Forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz was hired to psychologically evaluate Jeffrey Dahmer in January, 1992.
Although Dietz made it clear to every perp he interviewed that he was not there to treat them or be their friend, Dahmer nevertheless felt comfortable enough to divulge most of the graphic details of his crimes (and compliment Dietz’s Cartier Santos wristwatch within moments of meeting him).
“It was a straightforward discussion of such details as which way he held the knife when dismembering the body, and how he protected himself from getting acid burns when he was disposing of the acid in which he disintegrated the soft tissues of his victims, and the right temperature settings for properly preserving a skull,” Dietz told ‘The New Yorker’ in a 1994 profile. He later admitted he had “liked the man [as] he was interested in understanding himself,” and had answered Dietz’s questions “articulately, willingly, and with curiosity.”
“I hestitate to call it a treat,” he reflected afterwards about his time interviewing Dahmer, “but if it weren’t for how it sounded, that would be an accurate term.”
Although Dietz was permitted to testify for either the prosecution or the defence, depending on the conclusion he reached, after 18 hours with the convicted cannibal, Dietz deemed Dahmer sane under Wisconsin law – and stressed that Dahmer’s paraphilia did not create an irresistible impulse.
“There was no force driving him to kill,” Dietz told the court. “There was merely a desire to spend more time with the victim.”
The jury echoed Dietz’s assessment, and Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms in prison – cut short when he was bludgeoned to death by a fellow inmate at the age of 34.
“They [the jury] listened to the right expert,” Dietz later quipped during a TV interview.
In 2021, the British-based ‘Real Crime’ magazine published another interview with the doctor — now in his 70s — drawing on his experience with Dahmer and a career spanning decades and nearly every sexual deviance known to man.
Scans of the full interview can be found below.
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Sources: Real Crime magazine, The New Yorker, The Courier-News
GIF by 213Dahmer
I came across this page only recently. Very interesting posts about Dr Dietz and his work. From what I’ve seen and learnt over the years, Park seems to have gravitated toward women already in his professional orbit who fit practically into a very work-centered life. That makes sense, of course. Still, I’ve often wondered what he might have been like with someone who made the rest of life feel as vivid, and look as interesting, as the work did. Perhaps a woman more like yourself, even. Life is full of great unknowns and bad timing, I suppose 🙂 Keep up the great research. All the best.