10 Murder Trials That Shocked The World

7. Jeffrey Dahmer (1992) - The "Milwaukee Cannibal" Who Murdered And Ate 17 Men And Boys

So horrendous and disturbing was some of the evidence provided in the trial of the so-called "Milwaukee Cannibal" Jeffrey Dahmer that Court TV broadcast the proceedings on a 10-second delay - so they could edit out anything that may prove too unsettling for viewers.

Diagnosed during his trial as having a borderline personality disorder, Dahmer was still deemed legally sane to face charges for the rape, murder and dismemberment of seventeen men and boys in Wisconsin (and one in Ohio) between 1978 and 1991 (although he only faced trial for 15 of them).

What made this case even more unusual and shocking to the worldwide public was the fact that many of the later murders also involved cannibalism, necrophilia and the permanent preservation of victims' body parts.

When arrested in July 1991, Dahmer waived his right to have a lawyer present throughout interrogations as he said he had "created this horror and it only makes sense I do everything to put an end to it" - and the fact he readily told his version of events shocked the public even further. The performance of necrophilia on several of the victims' internal organs was highly unusual and brought worldwide distain - as did his admission to eating hearts, liver, biceps and other muscles of those he had killed.

There was so much worldwide interest for the verdict of Dahmer's case that more than 60 global news organisations were present when he was given 15 consecutive life sentences on February 17, 1992. Just two-and-a-half years into his jail term, however, Dahmer was beaten to death by fellow Columbia Correctional Institution inmate Christopher Scarver - just months after another had attempted to slit his throat with a razor.