A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : TRUE STORIES : This Is One We <i> Can</i> Wait For

“The Jeffrey Dahmer Murders” will not be coming to a theater near you--at least not anytime soon.

The judge who presided over the notorious case of the Wisconsin candymaker-turned-cannibal had planned to write a book and authorize a screenplay based upon his accounts. But the mother of one of Dahmer’s 17 victims is trying to stop the publication and survivors of other victims have filed suits seeking to prevent Dahmer from profiting by selling the rights to his story.

Martha Hicks of Akron, Ohio, whose son Steven was killed by Dahmer in 1978, has asked the Wisconsin Judicial Commission to investigate a possible conflict of interest charge against Judge Laurence C. Gram, who presided in the case, based upon her belief that he might have been prejudiced in his rulings, knowing he would later try and capitalize on his experience. In addition to court testimony, the judge secured some additional exclusive confessions from Dahmer.

Hicks filed her claim last week, effectively putting on hold any discussions Hollywood film producers and agents have had with the judge’s literary agent and co-screenwriter, Lew Breyer, and Breyer’s writing partner Bob Ladendorf.

Breyer took out an advertisement in the Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety last April seeking interest from filmmakers in buying the rights to Gram’s story. Breyer said he was “inundated” with calls and that discussions got serious with at least one studio (that he would not name) and HBO Pictures, among others. Negotiations have since broken off because potential producers don’t want to become embroiled in legally-troubled rights cases.

A spokesman for the judicial commission said the agency does not comment on ongoing investigations; Judge Gram declined comment.

“I don’t know why this judge should be viewed any differently than any other judge who writes about a notorious case,” Breyer said. “(Gram) has done nothing improper.”

But in addition to Hicks’ claim against Gram, there have been 10 other lawsuits filed against Dahmer from victims’ families seeking royalties if the multiple murderer ever does sell his version of the events in book, TV or movie form.

In July, Shirley Hughes, mother of 31-year-old victim Anthony Hughes, became the first claimant to successfully win a judgment against Dahmer over future royalties. A jury awarded her $10.2 million should Dahmer ever sell his story, though attorneys say it is highly doubtful she would ever be able to collect.

The commission is expected to release its report on whether Gram acted unethically by mid-October.

There is a Wisconsin precedent that the screenwriters cite in defending their right to develop a film from the Dahmer case: “Edward Gein, America’s Most Bizarre Murderer” written by Judge Robert H. Gollman in 1957 about another notorious murderer who dismembered his victims and made lampshades out of their skins. It was the inspiration for the film “Psycho.”