What Happened to Jeffrey Dahmer's Grandmother, Catherine Jemima Hughes?
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Content warning: This article contains references to murder and sexual assault some may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised.
In Netflix’s hit show Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Jeffrey Dahmer's grandmother Catherine Dahmer (otherwise known as Catherine Jemima Hughes) plays a major role in the notorious serial killer's story as Dahmer killed multiple men during his time living with her. He killed and dismembered odor-emitting bodies in her home, and yet it is believed that Catherine, depicted by actress Michael Learned, was unaware of what happened in her basement.
The atrocities that Dahmer committed and the legal proceedings that followed were marked by several points where an arrest could have happened, but didn’t. You may have found yourself wondering if Dahmer could’ve been stopped if he had gone to jail for assaulting fellow soldiers in the military, or if his grandmother knew what was happening under their roof and notified the authorities. Here, we explore Dahmer's relationship with his paternal grandmother and what he got away with in her home.
Where did Catherine Dahmer live?
Catherine lived in a suburb of Wisconsin called West Allis, on 2357 S 57th Street. The house is still standing today.
How long did Jeffrey Dahmer live with his grandmother, Catherine?
Dahmer moved back into his parent's house after being honorably discharged from the military in 1981, despite the physical and sexual abuse that he committed towards Preston Davis and Billie Capshaw during his time in service. Dahmer continued to struggle with alcoholism upon his return home, and was arrested in Ohio for drunk and disorderly conduct.
Following that arrest, his father Lionel Dahmer and his stepmother Shari Dahmer sent their son to his grandmother's house in Wisconsin, where he remained until 1990 — a total of nine years. Jeffery's father told the Milwaukee Sentinel, "This was probably very wrong to do, but I didn’t have the wisdom to do anything differently, and we sent him to his grandmother’s to live there. A new scene. They loved each other, and he’d help her with the chores."
While Dahmer's parents had hoped that his grandmother would be a positive influence, the serial killer continued to use her home as a setting for his gruesome murders.
Which crimes did Jeffrey Dahmer commit in his grandmother’s house?
Dahmer was arrested for indecent exposure in 1982, and then was charged for disorderly conduct in 1986.
In 1987, Steven Tuomi was murdered by Dahmer in a hotel room. The serial killer brought the corpse back to his grandmother's houses, where he proceeded to dismember the body. Dahmer killed three other men (Jamie Doxtator, Richard Guerrero, and Anthony Sears) in Catherine's basement during his stint in her home, and experimented on their corpses with acid.
How much did Catherine Dahmer know about Jeffrey Dahmer's crimes?
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story's depiction of Catherine suggests that the woman was suspicious of what her grandson was doing in her basement. However, it was never confirmed if Catherine had an inkling about the atrocities committed in her basement, or if she was unaware, as she never gave a testimony in court.
One of Dahmer's surviving victims, Ronald Flowers, stated in court that he believed he wasn't killed because Dahmer's grandmother had been aware that Flowers was in her home. In the documentary Jeffrey Dahmer: Mind of a Monster, Flowers explains that he was having trouble starting his car one night. "This man came up to me and said, "Are you having trouble?"' he recounted. "He introduced himself as Jeff."
Flowers shared that he was lured back to Dahmer's grandmother's house with a promise to jumpstart his car. Dahmer and Catherine had a brief conversation, and Flowers described the serial killer as "visibly nervous" after he spoke to his grandmother. The man admits in Jeffrey Dahmer: Mind of a Monster that he doesn't remember what happened between falling over in Catherine's house and waking up in a hospital bed, but attributed escaping Dahmer to Catherine knowing he was in her home.
Did Jeffrey Dahmer kill his grandmother?
No, Dahmer did not kill his grandmother. According to her gravestone, Catherine passed away on December 25th, 1992 while Dahmer was in prison at the Columbia Correctional Facility. Dahmer himself died almost two years later, on November 28, 1994.
There are no reports pointing to hostility between the grandmother and grandson. Despite what happened in her basement, Catherine, in a 1991 article in the Fond du Lac Reporter accessed through newspapers.com, was quoted as referring to Dahmer's arrest as "terrible." "I loved him very much. He would do anything for me," she explained.
Watch all 10 episodes of "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" on Netflix.
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