‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’: Errol Lindsey’s Sister Shares 1 ‘Positive Thing’ to Come From the Netflix Series
Netflix‘s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has ruffled more than a few feathers over its portrayal of the serial killer that terrorized the midwest in the 80s and 90s. It is primarily due to the reenactment of the events involving the victims’ families. Since the series release, Rita Isbell, the sister of Errol Lindsey, revisits the tragedy and how Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has benefited her in some way.
Errol Lindsey was 19 years old when he crossed paths with Jeffrey Dahmer
It is hard to believe how Dahmer got away with countless murders during his reign of terror. But as audiences saw in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, a lack of police intervention during critical moments was part of the reason. Dahmer’s victims were males ranging from teenagers to those in their 30s. Errol Lindsey was one of them, who was tragically killed before his 20s.
According to The Cinemaholic, Lindsey was a kind and bright young man. He was running an errand to copy a key when he met Dahmer. The circumstances of how they met differ from how Dahmer met his previous victims. From the start, Lindsey made it clear that he has no sexual desires toward Dahmer but still followed him to his apartment for a beer.
Lindsey was unaware of the fate that would follow. Like his previous victims, Dahmer drugged him to make him more compliable before performing a lobotomy. But the drugs and procedure did not work, and Lindsey regained consciousness. Not wanting to risk anything, Dahmer strangled him. Lindsey’s story is one of the many horrifying events in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. As much as audiences were shocked, the families of the victims were more so having to relive the events.
Lindsey’s sister, Rita Isbell, voiced her thoughts in a personal essay for Insider about the Netflix series. Despite her disapproval of seeing her testimony on screen and her brother’s story, she found one positive aspect.
‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ left out part of Errol Lindsey’s story
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story tweaked a few details concerning Dahmer’s neighbor and the victims’ stories and left out details about Lindsey. While Isbell is upset about the Netflix series, she has found a way to move forward for the sake of her family and to keep her brother’s memory alive. But she also reveals that the series did have another positive aspect.
“The positive thing to come out of this is that the world didn’t know that my brother had any children,” explained Isbell. Lindsey had fathered a child before his death, a daughter who is now 31 years old. The Netflix series has put the spotlight on Lindsey, the victims, and their families again.
But Isbell explains, “It’s not about me anymore, it’s about her. So when they mention my name, I’m going to always refer to her, Tatiana Banks: Errol Lindsey’s daughter. And now, he even has a granddaughter, too.”
According to Today, audiences have their fair share of complaints about Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and agree with Isbell that the families deserved better, having to relive the tragedy for the sake of profit.
Rita Isbell has found a way to handle the grief despite the series resurfacing old emotions
In her essay to Insider, Isbell recounts the moment she mustered the strength to face Dahmer in her impact statement during the trial. She explains she no longer felt fear as “I recognized evil. I was face-to-face with pure evil.” Instead, Isbell felt angry and acted as she did because they were portraying Dahmer as a man who was not in control.
“But you have to be in control in order to do the things that he was doing. You have to very much be in control. So that’s why I said: ‘Let me show you what out of control is. This is out of control.’ I was out of body. I wasn’t myself in that moment.” Isbell’s impactful moment was recreated for the Netflix series, and it had her “bothered” by the perfect portrayal word for word.
While Isbell is angered by Netflix’s lack of courtesy to inform the victims’ families, she found something positive. “As time goes by, I can handle just about anything,” she explained. “The show bringing up old feelings did hurt, but it also benefits me. I benefit from it because I can deal with it differently today than I did in the past. I can talk about it with not as much anger.”
