The mother of one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims has criticised platforms, including eBay, for selling costumes impersonating the mass murderer for Halloween.
Dahmer, who murdered 17 individuals between 1978 and 1991, has become a trending Halloween costume idea following the release of the Netflix drama series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
The Netflix series, which has revived much interest in the case, has already prompted criticism from the families of Dahmer’s victims, including Shirley Hughes, the mother of victim Tony Hughes.
Tony, who was deaf and non-vocal, was Dahmer’s 12th victim, however, speaking with The Guardian, she explained that the Netflix series failed to paint an accurate picture of what happened to her son.
“It didn’t happen like that,” explained the now 85-year-old.
“I don’t see how they can do that. I don’t see how they can use our names and putting out that stuff out that like there.”
Hughes also described her fears that many will impersonate the ‘Milwaukee Cannibal’ this Halloween.
“It’s already super triggering to see a hit Netflix series about the serial killer, much less folks dressing like the killer,” Hughes told TMZ.
Hughes also criticised online platforms, including eBay, for selling Dahmer costumes and props, such as blonde wigs and wire-rimmed glasses, adding that, at the very least, profits should go to victims’ families.
Dahmer was eventually sentenced to a total of sixteen terms of life imprisonment – he was killed by Christopher Scarver, a fellow inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin, on November 28, 1994.
