‘The Crowded Room’: How Does Billy Milligan’s Mother Play a Role in His Criminal Life?
Apple TV+ will release an upcoming riveting crime series titled The Crowded Room. Starring Tom Holland as Danny Sullivan, the series will explore the story of Billy Milligan, known as “The Campus Rapist” in the 70s. Milligan’s crime story and trial became infamous as he was the first to plead insanity due to a dissociative identity disorder diagnosis. The Crowded Room will explore an interpretation of Milligan’s trial, crimes, and how his mother and family played a role.
Emmy Rossum will star as Danny’s mother in ‘The Crowded Room’
Crime fans familiar with Milligan’s story will pick up on the differences the Apple TV+ series is going with for the storyline. The Crowded Room will not follow the exact story of Milligan but is a loose interpretation based on the 1981 non-fiction novel The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes.
According to Variety, the storyline follows, “Danny Sullivan (Holland) after he was arrested for his involvement in a New York City shooting in 1979. Danny unveils his life through a series of interviews with interrogator Rya Goodwin (Seyfried), and slowly details to Rya, and the audience, his mysterious past that led him to the fateful incident. As Danny retrospectively examines his life, he reckons with his past and a few pivotal moments, that ultimately leads him to uncover a life-altering revelation.”
In the 70s, Milligan was arrested for several sexual assault cases on an Ohio campus. But what gained national attention was his court trial. His defense team pleaded his innocence based on his dissociative identity disorder diagnosis. They claimed his alternate personalities committed the crimes, not Milligan.
The Crowded Room was announced to star Emma Rossum as Candy, Danny’s mother. The description reads, “Through their struggles in life, she dreams of salvation in the form of someone else.” Anyone familiar with Milligan’s crime story will know how his mother’s decision affected his mental and psychological development, which might have led to his crimes and dissociative identity disorder diagnosis. Will The Crowded Room explore Milligan’s mother’s story and how it affected him?
Billy Milligan was abused by his mother’s second husband
Dorothy Sands grew up raised by her grandparents in a strict religious home. She married her high school sweetheart, Dick Jonas, but separated shortly after. According to Cinemaholic, Sands moved to Florida and met Johnny Morrison. Together they had an affair and three children, including Billy. But Morrison died by suicide when Milligan was four. Sands returned to Jonas before leaving a year later.
Billy Milligan got his last name when his mother met and married Chalmer Milligan. Here began a dark and twisted story. According to Milligan’s recollection, Chalmer repeatedly sodomized and tortured him by burying him alive. Milligan also remembered being hung by his toes. Chalmer denied the allegations and was never charged.
Psychologists believed that the abuse he endured by Chalmer led to his dissociative identity disorder. During the trials, Milligan’s mother and siblings admitted that his abuse claims were true. Based on records of Milligan’s life, crimes, and trials, his mother did not have a direct cause for the assaults he committed. Instead, her crossing paths with Chalmer and marrying him led to Milligan’s broken psyche.
How will ‘The Crowded Room’ address Bill Milligan’s mother?
In first looks at The Crowded Room series, fans see Rossum in her role as Candy. The photo depicts her driving with a young Danny next to her. She lovingly pats his head, and he looks at her. But the series has not further detailed how the character will play a role in the series. It is unclear how much of Milligan’s story and his mother’s will be adapted for The Crowded Room.
As the series will explore Danny’s life and what led to his present, fans will likely see flashbacks of his childhood. The Crowded Room is loosely based on Milligan’s story but has not detailed if Danny commits the same crimes beyond his involvement in a shooting. The storyline teases that Danny will discover his alternate personality.
In real-life, Milligan’s mother remarried after Chalmer to Delmos Moore. They were married until his death in 2011, with Dorothy dying a year later. The Crowded Room will premiere on Apple TV+ on June 9th.
