MILWAUKEE (AP) — A business offering walking tours of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s haunts in Milwaukee plans to donate some proceeds to a charity that supports the parents of murder victims, but that group said Tuesday it wants no part of it.
Nancy Ruhe, executive director of the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that even though the economic downturn has led to a drop in donations, the organization would never accept money from a group that profits from someone else’s murderous acts.
“I cannot believe we can’t let these people rest in peace,” she said Tuesday. “It’s unbelievable that someone has come up with a moneymaker off those who have been murdered.”
Amanda Morden, a spokeswoman for tour organizer, Bam Marketing and Media, said Monday the amount depended on how successful the tours were, but that she suspected it could be up to 20 percent of annual profits from the Dahmer tours.
Morden did not immediately return a call Tuesday seeking her reaction to the organization declining the donations.
The new walking tour of places where Dahmer trolled for victims drew attention this week after criticism prompted online deal-maker Groupon to take down a promotion for discounted tickets. But Bam Media said it would not cancel what it calls a legitimate exploration of criminal history.
The tours started Saturday, with family members and others protesters outnumbering the tour’s first participants. Janie Hagen’s brother, 25-year-old Richard Guerrero, disappeared in 1988 and was one of the first young men Dahmer is known to have murdered. She was one of the protesters on Saturday and said she plans to show up every weekend to protest until the tours stop.
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