THE RIDE I NEVER GAVE

A True Encounter With Jeffrey Dahmer

By: Ted Lazaris

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

EDITORIAL REVIEW

True Crime / Psychological Suspense

One ordinary night in a quiet Wisconsin bar. One conversation with a stranger. Years later, the chilling realization that the man asking for a ride home was Jeffrey Dahmer. In The Ride I Never Gave, Ted Lazaris recounts a haunting true encounter that reveals how close ordinary lives can come to unimaginable darkness. Told with stark realism and lingering psychological tension, this short memoir reads like the opening chapter of a true-crime documentary where the smallest decision can mean the difference between life and disappearance.


THE RIDE I NEVER GAVE
A True Encounter With Jeffrey Dahmer
“I shared a drink with him before the world knew his name.”

Late one summer night in 1988, Ted Lazaris sat alone in a quiet Wisconsin tavern waiting for his brother to arrive. The bar was nearly empty when a soft-spoken stranger sat down beside him and struck up a casual conversation. The man seemed ordinary—quiet, polite, and slightly awkward.

After a few minutes, the stranger asked for a simple favor.
He asked Ted for a ride home, explaining that he lived just a few blocks away with his grandmother.
Something about the man felt wrong, and Ted declined.

Two years later, while watching television, Ted saw the same face sitting in a courtroom as the world learned the name of one of America’s most notorious killers—Jeffrey Dahmer.
The Ride I Never Gave tells the true story of an ordinary night, a brief conversation with a stranger, and the single decision that may have saved a life.
Because sometimes the difference between going home safely and never being seen again comes down to one word.
No.