They lied. His parents were emotionally distant and/or largely absent from his early life, arguably during the most crucial part of childhood development. His mother suffered from severe depression and suicidal ideation and was mostly unable to provide her baby with the affection and attention he required so that baby and mother weren't able to properly bond, which negatively affected Dahmer's ability to bond with other human beings as he grew up. Also, she was on a cocktail of medication throughout her pregnancy with Jeffrey. His father was mostly absent from his son's life. When he was around, most of his attention was focused on his ailing wife. He did, however, teach his son how to bleach and clean the bones of dead animals.
Many serial killers were brought up in abusive and dysfunctional homes.
"A number of studies have focused on some of the most well-known cases of serial murder and serial killers who have reported child abuse in their history. John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgeway and Ed Gein are three infamous serial killers who were physically and verbally abused as children by a parent.
Rebecca Taylor LaBrode wrote in her paper 'Etiology of the Psychopathic Serial Killer,' "Other historical factors common in serial killers are abuse, trauma, loss or abandonment of a parent or caretaker, antisocial behaviour, head injury and low arousal levels. Familial contributions include the physical absence or lack of personal involvement by one or both parents and alcohol or drug dependency by one or both parents." ...
"Between 1979 and 1983 FBI profiler Robert Ressler headed the Criminal Personality Research Project where along with colleagues he interviewed 36 convicted murderers inside prisons across the US. At that time it was the first study and most comprehensive examination carried out focusing on violent criminals who had committed multiple murders, their psychological and behavioural characteristics, their histories, and their motives.
Ressler wrote in his book 'Whoever Fights Monsters' in 1992, "All the murders - every single one - were subjected to serious emotional abuse during their childhoods." He reports 40% of the serial killers interviewed reported being physically beaten and abused in their childhoods, with 70% reporting they had 'witnessed or been part of sexually stressful events' as children. .."
Many serial killers have reported a history of childhood abuse. This study examined 50 US convicted serial killers to examine the possible relationship between childhood abuse and serial murder.
www.crimetraveller.org
No demons necessary.
