Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has skyrocketed to the top trending TV shows on Netflix this week, despite leaving viewers horrified and tempted to turn it off due to its truly disturbing scenes.
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Dahmer was one of America's most notorious serial killers and reportedly killed 17 men over a 13-year period between 1978 and 1991. If you're interested to learn more about them - and what their families have said about the Netflix series - then keep reading…
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Known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, Dahmer preyed on men, typically of Black, Asian, or Latino men descent and was methodical in the way he sought them out, picking them up at gay bars, malls, and bus stops in and around the Milwaukee area.
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He was apprehended in 1991 after one of his victims, Tracy Edwards, managed to escape his apartment and find help from two police officers. Once in custody, he confessed to murdering the following men: Ricky Beeks, 33, Joseph Bradehoft, 25, Jamie Doxtator, 14, Richard Guerrero, 25, Anthony Hughes, 31, Oliver Lacy, 23, Errol Lindsey, 19, Ernest Miller, 22, Anthony Sears, 26, Konerak Sinthasomphone, 14, Edward W. Smith, 28, Curtis Straughter, 18, David C. Thomas, 23, Matt Turner, 20, Jeremy Weinberger, 23.
Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences
A family member of one of the victims has said the series left them "retraumatised" due to its realistic performances and disturbing content.
A Twitter user named Ericthulu, who claims to be a cousin of 19-year-old victim Errol Lindsey (and his older sister Rita Isbell who also features in the show giving evidence in court), tweeted that the series is making his family relive the nightmare all over again.
The family of one of his victims has called the show "retraumatising"
"I'm not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge right now, but if you're actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbells) are pissed about this show," they wrote. "It's retraumatising over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?"
In a follow-up tweet, he said, "Like recreating my cousin having an emotional breakdown in court in the face of the man who tortured and murdered her brother is WILD."
He went on to reveal that the creative team behind true-crime recreations "don't notify families when they do this," as it is "all public record."
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"My family found out when everyone else did," he said. "So when they say they're doing this 'with respect to the victims' or 'honoring the dignity of the families,' no one contacts them," he continued. "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."
Dahmer began his prison sentence on 1 May 1992, serving 15 consecutive life sentences for the murders. Two years later, he was beaten to death by a fellow inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institute.
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