Regardless of what you think regarding Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series has certainly renewed interest in the lives and experiences of Dahmer’s victims. Most of them were gay and people of color, and the dignity of their lives was desecrated by both society’s neglect and Dahmer’s brutality.
One of the most heartbreaking episodes of Monster is the sixth, which tries to best portray the short life of Tony Hughes, one of 11 of 17 victims from Dahmer that were black. We are introduced to Hughes when he is born. Shortly following his birth, his mother receives the news that antibiotics given to her son have caused permanent hearing loss. During the first third of the episode, we focus on Hughes’ life as we are told who he was before his fateful encounter with Dahmer. Although the miniseries pays careful tribute to Hughes in a dramatic adaptation of his experience, what do we really know regarding Hughes?
Who was Tony Hughes?
Hughes was born on August 26, 1959, according to FBI files, and was originally from Madison, Wisconsin. He became deaf shortly following birth, due to the medication he received as a baby. It is also known that he was mute. Hughes’s mother, Shirley, described him as “outgoing and ‘cheerful,’ a man who made friends quickly. While attending college in Madison, Hughes came to aspire to be a model.
Hughes reportedly met Dahmer at a gay club. Contradicting Dahmer’s own accountWitnesses said that Hughes and Dahmer had known each other for a year or more before Hughes was killed. Hughes had last been seen on May 24, 1991 at the 219 Club in Milwaukee. Shirley Hughes told The Associated Press that he was unable to contact his son or his friend in Milwaukee, and that he only knew his friend’s name: Jeffrey. Apparently, one night Dahmer took Hughes to his apartment, drugged him and dismembered his body, keeping the skull. According to FBI files, Hughes was identified from his dental records, and his skull and vertebrae were recovered from him.
However, before Hughes was found and identified, his sister, Barbara Hughes-Holt, was also talked with The Associated Press in 1991, when human remains were found in Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment in Milwaukee. “It’s scary,” Hughes-Holt said. “The mere fact of fearing that one of those bodies might be my brother is very scary.” She recalled members of the Hughes family waiting by the phone following the remains were discovered, anticipating that they might find it among themselves.
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According to reports Around the time of the trial, Shirley Hughes attended Dahmer’s trial every day along with the grieving families of the other victims. They were all part of a local support group run by Career Youth Development Inc, a non-profit agency, for families of those who lose loved ones to violence. Of her son’s murder, she said, “When it first happened, I thought I would go crazy.” After Tony’s death, Shirly began to focus her efforts on helping other bereaved families.
Although we have only snippets of evidence and stories to piece together Tony Hughes’s life, he will continue to be remembered and honored by those who loved him.
