Patrick Francis Kennedy was born in Detroit, Michigan, the eldest son of 10 children of Angus Patrick and Catherine Ann Kennedy. Once a teen, he was sent to St. Lawrence Seminary School in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where he excelled at basketball and his parents hoped he would continue to Marian College and become a Catholic priest due to his older-brotherly manner. After graduating and attending two years of college there, Pat chose instead to follow in his father's and great-grandfather's tradition of becoming a policeman with hopes of going into education or social work after retirement. After moving to Milwaukee and joining the force, Pat soon became a detective in the violent crimes division. Then, one night on duty at 11:30pm, July 22, 1991, Pat answered a call for back up to go to the Oxford Apartments, the scene of what appeared to have been a murder and a police struggle in progress. It was there that he found Jeffrey Dahmer, an enormous amount of evidence, and made his arrest, along with history.