5 THE CASE OF J EFFREY DAH M ER OVERVIEW This chapter specifically addresses the highly publicized case of Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial lust murderer responsible for the death and mutilation of 17 young men. In an attempt to create a working profile, several factors linked to Dahmer's social and family history, sexuality, education, employment status, fantasy system, and criminality are discussed. In Chapter 6, this developmental portrait is linked to the three principal theoretical models discussed within Chapters 3 and 4. Specifically, Chapter 6 explores what insights the motivational, trauma control, and integrative paraphilic typologies offer in their accounts of Jeffrey Dahmer's criminal behavior. This exercise is particularly useful since the goal is to ascertain the extent to which each conceptual schema advances our understanding of serial sexual homicide (i.e., lust murder) and those persons who commit this act. This chapter is divided into two sections. First, several methodological issues germane to our overall assessment of Jeffrey Dahmer are delineated. Given that our approach emphasizes the case study investigatory strategy, a number of remarks relevant to this line of analysis are warranted. Some observations regard- ing the elements of the case study method are specified, several justifications for the selection of a qualitative approach are outlined, and a description of the data is supplied. Second, both historical and biographical information concerning Dahmer's life is provided. These data are sequenced chronologically, commencing with his early childhood development and moving all the way to his violent fantasies, criminal conduct, and paraphilic behaviors. Profiling his case in this way allows 67 68 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LUST MURDER the reader to assess the merits of the general organization and facilitates a more comprehensive and seamless evaluation within the application work undertaken in Chapter 6. METHODOLOGICAL CONCERNS Jeffrey Dahmer is perhaps one of the most notorious contemporary examples of a serial lust murderer (Egger, 2002; Tithecott, 1999). Various biographical and historical accounts illustrate a life replete with paraphilic interests and sexually violent fantasies (Palermo & Farkas, 2001). But the sensationalism surrounding his offenses must not overshadow the varied experiences that constitute the full- ness of his life narrative. Describing these circumstances is essential to a proper understanding of this individual. Indeed, this is how useful personality profiles are constructed (Palermo & Kocsis, 2005). BACKGROUND ON AND ELEMENTS OF THE CASE STUDY METHOD In order to establish a workable as well as a testable portrait of Jeffrey Dahmer, the method by which the profile is constructed must be explained. We employ the case study method. Case study research occupies a long, prominent, and illustrious history across many fields of academic inquiry (Stake, 1995). Case study analysis has been used by decision makers in the governmental and private sectors for informal policy guidance, as well as by historians, political scientists, psychologists, and other academic researchers for specific analysis and exposition (Creswell, 1998; Stake, 1998). Case studies are geared toward identi- fying and incorporating contextual influences that would otherwise be disre- garded as confounds in quantitatively oriented research (McGrath & Johnson, 2003). Generally speaking, a case study is defined as an exploration of a bounded system or a case over time through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information that are rich in content. This bounded system is conditioned by time and place, and is the case itself being investigated (Creswell, 1998). For purposes of our inquiry, the bounded system in question is an indi- vidual, namely, Jeffrey Dahmer. Multiple sources for this study include the use of various public domain documents and reports. The context of the case involves situating it within its physical, social, historical, or economic setting (or any com- bination of these and related contexts), provided they are relevant to the partic- ular life narrative under review (Stake, 1995; Creswell, 1998). The goals of case study research entail the summation of information that is unique and, therefore, not yet captured in the scientific literature (Lowman, 2001). Moreover, this method of inquiry describes the application of knowledge in a way that makes it easier to apply the principles of the case to similar situations (Stake, THE CASE OF JEFFREY DAHMER 69 1995). By summarizing how one particular situation is addressed, the researcher can react to it by suggesting alternative conceptualizations and interventions that might also be effective or that might lead to different outcomes in or interpreta- tions of the life narrative being scrutinized (Lowman, 2001). The goal is not to learn about a single situation; rather, the aim is to use the case in order to develop a theory, to engage in practice consistent with the findings, and to fine-tune and revise the theory to guide future empirical investigations (for applications of this approach in the overlapping psychological and criminological literatures, see Graney & Arrigo, 2002; Claussen-Rodgers & Arrigo, 2005). It is in this context, then, that the case study method makes possible certain generalizations regard- ing the issues to which the case itself is bound (Lowman, 2001). Several representative examples of single case study designs are discernible in the extant research. Generally speaking, these are efforts that integrate the rel- evant psychological and criminological literatures in order to fashion a system- atic assessment of controversial and infamous criminals. Three such instances are worth noting. In their examination of the power serial rapist, Graney and Arrigo (2002) reviewed the case of Gilbert Escobedo, the "Ski Mask" rapist, to explain how this type of sexual offender selects potential victims. The authors were able to provide greater clarity for the behavior, motivation, and personality structure of the power serial rapist. This included the development of a more sophisticated and integrated typology than previously articulated in the literature pertaining to the victim selection process. In their investigation of the female homicide offender, Shipley and Arrigo (2004) evaluated the case of Aileen Wuornos, a woman who engaged in preda- tory serial murder, assailing seven men. Based on their inquiry, the authors were able to explain why psychopathic women who experience severe attachment dis- order are likely to kill repeatedly. Their research significantly contributed to the literature on the female homicide offender, demonstrating that some women commit the crime of murder instrumentally; that is, for material gain or profit. Contrary to much of the existing research on the subject, the authors showed that the motivational forces and personality structure of the female serial killer extend beyond the popular explanations of ongoing victimization, fear for her life, and partner abuse. Finally, in their treatment of police corruption and psychological testing occur- ring at the pre-employment screening phase, Claussen-Rodgers and Arrigo (2005) considered the case of Robert Philip Hanssen. Hanssen was a former FBI agent convicted of selling nuclear war plans and other highly classified United States documents to the former Soviet Union and Russia in exchange for money and diamonds. The authors demonstrated how the personality constructs of consci- entiousness and non-sociability (e.g., deviance, corruption) could be psychome- trically tested among would-be police officers by relying on the NEO-Personality Inventory-Revised and the Inwald Personality Inventory assessment tools. The assimilation of these psychological testing instruments, if appropriately 70 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LUST MURDER administered during the pre-employment screening phase, could yield rich data on which to base a hiring decision. By proposing a novel, theoretically driven evaluation strategy, the researchers significantly contributed to the literature on policing, corruption, and psychological testing. There are various models of case study research (Stake, 1995). An intrinsic case study focuses on a singular instance, phenomenon, or story that requires investigation because of its uniqueness. A collective case study is utilized when more than one instance, phenomenon, or narrative is studied. An instrumental case study focuses on an issue (or issues), with the case used instrumentally for illustrative purposes (Shipley & Arrigo, 2004). Issues are "matter for study regarding the specific case. Starting with a topical concern, researchers pose fore- shadowed problems, concentrate on issue-related observations, [and] interpret patterns of data that reform issues as assertions" (Stake, 1998, p. 92). An instrumental case study approach is the qualitative methodology employed in the current study. More specifically, in this book, the high-profile case of Jeffrey Dahmer, a convicted lust murderer, is used to address the issue of how paraphilia functions as an underlying motive in instances involving sexual homi- cide and serial murder. By relying on the data collection process of the instru- mental case study method, a detailed description of the case emerges, wherein an analysis of issues (or themes) can be conducted and an interpretation of the life narrative can be supplied (Creswell, 1998). Regardless of the specific case study format utilized,