Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022): Season 1, Episode 5 - Episode #1.5 - full transcript
So they got you
on the night shift, huh?
Yep.
Well, don't bring home any chocolate.
I'm watching my figure.
Right.
What do they have you doing there anyway?
Nothing.
I don't think
they're paying you for doing nothing.
Why don't you want to talk about it?
There's nothing to talk about.
I just mix the chocolate all night long.
All right, fine. I was just asking.
So you thought he was beautiful.
And you went to his funeral
even though you had never met him.
Yes.
I, uh, went to
the wake and everything,
and, uh, that's when I decided
I was gonna dig him up.
And what did you plan on doing?
I just wanted to lay with him.
While he was still fresh and just, uh...
hold him.
But, uh... it didn't work.
It was March and the ground was too hard,
and it would have taken forever. So...
But I wish I could have dug him up.
I think if I had, then, uh...
I wouldn't have done all the stuff after.
Might've just been the end of it.
Jeff, can you...
Just help us understand a little.
What do you think drove you
to try to dig up a dead body?
You know,
because most people wouldn't do that.
Um...
I guess, uh...
I guess I just...
I hoped that he could be, uh,
somebody that wanted
to see a movie that I wanted to see.
You wanted
to control these guys?
Yeah.
Yeah, 'cause, uh...
well, everybody was always
tellin' me what to do.
You know, my dad, my grandma, my bosses.
The guys were just, uh...
the one thing in my life
that I could control.
So Jeff...
...just going back,
talking about Steven Hicks...
you say that was accidental.
Uh...
Which one was he? Was that the hitchhiker?
Yes.
Okay, 'cause I never
knew their names most of the time.
You should know their names.
These are people you killed.
So, Steven Hicks, the hitchhiker.
That was an accident.
And Steven Tuomi,
he was the one at the, uh, hotel downtown.
Hmm.
Both Steves.
That was an accident as well?
Yeah.
I mean, I didn't mean to kill him.
I didn't want to kill him, but...
I must've.
So yeah, accidental.
Drugged myself too on accident.
So, what changed then?
Because after that,
you started killing people on purpose.
Well...
I started in with the drinking more.
A lot of solitary drinking.
And I just...
started to feel more and more...
alone.
When I was, uh, living with my grandma,
I'd, uh, go to the bars
and I'd pick someone up
and take 'em back to her house.
And I'd drug 'em.
And then I'd take 'em downstairs
to the fruit cellar.
Then I'd strangle them
once they were unconscious
'cause I didn't want them to suffer.
And how many did you kill
at your grandma's house, if you remember?
Uh...
Um...
Three?
Can you describe them?
Well, one guy was Black,
one was a Chicano,
and, uh, another was Indian
or American Indian.
It was just about
if, if I thought that they were beautiful.
I'm not buying that.
You targeted your victims.
Sorry?
You purposefully moved
into an apartment in the Black community.
It's what I could afford, sir.
To an area that was
under-patrolled and underserved,
and you knew that, isn't that right?
Easier to get away with things there,
easier to hunt.
So you get 'em down there, then what?
Um...
Well, at that point, I'd just kinda panic,
you know, like, my grandma
was gonna come down there and find 'em.
But she didn't like
going down those stairs.
So, I knew I was pretty much safe.
But, uh, well,
then she started to notice the smell.
Jeff?
But I figured out how to do it.
You just, uh,
triple-bag the body parts and...
Hey, Grandma.
...throw 'em in the trash and...
Ya winning?
...doesn't smell at all, really.
And Jeff, did you...
You were, what?
Doin' experiments on the bodies?
Yeah.
I'd soak some parts
in acid or, uh,
sometimes just boil 'em
till the flesh came off.
Ah!
The, uh...
You know,
the compulsion had just taken over
completely at that point.
I wasn't even trying to stop it.
Can I just get the electric chair,
you think?
Jeff, did you ever hear voices?
No.
I'm not insane.
It just got really easy, is the problem.
That's why it kept happening.
And your grandma
never suspected anything?
No, she suspected something, just...
not what I was actually doing,
I don't think.
Said she heard a thud one time.
Jeff?
Go back to bed.
I just told her I fell.
She saw I brought guys home, I think.
But, uh...
she didn't want to accept what that meant.
That you were...
Yeah, I think she just
didn't want to know about my, uh...
lifestyle and whatnot.
But she noticed the smell?
Yeah.
July and August I kinda dreaded
'cause it got so humid down there.
No AC.
Jeff! Something smells real bad
down in the cellar.
It's my taxidermy stuff.
I told you that already.
And for tonight's crime report,
police are asking for the public's help
in finding the people
responsible for a fire
that destroyed a home in Stafford.
Jeff, the smell.
Oh...
Uh, yeah. I seen it.
It's a dead raccoon under the back porch.
Can't get to it.
Don't worry though.
It'll smell for a while,
and then it'll stop.
Why don't you think she did anything?
I mean, that smell, flesh decomposing,
that's a very distinctive smell.
I mean, we are kinda hardwired
to be repulsed by that.
Well, not everybody.
But, uh, yeah, I'm not sure.
I think she, uh...
I think maybe
she was deliberately not seeing it.
But when she found my altar,
she kinda blew her top.
Watch yourself on those stairs!
Oh God! You can't smell that, Jeff?
No.
Oh!
No wonder your nana's upset.
I am too now.
Well, that's what it smells like, Dad.
Animals and stuff.
Taxidermy, it's my hobby.
Unlock it, Jeff.
- I left the key at work, I think.
- Jeff, unlock it.
Let me see.
Oh, yeah.
It is here.
You're the one
that taught me to do it, you know.
And now, you're, like...
Wait a minute.
You use that saw to cut up roadkill?
It's big enough. Yeah.
Like, a woodchuck skull?
Can't do it with a smaller one.
What is that?
What?
What the heck?
What?
What the heck? What is this?
It's just... It's one of my experiments.
I was just using chemicals
to try to melt the flesh and the fur off.
Think that one was a skunk.
Oh, you think so, Jeff?
You think you could have washed
the skunk sludge down the drain better?
Jeez, Jeff!
- Sorry, Dad.
- God!
I'll quit doing it.
I mean it though.
Yeah, I said I'd stop. I'll stop.
Yeah, and, uh, get rid of that comic book
devil stuff too, goddammit.
I know you say
it comes from a movie and all,
but it's just too much for your grandma.
You know that.
Okay. I will.
I promise.
So, you did stop?
Oh, yeah.
For a while, months.
It's funny.
Once I stopped,
that's when I started to get scared.
I just kept waiting to get caught.
You know, every cop car I heard,
I thought they were coming for me.
But, uh... never did.
And I'd watch the news,
but there was never any story
about anybody goin' missing
or anything like that.
And why do you think that was?
So then I thought that, uh,
I wasn't gonna get caught,
if I was careful.
Which made not doing it really hard.
But I did try to not do it.
For, uh...
long periods of time.
This one time...
I really did screw up.
No, man.
Come on. Come on.
Fuck!
Come on, baby.
- What the fuck? Jesus!
- Don't worry, I'm not a cop!
What?
I seen you at the bar.
You need some help?
Uh, no. I'm all right.
Just a... dead battery.
Ugh.
I don't know how you're gonna fix that.
You should let me help you.
I was just...
My grandma's house
is just around the corner.
We can get my car,
drive back here, and give you a jump.
Okay. Thanks.
Yeah.
Uh, I'll just wait here then.
No, you should come with.
This is a rough area.
You shouldn't just be sitting there.
Come on. Let's grab a taxi
before we get robbed.
Thanks a lot.
You bet.
What's your name?
Jeff.
Thanks, Jeff. I'm Ron.
- You lock it, Ron?
- Yeah.
- Good.
- So you live around here?
Yeah, my grandma's.
Just for... just for now.
Come on in.
Hey, we gotta be quiet though.
Otherwise, the beast will wake up
and start chewing me out.
Come on in.
Here, just make yourself at home.
I gotta find my car keys.
Oh God.
Hey, you wanna see the fruit cellar?
Fruit cellar?
Nah, man. Look, I'm just here because
you said you could give me a hand, okay?
Yeah, I'm gonna help you. I just...
I gotta find my car keys.
Just... Why don't you sit down?
Do you want a drink?
No, I do not. I gotta work in the morning!
If that's not what you had in mind...
Fine, quiet! I'm just being polite.
Seeing if you want something is all,
while you wait.
You want a coffee or something?
Fine.
But make it quick.
Yes, sir. Sanka okay?
Sanka's fine. Thank you.
Don't get quicker than that.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Is somebody down there with you, Jeff?
I'm fine, Grandma! It's just my friend!
It's very late, Jeff!
Yeah, we know!
Jeez.
You know there's nothing
happening here tonight, right?
Like, I've made that pretty clear.
We're not sleeping together or nothing.
Well,
we'll see.
All right. Fuck you. I'm outta here.
Good luck with that.
You okay?
Yeah, I just
got real light-headed.
Jeff?
I think I'm gonna throw up.
Just sit down a sec.
There you go. Just relax.
It's okay.
It's okay.
You put
something in that, didn't you?
Jeff!
What?
I think your friend
should go home now, Jeff!
Yeah, we're leaving now, okay?
Good night.
You're so beautiful.
Jeff!
Who is that?
It's just my friend.
I didn't know you had Black friends, Jeff.
Well, it's not the 1920s anymore
or whatever, Grandma.
Yes. I know that.
What's wrong with him?
Nothing.
He just had a little too much to drink.
I'm just trying to sober him up.
You've been drinking.
No, I haven't.
Is he gonna be sick?
Just go back to bed, Grandma.
You should take
that young man to a hospital.
What? He's just a little wasted, Grandma.
I will not have some stranger
dying in my house!
He'll be fine!
Just let him sleep it off! Jeez!
No!
Something is not right here.
I'm calling your father.
Hey! Nobody's calling anybody, okay?
He had a little too much to drink.
He's just gonna sleep it off.
Now, go back to bed.
What are you doing?
I am giving this young man a blanket.
And I am staying down here
and watching him until he wakes up.
You don't have to do that!
And if this young man is sick,
I am taking him to a hospital.
Do you understand?
Well, drinking is what you were doing,
and God knows what else.
This is fucking unreal!
You watch your mouth, young man!
You want to go up to your room,
fine, but I am staying right here!
And you can bet your sweet bippy
your father's gonna hear about this.
If you're so worried about him, Grandma,
why don't you call an ambulance then?
Oh, I know why.
Hi, buddy.
Let's get you home.
...drink so much until it almost kills you?
Well, if this is your idea of fun,
then I just don't know.
I need some money, Grandma.
He all right?
Yeah, he's fine.
Get home safe.
Where's he going? Sir, will you make sure
this young man gets home all right?
Where does he live?
It's just down in...
It's just by Marquette.
Well, this bus goes down 27th Street,
the whole way.
Yeah, that's what I mean, 27th Street.
Okay, thank you.
Hey, man, it's the end of the line.
This is the end of the line.
- Where am I?
- You OD'd. You're lucky to be alive.
Huh? Hold... Hold on. Uh...
I don't do drugs.
You did last night.
No, I...
Ma'am, a guy I met last night,
he was weird.
He must have
slipped something in my drink.
Dude tried to kill me.
You should talk to the police.
So you're saying
this guy drugged you.
How exactly did he do that?
He put something in my coffee.
I had one drink at the club, officer,
then I take two sips of this coffee,
suddenly the room's spinning,
I can't talk.
So it wasn't caffeine or...?
It was Sanka.
Then I wake up
the next afternoon in a hospital bed.
$200 is missing, my bracelet's gone.
I don't think the 200 bucks
and a bracelet...
I don't care about
getting robbed, officer.
This guy is drugging people.
Look...
I went down to the bathhouses.
They say they know this guy, Jeff.
He's blond.
He isn't allowed in anymore
on account of he's drugging people.
Okay.
Like I said, we'll look into it.
I'm not asking you to look into it.
I'm asking you to go and stop this guy.
I understand.
But stuff like this
is really hard to prove.
Go to this man's house.
Whatever he's using is gonna be there.
- You know where his house is?
- Yes!
I thought I was
gonna die in his living room.
It's on 57th. Uh...
Between Hayes and Lincoln.
I know right where it is.
Well, Jeff,
what do you have to say for yourself?
Honestly, I don't know
what he's talking about.
I met this guy at the bar,
and his car needed a jump,
and he was really drunk.
So I said,
"You know, come back to my house
and try to sober up,
have a cup of coffee."
And he just... He fell asleep on the chair.
Okay, so you're saying he was just drunk?
Yeah.
And had you been drinking?
- I had one beer, but I was fine.
- Jeffrey Dahmer.
What? I got a cop askin' me
what happened, so I'm tellin' him!
I was just trying to do a good thing.
I mean, this guy was wasted.
Trying to drive off in his car.
That's illegal, you know.
If I was to have a look around
in your bedroom,
I wouldn't find any, you know,
like, tranquilizers or whatnot?
No. I... I don't even know
what they would look like.
But sure, I mean, it's right upstairs,
if you wanna come take a look.
He said that you stole some money.
What?
And a bracelet?
No, I didn't.
My grandma was with me the whole time.
Grandma, did I look through his wallet?
No.
He did not, and I was there
the whole time. That is true.
And a bracelet?
Jeez.
I just don't remember
any kind of bracelet.
You've gotta be kidding me.
I know it's disappointing,
but we went to the house.
Talked to him, talked to the grandma.
You know, it's just...
There's two sides to every story.
Jesus.
I mean, he's an odd guy,
I'll give you that.
Been arrested a couple times, but...
But you should know,
getting arrested doesn't suddenly
make you guilty of everything.
I've never been arrested.
Yeah. Okay. Well, you know.
So, let me get this straight...
You're gonna take the word of a white guy
who's got a criminal record
over the word of a Black man
who doesn't have a criminal record.
That's what you're telling me, right?
'Cause I'm telling you
that this man tried to kill me.
And you're saying
there's nothing you can do about that?
Without any evidence,
yes, that's what I'm saying.
- What was he arrested for?
- I can't divulge that information.
Thank you for your time.
Hey! Hey!
- Don't get in that cab!
- What the hell?
You shut your mouth, motherfucker!
Brother, this dude will try to kill you!
He's fucking crazy!
Oh, come on.
What...? You're just gonna...?
Hey!
Come get your 50 dollars.
No!
Oh, come on. What...?
I call ambulance.
I call ambulance.
Step down!
Put that on the ground.
Come with us, please.
Mr. Dahmer, please stand.
To the charge of sexual assault
in the second degree,
you have pled no contest.
Therefore, I hereby sentence you
to one year in the custody
of the Milwaukee County
House of Correction.
Now, Mr. Dahmer,
looking at you right now,
you remind me a lot of my grandson.
Now, he had a problem with alcohol.
But he turned it around.
And now he has a successful car wash.
You are not the kind of guy who belongs
in the correction system, okay?
You need a second chance.
And this is your lucky day
because I'm gonna give it to you.
And on the other side of this, hopefully
you will have learned your lesson
and you'll get your act together.
Now, I see
that you have steady employment.
So the court is willing to grant you
work release of up to 40 hours per week.
When you finish your work,
you report directly back to jail.
And while the court is obliged to inform
your employer of this arrangement,
I'm willing to do you the favor
of leaving out the exact nature
of your... misconduct.
Does that sound fair to you?
Yes. Thank you, Your Honor.
Where are we going?
Grandma's.
We're gonna have
one last dinner together as a family.
And then when you get out,
you're gonna get a place of your own.
Because we're at our wits' end
with you, Jeff.
Our wits' end!
Roast is gonna take
about another ten minutes.
You want another beer, Jeff?
Yeah, thanks.
You know, Jeff,
it was your grandmother
who paid your bail.
Okay? Twenty-five hundred dollars
is a lot for her.
You're gonna be expected to pay that back.
This whole thing was a setup.
All's I was doing was some photography.
Be quiet.
No more hobbies for me, I guess.
Enough.
Where is that box?
What box?
Don't play dumb.
Your grandmother has a box
with all my stuff in it.
Photos, ribbons, all my accomplishments.
And I want you to give it back.
Go get it.
No, she gave it to me.
Goddammit, Jeff!
Get it.
Fine.
Are you gonna follow me?
Yes, I am.
Come on, open it.
I can't. I lost the key.
Jeff, don't lie to me!
I'm not lying. I don't know where it is.
Oh godda...!
There's something bad in there, Jeff.
What is it, pornography?
No. It's just, like, my stuff.
Is it gay pornography, Jeff?
Because all these years, I look under
your mattress, I don't find a Playboy.
Now you're going to jail
for molesting a 13-year-old boy.
No, it's just, like, my stuff,
like baseball cards!
You're not gonna tell me, are you?
Oh fuck,
I'll break the fuckin' thing open!
Come on, Dad! What the heck?
Open this fucking door, Jeff!
Don't break your box, Dad.
I found the key. Right here.
It's just some pornos.
Put 'em in there
so Grandma wouldn't find 'em.
Sorry.
Yeah.
Dinner's ready!
We... we better get down there. Yeah.
Hon, I know you're upset.
It's okay.
No one likes to know that their son's
going to prison in the morning.
I just keep asking myself...
Did I do this to him?
- I mean it. Did I...
- Sweetheart.
I mean, should
I have stayed in that fucking marriage?
Should I have done
more things with him like taxidermy?
He really loved that stuff.
Honey, you can't do that to yourself.
Because I really should've
pushed back harder.
I should've pressed him harder
to find out what was really going on.
You know?
But the truth is,
he made me uncomfortable.
And I really didn't wanna know...
All those red flags. Oh.
God.
And I asked him.
You know, every time I asked him.
Hello?
Discharged?
What the heck happened, Jeff?
I don't know.
Guess they thought I drank too much.
They never really said.
So, what...
What the heck are you doing
with a mannequin, Jeff?
What? Did you steal it?
I just did it on a dare.
Whole thing was just a joke.
Oh.
So, what were you doing
at the State Fair, Jeff?
Exposing yourself?
I was just peeing outside.
I didn't know anyone could see.
Thanks for getting me, Dad.
Why did you molest that boy?
- Jeff?
- I didn't molest him.
All's I did was take photos.
Don't bullshit me.
I'm telling you.
Didn't even know how old he was.
Kid said you molested him.
Why would he lie about that?
I don't know. I don't know why.
All's I did was take some pictures.
I was even gonna pay him.
It was all a setup.
People are out to get me, Dad.
I don't understand it either.
That kid's father...
I can't stop seeing the look in his eye.
He looked right at me.
Jeff Dahmer knew my son was a child.
When he met my son, he asked him
what grade in school he was in.
If my son was not so healthy and athletic,
the drug that this man gave my son
could have killed him...
Mr. Sinthasomphone,
I'm sorry. It's just, uh...
I am having trouble understanding you.
Could one of your children
maybe help us out here?
Thank you.
We are immigrants.
We work hard.
We take the jobs we can get.
We don't have
the money for an expensive lawyer.
My family,
we're not eating or sleeping...
Okay. Okay.
Maybe if your father would like
to hand his letter to the bailiff,
we can enter it into the record.
Mr. Dahmer, please stand.
To the charge of sexual assault
in the second degree,
you've pled no contest.
Therefore, I hereby sentence you
to one year in the custody
of the Milwaukee County
House of Correction.
Dear Judge Gardner,
I believe very strongly
that my son
Jeffrey Dahmer is an alcoholic.
If he isn't treated,
I have tremendous reservations
about Jeff's chances
when he hits the street.
I've heard of a treatment program
that has had great success
in treating alcoholics
and that Jeff's placement
in such a program
is critical to his future.
You're the one
that likes fucking kids, huh? Huh?
I sincerely hope that you might
intervene in some way to help my son,
whom I love very much.
And for whom
I want a better life.
I feel this may be our last chance
to do something lasting
and that you,
Your Honor, might hold that key.
Sincerely, Lionel Dahmer.
- Hey, Dad.
- Hey.
- Good to see you.
- Yeah.
- Hey, Jeff. Ah. You look great.
- Hey.
You lost some weight.
- Well, that's good to hear.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Good thing was
I got to lift weights a lot.
And read a lot.
- And going to work every day, that helped.
- Yeah.
But, yeah, been doing good, you know.
Behaving myself.
Great. Just... That's just great.
Um, well,
so you're gonna be staying with
your grandma for a week and that's it.
Then you gotta find
an apartment on your own.
- But Shari and I'll help you with that.
- Okay.
Um...
Jeff, when you were in there, uh...
uh, did anybody help you?
You know, like a psychologist,
or did you talk to anybody,
like a counselor?
About what?
Uh, anything.
Um, you know, alcohol for one or, um...
you know, just how you're...
You know, what's going on inside of you.
Or maybe, um, you know, some guidance
on how you're meant to be, um...
You know...
You know, contribute to society.
I don't know. Just, you know,
stuff I wasn't able to teach you.
No, they just leave you alone in there.
I just kept to myself the whole time.
That was kind of the best part.
Come on. You said
we could stop for hamburgers.
Yeah, um, here.
Why don't you warm up the car?
I'm parked down at the very end.
I'm gonna hit the john.
Okay.
Well, here it is.
Oh, shoot. Uh...
Sorry.
Trying to learn it.
Just read my lips.
I live here.
on the night shift, huh?
Yep.
Well, don't bring home any chocolate.
I'm watching my figure.
Right.
What do they have you doing there anyway?
Nothing.
I don't think
they're paying you for doing nothing.
Why don't you want to talk about it?
There's nothing to talk about.
I just mix the chocolate all night long.
All right, fine. I was just asking.
So you thought he was beautiful.
And you went to his funeral
even though you had never met him.
Yes.
I, uh, went to
the wake and everything,
and, uh, that's when I decided
I was gonna dig him up.
And what did you plan on doing?
I just wanted to lay with him.
While he was still fresh and just, uh...
hold him.
But, uh... it didn't work.
It was March and the ground was too hard,
and it would have taken forever. So...
But I wish I could have dug him up.
I think if I had, then, uh...
I wouldn't have done all the stuff after.
Might've just been the end of it.
Jeff, can you...
Just help us understand a little.
What do you think drove you
to try to dig up a dead body?
You know,
because most people wouldn't do that.
Um...
I guess, uh...
I guess I just...
I hoped that he could be, uh,
somebody that wanted
to see a movie that I wanted to see.
You wanted
to control these guys?
Yeah.
Yeah, 'cause, uh...
well, everybody was always
tellin' me what to do.
You know, my dad, my grandma, my bosses.
The guys were just, uh...
the one thing in my life
that I could control.
So Jeff...
...just going back,
talking about Steven Hicks...
you say that was accidental.
Uh...
Which one was he? Was that the hitchhiker?
Yes.
Okay, 'cause I never
knew their names most of the time.
You should know their names.
These are people you killed.
So, Steven Hicks, the hitchhiker.
That was an accident.
And Steven Tuomi,
he was the one at the, uh, hotel downtown.
Hmm.
Both Steves.
That was an accident as well?
Yeah.
I mean, I didn't mean to kill him.
I didn't want to kill him, but...
I must've.
So yeah, accidental.
Drugged myself too on accident.
So, what changed then?
Because after that,
you started killing people on purpose.
Well...
I started in with the drinking more.
A lot of solitary drinking.
And I just...
started to feel more and more...
alone.
When I was, uh, living with my grandma,
I'd, uh, go to the bars
and I'd pick someone up
and take 'em back to her house.
And I'd drug 'em.
And then I'd take 'em downstairs
to the fruit cellar.
Then I'd strangle them
once they were unconscious
'cause I didn't want them to suffer.
And how many did you kill
at your grandma's house, if you remember?
Uh...
Um...
Three?
Can you describe them?
Well, one guy was Black,
one was a Chicano,
and, uh, another was Indian
or American Indian.
It was just about
if, if I thought that they were beautiful.
I'm not buying that.
You targeted your victims.
Sorry?
You purposefully moved
into an apartment in the Black community.
It's what I could afford, sir.
To an area that was
under-patrolled and underserved,
and you knew that, isn't that right?
Easier to get away with things there,
easier to hunt.
So you get 'em down there, then what?
Um...
Well, at that point, I'd just kinda panic,
you know, like, my grandma
was gonna come down there and find 'em.
But she didn't like
going down those stairs.
So, I knew I was pretty much safe.
But, uh, well,
then she started to notice the smell.
Jeff?
But I figured out how to do it.
You just, uh,
triple-bag the body parts and...
Hey, Grandma.
...throw 'em in the trash and...
Ya winning?
...doesn't smell at all, really.
And Jeff, did you...
You were, what?
Doin' experiments on the bodies?
Yeah.
I'd soak some parts
in acid or, uh,
sometimes just boil 'em
till the flesh came off.
Ah!
The, uh...
You know,
the compulsion had just taken over
completely at that point.
I wasn't even trying to stop it.
Can I just get the electric chair,
you think?
Jeff, did you ever hear voices?
No.
I'm not insane.
It just got really easy, is the problem.
That's why it kept happening.
And your grandma
never suspected anything?
No, she suspected something, just...
not what I was actually doing,
I don't think.
Said she heard a thud one time.
Jeff?
Go back to bed.
I just told her I fell.
She saw I brought guys home, I think.
But, uh...
she didn't want to accept what that meant.
That you were...
Yeah, I think she just
didn't want to know about my, uh...
lifestyle and whatnot.
But she noticed the smell?
Yeah.
July and August I kinda dreaded
'cause it got so humid down there.
No AC.
Jeff! Something smells real bad
down in the cellar.
It's my taxidermy stuff.
I told you that already.
And for tonight's crime report,
police are asking for the public's help
in finding the people
responsible for a fire
that destroyed a home in Stafford.
Jeff, the smell.
Oh...
Uh, yeah. I seen it.
It's a dead raccoon under the back porch.
Can't get to it.
Don't worry though.
It'll smell for a while,
and then it'll stop.
Why don't you think she did anything?
I mean, that smell, flesh decomposing,
that's a very distinctive smell.
I mean, we are kinda hardwired
to be repulsed by that.
Well, not everybody.
But, uh, yeah, I'm not sure.
I think she, uh...
I think maybe
she was deliberately not seeing it.
But when she found my altar,
she kinda blew her top.
Watch yourself on those stairs!
Oh God! You can't smell that, Jeff?
No.
Oh!
No wonder your nana's upset.
I am too now.
Well, that's what it smells like, Dad.
Animals and stuff.
Taxidermy, it's my hobby.
Unlock it, Jeff.
- I left the key at work, I think.
- Jeff, unlock it.
Let me see.
Oh, yeah.
It is here.
You're the one
that taught me to do it, you know.
And now, you're, like...
Wait a minute.
You use that saw to cut up roadkill?
It's big enough. Yeah.
Like, a woodchuck skull?
Can't do it with a smaller one.
What is that?
What?
What the heck?
What?
What the heck? What is this?
It's just... It's one of my experiments.
I was just using chemicals
to try to melt the flesh and the fur off.
Think that one was a skunk.
Oh, you think so, Jeff?
You think you could have washed
the skunk sludge down the drain better?
Jeez, Jeff!
- Sorry, Dad.
- God!
I'll quit doing it.
I mean it though.
Yeah, I said I'd stop. I'll stop.
Yeah, and, uh, get rid of that comic book
devil stuff too, goddammit.
I know you say
it comes from a movie and all,
but it's just too much for your grandma.
You know that.
Okay. I will.
I promise.
So, you did stop?
Oh, yeah.
For a while, months.
It's funny.
Once I stopped,
that's when I started to get scared.
I just kept waiting to get caught.
You know, every cop car I heard,
I thought they were coming for me.
But, uh... never did.
And I'd watch the news,
but there was never any story
about anybody goin' missing
or anything like that.
And why do you think that was?
So then I thought that, uh,
I wasn't gonna get caught,
if I was careful.
Which made not doing it really hard.
But I did try to not do it.
For, uh...
long periods of time.
This one time...
I really did screw up.
No, man.
Come on. Come on.
Fuck!
Come on, baby.
- What the fuck? Jesus!
- Don't worry, I'm not a cop!
What?
I seen you at the bar.
You need some help?
Uh, no. I'm all right.
Just a... dead battery.
Ugh.
I don't know how you're gonna fix that.
You should let me help you.
I was just...
My grandma's house
is just around the corner.
We can get my car,
drive back here, and give you a jump.
Okay. Thanks.
Yeah.
Uh, I'll just wait here then.
No, you should come with.
This is a rough area.
You shouldn't just be sitting there.
Come on. Let's grab a taxi
before we get robbed.
Thanks a lot.
You bet.
What's your name?
Jeff.
Thanks, Jeff. I'm Ron.
- You lock it, Ron?
- Yeah.
- Good.
- So you live around here?
Yeah, my grandma's.
Just for... just for now.
Come on in.
Hey, we gotta be quiet though.
Otherwise, the beast will wake up
and start chewing me out.
Come on in.
Here, just make yourself at home.
I gotta find my car keys.
Oh God.
Hey, you wanna see the fruit cellar?
Fruit cellar?
Nah, man. Look, I'm just here because
you said you could give me a hand, okay?
Yeah, I'm gonna help you. I just...
I gotta find my car keys.
Just... Why don't you sit down?
Do you want a drink?
No, I do not. I gotta work in the morning!
If that's not what you had in mind...
Fine, quiet! I'm just being polite.
Seeing if you want something is all,
while you wait.
You want a coffee or something?
Fine.
But make it quick.
Yes, sir. Sanka okay?
Sanka's fine. Thank you.
Don't get quicker than that.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Is somebody down there with you, Jeff?
I'm fine, Grandma! It's just my friend!
It's very late, Jeff!
Yeah, we know!
Jeez.
You know there's nothing
happening here tonight, right?
Like, I've made that pretty clear.
We're not sleeping together or nothing.
Well,
we'll see.
All right. Fuck you. I'm outta here.
Good luck with that.
You okay?
Yeah, I just
got real light-headed.
Jeff?
I think I'm gonna throw up.
Just sit down a sec.
There you go. Just relax.
It's okay.
It's okay.
You put
something in that, didn't you?
Jeff!
What?
I think your friend
should go home now, Jeff!
Yeah, we're leaving now, okay?
Good night.
You're so beautiful.
Jeff!
Who is that?
It's just my friend.
I didn't know you had Black friends, Jeff.
Well, it's not the 1920s anymore
or whatever, Grandma.
Yes. I know that.
What's wrong with him?
Nothing.
He just had a little too much to drink.
I'm just trying to sober him up.
You've been drinking.
No, I haven't.
Is he gonna be sick?
Just go back to bed, Grandma.
You should take
that young man to a hospital.
What? He's just a little wasted, Grandma.
I will not have some stranger
dying in my house!
He'll be fine!
Just let him sleep it off! Jeez!
No!
Something is not right here.
I'm calling your father.
Hey! Nobody's calling anybody, okay?
He had a little too much to drink.
He's just gonna sleep it off.
Now, go back to bed.
What are you doing?
I am giving this young man a blanket.
And I am staying down here
and watching him until he wakes up.
You don't have to do that!
And if this young man is sick,
I am taking him to a hospital.
Do you understand?
Well, drinking is what you were doing,
and God knows what else.
This is fucking unreal!
You watch your mouth, young man!
You want to go up to your room,
fine, but I am staying right here!
And you can bet your sweet bippy
your father's gonna hear about this.
If you're so worried about him, Grandma,
why don't you call an ambulance then?
Oh, I know why.
Hi, buddy.
Let's get you home.
...drink so much until it almost kills you?
Well, if this is your idea of fun,
then I just don't know.
I need some money, Grandma.
He all right?
Yeah, he's fine.
Get home safe.
Where's he going? Sir, will you make sure
this young man gets home all right?
Where does he live?
It's just down in...
It's just by Marquette.
Well, this bus goes down 27th Street,
the whole way.
Yeah, that's what I mean, 27th Street.
Okay, thank you.
Hey, man, it's the end of the line.
This is the end of the line.
- Where am I?
- You OD'd. You're lucky to be alive.
Huh? Hold... Hold on. Uh...
I don't do drugs.
You did last night.
No, I...
Ma'am, a guy I met last night,
he was weird.
He must have
slipped something in my drink.
Dude tried to kill me.
You should talk to the police.
So you're saying
this guy drugged you.
How exactly did he do that?
He put something in my coffee.
I had one drink at the club, officer,
then I take two sips of this coffee,
suddenly the room's spinning,
I can't talk.
So it wasn't caffeine or...?
It was Sanka.
Then I wake up
the next afternoon in a hospital bed.
$200 is missing, my bracelet's gone.
I don't think the 200 bucks
and a bracelet...
I don't care about
getting robbed, officer.
This guy is drugging people.
Look...
I went down to the bathhouses.
They say they know this guy, Jeff.
He's blond.
He isn't allowed in anymore
on account of he's drugging people.
Okay.
Like I said, we'll look into it.
I'm not asking you to look into it.
I'm asking you to go and stop this guy.
I understand.
But stuff like this
is really hard to prove.
Go to this man's house.
Whatever he's using is gonna be there.
- You know where his house is?
- Yes!
I thought I was
gonna die in his living room.
It's on 57th. Uh...
Between Hayes and Lincoln.
I know right where it is.
Well, Jeff,
what do you have to say for yourself?
Honestly, I don't know
what he's talking about.
I met this guy at the bar,
and his car needed a jump,
and he was really drunk.
So I said,
"You know, come back to my house
and try to sober up,
have a cup of coffee."
And he just... He fell asleep on the chair.
Okay, so you're saying he was just drunk?
Yeah.
And had you been drinking?
- I had one beer, but I was fine.
- Jeffrey Dahmer.
What? I got a cop askin' me
what happened, so I'm tellin' him!
I was just trying to do a good thing.
I mean, this guy was wasted.
Trying to drive off in his car.
That's illegal, you know.
If I was to have a look around
in your bedroom,
I wouldn't find any, you know,
like, tranquilizers or whatnot?
No. I... I don't even know
what they would look like.
But sure, I mean, it's right upstairs,
if you wanna come take a look.
He said that you stole some money.
What?
And a bracelet?
No, I didn't.
My grandma was with me the whole time.
Grandma, did I look through his wallet?
No.
He did not, and I was there
the whole time. That is true.
And a bracelet?
Jeez.
I just don't remember
any kind of bracelet.
You've gotta be kidding me.
I know it's disappointing,
but we went to the house.
Talked to him, talked to the grandma.
You know, it's just...
There's two sides to every story.
Jesus.
I mean, he's an odd guy,
I'll give you that.
Been arrested a couple times, but...
But you should know,
getting arrested doesn't suddenly
make you guilty of everything.
I've never been arrested.
Yeah. Okay. Well, you know.
So, let me get this straight...
You're gonna take the word of a white guy
who's got a criminal record
over the word of a Black man
who doesn't have a criminal record.
That's what you're telling me, right?
'Cause I'm telling you
that this man tried to kill me.
And you're saying
there's nothing you can do about that?
Without any evidence,
yes, that's what I'm saying.
- What was he arrested for?
- I can't divulge that information.
Thank you for your time.
Hey! Hey!
- Don't get in that cab!
- What the hell?
You shut your mouth, motherfucker!
Brother, this dude will try to kill you!
He's fucking crazy!
Oh, come on.
What...? You're just gonna...?
Hey!
Come get your 50 dollars.
No!
Oh, come on. What...?
I call ambulance.
I call ambulance.
Step down!
Put that on the ground.
Come with us, please.
Mr. Dahmer, please stand.
To the charge of sexual assault
in the second degree,
you have pled no contest.
Therefore, I hereby sentence you
to one year in the custody
of the Milwaukee County
House of Correction.
Now, Mr. Dahmer,
looking at you right now,
you remind me a lot of my grandson.
Now, he had a problem with alcohol.
But he turned it around.
And now he has a successful car wash.
You are not the kind of guy who belongs
in the correction system, okay?
You need a second chance.
And this is your lucky day
because I'm gonna give it to you.
And on the other side of this, hopefully
you will have learned your lesson
and you'll get your act together.
Now, I see
that you have steady employment.
So the court is willing to grant you
work release of up to 40 hours per week.
When you finish your work,
you report directly back to jail.
And while the court is obliged to inform
your employer of this arrangement,
I'm willing to do you the favor
of leaving out the exact nature
of your... misconduct.
Does that sound fair to you?
Yes. Thank you, Your Honor.
Where are we going?
Grandma's.
We're gonna have
one last dinner together as a family.
And then when you get out,
you're gonna get a place of your own.
Because we're at our wits' end
with you, Jeff.
Our wits' end!
Roast is gonna take
about another ten minutes.
You want another beer, Jeff?
Yeah, thanks.
You know, Jeff,
it was your grandmother
who paid your bail.
Okay? Twenty-five hundred dollars
is a lot for her.
You're gonna be expected to pay that back.
This whole thing was a setup.
All's I was doing was some photography.
Be quiet.
No more hobbies for me, I guess.
Enough.
Where is that box?
What box?
Don't play dumb.
Your grandmother has a box
with all my stuff in it.
Photos, ribbons, all my accomplishments.
And I want you to give it back.
Go get it.
No, she gave it to me.
Goddammit, Jeff!
Get it.
Fine.
Are you gonna follow me?
Yes, I am.
Come on, open it.
I can't. I lost the key.
Jeff, don't lie to me!
I'm not lying. I don't know where it is.
Oh godda...!
There's something bad in there, Jeff.
What is it, pornography?
No. It's just, like, my stuff.
Is it gay pornography, Jeff?
Because all these years, I look under
your mattress, I don't find a Playboy.
Now you're going to jail
for molesting a 13-year-old boy.
No, it's just, like, my stuff,
like baseball cards!
You're not gonna tell me, are you?
Oh fuck,
I'll break the fuckin' thing open!
Come on, Dad! What the heck?
Open this fucking door, Jeff!
Don't break your box, Dad.
I found the key. Right here.
It's just some pornos.
Put 'em in there
so Grandma wouldn't find 'em.
Sorry.
Yeah.
Dinner's ready!
We... we better get down there. Yeah.
Hon, I know you're upset.
It's okay.
No one likes to know that their son's
going to prison in the morning.
I just keep asking myself...
Did I do this to him?
- I mean it. Did I...
- Sweetheart.
I mean, should
I have stayed in that fucking marriage?
Should I have done
more things with him like taxidermy?
He really loved that stuff.
Honey, you can't do that to yourself.
Because I really should've
pushed back harder.
I should've pressed him harder
to find out what was really going on.
You know?
But the truth is,
he made me uncomfortable.
And I really didn't wanna know...
All those red flags. Oh.
God.
And I asked him.
You know, every time I asked him.
Hello?
Discharged?
What the heck happened, Jeff?
I don't know.
Guess they thought I drank too much.
They never really said.
So, what...
What the heck are you doing
with a mannequin, Jeff?
What? Did you steal it?
I just did it on a dare.
Whole thing was just a joke.
Oh.
So, what were you doing
at the State Fair, Jeff?
Exposing yourself?
I was just peeing outside.
I didn't know anyone could see.
Thanks for getting me, Dad.
Why did you molest that boy?
- Jeff?
- I didn't molest him.
All's I did was take photos.
Don't bullshit me.
I'm telling you.
Didn't even know how old he was.
Kid said you molested him.
Why would he lie about that?
I don't know. I don't know why.
All's I did was take some pictures.
I was even gonna pay him.
It was all a setup.
People are out to get me, Dad.
I don't understand it either.
That kid's father...
I can't stop seeing the look in his eye.
He looked right at me.
Jeff Dahmer knew my son was a child.
When he met my son, he asked him
what grade in school he was in.
If my son was not so healthy and athletic,
the drug that this man gave my son
could have killed him...
Mr. Sinthasomphone,
I'm sorry. It's just, uh...
I am having trouble understanding you.
Could one of your children
maybe help us out here?
Thank you.
We are immigrants.
We work hard.
We take the jobs we can get.
We don't have
the money for an expensive lawyer.
My family,
we're not eating or sleeping...
Okay. Okay.
Maybe if your father would like
to hand his letter to the bailiff,
we can enter it into the record.
Mr. Dahmer, please stand.
To the charge of sexual assault
in the second degree,
you've pled no contest.
Therefore, I hereby sentence you
to one year in the custody
of the Milwaukee County
House of Correction.
Dear Judge Gardner,
I believe very strongly
that my son
Jeffrey Dahmer is an alcoholic.
If he isn't treated,
I have tremendous reservations
about Jeff's chances
when he hits the street.
I've heard of a treatment program
that has had great success
in treating alcoholics
and that Jeff's placement
in such a program
is critical to his future.
You're the one
that likes fucking kids, huh? Huh?
I sincerely hope that you might
intervene in some way to help my son,
whom I love very much.
And for whom
I want a better life.
I feel this may be our last chance
to do something lasting
and that you,
Your Honor, might hold that key.
Sincerely, Lionel Dahmer.
- Hey, Dad.
- Hey.
- Good to see you.
- Yeah.
- Hey, Jeff. Ah. You look great.
- Hey.
You lost some weight.
- Well, that's good to hear.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Good thing was
I got to lift weights a lot.
And read a lot.
- And going to work every day, that helped.
- Yeah.
But, yeah, been doing good, you know.
Behaving myself.
Great. Just... That's just great.
Um, well,
so you're gonna be staying with
your grandma for a week and that's it.
Then you gotta find
an apartment on your own.
- But Shari and I'll help you with that.
- Okay.
Um...
Jeff, when you were in there, uh...
uh, did anybody help you?
You know, like a psychologist,
or did you talk to anybody,
like a counselor?
About what?
Uh, anything.
Um, you know, alcohol for one or, um...
you know, just how you're...
You know, what's going on inside of you.
Or maybe, um, you know, some guidance
on how you're meant to be, um...
You know...
You know, contribute to society.
I don't know. Just, you know,
stuff I wasn't able to teach you.
No, they just leave you alone in there.
I just kept to myself the whole time.
That was kind of the best part.
Come on. You said
we could stop for hamburgers.
Yeah, um, here.
Why don't you warm up the car?
I'm parked down at the very end.
I'm gonna hit the john.
Okay.
Well, here it is.
Oh, shoot. Uh...
Sorry.
Trying to learn it.
Just read my lips.
I live here.