Film & TV
This post is brought to you in partnership with Oxygen.
We’re counting down the days until Dahmer on Dahmer: A Serial Killer Speaks debuts on Oxygen.
The two-night special premieres on November 11, and is packed with revelatory details about the Jeffrey Dahmer case. Yet the special also takes an in-depth look at the man behind the murders—in particular, Dahmer’s upbringing in Ohio and his troubled relationship with his mother.
The special points out that Dahmer’s mother, Joyce, struggled with mental illness while pregnant with Jeffrey. She was on a heavy pill rotation at the time, consuming 27 pills every day—from antidepressants to growth hormones and Progesterone.
Could this regimen have contributed to Dahmer’s future life of violence?
Shari Dahmer, Jeffrey Dahmer’s stepmother, broaches the subject on Dahmer on Dahmer. She appears prominently in the special, speaking publicly about the Jeffrey Dahmer case for the first time in over 10 years. Shari notes that she discussed Joyce’s pill regimen with doctors, who suggested that the prescriptions Joyce took while pregnant could have impacted the fetus.
Shari also shines a light on Jeffrey’s life as a newborn, and Joyce’s conflicted relationship with her infant son.
“When Jeff was born, the grandparents were not allowed to hold the baby,” Shari says during the special. “Joyce didn’t want anyone touching the baby, or breathing on it. She was afraid of germs.” Lionel, Jeffrey Dahmer’s father, confirms this detail. According to him, Joyce rarely touched Jeffrey as an infant, except to change the child’s diaper or hold him for a photo. Watch the chilling clip below.
Dahmer on Dahmer: A Serial Killer Speaks features never-before-seen interviews to retrace Dahmer’s footsteps and raise intriguing questions about one of the most shocking serial murder cases in recent history. In addition to archival footage of the killer himself, the special also features interviews with law enforcement officials, surviving Dahmer victims, and Dahmer’s father and stepmother.
Mark your calendars, true crime obsessives—and prepare to dive inside the mind of a killer.
Dahmer on Dahmer: A Serial Killer Speaks Part 1 premieres Saturday, November 11 at 7 P.M. ET/PT. Part 2 airs on November 12 at 7 P.M. ET/PT on Oxygen
Feature photo: Courtesy of Oxygen
