The same year Lionel taught his son how to preserve animal bones, Joyce began increasing her daily consumption of Equanil, laxatives and sleeping pills, further minimizing her tangible contact with her husband and children. On July 13, 1979, Dahmer was deployed to Baumholder, West Germany, where he served as a combat medic in the 2nd Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. Produced and directed by Matthew Watts, the program features interviews with, among others, Dahmer's father, stepmother, former classmates, psychiatrists who testified at his trial, and a homicide detective involved in the investigation. Dahmer never reported this incident to the police, although on May 29, he divulged to his probation officer that he had been robbed. Private contractors from the Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Unit remove the 57-gallon drum from Dahmer's apartment, July 23, 1991.

To preserve the skeleton, Dahmer placed the bones in a light bleach solution for 24 hours before allowing them to dry upon a cloth for one week. Shortly after the arrival of the Milwaukee police officers, three members of the Milwaukee Fire Department arrived at the scene. He also began collecting dead animals—including roadkill [35]—which he would dissect and bury beside the hut, with the skulls occasionally placed atop makeshift crosses.According to Dahmer, Tuomi's murder was a pivotal incident after which he did not try to control his compulsions. When police left Sinthasomphone with Dahmer in his apartment, Dahmer again injected hydrochloric acid into Sinthasomphone's brain, and this proved fatal.

Three months after his conviction in Milwaukee, Dahmer was extradited to Ohio to be tried for the murder of his first victim, Steven Hicks.

When the officers' handcuff keys failed to fit the brand of handcuffs, Edwards agreed to accompany the officers to the apartment where, Edwards stated, he had spent the previous five hours before escaping. According to Dahmer, he "believed [that Sinthasomphone] saw this body" yet did not react to seeing the bloated corpse—likely because of the effects of the sleeping pills he had ingested. Eventually, the skull became too brittle by this bleaching process, so Dahmer pulverized and disposed of it. Evan Peters plays Dahmer, who killed 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, in the 10-part series which has horrified viewers across the globe. This documentary features excerpts of Dahmer's 1994 Dateline NBC interview with Stone Phillips and was first broadcast in August 2006.