“Super triggering”: Jeffrey Dahmer victim Tony Hughes’ mom condemns Halloween costumes amid ongoing outrage

American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer has served as a major inspiration for this year's Halloween costumes, a move which is condemned by one of his victim's mother, Shirley Hughes.

While speaking with TMZ, Shirley, whose deaf and mute son Tony Hughes was murdered by Dahmer, stated that people should not dress like the serial killer as the costumes are "evil and exploit families." She further said:

"It's already super triggering to see a hit Netflix series about the serial killer, much less folks dressing like the killer."

While big retail stores have backed off from selling Dahmer-inspired costumes for Halloween because of the online rage, some people have shifted to other sites. E-commerce websites such as eBay continue to sell different props, including t-shirts, short-haired blonde wigs, and rimmed glasses that the serial killer used to wear.

Jeffrey Dahmer's fake blonde wig for sale. (Image via eBay)

Dubbing it a "prop for children costume," the online site is selling the Jeffrey Dahmer-inspired wig for $36.99 while the glasses are priced at $19.86.

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Shirley Hughes blames Netflix's Jeffrey Dahmer docuseries for making her "re-victimized"

Tony Hughes' mother said that while these online stores and Netflix are profiting off her son's death, none of the victim's families have received any monetary compensation. Speaking against the move, she said that either the eBay ads should be removed immediately or the profits made from via the sales should be given to the families.

While talking to TMZ, Shirley blamed Netflix for putting Jeffrey Dahmer back into the limelight, which forced the victims' families to re-live the trauma of losing a loved one.

"If Netflix hadn't streamed the show, none of the families would be re-victimized ... and then there'd be no Dahmer costumes this year."

In an interview with The Guardian, Shirley admitted that she has not watched the whole series, but the events did not happen the way they were portrayed on the screen:

“I don’t see how they can do that. I don’t see how they can use our names and put stuff out like that out there."

Associated Press reports that Tony Hughes first crossed paths with Jeffrey Dahmer on May 24, 1991, at a gay bar based in Milwaukee. The serial killer then took him to his house, drugged him, and then cut up his body while keeping the skull to himself.

Shirley attended all of Dahmer's trials in 1992. While speaking with the outlet at the time, Elder Durain Hughes, a Pentecostal minister, revealed that the death of her son tore Shirley to pieces.

"I've never seen anybody so emotionally and spiritually wounded as Miss Hughes. She's come a long ways. Now she has a perpetual desire to help other grieving families."

Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was released on September 21, 2022, and is currently available to watch on Netflix. Created by Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy, the series stars Evan Peters, Richard Jenkins, Molly Ringwald, Niecy Nash, and Michael Beach, among many others.