Dahmer's fate was justice or just prison violence? And should true crime media be more responsive about how they cover cases like this? Hit us up on social media. DM us. Send us your thoughts. And while you're at it, don't forget to rate, review and share the show. 00;38;22;27 - 00;38;42;29 Unknown It helps us so much. And if you need a palate cleanser after this one, don't worry, we got you. Next episode, we're taking a break from the serial killers and diving into a totally different kind of conundrum. Oh, yeah. We have a real fun surprise for you. Oh, yeah. It's going to be a spooky treat. All right, conundrum crew. 00;38;43;01 - 00;39;16;21 Unknown Until next time, stay curious, stay skeptical, and stay safe. Keep on keepin on. We love you, buddy. Thanks for hanging out with us here at Total Conundrum. Please make sure to check out our website and blog at Total conundrum.com for news, upcoming events, merch, bloopers, and additional hysteria. You never know or pop up, so be sure to follow along if you want to show your support for Total Conundrum and gain access to all of our bonus content, please visit our Patreon page. 00;39;16;24 - 00;39;44;11 Unknown You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The links are available in our show notes. If you have any questions, comments, recommendations or stories to share, please email us at contact at. Total conundrum.com. Episodes are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. If you liked the show, please rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts. 00;39;44;13 - 00;39;52;08 Unknown We appreciate the love. Keep on keeping on, mother truckers. 00;39;52;11 - 00;39;57;09 Unknown And. 00;39;57;12 - 00;40;05;01 Unknown Family. And you know. 00;40;05;04 - 00;40;09;22 Unknown You know. 00;40;09;25 - 00;40;23;21 Unknown The time you. 00;40;23;21 - 00;40;41;15 Unknown But I don't.