The image most people have of Jeffrey Dahmer is fixed in that 1991 mugshot. Yellowish light, messy hair, and those aviator glasses. We focus on the seventeen lives he took. But there is a group of men—survivors—whose stories are often buried under the weight of the tragedy.
Honestly, finding out who survived Jeffrey Dahmer is a journey into some of the most harrowing survival instincts ever recorded. It wasn't just luck. Some of these men fought back, some sensed the "wrongness" of the situation and bolted, and one literally ended the Milwaukee Monster’s reign of terror.
The Man Who Ended It: Tracy Edwards
Tracy Edwards is the reason Jeffrey Dahmer isn't still a name we only hear in missing persons reports. On July 22, 1991, Edwards met Dahmer at a bar. He was promised $100 for a photo shoot. Pretty standard lure. But once inside Apartment 213 at the Oxford Apartments, the vibe shifted. Fast.
Dahmer slapped a handcuff on Edwards' wrist. He pulled a knife. He told Edwards he wanted to eat his heart.
Edwards didn't freeze. For five hours, he played a psychological game. He stayed calm. He talked. He waited for that one split second where Dahmer’s attention flickered. When it did, Edwards punched him and ran out the door with a handcuff still dangling from his wrist.
He flagged down two police officers, Robert Rauth and Rolf Mueller. Most people don't realize how close we came to losing him too. The police initially thought it was just a squabble. If Edwards hadn't insisted they go back to that apartment to get the cuffs off, the "Milwaukee Cannibal" might have kept going for years.
The aftermath for Edwards was brutal. Being the guy who survived Jeffrey Dahmer didn't lead to a Hollywood ending. He suffered from severe PTSD. By 2011, he was homeless. He eventually faced his own legal troubles, including a conviction related to a death in Milwaukee. It’s a reminder that surviving the monster is only half the battle; surviving the memory is the real war.
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Ronald Flowers: The One Who Got "Lucky"
Ronald Flowers’ story is weirdly chilling because it happened in 1988, years before Dahmer was caught. Flowers' car wouldn't start at a mall. Dahmer, playing the "good Samaritan," offered him a ride to his grandmother’s house to get jumper cables.
Flowers remembers drinking a "coffee" Dahmer gave him. Then, blackness.
He woke up in a hospital. He had no idea how he got there. He had been found slumped in a parking lot. Flowers actually went to the police back then. He told them Dahmer had drugged him. The cops interviewed Dahmer, who claimed Flowers was just a drunk friend he was helping.
They believed Dahmer.
Because Flowers survived, Dahmer was able to continue his spree for another three years. It’s not Flowers’ fault—he did everything right by reporting it—but it highlights the systemic failures that let a killer walk free while a survivor was dismissed.
The Army Roommate: Billy Capshaw
For a long time, the public didn't know about Billy Capshaw. In the late 70s and early 80s, Capshaw was stationed with Dahmer in West Germany. They shared a room. Capshaw has since come forward with stories of horrific physical and sexual abuse at Dahmer’s hands.
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He describes Dahmer as a "Jekyll and Hyde" character. One minute he was a quiet soldier; the next, a violent, racist drunk.
Capshaw’s survival is a testament to endurance. He was trapped in a military environment with a predator. He’s spoken out recently, especially following the 2022 Netflix series, to remind people that Dahmer’s "origin story" involved victims who weren't just names on a list in Milwaukee.
The Near Misses: Instinct Over Logic
There are others. Men who walked into that apartment and walked back out because something felt "off."
- Somsack Sinthasomphone: He was 13 when Dahmer lured him in 1988. He survived the encounter, and Dahmer was actually convicted of second-degree sexual assault. Tragically, three years later, Dahmer would kill Somsack’s younger brother, Konerak.
- The "Unknown" Survivors: In the trial, it came out that several men had been drugged by Dahmer but were "let go" because they didn't fit what he was looking for or he simply lost interest.
It’s a haunting thought. There are likely men living in Milwaukee today who have no idea the guy who bought them a drink in 1990 was a serial killer. They just remember a weird night where they felt a bit too sleepy and decided to head home.
Why We Don't Talk About the Survivors Enough
We have a morbid fascination with the "monster." We want to know how he did it, why he did it, and what was in the fridge. But the survivors carry the weight of the "What if?"
Survivors like Tracy Edwards and Ronald Flowers faced a world that didn't know how to handle their trauma. In the early 90s, the resources for male victims of sexual assault and domestic violence—especially within the LGBTQ+ community—were almost non-existent.
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They were tossed into the media circus, forced to testify in front of a man who tried to end them, and then expected to just... go back to normal.
What Really Happened With the Sinthasomphone Family?
The Sinthasomphone story is the most heartbreaking "survival" story that turned into a tragedy. Somsack survived. He grew up. But the family’s encounter with Dahmer didn't end there.
When Konerak was found wandering the streets, naked and bleeding, by three Black women (Nicole Childress, Sandra Smith, and Tina Spivey), the police (John Balcerzak and Joseph Gabrish) famously handed him back to Dahmer.
The survivor in this case was the family’s peace. They lost a son to a man they had already seen in court once before. That kind of failure isn't just a "mistake." It's a wound that never heals.
Moving Forward: Lessons from the Survivors
If you're looking for who survived Jeffrey Dahmer, it's important to look beyond just the names. Look at the resilience.
- Trust your gut. Many survivors mentioned a "vibe" or a sudden change in Dahmer's eyes. If a situation feels wrong, it is.
- The system can fail. Ronald Flowers went to the police. They didn't listen. It’s a lesson in the importance of persistence and the need for better investigative protocols.
- Trauma has no expiration date. Most of these men struggled for decades. Support for victims shouldn't stop when the trial ends.
The real story isn't just the seventeen victims. It's the men who looked into the abyss and managed to step back. Their lives were forever altered, but their voices—when they choose to use them—are the only things that truly strip the power away from the "Milwaukee Monster."
To learn more about the legal aftermath and how these cases changed police procedures in the Midwest, you can look into the civil suits filed by the victims' families against the City of Milwaukee.