Jeffrey Dahmer: The Monster Within

• Documentary

Episode overview

Jeffrey Dahmer was not a typical serial killer. He did not come from an abusive, impoverished, or violent background. On the contrary, his father was a learned chemist who taught Jeffrey how to garden, play tennis, and raise sheep for 4-H competitions. He took scouting trips and played in his wooded backyard with neighborhood boys. He spoke in a monotone voice much like his father and tended to keep his private thoughts to himself; but he always had a sense of humor. What tormented Jeff and drove him to kill in a macabre and disturbing pattern had nothing to do with his environment. There is no single catalyst that can explain the presence of evil in the likes of someone like Jeffrey Dahmer. A host of factors eclipsed each other and converged upon this man to make him what he was. Jeffrey, it seems, chose and was forced down, all the wrong paths in his life. Jeffrey said he never acted out of hate, but was guided by a sickness he could never satiate.

60 minutes