Remembering Ernest Miller

Ernest Miller was a talented and aspiring dancer, trained at the Milwaukee Institute of Music. Friends described him as artistic, warm, and full of potential. He had a passion for the arts but was facing financial hardships at the time of his death. In order to get by, Ernest occasionally engaged in sex work — a detail that made him vulnerable to predators like Jeffrey Dahmer.

The Encounter with Dahmer

Dahmer met Ernest outside Milwaukee’s Grand Avenue Mall and offered him $50 to return to his apartment to pose nude for photographs. Ernest agreed — unaware that this encounter would turn fatal.

Legacy

Ernest Miller is remembered not just as a Dahmer victim, but as a man with dreams and talent taken far too soon.

"He had a future. He had talent. He mattered." – Friend of Ernest Miller

His story has been featured in documentaries and dramatizations, helping to preserve the memory of those who were silenced.

“The Jeffrey Dahmer Files” (2012)

“Dahmer on Dahmer: A Serial Killer Speaks” (2017)

“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix, 2022)