This is such a different case for so many reasons, firstly female serial killers are very rare and secondly the upbringing and torment Aileen went through has resonated with a lot of people. Before we start it must be said that we are not expressing opinions either way and are merely stating the facts which have come to light.
Childhood
Aileen was born in 1956 to parents Diane Wuornos and Leo Dale Pattman, Diane was 15 at the time of birth. Her father was a child molester and sociopath who was in prison for the rape and attempted murder of a 7 year old girl. Aileen never met her father as he hung himself in his prison cell. At age 4 young Diane couldn’t cope anymore and abandoned Aileen and her brother Keith with her grandparents. Unfortunately things got worse from here as it was reported her grandfather was abusive towards Aileen and her Grandmother was an alcoholic. Aileen later spoke of engaging in sexual activity with her brother, whilst this is a shocking revelation it is difficult to say whether this is true given her brother's passing. At age 11 Aileen had begun exchanging sexual favors for cigarettes, alcohol and food. How was someone so young allowed to do such things? It doesn't really bear thinking about.
Aileen then fell pregnant at the age of 14 and it was rumored this child was the product of rape by one of her grandfathers friends. It is sickening to think someone so young could experience this. Once she gave birth the child was taken away by child services given Aileen's current situation. To make matters worse she was then thrown out by her grandfather and forced to live on the streets. Aileen began living in the woods and supported herself by working as a prostitute. It is important to remember here that Aileen is 15 years old at this point!
In 1976 Aileen met an older man named Gratz Fell and they were married within the year in this whirlwind romance. However this marriage was not to last due to Aileens confrontations at a local bar. The marriage lasted a total of 9 weeks, although it was not a long period of time this seems to be Aileen's only relationship with a man that did not involve abuse or payment. Shortly after her marriage was annulled her brother passed away from cancer, leaving Aileen $10000 in a life insurance policy.
Aileen carried on working as a prostitute to get by and was arrested multiple times through 1981-1986. Notably she spent a year in prison for armed robbery between 1983 and 1984. She committed other petty crimes such as assault or check forgery. In 1986 Aileen met hotel maid Tyria Moore and they began living together moving from motel to motel while Aileen supported them on her prostitute income. She stated she was an ‘exit to exit’ highway hooker making $1000 a week having sex with 40-50 men.
The murders
Aileen’s first victim was Richard Mallory aged 51 on 30th November 1989. Aileen later said that Richard sodomized, beat and tortured her which led her to shoot him multiple times. Whether in self defense or not this was Aileen’s first murder. It was later uncovered at trial that Richard was a convicted rapist, we will get onto this later in the trial section but the evidence seemed to favor Aileen’s argument.
David Spears aged 43 was her next victim and his body was found on the 1st of June 1990. His nude body was found with six bullet wounds along highway 19.
Charles Carkskaddon, age 40 was found on 6th June 1990. His body was found in Pasco County, Florida with 9 bullet wounds.
Peter Siems, age 65 disappeared in June 1990. His car was found in Orange Springs after Moore and Wuornos were seen exiting the car after a crash. Aileen’s handprint was found on the interior door of this car. Peter’s body was never found.
Troy Burress, age 50 was reported missing on 31st July 1990. His body was later found on 4th August 1990 in some woodlands off the highway; he had been shot twice.
Charles “Dick” Humphreys aged 56 was found on 12th September 1990 in Marion County. This was an interesting one as Charles was a former state child abuse investigator and former chief of police. He had been shot six times across his body.
Walter Jeno Antonio age 62 who was a police reservist. On 19 November 1990 his body was found on a remote road in Dixie County. He had been shot 4 times.
With so many murders in such a short space of time police were closing in. Finding Peter's car with Aileen’s handprint was a key moment. Police also found items which had been pawned that belonged to the victims, these items could be traced back to Aileen with fingerprints or witness accounts. In January 1991 police had their suspect, however in order to seal the case they used Moore (Aileen’s long term partner) to elicit a confession from Aileen. This was another sad betrayal of Wuornos as the police coached Moore into extracting a confession from her. With Aileen under arrest the trials could begin.
Trials
Aileen went on trial for the murder of Richard Mallory in January 1992. Strangely the prosecution was allowed to bring in evidence of previous crimes indicating her pattern of criminal behavior. This was rather unusual and isn't normally allowed however due to Florida’s Williams rule this was allowed. Doctors at this point diagnosed her with bipolar personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder and stated she was mentally unstable. Aileen was sentenced to death shortly after this. Having covered many killers it seems strange Aileen was given this sentence with clear evidence pointing towards being mentally unfit for trial. However this was a court decision and I do not have all the information so moving forwards. Aileen then went on trial for the murders of Dick, Troy and David to which she pled no contest and received 3 more death penalties. She then pled guilty to the murder of Charles Carskaddon and received her 5th death sentence, this trial however had another significance. The defense team tried to introduce the information related to Richard Mallory being a sex offender. He had an eight year treatment at a maximum security facility for sexual offenders were he displayed strong sociopathic trends. This information however was deemed not relevant to the trial and therefore was not included. In February 1993 Aileen received her sixth death sentence for the murder of Walter, no charges were brought against her for Peter’s disappearance as a body was never found. Aileen then turned down further offers of appeal and fired her attorneys, it seems she wanted to face the death penalty. Incredibly 3 different psychologists declared her fit for execution.
Interviews whilst behind bars
One of the most interesting things about this case is the number of interviews Aileen did before being executed. Let's take a look at some of the most interesting quotes.
"I robbed them, and I killed them as cold as ice, and I would do it again, and I know I would kill another person because I've hated humans for a long time," Wuornos stated. Did she really believe this or was it a ploy to speed up her execution, some stated that she just wanted to die and no longer live on death row. We will never know Aileens true motives or whether it really was self defense.
"I killed those men, robbed them as cold as ice. And I'd do it again, too. There's no chance in keeping me alive or anything, because I'd kill again. I have hate crawling through my system...I am so sick of hearing this 'she's crazy' stuff. I've been evaluated so many times. I'm competent, sane, and I'm trying to tell the truth. I'm one who seriously hates human life and would kill again." Now this is very similar to the first comment made, did Aileen really believe this or was she insistent on getting the death penalty and given up hope of repreve.
"I wanted to confess to you that Richard Mallory did violently rape me as I've told you; but these others did not. [They] only began to start to." Her Aileen has changed her story slightly but if this is true it is easy to see how that would have been traumtaic even if they had just started. Again this does not give a reason to kill however does provide an insight into why she killed.
In the below video clip she confesses to her crimes.
Final Interview
In contrast to the above interview this was Aileens last interview before death in which she changes tack and begins blaming the police and even talks about abuse in the prison. Some of the most interesting quotes to come out of this are below.
When asked about how she was feeling about her execution she stated “I’m prepared” I’m alright with it”. She states this in a resigned tone and it seems she has made peace with the fact she will be executed tomorrow.
She goes on to talk about how the cops knew who she was but covered up the crimes in order to turn her into a serial killer. How true this is we don’t know but it seems unlikely and highlights more the kind of mental issues Aileen was facing at the time of her execution.
She also talks about the torture she faced in prison from them using sonic pressure to urinating in her food. She also stated they “tried to make it look like I was crazy”. It seems here Aileen is taking accountability for her crimes and that she was of sound mind when committing these acts.
In another section she claimed to have “saved people's butts from getting killed and raped”. Here Aileen is clearly stating that these men were a danger to other women and she has done the police and society a favor. Again it is hard to tell whether this was really the case as we only have the words of Aileen to go on.
Her final words, "Yes, I would just like to say I'm sailing with the rock, and I'll be back, like Independence Day with Jesus. June 6, like the movie. Big mother ship and all, I'll be back, I'll be back."
Was the death penalty justified?
Yes
No
Thank you for reading.
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