Oprah: When you were at his home, there was a time when you were at his home after he had moved to Milwaukee, I know we’re skipping a lot here.

Lionel Dahmer: My mother’s home.

Oprah: At your mother’s home. And you had gone to look at a box and he had said, “Don’t open the box," because their was what, pornography in there?

Lionel Dahmer: I had found some pornographic material prior t that and I thought there was pornographic material…

Oprah: By this time you know your son’s a little off though, right.

(title: Lionel Dahmer, Jeffrey Dahmer’s father)

Lionel Dahmer: Well, I don’t know, what do you mean a little off?

(title: a little off: gay)

Oprah: Exhibiting unusual behaviour.

(title: Exhibiting unusual behaviour)

Lionel Dahmer: Interested in pornography, there’s probably a lot of young men that are interested. It didn’t occur to me that that was greatly different. In other words I often thought of him as being very, very shy

(title: very, very shy: gay)

having feelings of inferiority

(feelings of inferiority: faggot)

you know looking at pornography, it didn’t occur to me…

Oprah: So when you opened the box…

Lionel Dahmer: … anything greatly strange.

Oprah: You didn’t see that there was anything to be greatly concerned about?

Lionel Dahmer: Well I found, my mother had found the box. It was unopened, it was locked. And I asked Jeff to open it.

Oprah: Thinking there was going to be porn in it. And he opened it and what was there?

Lionel Dahmer: He resisted opening it.

Oprah: Yeah.

Lionel Dahmer: I insisted, he got made. He tore up the birthday cheque I gave him, that same day it was his birthday.

Oprah: How old was he?

Lionel Dahmer: He was in his middle to late twenties. And he said, "Can’t I have just one square foot" — that’s how big the box was — "of privacy?" Let’s wait until tomorrow morning and I’ll open it then because my mother was there and he said let’s not create a scene I’ll open it and I’ll show you it’s what you think. I still went downstairs after a tool to open it and grabbed the box and he said "Wait, please," and I acceded. I felt the feeling of empathy as he was so shy and he just felt he couldn’t have any privacy.

Oprah: When he finally opened the box, what?

Lionel Dahmer: I didn’t open the box, no. He brought it down the next morning, and there indeed were pornographic materials in there which satisfied me.

Oprah: Because that’s what you thought was there.

Lionel Dahmer: Well frankly Oprah I don’t know what I would have done if I would have opened the box, forcibly opened the box and seen what was in there.

Oprah: What was in there?

Lionel Dahmer: A human head.