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Gerald Boyle, lawyer who defended Dahmer, dies at 88

Boyle represented the serial killer but lost. Dahmer was killed in prison after two years.

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by SHARON MWENDE

Realtime22 November 2024 - 12:15
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In Summary


  • The Wisconsin defence attorney died from natural causes on November 17, while watching the Green Bay Packers take on the Chicago Bears with his wife.
  • The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Boyle had been in poor health since 2017.


Jeffrey Dahmer and his lawyer Gerald Boyle/ handout

The lawyer who represented serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Gerald Boyle, has died at 88, Daily Mail reports.

The Wisconsin defence attorney died from natural causes on November 17, while watching the Green Bay Packers take on the Chicago Bears with his wife.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Boyle had been in poor health since 2017.

Then, he told the Journal, “I’m not going to get better. I’m an old man now, that’s just the reality of life”.

His daughter, Bridget Boyle said, said her late father “always wanted to put clients first, knowing they were in a poor situation”.

“It was instilled upon us that even though they may have committed the most horrific crimes, they also had a soul, and they were human,” she said.

Bridget also remembered Boyle on Facebook as “a distinguished attorney, he dedicated his life to the relentless pursuit of justice”.

“Over a remarkable career spanning decades, he fearlessly championed countless high-profile cases, earning widespread respect for his sharp legal mind and compassionate heart. For those he represented, he was a beacon of hope and unwavering support,” she added.

Boyle's most well-known case is that of Dahmer in early 1992.

Dahmer was arrested on charges of decapitation, necrophilia and cannibalism.

He ultimately confessed to the murders of 11 victims whose severed heads were found in his Milwaukee apartment and later admitted to killing another six victims.

According to an article in the 1991 PEOPLE, Boyle said at one point, Dahmer said “This is my fault. There is a time to be honest”.

In the end, Boyle lost the case and Dahmer entered the Columbia Correctional Institute in February 1992 to serve 15 consecutive life terms.

But just two years into his sentence, Dahmer was beaten to death by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver.

Following his passing, Boyle remembered the serial killer as being 'like Halley's comet.

“A criminal like him comes around every 75 years, and thankfully isn't seen again for another 75,” Boyle told PEOPLE in 1994.

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