Editing Jeffrey Dahmer (section)

==Late teens and early 20s: first murder==
===Murder of Steven Hicks===
Dahmer committed his first murder in 1978, three weeks after his graduation. On June 18,{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=93}} Dahmer picked up a hitchhiker named Steven Mark Hicks, who was 18 years old.{{sfn|Dvorchak|Holewa|1992|p=40}}<ref>{{cite news|first=Mary B.W.|last=Taylor|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/12/us/sorrow-and-frustration-on-trails-of-the-missing.html|title=Sorrow and Frustration On Trails of the Missing|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 12, 1991|access-date=July 21, 2017|archive-date=July 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706130438/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/12/us/sorrow-and-frustration-on-trails-of-the-missing.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Dahmer lured Hicks to his house on the pretext of drinking. Hicks, who had been hitchhiking to a rock concert at [[Chippewa Lake Park]], Ohio, agreed to accompany Dahmer to his house upon the promise of "a few beers" with Dahmer as he had the house to himself.{{sfn|Dvorchak|Holewa|1992|p=40}}

According to Dahmer, the sight of the bare-chested Hicks standing at the roadside stirred his sexual feelings, although when Hicks began talking about girls, he knew any sexual passes he made would be rebuffed.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=66}} After several hours of talking, drinking and listening to music, Hicks "wanted to leave and I didn't want him to leave".{{sfn|Purcell|Arrigo|2006|p=77}} Dahmer bludgeoned Hicks with a {{convert|10|lb|adj=on}} dumbbell. He later stated he struck Hicks twice from behind{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=67}} with the dumbbell as Hicks sat upon a chair. When Hicks fell unconscious, Dahmer [[strangulation|strangled]] him to death with the bar of the dumbbell, then stripped the clothes from Hicks' body before exploring his chest with his hands, then [[masturbation|masturbating]] as he stood above the corpse. Hours later, Dahmer dragged the body to the basement.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=67}}{{refn|group=n|A September 1992 FBI report on Dahmer indicates he also confessed to engaging in sex with Hicks' body prior to dismembering the corpse.<ref name=FBIReportPart3>{{cite web|url=https://vault.fbi.gov/jeffrey-lionel-dahmer/jeffrey-lionel-dahmer-part-03-of-19|title=Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts: Subject: Jeffrey Dahmer (Part 3 of 19)|publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]|url-status=live|date=September 11, 1992|access-date=October 6, 2022|archivedate=September 19, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919043732/https://vault.fbi.gov/jeffrey-lionel-dahmer/jeffrey-lionel-dahmer-part-03-of-19}}</ref>}}

The following day,{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=68}} Dahmer dissected Hicks' body in his basement. He later buried the remains in a shallow grave in his back yard.{{sfn|Roy|2002|p=102}} Several weeks later, he unearthed the remains and [[paring knife|pared]] the flesh from the bones.{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=99}} He dissolved the flesh in acid before flushing the solution down the toilet; he crushed the bones with a sledgehammer and scattered them in the woodland behind the family home.{{sfn|Dvorchak|Holewa|1992|pp=43–44}} He threw Hicks' necklace and the knife used to dismember him from the West Bath Road bridge into the [[Cuyahoga River]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=42}}

===College and Army service===
Six weeks after the murder of Hicks, Dahmer's father and his fiancée returned to his home, where they discovered Dahmer living alone. That August, Dahmer enrolled at [[Ohio State University]] (OSU), hoping to major in business.{{sfn|Dvorchak|Holewa|1992|p=46}} Dahmer's sole term at OSU was completely unproductive, largely because of his persistent alcohol abuse.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6984058/the-akron-beacon-journal|title=Dahmer Chronicles: A Prom, A Seance, and A Victim|access-date=February 19, 2022|newspaper=[[The Akron Beacon Journal]]|date=August 11, 1991|archive-date=February 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219170221/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6984058/the-akron-beacon-journal|url-status=live}}</ref> He received failing grades in Introduction to Anthropology, Classical Civilizations, and Administrative Science. The only course Dahmer was successful at was Riflery, where he received a B− grade. His overall [[Grade point average|GPA]] was 0.45/4.0.{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|p=105}}{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|pp=103–104}} On one occasion, Lionel paid a surprise visit to his son, only to find his dormitory room strewn with empty liquor bottles. Despite his father having paid in advance for the second term, Dahmer dropped out of OSU after just three months.{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=104}}
[[File:Jeffrey L. Dahmer during his army deployment to Baumholder, West Germany in 1979.jpg|thumb|Dahmer, pictured in [[West Germany]] in 1979. His off-duty drinking caused him to be deemed unsuitable for military service in 1981.]]
In January 1979, on his father's urging, Dahmer enlisted in the [[United States Army]].{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=105}}{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|p=107}} He underwent basic training at [[Fort McClellan]] in [[Anniston, Alabama]], before training as a medical specialist at [[Fort Sam Houston]] in [[San Antonio]], Texas. He was occasionally reprimanded for intoxication while stationed at Fort Sam Houston. On one occasion, an instance of insubordination resulted in his entire platoon being punished, earning Dahmer a severe beating from his fellow recruits.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=74}}

On July 13, 1979, Dahmer was deployed to [[Baumholder]], West Germany, where he served as a [[combat medic]] in the [[68th Armor Regiment|2nd Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment]], [[8th Infantry Division (United States)|8th Infantry Division]].<ref name="Medicine"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.deseret.com/1991/7/28/18933288/killer-remembered-as-a-wimp |title=Killer Remembered As a 'Wimp' |newspaper=[[Deseret News]] |date=July 28, 1991 |access-date=July 6, 2021 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184436/https://www.deseret.com/1991/7/28/18933288/killer-remembered-as-a-wimp |url-status=live}}</ref> According to published reports, in Dahmer's first year of service, he was an "average or slightly above average" soldier.{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=108}}{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|pp=108–109}}{{refn|group=n|Two soldiers have since claimed to have been raped by Dahmer while in the Army. In 2010, one stated that Dahmer had repeatedly raped him over a 17-month period while they were both stationed at Baumholder, while another soldier believes Dahmer drugged and raped him inside an [[armored personnel carrier]] in 1979.<ref>{{cite news|first=David|last=Usborne|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/soldiers-sexual-abuse-and-the-serial-killer-the-us-military-s-secret-sexual-assaults-8679271.html|title=Soldiers, Sexual Abuse – and the Serial Killer: The US Military's Secret Sexual Assaults|work=[[The Independent]]|date=June 28, 2013|access-date=November 4, 2017|archive-date=October 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018000354/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/soldiers-sexual-abuse-and-the-serial-killer-the-us-military-s-secret-sexual-assaults-8679271.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Jennifer|last1=Freyd|first2=Pamela|last2=Birrell|title=Blind to Betrayal: Why We Fool Ourselves We Aren't Being Fooled|publisher=Turner Publishing|location=Nashville, Tennessee|date=2013|isbn=978-0-470-60440-3|page=40}}</ref> However, in numerous interviews following his 1991 arrest, Dahmer stated to both police and [[psychiatrist]]s he did not sexually assault or engage in willing homosexual relations while stationed in West Germany.{{sfn|Campbell|p=21}}}}

Owing to Dahmer's alcohol abuse, his performance deteriorated, and, in March 1981, he was deemed unsuitable for military service and was later discharged from the Army.{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|pp=110–111}} He received an [[honorable discharge]], as his superiors did not believe that any problems Dahmer had in the Army would be applicable to civilian life.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=78}}

On March 24, 1981, Dahmer was sent to [[Fort Jackson (South Carolina)|Fort Jackson]], South Carolina, for [[debriefing]] and provided with a plane ticket to travel anywhere in the country. Dahmer later told police he felt he could not return home to face his father, so he opted to travel to [[Miami Beach, Florida]], both because he was "tired of the cold"<ref name="adamWalsh">{{cite web |url=http://www.wisn.com/news/10903529/detail.html |title=Did Dahmer Have One More Victim? |work=The Milwaukee Channel |access-date=February 5, 2007 |date=February 1, 2007 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222031507/http://www.wisn.com/news/10903529/detail.html |archive-date=February 22, 2012}}</ref> and in an attempt to live by his own means. In Florida, Dahmer found a job at a delicatessen and rented a room in a nearby motel. He spent most of his salary on alcohol and was soon evicted from the motel for non-payment.<ref name="Acrimony" /> Dahmer initially spent his evenings on the beach as he continued to work at the sandwich shop until phoning his father and asking to return to Ohio in September of the same year.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=80}}

=== Return to Ohio and relocation to West Allis, Wisconsin ===
After his return to Ohio, Dahmer initially lived with his father and stepmother and insisted on being delegated numerous chores to occupy his time while he looked for work. He continued to drink heavily, and two weeks after his return, was arrested for [[public intoxication|drunk and disorderly conduct]].{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|p=114}} He was fined $60 and given a [[suspended sentence|suspended 10-day jail sentence]].{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=125}} Dahmer's father tried unsuccessfully to wean his son off alcohol. In December 1981, he and his second wife sent him to live with his paternal grandmother, Catherine Dahmer, in [[West Allis, Wisconsin]]. As she was the only family member to whom Dahmer displayed any positivity or affection,{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=82}} they hoped that both her influence and the change of location might persuade him to quit drinking, find a job, and live responsibly.{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|p=115}}{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|p=117}}

Initially, Dahmer's living arrangements with his grandmother were harmonious: he accompanied her to church, willingly undertook chores, actively sought work, and abided by most of her house rules (although he continued to drink and smoke).{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|p=83}} In early 1982, he found employment as a [[phlebotomy|phlebotomist]] at the Milwaukee Blood Plasma Center. He held this job for a total of ten months before being laid off.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=82}} Dahmer remained unemployed for over two years, during which he lived upon whatever money his grandmother gave him.{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=135}}

Shortly before losing his job, Dahmer was arrested for [[indecent exposure]]. On August 8, 1982, at [[Wisconsin State Fair Park]],{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=134}} he was observed exposing himself "on the south side of the Coliseum in which 25 people were present including women and children". For this incident, he was convicted and fined $50 plus court costs.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=86}}

In January 1985, Dahmer was hired as a mixer at the Milwaukee Ambrosia Chocolate Factory, where he worked from 11&nbsp;p.m to 7&nbsp;a.m. six nights per week, with Saturday evenings off.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=125}} Shortly after he started this job, an incident occurred in which Dahmer was propositioned by another man while reading in the West Allis Public Library. The stranger threw Dahmer a note offering to perform [[fellatio]] upon him. Although Dahmer did not respond to this proposition,{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=88}} the incident stirred the fantasies of control and dominance he had developed as a teenager, and he began to familiarize himself with Milwaukee's gay bars, [[gay bathhouse]]s, and bookstores. He also stole a male [[mannequin]] from a store,{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|pp=119–120}} which he briefly used for [[sexual stimulation]], until his grandmother discovered the item stowed in a closet and demanded that he discard it.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=91}}

By late 1985, Dahmer had begun to regularly frequent the bathhouses, which he later described as being "relaxing places", but during his sexual encounters, he became frustrated at his partners' moving during the act. Following his arrest, he stated: "I trained myself to view people as objects of pleasure instead of [as] people".{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=92}} For this reason, beginning in June 1986, he administered sleeping pills to his partners, giving them liquor laced with [[sedative]]s. He then waited for his partner to fall asleep before performing various sexual acts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jeffrey Dahmer's Inferno|date=November 1, 1991|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/1991/11/jeffrey-dahmer-dennis-nilsen-serial-killer|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|access-date=April 24, 2021|archive-date=May 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509190624/https://www.vanityfair.com/style/1991/11/jeffrey-dahmer-dennis-nilsen-serial-killer|url-status=live}}</ref> To maintain an adequate supply of this medication, Dahmer informed doctors he worked nights and required the tablets to adjust to that schedule.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=93}} After approximately 12 such instances, the bathhouses' administration revoked Dahmer's membership, and he began to use hotel rooms to continue this practice.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=94}}

Shortly after his bathhouse memberships were revoked,{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=136}} Dahmer read a report in a newspaper regarding the upcoming funeral of an 18-year-old male. He conceived the idea of stealing the freshly interred corpse and taking it home.{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=96}} According to Dahmer, he attempted to dig up the coffin from the ground but found the soil too hard and abandoned the plan.{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=97}}

On September 8, 1986,{{sfn|Dahmer|1994|p=131}} Dahmer was arrested upon a charge of [[Lascivious behavior|lewd and lascivious behavior]]{{sfn|Masters|1993|p=99}} for masturbating in the presence of two 12-year-old boys as he stood close to the [[Kinnickinnic River (Milwaukee River)|Kinnickinnic River]].<ref name="Bardsley-7"/>{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=137}} He initially claimed he had merely been urinating, unaware that there were witnesses, but soon admitted the offense.{{refn|group=n|Dahmer also confessed to having committed the same offense on "four or five" previous occasions.}} The charge was changed to [[disorderly conduct]] and, on March 10, 1987, Dahmer was sentenced to one year of [[probation]], with additional instructions to undergo counseling.{{sfn|Norris|1992|p=139}}