The Dahmer Book

by Steven David Lampley

  Jeff went to the Phoenix to meet Luis, but he was not there and Jeff left. Jeff returned to the Phoenix tavern around 2:30 am and saw Luis. After some conversation, Luis agreed to go back to his apartment and Jeff called for a taxi. Jeff had the taxi stop at the corner of North 23rd Street and West Wells Street, two blocks south and two blocks east of Jeff's apartment (Jeff had the taxi driver drop them off away from his apartment to keep the cab driver from knowing where he lived.). From that point, they got out to walk to the apartment, stopping at a store just long enough for Jeff to buy some cigarettes.

  Once in the apartment, they had sex and Jeff requested to take additional photos of Luis. Jeff asked Luis to undress and allow him to take photos of him in the nude. Luis did as Jeff asked. Asking Luis to lie on his stomach for additional photos, Jeff grabbed the rubber hammer and struck him on the back of his neck. The blow of the hammer did not knock Luis out and only served to anger him and the result was a physical fight. During the fight Jeff attempted to convince Luis that he only struck him with the hammer because he thought Luis was going to leave and not allow him to make the photos. Not believing the story, Luis left and stated he was going to notify the police. Around ten minutes later Jeff heard a loud banging on his apartment door. Opening the door, Jeff observed Luis standing there and he asked to come back inside. Jeff let him in and the two talked the remainder of the night. That morning at 7:00 am, Jeff allowed Pinet to leave his apartment and walked Luis to the bus stop at the corner of North 24th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue and gave him money to take a taxi.

  Jeff did not see Luis for several months, March 1991, as Jeff was in the Grand Avenue Mall., Luis approached Jeff and they made small talk and parted ways.

  It was about this time that Jeff purchased a security system for his apartment. He bought the alarm that was on his door from Radio Shack located in the Grand Avenue Mall and a Black & Decker alarm from the Black & Decker Center located near the zoo. He also bought a fake video camera at another store.

  Miller...

  Jeff's next victim was a black male, Ernest Miller (DOB 05/05/1967, 6'0”), a dancer, who had traveled on September 1, 1990, to Milwaukee from his home in Chicago to visit his family for the Labor Day weekend. Ernest left his aunt's home early in the morning on Monday, September 3, 1990. Jeff and Miller met in front of a bookstore in the 800 block of North 27th Street in Milwaukee. As with most of his other victims, Jeff offered Ernest $50.00 if he would accompany him back to his apartment. Once in the apartment they had sex and then Jeff began the process of mixing the sleeping pill concoction but realized he did not have as many pills as he thought. Mixing the drink anyway, he gave it to Smith who drank it. It did not keep Miller sedated long and when Ernest began to come out from under the sleeping pill influence Jeff decided that he would have to take other measures and cut the victim's throat and used a black-handled hunting knife with a six inch blade. [NOTE: the blood spatter in Jeff's apartment and the blood on his mattress were from Ernest when Jeff cut his carotid artery.] After Miller was deceased Jeff then made photos of the subject. Jeff dismembered Miller in his bathtub and disposed of the skin and other tissue but retained the biceps, heart, and skeleton, including the skull. Jeff stored the biceps in his freezer. During the dismemberment, Jeff talked to the decapitated head and a few times, kissed the head. The parts of the body that remained were processed using Soilex to liquefy them. [Miller is the first victim where Jeff would boil the skull.] He placed the head in his refrigerator and later bleached the skeleton (placed it in his closet), painted the skull, and then ate a thigh muscle which he thought was very tough. Afterward, Jeff bought some meat tenderizer and used it on the biceps and thought it tasted like filet mignon. [Parents notified July 26, 1991 at 0830 hours. Victim identified by dental records. Victim was reported missing on September 4, 1990. Police report number 91-53910, date 07/22/1991, 2350 hours. Homicide Number M2482.]

  With Jeff's increasing victims and the keeping of various body parts and processing the body parts, the neighbors in his apartment building were beginning to complain of the horrible smells coming from his apartment. The resident directly above Jeff moved out of the apartment building because the smells were making her sick. Another resident slid a note under Jeff's apartment door complaining to him of the intense smell emitting from his apartment.

  Thomas...

  On the breezy cool Monday, September 24, 1990, Jeff encountered a black male named David C. Thomas (Black male, DOB 12/21/1967, approximately 5'9” in height, weight approximately 150, medium to dark complexion, and short black hair) residing on West Birch Street, Milwaukee. The two met at Second and Wisconsin in Milwaukee at the Grand Avenue Mall. Jeff offered David money to go with him to his apartment, however, when they got to his apartment they drank and talked but there was no sex. Jeff gave Thomas the drink mixture with sleeping pills but murdered him without having sex because, after David was passed out from the sleeping pills, Jeff decided that he was not his “type.” He murdered Thomas because he did not want him to wake up and be angry with him. As usual, Jeff dismembered the body, but kept no parts of the victim. Jeff took photos as he dismembered the body that included several photos of the victim's head (One of the photos of the head was used by law enforcement to show to the victim's sister to identify the victim. The photo used in the identification of the victim had no injuries visible to family.) [Reported missing on 07/24/1990. Victim's sister was notified 07/29/1991 at 1935 hours. Police report number 91-53944, date 07/29/1991. Homicide Number M2484.]

  After the death of David Thomas, Jeff it would be several months before he would kill again. Seems Jeff may have lost his “touch” in his ability to seduce men to his apartment, he attempted to do so on several occasions, unsuccessfully. Jeff had thoughts of suicide during this time and expressed his feelings to his probation officer.

  It was sometime in the beginning of 1991 that Jeff purchased his aquarium that is seen in the crime scene photos.

  Straughter...

  On February 18, 1991, Jeff and Curtis “Demetra” Darrell Straughter, a black male, (DOB 04/16/1973, 6'0” tall, 140 pounds in weight, medium complexion, with a three inch perm and mustache, and earring) residing at on North 19th Street in Milwaukee The two crossed paths while Curtis was waiting for the bus by Marquette University (just a few blocks east from Jeff's apartment). As was typical with Jeff, he offered Straughter money if he would come to his apartment. Curtis came with Jeff. Once in the apartment, Jeff gave Curtis the sleeping pill rum and cola drink and then they had oral sex. Soon, Straughter passed out and Jeff then proceeded to strangle him with a strap. Once deceased, Jeff began the task of dismembering Curtis. As he did so, Jeff took photos of the process. Jeff kept Straughter's hands, genitals, and skull. After dismembering Curtis, Jeff placed him in a barrel with acid to liquify the victim to be disposed of down the drain. [Curtis was identified by dental records and his family was notified on July 26, 1991. He was last seen at home on 02/18/1991. Police report number 91-53907, date 07/22/1991, 2350 hours. Homicide Number M2479.]

  Lindsey...

  It was April 7, 1911, when Jeff encountered Erroll Lindsey, a nineteen year old (DOB 03/03/1972, approximately 5'9” in height, 150 pounds, short black hair, and medium complexion) black male residing in an apartment on North 24th Place, Milwaukee. Erroll was a black male who was standing at a bus stop on his way to a store. Jeff approached Erroll and offered him money to come to his apartment. Lindsey accepted. As usual, Jeff gave Erroll a drink laced with sleeping pills and, once passed out, Jeff had oral sex with him and then drilled a hole in Erroll's head and poured muriatic acid into his skull. Jeff, hoping to have created a zombie in a catatonic state that would obey his every wish, waited for Lindsey to awaken from his drug induced sleep. Erroll did awaken and, once awake complained of a headache to which Jeff then repeated the drugging of his victim and, once again passed out, decapitated Erroll. Jeff cut up his body and kept the skull, as was his custom, but different this time, he did not paint
the skull. Also, differently than the others, this is the only victim who Jeff completely took the skin off. Jeff did this by using a very small kitchen paring knife. This took Jeff approximately two hours to complete.

  Jeff tried to keep Erroll's skin by keeping it in cold water. The attempt failed and his skin was disposed of after a few weeks. [Erroll was last seen by his sister at their home on 04/07/1991. Victim was identified by dental records and the victim's mother was notified on July 26, 1991. Police report number 91-53908, date 07/22/1991, 2350 hours. Homicide Number M2480.]

  It was around this time that Jeff, short on money, pawned the hunting knife he used to cut up his victims, receiving $10 for his pawn. He went back to claim the knife about two weeks later.

  Hughes...

  On May 24, 1991, Jeff saw Tony Anthony Hughes, black male, thirty-one years of age [DOB 08/26/1959, 6'0” in height, approximately 150 pounds in weight] living on Colby Street in Madison, who he had known and dated previously. Tony was standing in front of the 219 Bar, 219 South Second Street, Milwaukee, a gay bar, located in Milwaukee. Tony had come from Madison, Wisconsin, [211 South Carol Street, Madison, Wisconsin] to his mother's home in Milwaukee. Tony was deaf and mute, but was able to communicate by reading lips and writing. As was typical with Jeff, he offered Hughes $50.00 to come to his apartment to make photos and to watch videos. Tony accepted, but it is not known why, since, according to his mother, he had several hundred dollars in his pocket. Jeff then gave Hughes a drink laced with his usual sleeping pills and drilled a hole in Tony's skull and injected muriatic acid into his brain hoping to create a zombie who would mind Jeff's every command. Tony never woke. Jeff then strangled Tony and then left him lying on the floor of his bedroom. Jeff did not have sex with Tony. [Reported missing May 31, 1991 and last seen on May 24, 1991 by a friend at the 219 Club. Tony was identified by dental records. His mother was notified of his death on July 5, 1991 at 2:50 pm. Police report number 91-53904, date 07/22/1991, 2350 hours. Homicide Number M2476. His skull and spine were recovered.]

  Sinthasomphone...

  Perhaps the most controversial victim, because of the sequence of events that unfolded at the time, is that of Konerak Sinthasomphone (DOB 12/02/1976, 5'5”, 120 pounds, dark hair), a fourteen year old Laotian boy living on 56th Street in Milwaukee. Jeff met Konerak on Wisconsin Avenue in front of the Grand Avenue Mall on May 26, 1991. Jeff was leaving the mall at the Wisconsin Avenue exit and saw Konerak about to go inside the mall. Jeff, thinking he was cute, initiated a conversation with him and, as usual, offered the young man $50.00 in return for posing for him to take photos. He followed Jeff back to his apartment around 5:00 pm that evening, with Tony Hughes still lying, deceased, on Jeff's bedroom floor. Konerak stripped to his underwear and Jeff took some photos of him before giving him the usual drink of coffee and rum laced with sleeping pills. The two began watching videos when Konerak passed out. Jeff, taking advantage of the situation, had oral sex with the boy and afterward, drilled a hole in his head for the purpose of injecting muriatic acid to make him a zombie to do his every wish. Jeff, resuming the watching of videos, also feel asleep and it was around midnight when Jeff woke. Looking over, Konerak was still asleep and, after waiting some time for Konerak to wake with no results, Jeff grew agitated and left to go to a bar on 27th Street because he was out of beer in his apartment.

  Jeff stayed at the bar until closing time. Unbeknownst to Jeff, while he was at the bar, Konerak was coming out of his drug induced state and managed to get out of Jeff's apartment. He staggered, as best he could, given his condition, into the street naked and with a hole in his head. On his way back to his apartment, Jeff saw Sinthasomphone sitting at the corner of West State Street and North 25th Street, the north end of the block where Jeff's apartment building was located. There were several ladies looking over him and trying to help him the best they could, but because of Konerak's lack of ability to speak English well enough, they did not understand what he was saying to them. Upset, Jeff approached Konerak and tried to get him to come back to his apartment, telling the ladies he was just drunk. He managed to get Konerak to the alleyway when he noticed the fire department coming in the alley from one direction and the police coming down the alley in the other direction. One of the officers took a yellow blanket and wrapped it around Konerak. The ladies that were attempting to help Konerak were still very visibly upset and caused one of the police officers to approach Jeff to inquire as to what was happening. The only identification Jeff had was his work identification from Ambrosia and handed it to the officer. He gave the officer a fake name for Konerak and told the officer that the victim was nineteen years old. Jeff, being the master of deceit, told the officers that Konerak's name was John, his lover, and had been drinking heavily after their lover's argument. Since Jeff's story was the only story to be told as Konerak was severely incapacitated and had limited English ability, the officers who responded, believed Jeff's story. The police officers walked Jeff and Konerak back to Jeff's apartment believing the entire situation to be a lover's quarrel between two gay lovers. Once inside the apartment, Jeff, using the photos he had just taken a few hours earlier as his evidence to show the officer they were lovers, Jeff's story was even more convincing. The responding officers, noticing a putrid smell in Jeff's apartment became inquisitive and very briefly peeked into Jeff's bedroom, but somehow missed the decomposing body of Tony Hughes lying in plain view on the bedroom floor. Once the police officers were gone, Jeff took Konerak and gave him another sleeping pill laced drink. After falling asleep, Jeff killed him by strangulation, had oral and anal sex with him, and then disposed of the victim in his normal fashion.

  It was several days later that a newspaper story was published about the missing boy and the mother of one of the two girls who was trying to help Konerak, notified police that the photo in the newspaper looked a lot like the missing boy, but records indicate that no one was ever sent to investigate that claim.

  [Because of the smell emitting from his apartment was a constant problem for his neighbors and they complained several times to the manager to do something about it. Each time the manager would inquire with Jeff as to the source of the smell, Jeff would defer the problem to dead fish in his aquarium or meat spoiling due to appliance failure.]

  Because Jeff now had two deceased victims in his apartment, he needed to dispose of them and quick and called Ambrosia Chocolate on May 28, 1991, and notified them that he was taking the day off. Jeff dismembered Hughes and Sinthasomphone keeping their skulls. [Knoerak was identified by dental records and his parents were notified of his death on July 25, 1991 at 5:05 pm. His skull and spine were recovered. Police report number 91-53905, date 07/22/1991, 2350 hours. Homicide Number M2477.]

  NOTE: Because of the reported inappropriate handling of the call by the police officers who responded to the call regarding Konerak, there was a tremendous amount of media coverage and a civil lawsuit that followed.

  It was around mid June 1991 when Jeff purchased a 57 gallon industrial drum to store body parts.

  On Sunday, June 30, 1991, and Jeff was heading to a Gay Pride Day in Chicago. Jeff met a Hispanic male named Eric at the Vortex bar. Jeff offered Eric $800 if he would go back to Milwaukee with him for nude photos and spend the night, but the male refused to go with Jeff.

  Turner (Montrell)...

  At the bus depot, on the way back home from Chicago, Jeff met an outgoing black male named Matt Turner (aka Donald Montrel) (DOB 07/03/1970, 5'8”, 140 pounds, dark complexion, high-top fade haircut on his left side). As with most of his pother victims, Jeff offered Matt money to come to his apartment back in Milwaukee to make photos and watch videos. Jeff paid for both Greyhound bus tickets. They arrived in Milwaukee and then took a cab to Jeff's apartment. Jeff made his sleeping pill laced drink and gave it to his new friend. Once passed out, Jeff used a strap to strangle Matt until he was dead and then dismembered him. Jeff kept his head, wrapped it in plastic, along with some of the organs, also placed in bags, an
d placed it all in his freezer. The remaining body was placed in a 57-gallon drum. [Subject was never reported missing. Identification made from dismembered hands found in apartment and the identification found in Jeff's apartment. Victim's father was notified on July 25, 1991, at 8:30 am. Police report number 91-53902, date 07/22/1991, 2350 hours. Homicide Number M2473.]

  Jeff visited Chicago about a dozen times frequenting bars located along Clark and Halstead Streets as well as men's bath houses, two of which were the Unicorn Club on Halstead and Man's Country Bath Club on Clark Street. All of the encounters in the clubs and bath houses were only one-night stands. However, Jeff did take with him his sleeping pills to use in the bath houses for use in a rum mixture to his pick-ups.

  Weinberger...

  On July 5, 1991, after traveling again to Chicago, Jeff met a Puerto Rican male named Jeremiah “Jeremy” Weinberger (DOB 09/29/1967 [Police report], 5'10”, 140 pounds, medium complexion short black hair, and a thin mustache), employed as a customer service representative and living on North Halstead in Chicago. He met this victim at Carol's Bar located on Wells Street. As was Jeff's usual method, he offered Jeremiah money to come to his apartment in Milwaukee to take photos and watch videos. They stayed at the bar until around 4:30 am and then they took the Greyhound Bus to Milwaukee and then a bus to Jeff's apartment. Once there, they had oral sex and enjoyed each other's company. Jeremiah spent the night with Jeff and the next day, when the victim indicated a desire to leave, Jeff offered him a parting drink that included sleeping pills. Once passed out, Jeremiah had boiling water injected into his brain through a drilled hole in his head. This did not create the zombie Jeff was hoping to create and the victim died a couple of days after the injections. Prior to beginning the dismemberment, Jeff retrieved his camera and took several photos as the dismemberment took place. Jeff placed his head in the freezer and the remaining body in the 57-gallon drum. [Reported missing by his father on July 6, 1991, to the Chicago Police Department. Identified by dental records and from his identification found in Jeff's apartment. Father was notified of his son's death on July 25, 1991. Police report number 91-53903, date 07/22/1991, 2350 hours. Homicide Number M2474.]