Jeffrey Dahmer copycat jailed after kidnapping teen Grindr hook-up in gruesome murder plot

A Louisiana man, Chance Seneca, has been handed a 45-year jail sentence for kidnapping and attempting to murder and dismember a Grindr date, in a case that is being likened to the harrowing crimes of Jeffery Dahmer. 

On Wednesday (25 January), the 21-year-old of Lafayette, Louisiana, was sentenced on a single charge of kidnapping, which he pled guilty to in September last year, in exchange for the dismissal of additional charges. 

Those dismissed charges included kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, obstruction of justice, hate crime with attempt to kill and possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a crime of violence.

Prosecutors said Chance had told authorities he wanted to replicate the murders committed by Jeffrey Dahmer.

‘Life forever changed by a date’

At the hearing, victim Holden White told the judge about the deep physical, emotional and psychological toll the attack has had on him.

White said he had been left with no feeling in his left hand and a finger on his right hand. He shared that his voice has been limited, his body permanently scarred and his skull still sensitive to weight and pressure in places.

He added he has suffered anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder following the attack. 

“I’m scared for me and for other future victims he might harm. I’m scared an 18-year-old, like I was, will have their life forever changed by a date…I don’t need anyone getting hurt the way that I did,” White said.

Another of Seneca’s victims, identified only as JF, also submitted a written victim impact statement to the court. 

Assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division called the facts in the case “truly shocking”. 

Clarke added: “The internet should be accessible and safe for all Americans, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.

“We will continue to identify and intercept the predators who weaponise online platforms to target LGBTQ+ victims and carry out acts of violence and hate.”

What did Chance Seneca do? 

The sentence stems from a June 2020 attempted murder, which saw Seneca use Grindr to kidnap and attempt to murder and dismember Holden White.

After meeting him, Seneca drove the pair to an isolated house, took out a handgun, instructed him to put on handcuffs, and then used several methods to attempt to murder him. Believing that White was dead, Seneca then attempted to dismember him. 

White had his wrist slashed and was almost strangled to death. He previously told local news station KATC: “My final words to myself was, ‘just stay calm,'” he recalls. “In my mind, I kept repeating to myself, ‘just stay calm, stay calm.'”

After his arrest, Seneca admitted he had planned to continue murdering gay men until he was caught or killed.

He said he had kidnapped and attempted to murder White in a bid to satisfy a compulsive murder fantasy, which led him to become fixated on the idea of killing gay men. 

This saw him spend months planning a murder-kidnapping scheme that mirrored the crimes committed by Jeffery Dahmer. 

Just as Dahmer did, Seneca intended to preserve the bodies of his victims. 

US attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, Brandon B Brown, said: “No one should ever be subjected to the type of horrendous actions that this defendant inflicted upon the victim in this case.

“The victim never thought that he would find himself falling prey to a predator in such a way.” 

Brown added: “It is important that we all remain vigilant and cautious as we use the internet in our everyday lives to avoid situations that may lead to destructive behaviour of others towards us.”

The FBI and the Lafayette Police Department conducted the investigation, with special agent in charge Douglas A Williams Jr, of the FBI New Orleans Field Office, stating that the sentence “sends a clear message that individuals like Chance Seneca will be held accountable”. 

The 21-year-old will serve five years of supervised release once his prison term is completed and will be required to pay restitution, in an amount to be determined at a hearing on 28 February. He will also be required to complete an outpatient substance abuse program. 

Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men or young boys, between 1978 and 1991 and his horrific crimes have been highlighted in Netflix’s true crime drama Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

But the show, co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, has received searing backlash for “retraumisting” the family of the Milwaukee serial killer’s victims and due to its use of an LGBTQ+ tag, which Netflix has since been forced to remove.