Interview with Dahmer's Parents on Dr.Phil

[Pcdunn]

The interest in the life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, sparked by recent media releases about him, led to Dr. Phil McGraw to do a three part interview this week with Dahmer's dad and other winesses related to the case. This is apparently the first interview from the senior Mr. Dahmer.

I watched two of the segments, and was interested to see that Jeffrey's dad thought his young son's interest in dead animals and collecting road kill carcasses wasn't particularly an abnormal hobby. He claimed not to know until Jeffrey's "so-called insanity trial" that the boy would examine, dissect, and actually handle the entrails of the carcasses.

Mr. Dahmer said there was an incident when his son was older and had a locked wooden box in his closet. He wanted to look in there, but Jeffrey convinced him to put off doing that to the next day. When he was allowed to see the box's contents, it only had pornography magazines and so forth. Apparently, Jeffrey himself had said that "the jig would have been up" if his dad had opened it the first time "because there was a human head in there."

Also on the program were two military veterans who had encountered Dahmer during service and were survivors of assaults by him.

A criminal psychology expert said there are two types of serial killers: sociopaths who are "made" by extreme abuse and psychopaths who are born with "chink in their psyche's DNA" that makes them unable to feel like a normal person. Her book is "Killer Psyche" and her first name is Candice.

[Pcdunn]

FYI:

Title should read "Interview with Dahmer's parents on Dr. Phil"

I can't find a way to correct the error which appears there now.

[jmenges]

Fixed it for you.

JM

[Pcdunn]

Thank you!

[Abby Normal]

dahmer, rader and bundy all had normal childhoods, as did many others, and still turned out to be three of the most evil serial killers ever. So it seems nature (being a born serial killer) is more important than nurture when it comes to serial killers.

[caz]

Agreed, Abby.

I would add that I don't know of any cases where serial killing 'runs in the family'. If you are unfortunate enough to have a serial killer for a brother, for instance, the chances of being one yourself appear to be no higher than for anyone else. Having the same parents and a similar upbringing seems to make no difference at all, so something else is going on, that can't easily be explained by either nurture or nature.

That is why I get very cross indeed when anyone suggests that a parent - often the mother, as the primary care giver - may have passed on rogue genes, or caused the problem through neglect or abuse, where there is no evidence of anything of the sort, beyond the word of a killer trying to justify his crimes.

Love,

Caz
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[caz]

I suspect that a serial killer will have been a 'difficult' child from an early age, which may result in stronger measures from parents and teachers to impose discipline, than the average child would need or deserve. This could give the false impression that the child who becomes a killer was 'hard done by' growing up, when in reality he may simply have become deeply resentful due to the negative consequences of his own behaviour. If he thinks the world ought to revolve around him, and everything bad that happens to him - or because of him - is someone else's fault, it would not be much of a surprise if he turns out to be a thoroughly bad lot as an adult. If not a serial offender, a corrupt political leader!

Love,

Caz
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