Jeffrey Dahmer’s Little Brother Never Went To His Trial—He Just Disappeared
There's been a lot of buzz surrounding American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer recently, thanks in part to Netflix’s newest true-crime limited series, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and a new docuseries, Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, which drops on the streaming service October 7.
The two productions shed light on Jeffrey's life and family, explaining his relationships— with his father, Lionel, his mother, Joyce, his stepmother, Shari, and his grandmother—in an attempt to show his progression from troubled child to notorious killer.
However, few people know that Jeffrey Dahmer actually had a little brother. The series doesn’t reveal much about his younger sibling, David, who was born nearly seven years after Jeffrey, but he’s mentioned in a couple of episodes, leaving viewers to wonder what happened to the younger Dahmer.
Well, after his brother’s crimes came to light in the 1990s, David kind of fell off the face of the planet. He never visited his brother in prison or attended the court hearings, Esquire reported. And today, he lives a totally incognito life.
Ahead, find out what happened to David Dahmer, where he is today, and what his relationship with his family is like.
Who is David Dahmer?
David Dahmer is the younger brother of American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. He’s more than six years younger than Jeffrey, and the Dahmers actually let Jeffrey name his little brother, David, when he was born, per Distractify.
What was the Dahmer household like?
When David was born, the Dahmer's relationship was already rocky.
Lionel, Jeffrey and David's father, wasn’t home a lot because of work, and Joyce suffered from mental illness, according to The Cinemaholic. As a kid, David witnessed Jeffrey dissecting an animal, according to TODAY.
"David Dahmer knew about the animal graveyard and thought his brother was ‘doing a good service’ by burying dead creatures," the outlet reported, referencing Brian Masters' 1993 biography, "The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer."
There was also some tension between the siblings because Jeffrey thought that David got more attention from their parents. In fact, Jeffrey quickly started to “resent” David, according to The Sun.
In 1978, Joyce and Lionel separated, and their break-up also separated Jeffrey and David. The pair charged each other with “extreme cruelty and gross neglect of duty," according to TODAY and Masters' biography. Joyce took her younger son, who was 12 years old at the time, to live with her in Wisconsin after she won custody, despite court orders requiring her to live reasonably close to Lionel, per HITC and TODAY.
While there was much concern over what would happen to David and where he would end up after the separation, "no thought was ever given as to what should happen to Jeff, or where he would be expected to live," Masters said. Jeffrey, was 18, and remained in their family home to graduate from high school. He would go on to kill his first victim later that year, per The Cinemaholic.
What happened to David Dahmer?
David had graduated from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, by the time Jeffrey was arrested in 1991. He was about 18 at the time, and decided to “cut all ties” with his brother, which meant he didn't even show up to his brother’s trial or hearings, per The Cinemaholic.
Now, David has a career, wife, and at least two children—as of June 2004, which was the last time there was a public update on his life. Lionel and David's stepmother, Shari, went on Larry King Live and gave very little information when asked about her younger step-son, according to Distractify.
"He's very happy," Shari told King.
During the interview, Lionel also mentioned that David had legally changed his name, but didn't share more out of respect for his privacy. "We’ve promised to keep him completely secret," Lionel said.
But when asked if he would also change his name, Lionel said he wasn't considering it, despite Jeffrey's notoriety. "I'm proud of the name Dahmer," he told King. "My father was a schoolteacher and a barber. He brought himself up from the bootstraps."
The Dahmers occasionally used different names when going to restaurants, though.
And that was the last time the family has talked about David publicly, according to The Cinemaholic. David, who has a new name now, has stayed silent.
What Is David Dahmer's new name?
There’s no public record stating what David Dahmer’s new name is, but it's clear that he wanted to live his life away from the public eye, per CheatSheet.
How old is David Dahmer now?
David was born on December 18, 1966—so he's 55 years old today. But it's unknown if he’s alive, per Netflix Life.
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