Was Steven Hicks Really Jeffrey Dahmer's First Victim? PART 1
Newly uncovered police files reveal impossible timelines and contradictory evidence in the 1978 disappearance that launched America's most notorious serial killer case.
The Case That Started It All
For dedicated truth-seekers, the Steven Hicks case remains pivotal—the starting point of Jeffrey Dahmer’s story. We have meticulously peeled back the layers in this series, constantly drawn back to where it all began.
In Part 1, we broke new ground, uncovering details of the 1992 civil wrongful death lawsuit. This legal battle extended beyond Jeffrey Dahmer to include his parents, Lionel Dahmer and Joyce Flint, and his stepmother, Shari Shinn Dahmer.
Part 2 then delved into the glaring anomalies surrounding Steven Hicks’ disappearance, exposing conflicting accounts that challenge the established narrative.
We continued to push for answers in Part 3, raising further questions about Steven’s identification and detailing previously unseen civil court case records from that significant $10 million lawsuit.
Now, for the first time ever, our exclusive bonus three-part series offers an unprecedented deep dive into the Steven Hicks case. We’re unveiling never-before-publicized documents, providing you with unique access to primary sources and critical insights.
Prepare to explore additional, never-before-seen files from the Steven Hicks investigation that promise to raise even more unsettling questions and shed new light on the events surrounding this foundational case.
Don’t miss these critical new findings. Join us in the pursuit of truth.
Missing Person/Homicide Investigation of Steven Mark Hicks
The disappearance of 19-year-old Steven Mark Hicks on June 18, 1978, represents more than just another missing person case. It marks the beginning of Jeffrey Dahmer’s alleged killing spree. But newly uncovered official documents reveal a web of contradictions that challenge everything we thought we knew about this pivotal case.
On July 24, 1991, Lt. Richard Munsey of the Bath Police Department contacted Detective John T. Karabatsos of the Summit County Sheriff’s Department regarding a possible 1978 homicide in Bath, Ohio.
This contact was initiated after the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Police Department, which had Jeffrey Dahmer in custody for alleged multiple homicides, reported that Dahmer stated he had killed his first victim in Bath, Ohio, in June 1978.
Dahmer’s Connection: Jeffrey Dahmer did not initially reveal Steven’s identity to the Milwaukee Police. However, a LEADS1 computer search and an inspection of Summit County Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons files identified Steven Hicks as a possible victim.
A Father's Missing Person Report Raises Red Flags
When Richard Marvin Hicks filed the original missing person report for his son Steven Hicks on June 24, 1978—six days after Steven was last seen—several details immediately stand out as suspicious. The original missing person report filed in Summit County, Ohio, is shown below.
Disappearance Details: Steven Hicks left his residence on June 18, 1978, around noon, on foot, intending to hitchhike to Chippewa Lake Park. He was last seen wearing jeans, blue tennis shoes, and a necklace with a red cross.
Richard’s description of Steven reveals another detail: burn marks on his left forearm.
One glaring detail in the report: Steven’s Social Security Number (SSN) was listed as ‘Unknown.’ How could his own father not know this basic and crucial information?
Conflicting Physical Descriptions
However, when Steven’s mother Martha Hicks filed her own missing person report in Summit County, Ohio, on October 22, 1985, her account directly contradicted her husband’s.
Martha’s report (shown below) describes Steven wearing a chain with teeth braces—not a red cross, as Richard claimed—a detail that aligns with Jeffrey Dahmer’s confession.. Additionally, it contradicts Richard’s description of Steven’s scar, placing it on his right forearm instead of his left.
These discrepancies cast serious doubt on the accuracy and reliability of the initial information. How could Steven’s parents provide such conflicting details about their own son?
And perhaps most puzzling of all—how did Richard Hicks not even know his son’s Social Security Number?
A crucial uncertainty surrounds Steven Hicks’s initial disappearance: did he ever reach Chippewa Lake Park? Martha’s report only states that he was never seen again by family or friends after being dropped off. Neither his missing person’s reports clarify this critical detail, underscoring a perplexing gap in the official record of his last known whereabouts.
Previous Investigations
The missing person report for Steven Hicks had been updated multiple times since June 24, 1978, including a photograph, checks for unidentified bodies, and computer checks for operator’s licenses in all states, none of which were successful.
In her victim impact statement (a passage is shown below) during Jeff’s criminal trial in Ohio, Martha Hicks detailed the exhaustive measures her family undertook to locate Steven Hicks. Their efforts included consulting psychics, engaging cult deprogrammers, hiring private investigators, and contacting ‘Unsolved Mysteries,’ all while contending with the grim possibility of serial killers.
The Social Security Death Index Anomaly
As noted in Part 3, Steven Hicks’ Social Security Number (288-58-4214) appears in FBI records but is oddly missing from the U.S. Social Security Death Index—a rare and notable discrepancy for that time.
As previously noted, the perplexing absence of 14 additional alleged Jeffrey Dahmer victims from the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) highlights a profound anomaly.
Far exceeding mere administrative oversight, this pattern prompts investigations into why so many alleged victims remain undocumented in federal records, especially during a period when 85% of deceased persons can be found in the SSDI.2
This irregularity is further compounded by the lack of autopsy reports and the absence of related Wisconsin conviction records in Dahmer’s background checks.
Steven Hicks: The Final Hours – An Official Investigative Timeline
The County of Summit Missing Person/Homicide Investigation report for Steven Hicks, dated July 24, 1991, provides a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding Steven Hicks’ disappearance.
Below, we present a direct excerpt, allowing you to trace the unfolding timeline of events as documented by authorities.
On Sunday, June 18, 1978, Steven was dropped off at the west leg of Manchester Road on Route 224 with plans to hitchhike to a concert at Chippewa Lake Park in Medina, Ohio.
According to his parents, who filed the missing person reports, this was the last time Steven was seen by his family and friends.
The Second Annual Ohio Music Festival did indeed take place on this date.
A reporter later obtained information suggesting that one of Steven’s friends, Bill Curley, had seen him on the day of his disappearance. Detective Karabatsos of the Summit County Sheriff’s Department subsequently contacted Curley to confirm these details.
Curley stated that Steven had been picked up on Route 224 by two individuals, identified as Chipper Edgecomb and Tim Pickens, who drove him to Chippewa Lake Park. At the park, Steven was reportedly in the company of a large group of friends, where they were consuming alcohol and marijuana.
Curley recalled that, at approximately 5:30 or 6:00 p.m., Steven mentioned he needed to use the restroom and expressed that he had to return home. He was last seen walking northbound from the parking lot toward the wooded area near the park.
Why do the initial Steven Hicks missing person reports contradict later findings, omitting any mention of these friends and stating he vanished after being dropped off to hitchhike to Chippewa Lake Park? The 1991 investigation reveals Hicks was last seen at the park by friends, a crucial detail absent from the original early records.
Despite extensive search efforts and a thorough investigation, Steven was never seen again.
Geographic Analysis Raises Questions
This timeline highlights the crucial hours between Steven Hicks’ last sighting and his reported encounter with Jeffrey Dahmer. Understanding these key moments is vital to unraveling the events surrounding his disappearance. This is how the timeline and Steven’s route unfold according to the official investigation accounts.
A map for the eastbound route on I-76 E, leading from Chippewa Lake Park (A) to Steven’s residence 2993 Prior Drive, Akron (D), via Copley Township Fire Station at 1540 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road (B) and Jeff’s residence 4480 West Bath Road (C), Akron, Ohio, is displayed below.
The total distance for this route is approximately 38.3 miles, with an estimated driving duration of 56 minutes. The most direct route for Steven would have been approximately 34 miles and takes about 40 minutes via I-76 E.
The map depicts where Jeff stopped to pick up Steven Hicks near the fire department on the Cleveland-Massillon Road (B) as detailed in the investigation report excerpt below.
One fire department, specifically, holds a direct address on this Ohio route: the Copley Township Fire Station at 1540 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road. This station, built in 1974, is still operational and is indicated on the map below.
According to this account, Steven Hicks would have travelled approximately 21.9 miles from Chippewa Lake Park before meeting Jeff, and the drive (assuming that he had hitchhiked) takes about about 26 minutes via highway I-76 E, which was en-route to Steven’s home address.
The Google map below depicts the 6.9 mile route from the fire department (A) to Jeffrey Dahmer’s residence at 4480 West Bath Road (B), which is situated approximately 9.5 miles westbound from Hicks’ home address.
According to official investigation accounts, the encounter is reported to have occurred after 5 p.m. on or after June 18, 1978.
Although the report notes that Jeffrey Dahmer picked up Steven Hicks, it doesn’t explain why. It further details that Hicks started talking ‘‘about buying some pot or something like that’’, and that they ‘‘had some beers’’ which were in the refrigerator.
Family Notification: Detective Karabatsos informed Steven Hicks’ mother, Martha Hicks, that her son’s photo and disappearance information had been sent to the Milwaukee Police Department for use in interviewing Jeffrey Dahmer. Mrs Hicks expressed that knowing for sure what happened to Steven would bring the family closure.
The Bath Police Department Investigation Report
The Bath Police Department Investigation Report dated July 31, 1991, also highlights the same puzzling contradictions surrounding Steven Hicks’ disappearance and Jeffrey Dahmer’s account of the events in the Milwaukee Police confession and FBI vault as detailed in Part 2.
The timeline wavers between June 1978—when Jeff’s mother Joyce was still living in the family home (she didn’t leave until August 24, 1978)—and ‘‘in the fall,’’ a period when Jeff was away at Ohio State University from September to December 1978..
Adding to the uncertainty, the report claims Dahmer was alone in the family home for just two weeks, further misaligning with the June 1978 timeline. These inconsistencies beg deeper scrutiny into how reliably the story aligns with the actual timeline, leaving more questions than answers.
Jeffrey Dahmer’s story about Steven Hicks is full of red flags. He says he was alone when the incident happened in June 1978, but records show his mother Joyce was still at home. He also claims the crime happened “in the fall,” but by then, he was already away at Ohio State University, making this timeline impossible.
These contradictions cast real doubt on his account—and raise more questions than answers.
What the Evidence Suggests
The accumulation of contradictions and inconsistencies in official documents raises serious questions:
Parental Knowledge Gaps: How could Steven’s father not know his son’s Social Security Number?
Conflicting Descriptions: Why do Steven’s parents provide different physical descriptions of their own son?
Initial Missing Person Reports: State Hicks vanished after being dropped off for Chippewa Lake Park, omitting mention of friends, yet the 1991 investigation reveals he was last seen at the park by friends. Why the discrepancy?
Social Security Death Index: Why does Steven’s death remain conspicuously absent from the Social Security Death Index?
Timeline Impossibilities: Dahmer claims he killed Hicks both ‘‘in June 1978’’ (when his mother was home) and ‘‘in the fall’’ (when he was at university). The confession also mentions ‘‘around October 1978’’. Both scenarios make his ‘‘alone at home’’ story impossible.
Geographic Inconsistencies: Why was Steven allegedly hitchhiking away from his home?
The Search for Truth Continues
These newly uncovered documents don’t provide answers—they raise more questions about a case that has been considered closed for decades. The Steven Hicks investigation represents the foundation of our understanding of Jeffrey Dahmer’s alleged crimes, yet that foundation appears to be built on shifting sand.
As we continue to examine previously unseen files and official records, one thing becomes clear: the truth about Steven Hicks’ disappearance may be far more complex than the official narrative suggests.
The pursuit of truth in this case isn’t just about one missing young man—it’s about ensuring that justice is built on facts, not assumptions.
This investigation is part of an ongoing series examining never-before-publicized documents from the Steven Hicks case. As new evidence emerges, we remain committed to uncovering the truth behind one of America’s most significant missing person cases.
Stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3 as we continue to unravel more.
What do you think about these inconsistencies? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) is a vital law enforcement tool providing critical criminal justice information, enabling agencies to process and seamlessly share data for investigations.
United States Social Security Administration Records (FamilySearch.org)
It’s interesting to see how this case is unwinding and the pieces of the puzzle that were (intentionally) withheld from the public in order to paint a monster. Great work as always
This is so crazy😁🤭🤓🤗great job👍