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The murder of Edward Smith reinforces the rapid acceleration of Jeffrey Dahmer’s killing cycle during his time at the Oxford Apartments. By mid-1990, Dahmer had fully refined his process and was committing murders with increasing frequency and confidence. This case highlights how his crimes had become routine—each step carefully executed, each victim fitting into a pattern that Dahmer no longer deviated from. What makes this case particularly important is that it shows Dahmer operating at a level where killing, dismemberment, and disposal were no longer extraordinary acts for him—they had become normalized behavior.
Dahmer encountered Edward Smith and used his standard lure—offering money for photographs—to bring him back to his apartment. By this stage, this tactic had become highly effective, allowing Dahmer to repeatedly bring victims into his controlled environment without raising suspicion. Once inside the Oxford Apartments, Smith was drugged into unconsciousness. Dahmer then strangled him, following the same method he had used in previous killings. The act was controlled, deliberate, and executed without hesitation, demonstrating how completely Dahmer had internalized his process. After the murder, Dahmer engaged in necrophilic acts before dismembering the body. However, unlike some later victims, Dahmer did not retain any of Smith’s remains. He later stated that he did not find Smith’s body “interesting” enough to preserve, a chilling insight into how he had begun to objectify victims to the point of selective retention. The remains were disposed of, likely through standard means he had been using at the time, including trash removal. This case shows that while Dahmer was experimenting with preservation, he had not yet fully committed to keeping parts of every victim.
Edward Smith’s disappearance did not lead to immediate investigative progress. There were no witnesses connecting him to Dahmer, and no crime scene was identified. The lack of evidence allowed Dahmer to continue his crimes unchecked. This case further illustrates how Dahmer’s environment—the privacy of his apartment and the nature of his victim selection—enabled him to operate without detection.