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of all time today an Inside Edition world exclusive Jeffrey Dahmer talks about his obsession to kill and why he got away with it for so long [Music] the world watched in horror as the savagery of Serial murderer Jeffrey Dahmer unfolded it was almost addictive almost a surge of energy the nation was stunned by the magnitude of the crime no one had a clue as to what was happening for for over a decade how could this shy child grow into a modern day monster I started having these obsessive thoughts when I was about 15 and 16 and they got worse and worse today another Inside Edition world exclusive Nancy Glass talks to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer if you were out on the street now would you still be committing the cause probably if this hadn't happened there's no doubt I probably would be [Music] hello I'm Bill O'Reilly thanks for watching this very special Inside Edition How could a normal looking man with normal parents and a normal job commit some of the most brutal crimes the world has ever seen Jeffrey Dahmer has never talked publicly about killing 17 people until now Nancy Glass is here with a very chilling interview Nancy first set the scene for us what impression does Dahmer give when you first meet him well Bill surprisingly he is very articulate and when he is talking you can see how he was able to manipulate his victims and how he was able to get away with it for so long he also talks about his horrendous crimes in great detail but in a very clinical Manner and you realize that none of it has touched him cold matter of fact yes and Nancy will be back in just a few moments with the first part of her interview it was almost addictive a surge of energy we wouldn't have to worry about any of their needs or anything I just had complete control of the situation he is 32 years old and he is pure evil but you'd never know it by looking at him but when you hear him that's another story his killing field was Milwaukee and he got away with murder for more than a decade but how could any of this happen for the first time ever Nancy Glass is here inside the world of Jeffrey Dahmer bill when I sat down opposite Jeffrey Dahmer for this interview I wondered what he would tell me how hard it would be to get him to discuss his horrific crimes what I found was that he was very forthcoming he volunteered details that may be difficult to hear I began by asking what he wanted from the men he picked up they had these obsessive desires and and Thoughts wanting to control them to uh I don't know how to put it uh possess them permanently and that's why you killed them right right not because I was angry with them not because they hated them but because I wanted to keep them with me and as my obsession grew I was saving body parts such as skulls and uh skeletons Jeffrey Dahmer is recalling his monstrous past almost two years ago in this little apartment in Milwaukee Police discovered the grisly remnants of one of the most horrible crime sprees in American history Jeffrey Dahmer an unassuming chocolate factory worker would eventually confess that he had seduced murdered and dismembered 17 young men he even ate some of his victims body parts he instantly became the center of worldwide media attention a serial killer unmasked there were protests and press conferences in Milwaukee as people tried to understand how this could have happened in their midst how did Jeffrey Dahmer get away with murder after murder for 13 years how did a boy born into a hard-working middle-class family turn into the worst kind of monster imaginable in this exclusive interview we put those questions to Jeffrey Dahmer himself we met with him at the Maximum Security Prison where he is serving his sentence of 999 years for the first time he talks about his crimes and gives us a chilling look inside the mind of a serial killer it's a process it doesn't happen overnight when you de-personalize another person and view them as just an object an object for pleasure instead of a living breathing human being it it seems to make it easier do things you shouldn't do the reason why Jeffrey Dahmer was able to get away with his crimes was because of just what you are seeing here Jeffrey Dahmer is intelligent and articulate that is what makes him so frightening but if you listen carefully to his words throughout this interview you realize it is a thin disguise you do sound though like the kind of person who could have said to himself is wrong I must stop I always knew that that it was wrong but uh after the the first the first uh killing was not planned I was uh coming back from the shopping mall back in 78 I had had uh fantasies about picking up a hitchhiker and uh taking him back to the house and having complete control and dominance over him The Hitchhiker's name was Stephen Hicks he was just 18. Jeffrey Dahmer took him to his parents house there he strangled him with a barbell he dismembered the body and hid it in a drain pipe it was Jeffrey Dahmer who gave those details to the police in his confession no one no one had a clue as to what was happening for for over a decade during that time Jeffrey Dahmer joined the army and was sent to Germany he was eventually discharged for a drinking problem and returned to Ohio nine years after Stephen Hicks murder The Killing began again what happened to you in the nine years in between that you were able to stop that you were able to control yourself it just wasn't an opportunity to uh fully Express what I wanted to to do they're just not the physical opportunity to do it then and I started when I moved to Milwaukee in 81 uh I started reading pornography going to the bookstores um eventually that led to frequenting the gay bars and then I one time I brought this young man back to the hotel room the Ambassador Hotel I was just planning on drugging him and spending the night with him had no intention of hurting him when I woke up in the morning he had a broken rib here it was heavily bruised apparently I had beaten him to death with my fists and you have no memory no memory of it but that's what started the whole spree all over again Dahmer says he snuck the corpse of his victim Stephen Toomey out of his hotel room in a suitcase then he took it to his grandmother's house where he cut up the body and put it in plastic garbage bags when you killed these men afterwards or you repulsed were you upset no it at the time uh it was it was almost addictive it was almost uh a surge of energy uh I wouldn't have to uh worry about um any of their needs or anything I just had complete control of the situation but Jeffrey Dahmer was out of control the urge to kill had overpowered him as police later learned he wasn't satisfied with his victim's death he wanted more why did you photograph them it was my way of remembering uh their appearance their physical Beauty uh I also wanted to keep some if I couldn't keep them there with me whole I at least I felt that I could keep their skeletons and I even went so far as planning on setting up an altar with the uh 10 different skulls and skeletons and what was the purpose of the altar going to be uh as a sort of Memorial a point where I could I don't know it's it's so bizarre and strange it's hard to describe a place where I could collect my thoughts um and feed my obsession when the bodies were still in your apartment there was no time when you would see them and say this is grotesque what have I done there were times there were times but a compulsive obsession with uh doing what I was doing overpowered any feelings of revulsion man with a quiet almost shy demeanor became a master manipulator who was able to or strangers he met at gay bars to his apartment he was even able to con the police into returning a 14 year old boy to him after neighbors called 9-1-1 upset that the child was in the street naked and bleeding Dahmer convinced the police that he and the boy were Simply Having a lover's quarrel [Music] boyfriend of another boyfriend how old was the child it wasn't a child after the police left Jeffrey Dahmer murdered that boy conorak's into some phone this man says he had a near-fatal encounter with Jeffrey Dahmer you want to take some picture of my back he hit me with a rubber hammer on my neck he was lucky to escape because by then the killing had become almost routine before you went out to pick up a man was there any kind of ritual you went through I go to the nightclubs drink watch the uh the strip tea shows and if I didn't meet anyone at the bars I'd go to the bath clubs and meet meet someone there offer them money and we'd go back to the apartment have a few drinks I'd have the uh the sleeping pill mixture already prepared person would drink it to fall asleep and uh that's when they would be strangled watching the movie Exorcist 3 was also part of his ritual it put him in the mood for murder I felt so hopelessly evil and perverted that uh that I I actually derives a sort of pleasure from watching that tape did you like feeling evil no no I didn't but uh I tried to overcome the thoughts and it worked for a while but eventually I gave in while Jeffrey Dahmer may say things today that make it seem like he understands what went on in his mind he does not all he can do is tell you what happened but he cannot stop whatever it is that drove him to kill in the first place do you still feel those same urges do you still feel that compulsion that Obsession uh I wish I could say that it just left completely but no there are times when I still do still do have the old compulsions and coming next as we continue Dahmer talks about how his obsessions became more and more out of control I was dead set on on going with this compulsion it was the only thing that gave me any uh any satisfaction [Music] to interview Bill Jeffrey Dahmer says as time went on his mind became more and more warped and yet he was clever enough to continue to elude police and lure young men to his apartment we should warn you the details are very graphic I started having these obsessive thoughts I was about 15 and 16 and they got worse and worse what were your fantasies about uh they were sexual fantasies of control Power of complete dominance they became reality it was there pleasure in that fantasy there was excitement uh fear pleasure all mixed together Jeffrey Dahmer fulfilled his fantasies by murdering and dismembering 17 young men in time his desires became more extreme his deeds more grotesque listen to him talk about the most unnatural things in the most matter-of-fact of ways that's when you realize that none of it has touched him I was branching out that's when the cannibalism started eating of the heart and the arm muscle is was a way of making me feel that they were a part of me for at first it was just curiosity and then it became compulsive then I tried to uh keeps the person alive by inducing a zombie-like state um by injecting uh first dilute acid solution into their brain or hot water and it never did completely work could someone like you be stopped could you be helped no I I was I was dead set on on going with this compulsion it was the only thing that gave me any uh uh any satisfaction he became so warped by his evil impulses that he even took a victim's head with him to work at the Ambrosia Chocolate Factory I kept the uh a mummified head and skull of one of the victims in a carrying case in my locker at work were you almost flaunting it yes but that's how strong the compulsion was that's how the bizarre the desire was I wanted to keep something of of the person with me Jeffrey Dahmer exhibited some Disturbing Behavior early on he began drinking heavily as a teenager dropped out of college was arrested for indecent exposure disorderly conduct and fondling a 13 year old boy tragically one of his murder victims would be that boy's brother you know what started it was there any kind of incident that you can remember to this day I don't know what started it and uh the person to blame is sitting right across from you that's the only person not parents not Society not pornography I mean those are just excuses is macabre 13-year crime spray finally ended when this man Tracy Edwards brought the police to the infamous apartment like the others he had gone there with the promise of money he was listening to my heart because at a point he told me he was gonna eat my heart at that point I hit him I and I ran what was the turning point for you that made you suddenly realize that you had done something terribly wrong something you should be sorry for it was the night of the arrest they have no memory of what happened uh during the six hours before uh the last victim ran out of the apartment I heard a knock on the door and the police were there with with the last victim they asked me where the key was to the handcuffs I was my mind was in a haze I sort of pointed to the bedroom and that's where they found the pictures and they they yelled cuff them I was handcuffed and it was just the realization that there was no point in trying to hide hide my actions anymore the best route was to help help the police identify all the victims and just make a complete confession when it was revealed that most of the victims were black or homosexual people in Milwaukee were incensed many felt that was why he went after them and why the police didn't seem to care when their families reported them missing 10 of your 17 victims were black were they racially motivated it was not racially motivated but was not a sexual preference it was just to find an obsession with the best looking young man I could find well you just heard him say that his sexual preference had nothing to do with the killings no he has not come to terms with his homosexuality never understood it there was no use trying to fight it because I I couldn't rid myself of it it was it was too powerful and persistent do you dislike it yes it's caused a lot of problems for me live conflicts and unanswered questions the conflicts remain with him and so do his compulsions but in prison he finally cannot act on his Savage desires if you were out on the street now would you still be committing the crimes probably if this hadn't happened there's no doubt I probably would be I can't think of anything that would have stopped me boy does he come across as cold-blooded did you see any remorse well he says he's so he's so sure he knows what that means tomorrow he talks about how he disassociated himself from his crimes and what lengths he went to to hide them we will see you tomorrow Nancy thanks for that report and Inside Edition we'll be right back tomorrow more of Nancy glass's interview with Jeffrey Dahmer what do you want to say to the families of the victims I had no intention of of hurting them I was extremely selfish I was only thinking of myself [Music] it's the interview the nation is talking about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer speaking for the first time well that's it so easy though for you to hide it all I bought security systems uh installed them myself in the apartment I had video camera in the corner of the room today Nancy Glass continues her remarkable interview with serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer [Music] he was home alone when an intruder turned her evening into a night of Terror she reached for the phone in a desperate call for help but it was too late or was it the phone was off the hook we were able to record almost the entire conversation let's go [Music] foreign Edition today what would you do if a thug broke into your house could you hold wide it is one thing to read about his crimes quite another to hear how dispassionately this killer talks about his grisly Deeds Nancy Glass joins us now to continue her exclusive interview with Dahmer Nancy so Jeffrey Dahmer is now in jail serving 15 consecutive life terms for his terrible crimes Wisconsin does not have the death penalty in prison he is getting therapy but he says it hasn't helped him he spends his time reading the Bible and volumes of mail I asked him if he was afraid of what might happen in prison and he said no what difference does it make if someone comes after him because he doesn't care if he lives or dies gay bars picking up men to seduce and murder Jeffrey Dahmer says his desire to control and possess his victims drove him to inhuman acts on the living and the dead he was a killing machine out of control how should you be punished well there's no question I that I deserve the death penalty if I've wondered myself why I I don't have the death penalty that that's what I deserve I deserve debt what do you think happens after you die right that's the big unknown I've thought of uh I've had thoughts of of suicide uh but I just uh haven't been able to uh carry them through I don't know what the future will hold in the past Jeffrey Dahmer was very sure of what he wanted and how to get it 17 young men would die at his hands later when he made this confession to the police he included crimes to grotesque to repeat on television too gruesome to be believed dismemberment cannibalism and worse and he was cunning enough to get away with it for 13 years why was it so easy though for you to hide it all I desensitized myself to it I I uh I don't know I went to Great Lengths I I bought security systems uh installed them myself in the apartment I had a video camera in the corner of the room uh installed locks on the doors sirens and stuff in case anyone broke into the apartment and although his victim's body parts were in the apartment when his father and stepmother came to visit they detected nothing they said it was absolutely clean perfect right had to hide from them everything was locked up either in the freezer or in the file chest and so there was no evidence laying in the in the open there's nothing abnormal about the look of the apartment and he almost got caught after a 14 year old victim escaped into the street naked and bleeding when neighbors called 9-1-1 Dahmer managed to talk his way out of trouble during the incident where the police were called and the young boy was returned to you that didn't wake you up at all the police on your doorstep they were they were in the apartment they were actually in the apartment and there was a a dead young man in the bedroom on the floor I couldn't believe it when uh when it turned out that they they didn't see anything I just I couldn't believe it and yes it did shock me but not enough to quit That's How Strong the compulsion was Jeffrey Dahmer describes the Unspeakable with no emotion it is as if he sees his victims as objects not people in fact when he confessed he remembered every horrific detail of what he did to them but he couldn't remember their names do you ever think about your victims uh I've often wondered why I haven't had uh more more dreams or nightmares about what I've done for some reason it's like it's it's blocked off from part of my mind if I dwelled on the subject all the time I would I wouldn't be able to function Jeffrey Dahmer prefers to hide from the difficult truth about himself that has always been his pattern even during his trial he found a way to tune out you were in glasses now right you didn't during the trial why not I didn't want to I felt uncomfortable looking anyone in the face I didn't want to uh see anyone's face clearly it helped me disassociate myself from what was happening one woman in particular really got angry what did you think when she was doing that I couldn't blame her a bit I'm surprised there wasn't more of that what do you want to say to the families of the victims I had no intention of of hurting them I was I I was extremely selfish I was only thinking of myself my own pleasure my own uh perverted desires you know the families are the victims don't believe in your conversion or your sorrow Oh right and uh if if I if I was on the on their end of the table I wouldn't either ultimately I am accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ he he'll be my final judge can your sins be forgiven the Lord Jesus Christ shed blood is powerful enough to you to wipe out even my sins when he had to deal with some of the terrible realities of his life Jeffrey Dahmer's conversation would Veer off into scripture like many other criminals he claims he has found God in prison and his daily routine reflects his need to shut out the world I usually wake up at 6 30 in the morning go eat breakfast and then sleep until noon wake up for lunch and sleep until about four o'clock in the afternoon eat dinner and then spend the Greer portion of the night watching TV he is up all night because he cannot face the daylight and the Monstrous crimes that put him behind bars I try not to think too too deeply about anything because then I get depressed uh uh I try to figure out why this happened what what started these thoughts in my head at such a young age whether this has any any meaning to it or whether this is all just a horrible coincidence you know all the events in my life I feel that I'm better off here than I than than I was on the outside doing what I was doing you're glad you're in prison I think it's best for everyone right and you heard Jeffrey Dahmer say he wants to be punished the victim's families agree they voice their opinions tomorrow and Jeffrey Dahmer talks about his early years and his family life and finally an expert on serial killers will tell us how this could have happened still good report Nancy thank you and we'll see you tomorrow it's their reaction on Inside Edition unique insight into the mind of a monster I'm against capital punishment but I still think that he's not suffering enough today the victim's relatives speak out I would like to ask him why he's on a suicide watch and from day one he's never tried to commit suicide so I mean get you know get a clue he likes living just like my brother didn't like him for the past two nights we have heard serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer explain why he did what he did Dahmer makes no excuses he feels he should be executed but what about the families of his victims what are they going through and what is their reaction to the words of Dahmer Nancy Glass continues her exclusive interview Nancy Bill the building where Jeffrey Dahmer's crimes were discovered has been torn down the grisly details of his Killing Spree have been revealed he will be in prison for the rest of his life All That Remains is the question why did this happen at normal friendships in high school but after that I started in with the alcohol drinking a lot of solitary drinking and uh really never had any close friendships after that After High School just to sort of lived in my own thought life fantasy world what created those Twisted fantasies is a question many are asking According to some experts Jeffrey Dahmer does not fit the profile of a ritual murderer the typical serial killer kills for the thrill for the excitement he wants to hear the victim Scream and Shout and try to get away Northeastern University Professor Jack Levin is a sociologist and criminologist who has studied hundreds of serial killers he says what he saw in our interview surprised him I think the very fact that he sedated his victims before he strangled them which is the last thing that most serial killers would do gives us an indication that he may actually have felt guilty and that he did care to at least to some extent about his victims he's a little bit different in a number of ways and the Very fact that he necrophiled his victims is is is a clue that he felt extremely rejected abandoned and he couldn't even have sex with his victims while they were alive in most cases he had to kill him first were you molested never ever in your childhood you have any memories of anything that you would associate with what you became no that's the that's the strange thing I can't pinpoint any anything so there was nothing in your childhood no no abuse no physical abuse no verbal abuse it was a normal childhood in a good home something went awry in my thought life I I don't know why he grew up on this quiet tree-lined street in bath Ohio friends say the young Jeffrey Dahmer exhibited some unusual interests were you obsessed with dead animals is that true I was interested in taxidermy in high school and experimented with preserving the bones of dogs and things like that and uh whether that had anything to do with with the escalation of the crimes I don't know but by all accounts his terrible crimes are far removed from his ordinary Beginnings his father Lionel is a chemist who taught his son how to play tennis his mother Joyce was a housewife the family split apart when Jeffrey Dahmer turned 18 a court order kept his father away from the house his mother who had been hospitalized for mental problems left too it was when he was alone in the house that Jeffrey Dahmer committed his first murder let me put this in perspective there are millions of people who get divorced there are millions of people who have stepparents and what does it do to them well it doesn't make them kill it doesn't make them cannibalize um I think we've got to understand that we might be able to explain part of this but we're not able to predict who's going to turn out to be a serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's father and stepmother Sherry say when he was in trouble in the past they tried to get him help they were as shocked as everyone else to hear about his secret life the king is watching the families have having to sit there and listen to the Gory details and yet what do we say to these families out there who don't even have the child to bury in many cases such a tragic waste and we can't do anything about it they say around them Jeffrey Dahmer acted as if nothing was wrong how did you live that double life how did you go to work how did you have a normal relationship with your family when you try to keep a terrible secret like I was it warps every other aspect of your life but I managed to uh I managed to go to work conduct myself just like anyone else would Jeffrey Dahmer is determined to try to explain his hideous crime but why would he take the mask off now Jack Levin says he thinks he knows you know it's very hard to feel sympathy for someone who has killed 17 people and is cannibalized the remains I think he wanted a chance to let people know that he did care that he was a remorseful human being now I'm not sure that came through but I think that was his intention the families of his victims disagreed they gathered to watch What Jeffrey Dahmer had to say they sat in stunned silence as they heard him describe the terrible end to the lives of their sons and brothers he's on a suicide watch and so he's never tried to commit suicide so I mean get you know get a clue he likes living just like my brother did like that's right him saying sorry to me because I bring back my brothers who does not bring back 17 men I'm against capital punishment but I still think that he's not suffering enough we may never know what demons drove this maniacal killer Jeffrey Dahmer himself talks about the need to overpower and possess his victims but Jack Levin says the serial murderer cannot face his own rage there was this side where he actually wanted to possess his victims but the other side was that he hated them he was very angry with humanity and this is kind of his way of getting even it would be easier to understand what happened if he came across as the glassy-eyed monster we expect him to be instead he's able to appear normal which is what once made him so dangerous most serial killers know the difference between right and wrong they know what they do is wrong and they simply don't care Jeffrey Dahmer cared perhaps but not enough to stop himself and finally I've been covering this story since it first broke it has been very difficult at times to deal with the gruesome details a lot of which we chose not to put on television but I thought this was an important story to tell