The new Netflix dramatization of the life and crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer leaves out some key details, including what happened to the serial killer's younger brother, David Dahmer.
"Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" portrays David Dahmer, who was born in 1966, seven years after his brother, as a child in early episodes before he disappears almost entirely from the plot line.
This disappearance doesn't stray far from what was happening in real life.
Jeffrey and David Dahmer were separated during their parents' divorce
As the show depicts, the brothers grew up together. According to Brian Masters in his 1993 biography "The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer," David saw his older brother once conduct an animal dissection.
"David Dahmer knew about the animal graveyard and thought his brother was ‘doing a good service’ by burying dead creatures," Masters wrote.
Separation came after their parents, Lionel and Joyce Dahmer, split in 1978, each charging the other with “extreme cruelty and gross neglect of duty," per Masters' book.
A custody battle for 11-year-old David Dahmer ensued. "There was much discussion and worry over who should have custody of David and where he would live, but no thought was ever given as to what should happen to Jeff, or where he would be expected to live," Masters wrote.
Joyce was given custody over her younger son. Then, defying court orders for her to remain within a reasonable distance of Lionel, Joyce took David Dahmer with her to live in Wisconsin. "She left, never to return, urging Jeff not to tell his father what she had done," Masters wrote.
Jeffrey Dahmer, almost 18, stayed with their father.
Where is David Dahmer now?
In 1992, Jeffrey Dahmer was convicted of murdering 15 boys and men between the years of 1978 and 1991, and confessed to two more murders.
David Dahmer's response, according to their father, was to disappear.
During an interview Lionel and Shari Dahmer, the brothers' stepmom, did on "Larry King Live" in 2004, David Dahmer changed his name. His new name is not known.
"We’ve promised to keep him completely secret," Lionel Dahmer said.
His stepmom, however, mentioned his success. "He has a career ... and a family," she said. "He's very happy. We're expecting a second grandchild. Everything is going well."
Due to the seven-year age gap, Lionel Dahmer said the two "weren't as close as someone maybe that was one or two years different." He also noted that the two had different personalities: Jeffrey Dahmer being "extremely shy" and David Dahmer as "very, very ebullient and outgoing."
Since the 2004 interview, there have been no updates on David Dahmer and no public record since his name change.
"Monster" has quickly risen to the No. 1 position on Netflix, since its release on Sept. 21. However, the streaming service's latest true crime series has caused controversy, with some saying the show humanizes Jeffrey Dahmer and makes victims' families relive the traumatic time.
“It’s sad that they’re just making money off of this tragedy. That’s just greed,” Rita Isbell, sister of victim Erroll Lindsey, told Insider.
Creator Murphy said that he reached out to victims' families but did not hear back. “Over the course of the three, three and a half years when we were really writing it, working on it — we reached out to 20, around 20, of the victims’ families and friends trying to get input, trying to talk to people,” Murphy said at a Directors Guild of America event, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
On the 10-episode series, Evan Peters portrays an adult Jeffrey Dahmer. Richard Jenkins plays his father, Lionel; Molly Ringwald is his stepmom, Shari.
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