ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 6

Victim Selection in the Jeffrey Dahmer Slayings: An Example of Repetition in the Paraphilias?
Bennett, KA
Professor, University of Wisconsin—Madison, WI

(Received 14 December 1992; accepted 6 April 1993)

Abstract

It has been suggested that Jeffrey Dahmer, who was convicted for the serial murders of 15 people, carefully selected most of his victims on the basis of their external phenotype. Although the sample size is small, both univariate and multivariate methods support the possibility that similarity in craniofacial architecture strongly influenced his choice of victims. Because necrophilia played a key role during expert testimony at his trial, and because Dahmer retained most of the skulls and one postcranial skeleton, the results suggest that his actions represent an example of repetition in the paraphilias.

Keywords:
forensic anthropology, craniometry, paraphilia, serial murders, psychiatry

Paper ID: JFS13528J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS13528J
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