NEARLY three decades after notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was killed in prison, his father Lionel has died at age 87.

While the father-son duo appeared to have a complicated relationship, Lionel stuck by his son after his conviction, even telling the serial killer “you’re just like me.”

The U.S. Sun learned Tuesday that Lionel died in hospice care at 87.

A cause of death was not immediately made available.

INSIDE THEIR RELATIONSHIP

In July 1991, Lionel joined the rest of the country in horror when his son was uncovered as one of the most brutal serial killers in American history. 

However, the father of the infamous killer continued to offer Jeffrey his support during the next three years of his life.

As Lionel repeatedly visited his son in prison, recently released audio tapes from Fox revealed how supportive he sought out to be.

“What was the very first fantasy, I was wondering that you could remember having which you thought to yourself was kind of odd or disturbing?” Lionel is heard asking Jeffrey.

“I had weird thoughts too, in my childhood,” he continued.

“You’re just like me, Jeff.”

The audio tapes also reveal Lionel searching for answer from his son about the heinous crimes he committed.

“What’s really been puzzling me is how come I just didn’t know anything about this?” Lionel can be heard saying.

Jeffrey responded by explaining, “I pretty much was doing things in my own little world.”

He continued: “Amazingly, all the times I should have been caught, I never was.”

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In the decades since his son’s arrest and eventual death in prison, Lionel has never shied away from discussing his thoughts and love for Jeffrey.

In 1994, Lionel wrote a book called A Father’s Story, which sought to explore his complicated and often contradictory feelings about his son.

Within the book, the elder Dahmer suggested that prescription drugs Jeffery’s mother was on while pregnant could have affected his brain in a negative way.

Lionel also took time to question if his son’s shyness as a child was a red flag of future murderous tendencies.

He even went on to put some blame on himself, writing that he was negligent and probably didn’t give enough to his son, emotionally.

While Lionel willing participated in several documentaries across various networks, he expressed some anger over Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Last year, the then-86-year-old was also considering taking legal action against the streaming service, The U.S. Sun previously reported.

Towards the end of his life, it was also revealed that Lionel was still very upset over how his son died in prison.

In November 1994, Jeffrey was beaten to death with a metal bar by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver.

Lionel’s carer, Jeb, told The U.S. Sun in October, 2022 that when Scarver’s name is brought up, the serial killer’s father “gets pissed.”

“He is still very angry about it,” Jeb said.

“Why weren’t there any guards standing there watching? All three of them had improvised weapons right there.

“Why didn’t any of them do anything?

“As far as I know and the last I talked to Lionel (about this), he believes the guards looked the other way and let it happen.”

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