Rita Isbell in court and DaShawn Barnes playing Rita Isbell in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
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Rita Isbell relives trauma in Netflix’s ‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’

Rita Isbell did not hold back during Jeffrey Dahmer's court hearing in 1992

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Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a new Netflix series that brought Rita Isbell and her brother’s case back into the forefront after 30 years.

Rita Isbell was the older sister of one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims, Errol Lindsey.

For 30 years Rita has been coming to terms with her brother’s case and now the new series has resurfaced the painful memories of her brother’s horrific death.

So who was Rita Isbell and where is she now?

DaShawn Barnes playing Rita Isbell in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
DaShawn Barnes plays Rita Isbell in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Credit: Netflix)

Who was Rita Isbell and what did she say during Jeffrey Dahmer’s trial?

Rita Isbell was the sister of one of Jeffrey Dahmer‘s victims who famously kicked off during the serial killer’s sentencing in 1992.

Rita Isbell’s brother was 19-year-old Errol Lindsey, who was brutally murdered by Jeffrey in 1991.

After luring Errol back to his apartment, Jeffrey Dahmer drugged him before drilling a hole into his skull and pouring acid into his head.

Jeffrey practised this experiment on Errol, to see if the boy would be put in a ‘zombie-like’ state.

However, the experiment failed and the boy woke up complaining of a headache so Jeffrey strangled him to death.

During the court hearing, Rita spoke up for her brother in an emotional and heartbreaking speech.

After watching the other relatives of victims lowering their heads and talking quietly, Rita decided to take a different approach.

Rita showed the serial killer “what out of control really is” by screaming and charging at him.

She also addressed Jeffrey as “satan” and yelled that she hated him.

Rita was then restrained by a group of police officers and escorted out of the room.

Talking about her experience in the trial, she said: “What he saw out of me…is what Errol would have done. The only difference is, Errol would have leaped over that table.”

Rita’s emotional interaction with Jeffrey was recreated in the Netflix series word for word and sparked a huge reaction from fans.

One viewer tweeted: “It feels gross. They’re profiting off this poor woman’s pain.”

Another added: “Heartbroken watching this. This is true pain and I pray the family of this victim received healing.”

Someone else wrote: “Chills are running through my body man. I can’t imagine the depth of destruction, heartbreak and heartache these families have endured and continue to keep reliving.”

What did Rita Isbell and her family think about the new Netflix series?

While Rita Isbell hasn’t said anything publicly about the new miniseries, one of her family members took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

One of Rita’s cousins, Eric, shared that he will not be watching Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

He also explained that his family are not happy about seeing another series being made about the case.

He said: “I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge rn, but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbell’s) are [bleep] about this show. It’s re-traumatising over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need?”

The family member also added: “Recreating my cousin having an emotional breakdown in court in the face of the man who tortured and murdered her brother is WILD.”

Rita Isbell tearing up at Jeffrey Dahmer's court hearing
Rita Isbell has kept her personal life private (Credit: Netflix)

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story: where is Rita Isbell now?

After Jeffrey was sentenced to prison, Rita shared some of the phone calls she was receiving about the serial killer.

She said that for two years leading up to his death, Rita would hear from men identifying themselves as prison inmates.

The men would offer their condolences and promise that Jeffrey would be “taken care of”.

Rita also appeared in a depiction of Jeffrey Dahmer’s life, Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters, in 2001.

But aside from a few public discussions about her brother’s experience with the serial killer, Rita has chosen to keep her private life a mystery.

Read more: Was Jeffrey Dahmer’s hernia operation to blame for his violent criminal behaviour?

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is currently available to watch on Netflix.

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Aaliyah Ashfield
Digital Marketing Apprentice

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