Monster: Did Jeffrey Dahmer Actually Take Polaroids Of His Victims?

This article contains discussion of the real-life crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer, including pedophilia and murder.

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Storydepicts the true story of the notorious serial killer’s gory murders and the Polaroid photos he took of his victims. Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, Monster dramatizes the life and murders of the “Milwaukee Cannibal,” Jeffrey Dahmer. The Netflix series dramatizes the true events and leaves out some elements of Jeffrey Dahmer’s story, which has led to viewers questioning whether parts of the deranged habits depicted really took place, including his photographing his victims.

Jeffrey Dahmer’s use of Polaroids was very real and not something that was included in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story just to make the serial killer’s actions seem even more grotesque. Historians claim that Dahmer would take photos of his victims as he murdered them so that he could later relive the experience. While the Polaroids gave Dahmer a twisted gratification, they also saved him from arrest on one occasion.

How Polaroids Caused The Police To Return One Of Jeffrey Dahmer’s Victims

One of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story‘s most difficult-to-watch moments comes in episode 2 when the serial killer drugs 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone. While doing so, Dahmer takes compromising photos of Sinthasomphone, whom he has forcibly moved into suggestive positions. Later, when Sinthasomphone escapes and the authorities come to check what’s going on, the Polaroids are used to convince police officers he is Dahmer’s boyfriend. Sinthasomphone was killed within an hour of the police returning him to Dahmer.

How Jeffrey Dahmer’s Polaroids Helped Lead To His Arrest

Although police initially thought Jeffrey Dahmer’s Polaroids were confirmation of his relationship with Konerak Sinthasomphone, a thorough investigation into his apartment later proved otherwise. When Tracy Edwards escaped from the serial killer’s apartment in 1991, as depicted in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story episode 1, the police uncovered 84 photos of Dahmer victims in his bedside drawer. These Polaroids, which were almost all taken in the apartment, ranged from photos of his victims when they were alive as well as pictures of their corpses to dismembered body parts and even Dahmer engaging in necrophilia.

Once the Polaroids were found, a full investigation took place where body parts of victims from various points in time during Jeffrey Dahmer’s life were found scattered across his apartment. The police found four severed heads, seven skulls, two hearts, and several more organs in Dahmer’s kitchen and bedroom. The discovery led to Dahmer’s arrest and eventual sentencing to 15 terms of life imprisonment, but as shown in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, his killing spree may have continued had the police not discovered the now infamous Polaroids.