Detective Patrick Kennedy’s First Impressions of Jeffrey Dahmer on the Night of his Arrest:
I looked at the suspect as he lay on the floor. His light colored hair was greasy and wet with perspiration. The faded denim shirt he wore was drenched with sweat and I noticed he was slightly bleeding from the corner of his mouth. There was an obvious rug burn on his right elbow glistening blood red. He appeared completely defeated but his condition showed a great struggle brought him to that point. He was motionless but made an ever so faint crying whine, like that of a child or a cat in the night.
I checked the artwork that adorned the walls. Three large black and white portraits of long, lean muscular males, posed in various provocative positions, showing their fine form and physique … I figured this guy was gay and some kind of a clean freak.
The suspect walked slowly as he tried to negotiate the leg irons. His head was bowed over his slouched shoulders, but even in this position, I could tell he was over six feet tall and in good shape.
I assisted the suspect into the wagon and climbed in after him. The two conveying officers got in the front and drove off toward the station. Not a word was said as we cruised back downtown. I eyed the suspect as we drove. Although he was a good-sized man, as he sat there he appeared almost fragile, sitting hunched over and trembling slightly. At the station, he cooperated–almost zombie like, as I led him into the prisoner elevator and up to the interrogation rooms on the fourth floor.
I extended my hand. “My name is Pat, and I’m the detective that will be investigating your case.” The suspect looked bewildered but meekly placed his limp hand in mine. I directed him to take a seat and he obediently sat in the corner chair. “You’re not going to let them hit me anymore, are you?” These were the first words out of his mouth and they came almost pleadingly.
For the first time I really took stock of the guy. A hint of barely controlled hysteria was evident in his voice. The smell of alcohol was more than noticeable, his eyes glazed and his speech slightly slurred.
From my brief observations, I felt I had an intelligent, gay, white male, a product of middle to upper middle class, involved in at least one homicide and maybe more.
–Patrick Kennedy, Dahmer Detective
