Everything you need to know about Christopher Scarver, the man who killed Jeffrey Dahmer

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is Netflix’s latest true crime series and it explores the story of one of the most notorious serial killers in America. Between the years 1978 and 1991 Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 men and boys until he was finally caught in July 1991 after one of his victims, Tracy Edwards, managed to escape and told the police he thought he was going to be seriously harmed.

Dahmer entered a plea of guilty but insane in 15 of the 17 murders he confessed to committing and in February 1992, the jury found Dahmer sane in each murder and he was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences. Dahmer was sentenced to a total of 941 years in prison but the cannibal serial killer served less than three years before he died.

How did Jeffrey Dahmer die?

Dahmer was set to serve his sentence at Columbia Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. Due to the attention he and his crimes received, prison officials felt it was safer to keep Dahmer away from the general population. Dahmer was isolated from other prisoners in protective custody and had to be shackled when he wasn’t in his cell.

After his first year in prison Dahmer requested more freedom of movement and interactions with other prisoners. He was permitted to attend classes, eat communal meals and do work duties. While in prison, Dahmer would tell jokes and taunts and told prisoners “I bite”.

Dahmer’s taunts unnerved one prisoner, Christopher Scarver. In November 1994, Dahmer was on cleaning duty in the prison’s gym bathrooms and he and two other prisoners, Jesse Anderson and Christopher Scarver were all left alone for 20 minutes. When the prison guards returned they found the beaten bodies of both Dahmer and Anderson. Christopher Scarver beat Jeffrey Dahmer to death and he was pronounced dead an hour after guards found his body.

Why did Christopher Scarver kill Jeffrey Dahmer?

In 2015, Christopher Scarver revealed to the New York Post his motivation for killing Jeffrey Dahmer. Scarver said his reason to kill Dahmer was because his eyes seemed unrepentant about the crimes he had committed, some of which included dismembering and eating people.

Scarver said: “He crossed the line with some people – prisoners, prison staff. Some people who are in prison are repentant – but Dahmer was not one of them.” He claimed Dahmer would use ketchup packets to mimic blood and would mold prison food into the shape of body parts to play up to his Milwaukee Cannibal nickname.

Scarver’s claims were backed up by the prion pastor, Roy Ratcliff, who said Dahmer had a Cannibals Anonymous Meeting poster in his cell. However, this claim was debunked after Dahmer’s lawyer, Gerald Boyle, said taunting wasn’t Dahmer’s “style”. Boyle said: “He killed people, but he didn’t taunt people. I never saw him do anything that would lead me to believe that he would mimic the deaths that he caused. I just don’t believe that.”

Who is Christopher Scarver?

Christopher Scarver was sentence to life in prison in 1990 for the murder of Steven Lohman, a worker at Wisconsin Conservation Corps. It was reported that Scarver began drinking and hearing voices calling him “the chosen one” after he was fired from his job. Scarver returned to his old workplace and demanded money from a site manager and when he was given $15, Scarver shot Lohman three times.

He was sentenced to life in prison and was sent to Columbia Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. In 2003, Scarver was moved to a facility in Colorado with three dozen other mentally ill inmates “in response to a class-action lawsuit filed by the inmates.” American actor Furly Mac, plays the role of Scarver in the Netflix series, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Where is Christopher Scarver now?

Christopher Scarver is still in prison serving multiple life sentences. Since his interview with the New York Post, Scarver has refuted many details in the article. Nowadays, Scarver writes poetry and music compositions and he even wrote a book called The Child Left Behind in 2015.

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is now streaming on Netflix. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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