What Happened to Jeffrey Dahmer’s Neighbor, Glenda Cleveland?
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Content warning: This article contains discussion of murder, suicide, and sexual assault some may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised.
Netflix’s newest true crime series, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, is a haunting retelling of the life and crimes of one of America’s most notorious serial killers. From 1978 to 1991, Dahmer murdered and dismembered 17 young boys and men, mostly in and around his apartment in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The series has led to many questions about the people Dahmer knew, including his neighbor, Glenda Cleveland.
Cleveland, who is portrayed by Niecy Nash in Monster, heroically tried to stop Dahmer two months before he was finally arrested. As depicted in the series, she called the police after she encountered one of Dahmer’s victims, 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone, in May 1991. She found him outside, drugged, unclothed, and gravely disoriented, but when the authorities arrived, they brought the young boy back to Dahmer’s apartment.
While some of the scenes with Cleveland are based in fact — like the above — others have been fictionalized for the show. Here’s everything we know about Jeffrey Dahmer’s neighbor, Glenda Cleveland.
She didn’t actually live next door to Jeffrey Dahmer
In the series, Cleveland lives in the unit right next door to Dahmer. She’s seen repeatedly suspicious of Dahmer’s behavior, the smell coming from his apartment, and his use of power tools late at night.
But in real life, Cleveland lived in a building adjacent to Dahmer, according to USA Today. It’s believed that her character in Monster is based in part on Pamela Bass, a woman who actually lived next door to Dahmer in the Oxford Apartments. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, it’s Bass who Dahmer offered sandwiches to. “I have probably eaten someone’s body part,” Bass says in The Jeffrey Dahmer Files documentary.
Cleveland continued to call the authorities after finding one of Dahmer’s victims
Cleveland’s daughter, Sandra Smith, and niece, Nicole Childress, saw 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone trying to escape Dahmer’s apartment building in May 1991. Cleveland called the police, but he was returned to Dahmer’s apartment when they arrived. She continued to call the authorities that night to check that the young boy was OK. According to USA Today, after she discovered missing person signs for Konerak, she repeatedly called the police — even the FBI — but no one ever answered. Dahmer killed five more victims after Cleveland attempted to alert the authorities.
She died in December 2011
The 56-year-old died of natural causes, according to USA Today.
Rev. Jesse Jackson met Cleveland following Dahmer’s arrest
“Police chose the word of a killer over an innocent woman,” he said at the time, per USA Today. Cleveland was also honored by the local Common Council, the County Board, and was named a model citizen by Mayor John Norquist. The Milwaukee Police Department and local women’s groups awarded her with plaques and recognitions, as well.
USA Today reports that Cleveland remained in touch with Konerak’s family for some time. But she largely tried to stay out of the news and media. “I just want to get back to normal,” she told one reporter.
“Glenda was one of his victims, too,” Niecy Nash said in an interview with Netflix. “And her story has been told the least of these. Heavy is the head that wears the crown to tell this story, and specifically through Glenda’s lens as it had never been done before.”
“She deserved way more than a little cheesy plaque in the bottom of a social hall somewhere,” Niecy added. “She deserved way more than the police step in front of her and say, ‘Look what we did. Look what we tried to do.’”
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