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The stepmother of notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer died on Friday at age 81.

Shari Dahmer passed away at the nursing home in Seville, Ohio, where she had been living near the home she shared with her husband and Jeffrey Dahmer's father, Lionel.

She is believed to have died from complications related to a downturn of health she had experienced in recent years, according to the US Sun.

Shari was known for staying with her husband, now 86, even as the horrifying truth of his son's brutally violent cannibalistic crimes came to light.

Shari Dahmer passed away at the nursing home in Seville, Ohio, where she had been living near the home she shared with her husband and Jeffrey Dahmer's father, Lionel

Shari sits alongside Lionel Dahmer during Jeffrey Dahmer's trial

Shari and Lionel married in 1978 after he divorced Jeffrey's mother.

She never had children of her own but said she felt an immediate desire to mother Jeffery when she married Lionel. 

Shari said her impression of Jeffery was that he was a 'vulnerable' young man who was 'embarrassed and ashamed' his parents had divorced.

She said he was 'very good at disguising his feelings.'

'She also did try to connect with Jeff as his stepmother,' a source told the Sun. 

'She was a good stepmom.' 

Lionel and Shari Dahmer stand outside the prison where Jeffrey Dahmer was incarcerated

Lionel an Shari Dahmer speak to each other during Jeffrey Dahmer's trial in 1992

Shari always stood by her husband as his life was turned upside down by the revelations that his son had murdered 17 people, and had even eaten and disemboweled some of his victims.

'Shari was a good woman and Lionel wouldn't be the man he is today without her,' the source said.

'She was there with him through everything that happened with Jeff, she was Lionel's rock through it all.'

The couple appeared together in during a 2004 interview with Larry King on CNN.

Lionel and she both remained close to Jeffrey while he was incarcerated, and even visited him regularly. 

The Seville, Ohio, home where Shari lived with her husband Lionel Dahmer

Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. The gruesome murders involved rape, necrophilia and cannibalism

The source told the Sun Shari and Lionel hadn't been able to see much of each other in recent months after her health took a downturn.

'Lionel hasn't really been able to go see Shari much in recent times, I believe the last time he saw her was in October,' they said.

'There is not going to be a funeral, per Shari's will she didn't want a service or anything like that.'

'She just wanted to be cremated and left instructions in her will on what she wanted done with the ashes.'

Jeffrey Dahmer sitting in a courtroom in 2991 after his arrest  

Shari was portrayed by Molly Ringwald in the 2022 Netflix show about Jeffrey Dahmer's life.

The source Shari was not pleased the show had been made.

'When the series and documentary came out last year, Shari just wished they would leave it the hell alone, but she used stronger language than that.'

Lionel was also not pleased with the documentary, saying he thought the shows sexualized his son instead of focusing on his mental health.

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