Where is Lionel Dahmer, Jeffrey Dahmer’s father now revealed?
Lionel, 86, whose job was as a chemist, has largely stayed out of public life in recent years. However, he has made some public appearances and even authored a book about his experience as Dahmer’s father.
Lionel tried to keep Jeffrey in prison after his 1989 conviction
In 1989, Dahmer was arrested and convicted of second-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced a year at a work release camp and was released in 1990, per the FBI. He was placed under five years of probation.
Lionel wrote a letter to Judge William Gardner asking for the judge to keep Jeffrey in prison, writing he believed his son needed additional mental health treatment, according to a letter he reads in the 2020 documentary “Jeffrey Dahmer: Mind of a Monster.”
“I have reservations regarding Jeff’s chances when he hits the streets. I have experienced an extremely frustrating time trying to urge initiation of some type of treatment,” Lionel wrote. “I sincerely hope that you might intervene in some way to help my son, who I love very much and for whom I want a better life. I do feel, though, that this may be our last chance to initiate something lasting and that you can hold the key.”
But as viewers saw in the series, Dahmer was released — two months earlier than expected.
Dahmer went on to murder 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone, the brother of the young man he had been convicted of molesting.
Jeffrey’s next arrest brought them ‘very close’
Dahmer was arrested again on over a dozen murder charges in July 1991. He was convicted of 15 counts of murder in 1992, and was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences.
Lionel said in an interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1994 that he visited his son in prison at least once a month and spoke on the phone at least once a week.
“We’ve gotten very close since his … arrest,” he told Winfrey. “I still love my son. I’ll always stick by him — I always have.”
Lionel was on Winfrey’s show to promote his memoir, “A Father’s Story.” He told Winfrey he wrote the book to raise awareness for other parents of possible warning signs in their children, as well as to create treatment options for those who experienced similar thoughts as his son.
Lionel has pondered what could have caused Jeffrey’s behavior
Lionel opened up about his attempts to understand Dahmer’s desire to kill while speaking to Winfrey in 1994.
“I considered all kinds of things. Was it environmental, genetic? Was it, perhaps, medications that were taken at the time of — you know, in the first trimester? Was it the effect of, you know, the popular subject now, media violence?” he asked.
On CNN’s Larry King Live in 1994, Lionel described his son as “extremely shy” growing up, but otherwise called him a normal boy. Lionel explained he and Dahmer’s mother both didn’t know their son was collecting dead animals as a young teenager until his trial, and that he would have intervened immediately if he knew.
“We found out that he had been collecting at the age of 12 to 14 — you know, when your hormones are ranging, puberty — he was collecting dead animals, road kill, riding around the rural roads and collecting them in bags,” Lionel said. “His mother didn’t know. I didn’t know. And apparently, none of his playmates knew.”
