Monster: What happened to Jeffrey Dahmer's neighbour Glenda Cleveland?
It seems that everyone is watching Monster: The Jefferey Dahmer Story on Netflix at the moment as the series has become the site's biggest new arrival since Stranger Things.
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The true-crime drama stars Evan Peters as one of America's most notorious serial killers who killed 17 men over a 13-year period between 1978 and 1991. One character who has caught the attention of viewers is Glenda Cleveland, played by The Rookie: Feds actress Niecy Nash. But whatever happened to her after the horrific crimes? Find out here…
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As viewers will know, Dahmer hid in plain sight and carried out many of his killings in a residential apartment building in Milwaukee, which was in a low-income, predominantly Black neighbourhood. The building's location allowed Dahmer to prey on young men, typically of Black, Asian, or Latino descent, although he has denied this, saying rather he lived there as was it was all he could afford.
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Glenda is shown to be living in the apartment next door to Dahmer's, with the two sharing a wall and air vent that meant the stench and sound of Dahmer's crimes filled her living room. She repeatedly complains to him, police, and building managers about his behaviour but is not listened to until it's too late.
Glenda Cleveland lived in a separate building but was the one to alert the police to Dahmer
However, it turns out that Glenda Cleveland wasn't Jeffrey Dahmer's next-door neighbour, but she really did exist - she's just based on two people. The real Glenda lived in the building next door to Dahmer's, although she was the one who desperately tried to get the police to help 14-year-old victim Konerak Sinthasomphone after he managed to escape Dahmer's clutches and stumble out onto the street outside.
Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences
Meanwhile, it was a woman named Pamela Bass - who is referred to in the show - who lived in the next apartment over from Dahmer's in the Oxford Apartments. Like Glenda, she had a lot of run-ins with the killer, and it turns out that the terrifying 'meat' sandwich scene really did occur after she complained about the smell coming from his apartment.
Pamela Bass was Jeffrey Dahmer's next door neighbour
Appearing in the documentary The Jeffrey Dahmer Files, she recalled the moment with Dahmer offered her a sandwich which he had prepared for her. Having no clue about the extent of his sick ways, she did actually accept it - although there is no way of knowing for sure what was inside it. "I have probably eaten someone's body part," she said.
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After Dahmer's imprisonment in the early nineties, both Glenda and Pamela continued to live in the area - although Pamela moved out of the apartment building in 1992 after it was demolished, at the request of the victim's families. Not much is known about what happened to her after the crimes, and it's likely that she wanted her privacy back after becoming involved in such a high-profile case.
Glenda was considered a heroine in the local community and received multiple awards from women's groups and the Milwaukee Police Department for her role in the Dahmer case. She passed away on 24 December 2010, aged 56.
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