{"id":1138,"date":"2025-05-14T01:42:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T01:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138"},"modified":"2025-05-14T01:42:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T01:42:15","slug":"the-little-known-story-of-david-dahmer-the-brother-of-milwaukee-cannibal-jeffrey-dahmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138","title":{"rendered":"The Little-Known Story Of David Dahmer, The Brother Of \u2018Milwaukee Cannibal\u2019 Jeffrey Dahmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Dahmer changed his name and chose to live in anonymity after the gruesome murders of his older brother, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, came to light in 1991.<\/h2>\n

Close relatives of notorious criminals, pariahs, and villains of all stripes often go underground after their family names achieves infamy \u2014 and David Dahmer, brother of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, is no exception.<\/p>\n

Like Adolf Hitler\u2019s nephew, who changed his name and served in the U.S. Navy, and Charles Manson\u2019s sons, who changed their names and lived underground, David Dahmer understandably wants no part of the gruesome legacy defined by his brother\u2019s unspeakable crimes.<\/p>\n

\n
\"David<\/p>\n

Facebook<\/span>An undated family photo featuring David Dahmer, left, Lionel, and Jeffrey.<\/span><\/p>\n

And while it may be a distant memory now, there was a time in David Dahmer\u2019s life when he was part of a tight-knit, loving family. His parents even let his older brother name him. In fact, perhaps that\u2019s another reason why David Dahmer ultimately changed his name.<\/p>\n

This is the story of Jeffrey Dahmer\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n

David Dahmer\u2019s Relatively Normal Early Life As Jeffrey Dahmer\u2019s Brother<\/h2>\n

David Dahmer was the second child of Lionel and\u00a0Joyce Dahmer\u00a0(n\u00e9e Flint). He was born in 1966 in Doylestown, Ohio \u2014 and his parents allowed his brother,\u00a0Jeffrey Dahmer, to name him. It was Jeffrey who chose the name \u201cDavid\u201d for his younger sibling.<\/p>\n

But the brothers appeared to have had a love-hate relationship with one another. While Jeffrey enjoyed spending time with his younger sibling, he also was extremely jealous of David and felt that he \u201cstole away\u201d some of the love that the Dahmers once had for him.<\/p>\n

In 1978, Lionel and Joyce divorced. Joyce moved back with her family in Wisconsin and took David Dahmer, who was then only 12 years old, with her. Yet, despite being absent from her elder son\u2019s life after her divorce, Joyce Dahmer claimed that there were \u201cno warning signs\u201d of what he would become.<\/p>\n

Lionel Dahmer, however, had a very different story. By Lionel\u2019s own admission in his memoir,\u00a0A Father\u2019s Story<\/em>, the family unit was anything but a happy one. Because Lionel was busy with his own doctoral studies, he was often absent from the home. Yet, he pondered the nature of evil in an existential way, especially as it related to his son, Jeffrey.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Jeffrey<\/p>\n

Wikimedia Commons<\/span>Jeffrey Dahmer\u2019s high school yearbook photo.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a scientist, [I] wonder if [the] potential for great evil \u2026 resides deep in the blood that some of us \u2026 may pass on to our children at birth,\u201d he wrote in the book.<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Dahmer\u2019s Unspeakable Crimes<\/h2>\n

Just one year after Joyce and David Dahmer moved from Ohio to Wisconsin, Jeffrey Dahmer committed his first brutal murder right in the\u00a0Dahmer family home\u00a0where he and his brother had grown up.<\/p>\n

Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer brutally murdered 17 men and boys, whose ages ranged from 14 to 31. And when he was finished murdering them, Dahmer defiled their bodies in the most unspeakable ways, resorting to cannibalism and masturbating on their corpses to further complete the humiliation. He even dissolved their bodies in acid, kept pieces of their corpses in his freezer, and tortured them while they were still alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an incessant and never-ending desire to be with someone at whatever cost,\u201dhe would later explain after his conviction. \u201cSomeone good looking, really nice looking. It just filled my thoughts all day long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Were it not for the brave escape of Tracy Edwards \u2014 Jeffrey Dahmer\u2019s final would-be victim \u2014 the serial killer\u2019s crimes may have continued for a long time. Fortunately, though, Jeffrey Dahmer was ultimately put on trial in 1992.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0\u201cMilwaukee Monster\u201d\u00a0ultimately pled guilty to 15 of the charges against him and was given 15 life sentences plus 70 years. He would spend a few years imprisoned at Wisconsin\u2019s Columbia Correctional Institution, where he became both reviled by his fellow inmates and quasi-celebrated by the media, who took every opportunity they could to interview him.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 29, 1994,\u00a0Christopher Scarver\u00a0bludgeoned Jeffrey Dahmer to death while both were assigned to the same prison detail,\u00a0ending a life\u00a0that was rife with misery and strife. But Jeffrey Dahmer\u2019s acts continue to live on in infamy. Perhaps that\u2019s why his younger brother continues to live in obscurity under a new name and a new identity.<\/p>\n

David Dahmer Sheds His Name And Its Macabre Legacy<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s clear that David Dahmer, like the rest of the Dahmer family, suffered greatly thanks to Jeffrey\u2019s infamous crimes. A 1994\u00a0People<\/em>\u00a0profile of the Dahmer family revealed how deeply the wounds ran. Jeffrey\u2019s grandmother, Catherine, endured vicious harassment until her death in 1992, and she said she would often find herself \u201csitting like a frightened animal\u201d when reporters would camp outside her home.<\/p>\n

\"Parents<\/p>\n

Steve Kagan\/The LIFE Images Collection\/Getty Images<\/span>Jeffrey and David Dahmer\u2019s parents, Lionel and Joyce.<\/span><\/p>\n

And while Lionel Dahmer and his new wife, Shari, regularly paid visits to Jeffrey until he was killed, Joyce Dahmer moved to the Fresno, California, area shortly before her son Jeffrey\u2019s crimes were uncovered. She worked with HIV and AIDS patients at a time when they were considered \u201cuntouchable,\u201d and continued to work with him after her son was killed in prison.<\/p>\n

When she ultimately died of breast cancer in 2000, at the age of 64, Joyce Dahmer\u2019s friends and colleagues told\u00a0The Los Angeles Times<\/em>\u00a0that they preferred to remember her for the work she\u2019d done with the less fortunate. \u201cShe was enthusiastic, and she was compassionate, and she turned her own tragedy into being able to have a great deal of empathy for people with HIV,\u201d said Julio Mastro, executive director of the Living Room, an HIV community center in Fresno.<\/p>\n

But David Dahmer took a completely different path. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati shortly before Jeffrey was killed, he changed his name, assumed a new identity, and has never been seen or heard from again.<\/p>\n

He wants no parts of his family or his brother\u2019s infamy, and it\u2019s not hard to understand why.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Dahmer changed his name and chose to live in anonymity after the gruesome murders of his older brother, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, came to light in 1991. Close relatives of notorious criminals, pariahs, and villains of all stripes often go underground after their family names achieves infamy \u2014 and David Dahmer, brother of serial …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-1138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-true-crime","tag-true-crime"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Little-Known Story Of David Dahmer, The Brother Of \u2018Milwaukee Cannibal\u2019 Jeffrey Dahmer - CAPTAINNEWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Little-Known Story Of David Dahmer, The Brother Of \u2018Milwaukee Cannibal\u2019 Jeffrey Dahmer - CAPTAINNEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"David Dahmer changed his name and chose to live in anonymity after the gruesome murders of his older brother, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, came to light in 1991. Close relatives of notorious criminals, pariahs, and villains of all stripes often go underground after their family names achieves infamy \u2014 and David Dahmer, brother of serial …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CAPTAINNEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-14T01:42:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot_2-3.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"756\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"423\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"RealTrueCrimeCM\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"RealTrueCrimeCM\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138\",\"name\":\"The Little-Known Story Of David Dahmer, The Brother Of \u2018Milwaukee Cannibal\u2019 Jeffrey Dahmer - CAPTAINNEWS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot_2-3.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-14T01:42:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/#\/schema\/person\/ce5e78a753010b6256f4f3e720ff2f65\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot_2-3.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot_2-3.png\",\"width\":756,\"height\":423},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Little-Known Story Of David Dahmer, The Brother Of \u2018Milwaukee Cannibal\u2019 Jeffrey Dahmer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/\",\"name\":\"CAPTAINNEWS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/#\/schema\/person\/ce5e78a753010b6256f4f3e720ff2f65\",\"name\":\"RealTrueCrimeCM\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/599afef27ee4d89476ff0b32870b7fe0cd95daf9071c5cacf2e475ce773e48ff?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/599afef27ee4d89476ff0b32870b7fe0cd95daf9071c5cacf2e475ce773e48ff?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"RealTrueCrimeCM\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?author=5\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Little-Known Story Of David Dahmer, The Brother Of \u2018Milwaukee Cannibal\u2019 Jeffrey Dahmer - CAPTAINNEWS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Little-Known Story Of David Dahmer, The Brother Of \u2018Milwaukee Cannibal\u2019 Jeffrey Dahmer - CAPTAINNEWS","og_description":"David Dahmer changed his name and chose to live in anonymity after the gruesome murders of his older brother, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, came to light in 1991. Close relatives of notorious criminals, pariahs, and villains of all stripes often go underground after their family names achieves infamy \u2014 and David Dahmer, brother of serial …","og_url":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138","og_site_name":"CAPTAINNEWS","article_published_time":"2025-05-14T01:42:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":756,"height":423,"url":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot_2-3.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"RealTrueCrimeCM","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"RealTrueCrimeCM","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138","url":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138","name":"The Little-Known Story Of David Dahmer, The Brother Of \u2018Milwaukee Cannibal\u2019 Jeffrey Dahmer - CAPTAINNEWS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot_2-3.png","datePublished":"2025-05-14T01:42:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/#\/schema\/person\/ce5e78a753010b6256f4f3e720ff2f65"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot_2-3.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot_2-3.png","width":756,"height":423},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?p=1138#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Little-Known Story Of David Dahmer, The Brother Of \u2018Milwaukee Cannibal\u2019 Jeffrey Dahmer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/#website","url":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/","name":"CAPTAINNEWS","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/#\/schema\/person\/ce5e78a753010b6256f4f3e720ff2f65","name":"RealTrueCrimeCM","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/599afef27ee4d89476ff0b32870b7fe0cd95daf9071c5cacf2e475ce773e48ff?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/599afef27ee4d89476ff0b32870b7fe0cd95daf9071c5cacf2e475ce773e48ff?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"RealTrueCrimeCM"},"url":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/?author=5"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1138"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1140,"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1138\/revisions\/1140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captainnews.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}