Netflix – Family Of Jeffrey Dahmer’s Victim Slams The Streaming Service For ‘Cruel’ New Series About The Serial Killer, Says The Project Has Been ‘Retraumatizing’ Them ‘Over & Over Again’: How Many Movies/Shows/Documentaries Do We Need?

Netflix – Family Of Jeffrey Dahmer’s Victim Slams The Streaming Service For ‘Cruel’ New Series About The Serial Killer, Says The Project Has Been ‘Retraumatizing’ Them ‘Over & Over Again’: How Many Movies/Shows/Documentaries Do We Need?

One of the alleged families of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims is not here for the Netflix series about the infamous serial killer.

Evan Peters

On Thursday (September 22), Eric Perry, the alleged cousin of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victim Errol Lindsey, spoke out via Twitter to express his discomfort with “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” The Netflix show — from famed creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan — stars Evan Peters as the serial killer and sex offender Jeffrey Dahmer.

Evan Peters

According to reports, the true-crime series seeks to offer a more progressive look at Jeffrey Dahmer, but some of his victims’ families believe the show is uncalled for and unjustified for its existence. Eric Perry wrote,

“I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge rn, but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbell’s) are pissed about this show. It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?”

In a follow-up tweet, Eric Perry said,

“Recreating my cousin having an emotional breakdown in court in the face of the man who tortured and murdered her brother is WILD. WIIIIIILD.”

Not expecting the post to garnish that much attention, Perry also noted that because the murders are public record, producers of true-crime television shows are not required to notify the families of the victims they portray. Perry pointed out that nobody from “Monster” contacted his family, and that they found out about the show at the same time as everyone else. He said,

“Ok. I did not expect that tweet to get this much attention. To answer the main question, no, they don’t notify families when they do this. It’s all public record, so they don’t have to notify (or pay!) anyone. My family found out when everyone else did.” 

Perry added,

“So when they say they’re doing this ‘with respect to the victims’ or ‘honoring the dignity of the families,’ no one contacts them. My cousins wake up every few months at this point with a bunch of calls and messages and they know there’s another Dahmer show. It’s cruel.”

Reports state that the show’s production team has defended the project, saying that the goal was never to humanize Dahmer but instead to show the perspectives of the victims and explain the ways that race and sexuality led to the killings. In a promotional video, Evan Peters said,

“We had one rule going into this from Ryan [Murphy], that it would never be told from Dahmer’s point of view. It’s called ‘The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,’ but it’s not just him and his backstory: It’s the repercussions, it’s how society and our system failed to stop him multiple times because of racism, homophobia. It’s just a tragic story.”

Netflix Jeffrey Dahmer’s victim’s sister and the real Rita in 1992 #jeffreydahmer #serialkillers #truecrime #truecrimecommunity pic.twitter.com/t8fZe1S2oT

— Carol DaRonch (@CarolDaRonch) September 21, 2022

The families of the victims previously spoke out about dramatization projects on the horrific situation. In 2017, Dahmer was reportedly the subject of the drama/horror film “My Friend Dahmer.” The film highlights Dahmer’s senior year of high school and stars former Disney Channel star Ross Lynch.

In 2012, a company reportedly organized a Jeffrey Dahmer walking tour in Milwaukee, where curious spectators would see the places where the crimes were committed. The tour outraged family members of the victims including Janie Hagen, whose brother Richard Guerrero was killed by Dahmer. At the time, Janie Hagen said,

“My mind is like a VCR. It just pauses and it rewinds and it always takes me back.”

Janie Hagen continued,

“He was only 21. I have a son that’s 21 now. I can only imagine what my mother went through. That was her child. That was her baby.”

Victim Jamie Doxtator was just 14 when Dahmer killed him in 1998. His second cousin, Stephanie McCay, said through her tears,

“The pain never goes away. Even now, I can’t really talk about it. It’s so painful.”

Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was reportedly a serial killer and sex offender who raped, murdered, and dismembered at least 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. The extent of his heinous crimes included cannibalism and necrophilia.

Dahmer performed disturbing experiments on his victims, such as injecting their bodies with cleaning solutions, removing their vital organs, and attempting to reduce their ability to function when they were still alive. He often preserved their body parts in chemicals after dismembering them.

Jeffrey Dahmer in 1991
Photo Credit: Allan Y Scott/AP/Shutterstock

Dahmer was ultimately charged with 17 murders. Although he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and psychotic disorder, he was found to be mentally fit to stand trial. In 1992, he was convicted of 16 of the 17 murders and sentenced to 16 life terms in prison. On November 28, 1994, Dahmer was bludgeoned to death by a fellow inmate at Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin. He was 34 at the time of this death.

What are your thoughts on what Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims’ families had to say? Let us know in the comments below! 

[Sources: 1, 2, 3]