What Happened On November 28th?
On November 28, 1994, Jeffrey Dahmer began his work assignment at Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin. He worked alongside Jesse Anderson and Christopher Scarver, tasked with cleaning the prison gymnasium. At some point during the work period, Scarver retrieved a metal bar from exercise equipment and struck Dahmer multiple times in the head and face. The blows left Dahmer critically injured and unresponsive by the time guards arrived. Medical staff transported him to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead shortly after.
Scarver later admitted he targeted Dahmer because of the nature of his crimes and his behavior in prison. Scarver stated that Dahmer’s actions, such as shaping food to resemble severed body parts, antagonized other inmates. He described feeling a moral obligation to kill Dahmer, citing the suffering of Dahmer’s victims and their families. The attack also claimed the life of Jesse Anderson, another inmate who had been assigned to the same work detail. Critics questioned why prison authorities had left Dahmer unsupervised, given his notoriety and the animosity he faced from others in the facility.
Jeffrey Dahmer, born on May 21, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, grew up in a home marked by dysfunction. His mother, Joyce, struggled with mental health issues, while his father, Lionel, was often away for work. Dahmer’s withdrawn demeanor went largely unnoticed, and his fascination with death began during his childhood. He started collecting animal remains and dissecting them, behaviors that alarmed those close to him but were ultimately ignored.
In 1978, Dahmer committed his first murder shortly after graduating from high school. He encountered Steven Hicks, an 18-year-old hitchhiker, and invited him home under the pretext of sharing drinks. When Hicks attempted to leave, Dahmer struck him with a dumbbell and strangled him. He dismembered Hicks’ body, pulverized the bones, and scattered the remains in the woods surrounding his family’s property. This killing set a precedent for the crimes Dahmer would commit over the following 13 years.
After briefly attending college, Dahmer joined the U.S. Army, but his heavy drinking led to disciplinary problems, resulting in a dishonorable discharge in 1981. He returned to civilian life and struggled to maintain stability. By 1987, Dahmer resumed killing, targeting young men he met in gay bars, bathhouses, and through personal ads. He often lured his victims to his apartment by offering money or companionship. Once there, he drugged, strangled, and dismembered them. He kept skulls, photographs, and other remains as morbid mementos.
In his later killings, Dahmer began experimenting with grotesque methods to control his victims. He drilled holes into their skulls and injected chemicals like acid and boiling water, believing this would render them compliant. These experiments failed, causing agonizing deaths. Despite the increasingly extreme nature of his crimes, Dahmer avoided detection due to systemic neglect and the marginalized status of his victims, many of whom were young men of color.
Dahmer’s arrest on July 22, 1991, ended his killing spree. Tracy Edwards, a would-be victim, escaped from Dahmer’s apartment and flagged down police. When officers entered the apartment, they uncovered a disturbing scene: photographs of mutilated bodies, severed heads in the refrigerator, and human remains in containers. Dahmer confessed to killing 17 men, detailing each murder with chilling specificity.
During his trial in 1992, Dahmer pleaded guilty but argued insanity, claiming psychological compulsions drove his actions. The court rejected his defense and sentenced him to 15 consecutive life terms. While in prison, Dahmer reportedly sought redemption through religion and underwent a baptism. However, reports of his behavior suggested a lack of genuine remorse. Inmates described him as unrepentant, citing incidents where he mocked his crimes and displayed unsettling behavior.
One of the most egregious failures in Dahmer’s case occurred in 1991 when 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone escaped from his apartment. Neighbors found the boy bleeding and disoriented and called police. However, Dahmer convinced the responding officers that Sinthasomphone was his intoxicated partner. The police returned the boy to Dahmer, who killed him shortly afterward. This incident, along with others, exposed systemic negligence and bias within law enforcement, particularly toward marginalized victims.
While committing his murders, Dahmer maintained a façade of normalcy. He worked at the Ambrosia Chocolate Factory, where colleagues described him as quiet and reserved. Neighbors frequently complained about foul odors emanating from his apartment, which Dahmer attributed to spoiled food or plumbing issues. These explanations allowed him to deflect suspicion and continue killing undetected for years.
Investigators later uncovered evidence of Dahmer’s obsessive nature. He meticulously preserved parts of his victims, cleaning and bleaching bones and storing skulls as trophies. Police also found sketches of a shrine Dahmer had planned to construct using human remains, intended as a private space to reflect on his crimes.
While incarcerated, Dahmer chose to remain in the general prison population rather than accept protective custody. He reportedly expressed a willingness to face whatever consequences arose. This decision left him vulnerable to hostility from other inmates, culminating in the attack by Scarver. Scarver described his actions as retribution for Dahmer’s victims and a necessary act of justice.
Jeffrey Dahmer’s crimes, imprisonment, and eventual death revealed glaring failures within social systems. The police overlooked key warnings, societal neglect left many of his victims unprotected, and the prison system failed to ensure his safety. His story remains one of the most chilling and disturbing chapters in modern criminal history, continuing to provoke questions about human depravity and systemic flaws.
