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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Hana Carter

Chilling true story of Jeffrey Dahmer's unsuspecting grandmother revealed in Netflix show

Some Netflix viewers were so horrified by Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story that they were unable to make it through the first chilling episode.

As well as following the gruesome story of the serial killer and cannibal, the drama shines a light on other characters that were dragged into Dahmer's warped world.

The streaming site launched 10 episodes to show the victims' and family's stories and how it took so long to bring justice.

Created by American Horror Story's Ryan Murphy, the synopsis reads: "Across more than a decade, 17 teen boys and young men were murdered by convicted killer Jeffrey Dahmer. How did he evade arrest for so long?"

Jeffrey Dahmer's grandmother was played by Michael Learner (Netflix)

After being kicked out of college and then the army, Dahmer's dad and step mum shipped him off to live with his Grandma - Catherine Jemima Hughes.

Catherine, played by Michael Learned, appeared to have her suspicions around her grandson, but never acted on them.

Dahmer murdered three men at the time he was living under his Grandma's roof in Wisconsin, and would "experiment" on their corpses with acid.

Dahmer with his dad Lionel and grandma (Netflix)

He killed Steven Tuomi in 1987 at the Ambassador Hotel in Milwaukee before taking his body back to his Grandma's house.

James Doxtator was also murdered in Catherine's house and his body was left in the basement for a week before Dahmer dismembered him.

Richard Guerrero and Anthony Sears were also killed in the same spot and their heads and genitals were kept as trophies by Dahmer.

Jeffrey Dahmer as he enters the courtroom in 1991 (AFP via Getty Images)
Dahmer was known as the Milwaukee Cannibal (Sygma via Getty Images)

When she once complained about the smell, Dahmer, played by Evan Peters, dismisses it as a result of his "taxidermy stuff".

He also pinned the vile stench on a "dead raccoon under the back porch", and said that it would be gone in a week.

Catherine even walked in on Dahmer with one of his victims, who was drugged and unconscious in her living room.

The show was created by American Horror Story's Ryan Murphy (Netflix)

Her grandson told her that the man was drunk, which in the series Catherine seemed to believe him.

Unbeknown to her, she had saved his life as Dahmer took him to the hospital once he had regained consciousness.

Despite her suspicions, it's believed that Catherine had no idea of the horrors that were unfolding right under her nose.

The series showed tender moments between the pair, including a scene where Catherine reassured Dahmer that he was a good boy.

Some viewers were unable to watch the gruesome scenes (Netflix)

They were going through his dad Lionel's photos and achievements, which Catherine kept in a large wooden box.

Dahmer appeared to be sad that he didn't have a "good boy box" or anything to be proud of from his time at school.

Catherine sympathised with her grandson, showing the love that she had for him.

Little did she know that he later used that box to store the head of one of his victims.

Lionel told the Milwaukee Sentinel: "He’d be in a bar and get in trouble, and I’d have to go find him. 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."

Dahmer's grandma's house in Wisconsin (Google.Maps)

In September 1988, she asked Dahmer to move out because of his heavy drinking and her disapproval over his sexuality.

Four years later Catherine died aged 88, which sparked rumours that her bloodthirsty grandson had killed her.

These theories were never proven, but the cause of her death remains unknown.

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Dahmer was arrested in 1991 - a year before Catherine died.

He was branded the Milwaukee Cannibal and took the lives of 17 men and boys between the 1970s and 1990s.

He was given 15 life sentences, which was later extended to 16, and was eventually murdered in prison by inmate Christopher Carver in 1994.

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