Ep. 122 | The Murder of Konerak Sinthasomphone
In the early hours of May 27, 1991, a drugged, injured, and naked 14-year-old boy named Konerak Sinthasomphone escaped from serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's Milwaukee apartment and was found on the street by three women who called 911. When police arrived, they believed Dahmer's claim that Konerak was his 19-year-old boyfriend and, without running a background check that would have revealed Dahmer's prior conviction for molesting Konerak's own brother, walked the boy back inside — where Dahmer murdered him within the hour. The responding officers were later fired and then reinstated on appeal, and the case became a flashpoint over race, homophobia, and institutional failure in Milwaukee.
SOURCES:
AOL / Digital Spy. (2022, October 14). Glenda Cleveland stayed connected with the Dahmer victims' families. https://www.aol.com/amphtml/woman-tried-stop-serial-killer-173300185.html
Christian Science Monitor. (1991, August 16). Dahmer case unleashes Black anger in Milwaukee. https://www.csmonitor.com/1991/0816/16041.html
Estate of Sinthasomphone v. City of Milwaukee, 838 F. Supp. 1320 (E.D. Wis. 1993). Justia. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/838/1320/2255276/
NextShark. (2022, October 10). Konerak Sinthasomphone: The Jeffrey Dahmer victim police failed to protect. https://www.yahoo.com/news/konerak-sinthasomphone-jeffrey-dahmer-victim-223905041.html
Popbuzz. (2026, February 10). Dahmer: Here's what happened to the police who left Konerak Sinthasomphone with Jeffrey Dahmer. https://www.popbuzz.com/tv-film/news/jeffrey-dahmer-konerak-sinthasomphone-police-now/
Screen Rant. (2024, October 13). Monster: What happened to the police officers who returned Dahmer's victim. https://screenrant.com/monster-jeffrey-dahmer-police-konerak-sinthasomphone-returned/
Spectrum News 1. (2022, September 30). Woman who called 911 on Dahmer reacts to Netflix series. https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2022/09/30/key-witness-reacts-to-renewed-attention-to-dahmer-case
