Did Lionel Dahmer write a book about Jeffrey Dahmer? Who is killer’s dad - and is he still alive

Jeffrey Dahmer is one of America’s most notorious and reviled serial killers of all time. Between the years 1978 and 1991, Dahmer killed a total of 17 men and boys and performed sex acts with their corpses.

Since his conviction in 1991 many people have questioned the reasons why Dahmer became a serial killer, and his upbringing is explored in the 2022 Netflix series Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

But who were Jeffrey Dahmer’s parents and are they still alive today?

Who are Jeffrey Dahmer’s parents and are they still alive?

Jeffrey Dahmer was born on 21 May 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the eldest of two sons of Joyce Annette and Lionel Dahmer who were both born in 1936.

Jeffrey Dahmer’s father Lionel is still alive and is 86-years old however Joyce died six years after her son in 2000.

Who is Lionel Dahmer?

Lionel was born and raised in West Allis, Wisconsin, United States and was born on 29 July 1936. He is the son of Catherine Jemima Hughes.

As a child Lionel was raised as a Christian and regularly attended church as a child with his parents. Lionel proved to be a highly intelligent child and graduated from a local school in the area before going on to study at the University of Wisconsin in 1959.

Lionel earned a Masters of Science degree from Marquette University in 1962 and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1966.

What was Jeffrey Dahmer’s relationship like with his parents?

According to the Netflix series, Jeffrey Dahmer had an unstable relationship with both of his parents. In his early life it is reported that Dahmer was deprived of attention as a child. His father Lionel was absent for lengthy periods of time due to his education and his mother Joyce suffered from postnatal depression which pushed her to pill abuse.

Lionel Dahmer said during an interview in 2020 that a number of complications were caused following his wife’s pregnancy which made it increasingly difficult to focus on Jeffrey.

Despite having a tough upbringing, Jeffrey did form a bond with his father Lionel as a child. It is documented in Lionel Dahmer’s book, A Father’s Story, that he was the first person to show his son how to pick up roadkill and slice them up to see what was inside of them. This peculiar interest was one of the few things Jeffrey enjoyed as a teenager and it would remain with him in later life.

What has Lionel Dahmer said about his son’s murders?

Since discovering Jeffrey was a serial killer, Lionel has been very vocal about expressing his thoughts and feelings about his son and what went wrong for him as a child.

In 1994 - the year of Jeffrey Dahmer’s death - Lionel wrote an entire book which was titled A Father’s Story. The book focuses on Jeffrey’s childhood and expresses the complex feelings he had towards his son after finding out he was a serial killer. In the book Lionel questions the medication Jeffrey’s mother was on at the time of his birth.

Lionel also blames himself throughout the book and his negligence towards Jeffrey in an emotional sense. Lionel claims he had a closer bond visiting his son in prison during his final years then he ever had before he was sentenced.

Where is Lionel Dahmer now?

Since the death of Jeffrey Dahmer, Lionel has been involved with several TV shows and documentaries in relation to his son, who was known as the Milwaukee Cannibal. Lionel worked on Dahmer on Dahmer: A Serial Killer Speaks, Mind of a Monster, and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

It is believed that Lionel now resides in Ohio with his second wife Shari. Since 2020, Lionel has embraced a life of privacy and has kept himself away from the public eye.

Does Lionel Dahmer feature in Netflix series?

Lionel Dahmer is one of the main characters in the 2022 Netflix series Dahmer-Monster:The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. The role is played by award winning American actor Richard Jenkins.Jenkins is best known for featuring in a number of films such as Burn After Reading, Step Brothers, Let Me In and Jack Reacher.

The first episode of the Netflix series shows Jeffrey Dahmer being arrested on suspicion of multiple murders in 1991 and a great deal is centered on the relationship between Jeffrey and his father Lionel.