Jeffrey Dahmer's dad had a theory as to why his son became a deranged serial killer.
Lionel Dahmer died earlier this month at the age of 87, having been living a private life in Ohio for the last few years.
Lioned was played by Richard Jenkins in Netflix drama Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which led to renewed interest in Dahmer's horrific crimes.
The divisive series followed Dahmer from a young age, showing how he grew into the violent murderer he did.
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Following his arrest and Dahmer's horrific crimes coming to light, the fictional Lionel offers an explanation as to how he believes it had come to this.
He suggests there was a definite link between the medication his wife, Joyce, took before Dahmer was born and his crimes - though none of this has ever been officially confirmed.
Lionel says: "You do know that pills are what started this whole thing.
"How many pills you think she was on when she was pregnant with him? Thousands. She was on sleeping pills, sedatives, seizure medication."
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He added: "She never even held him. She scared the s**t out of him. And then she just left. She got in her car, and she drove away, and she left that kid in that house all summer."
But it wasn't just the fictional version of Lionel who made these allegations, he said it in real life too during an interview with CBS’ Inside Edition.
“My ex-wife had been taking about 26 tablets of different medications about one month after becoming pregnant,” Lionel said.
In a TV special called Dahmer on Dahmer, he and his second wife, Shari, also spoke openly about Joyce's abilities as a mother.
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They claimed she wasn't very tactile and would rarely touch or hold him.
“When Jeff was born, the grandparents were not allowed to hold the baby," Shari said.
“Joyce didn’t want anyone touching the baby, or breathing on it. She was afraid of germs.”
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In his 1994 book A Father’s Story, Lionel not only spoke about the prescription drugs Joyce was taking, he also pondered whether or not his son’s shyness could have been a red flag at the time.
According to reports, he blamed himself for not giving enough to Jeffrey emotionally.
He wrote in the book: “As a scientist, I wonder if the potential for great evil resides deep in the blood that some of us may pass on to our children at birth.”
Featured Image Credit: Investigation Discovery EUGENE GARCIA/AFP via Getty ImagesTopics: US News, TV and Film, Jeffrey Dahmer, True Crime, Netflix