Joyce Flint was the mother of serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer.
According to FindaGrave, her full name was Joyce Annette Flint Dahmer, and she was called “Rocky.”
Flint died relatively young of cancer. Before she died, Dahmer’s mom gave several interviews in which she described what it was like being the mother of a notorious serial killer.
Dahmer’s killings are getting renewed attention as a result of a new Netflix series. “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” started streaming on September 21, 2022. “Across more than a decade, 17 teen boys and young men were murdered by convicted killer Jeffrey Dahmer. How did he evade arrest for so long?” the Netflix site for the show asks.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Flint Divorced Dahmer’s Father, Lionel, in the 1980s
According to OnMilwaukee.com, Flint “moved to California after her divorce from Jeffrey Dahmer’s father, Lionel, in the late 1980s.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, the divorce was bitter. “Their divorce was granted on July 24, 1978, after each charged the other with ‘extreme cruelty and gross neglect of duty,'” the newspaper reported.
The couple had two children – Jeffrey and his brother David.
Police had investigated domestic disputes between the parents, according to The Associated Press.
“I know this sounds strange, but he did not mean to hurt anyone,” Flint said in a Hard Copy interview.
Lionel Dahmer went on to remarry, and he wrote a book about his son.
2. In California, Flint Worked in the Fields of HIV & AIDS Treatment
mugshotJeffrey Dahmer
Flint worked with AIDS patients in California.
“She first managed a retirement residence before becoming a case manager for the Central Valley AIDS Team in 1991,” OnMilwaukee.com reported. “She worked in the field of HIV and AIDS treatment in the Fresno area.”
The Los Angeles Times reported, “A Wisconsin native with a master’s degree in counseling, Flint moved to Fresno in the late 1980s, managing a retirement residence before becoming a case manager for the Central Valley AIDS Team in 1991.”
That was the year her son was arrested.
“She 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,” Julio Mastro, executive director of an HIV community center in Fresno, said, according to The Los Angeles Times.
3. Flint, Who Once Tried to Commit Suicide With a Gas Oven, Died in 2000
According to OnMilwaukee.com, Flint died in 2000 of breast cancer. She was 64 years old.
Dahmer’s attorney flew Flint to Wisconsin “several times to visit her son,” the publication reported.
Flint had attempted suicide in 1994, according to United Press International.
According to UPI, Flint “was found lying face down Tuesday in her kitchen after turning on her gas oven and leaving its door open.”
Flint left a note that read, “It’s been a lonely life, especially today. Please cremate me. I love my sons, Jeff and David.”
4. Dahmer Called Flint a ‘Great Mother’
According to The Los Angeles Times, Dahmer insisted that the serial killings were not Flint’s fault, calling her a great mother.
Dahmer’s lawyer Gerald Boyle revealed that Dahmer described his mother that way.
“It was clear she bore no responsibility. . . . She had to live with the idea that she was the mother of a monster, and it drove her crazy,” Boyle said, according to The Times.
5. Flint Told Hard Copy She ‘Never Stopped Loving My Son’
“I still love my son. I’ve never stopped loving my son. He was a beautiful baby. He was a wonderful child. He’s always been loved,” Flint told Hard Copy.
She showed “Jeff’s” baby book to the program.
She came home one day and a friend from Ohio called and “had a hard time telling me why they wanted me to watch television.” She said she found out about it like everyone else.
Her friend told her, “Jeffrey’s in trouble.” Flint said, “What kind.” The friend said, “Bad trouble.”
Flint said Dahmer was a “victim” of a “compulsion.” She added, “I knew I did a good job as a parent. I knew this had to come from something outside of Jeff.”
READ NEXT: Jeffrey Dahmer’s Cause of Death.