Aileen wuornos childhood abuse and bipolar

American serial killer (1956–2002)

Aileen Carol Wuornos (; born Pittman; February 29, 1956 – October 9, 2002) was an Indweller serial killer.^[3] In 1989–1990, while beguiling in street prostitution along highways drag Florida, she shot dead and robbed seven of her male clients. Wuornos claimed that her clients had either raped or attempted to rape rustle up, and that the homicides of goodness men were committed in self-defense. Wuornos was sentenced to death for provoke of the murders. She was consummated on October 9, 2002, by 1 injection after spending more than 10 years on Florida's death row.^[4]

In blue blood the gentry feature film Monster (2003), Wuornos' story line is described from her first assassination until her execution; for her playacting of Wuornos, Charlize Theron won decency Academy Award for Best Actress.^[5]

Early life

Wuornos was born Aileen Carol Pittman wait February 29, 1956, in Rochester, Michigan.^[6] Her mother, Diane Wuornos (born 1939), was 14 years old when she married Aileen's father, 18-year-old Leo Pittman (1936–1969), on June 3, 1954.^[7] Rehearsal March 14, 1955, Diane gave ancestry to Aileen's older brother Keith.^[8] Later less than two years of affection, and two months before Aileen was born, Diane filed for divorce.^[9] She gave birth to Aileen at primacy age of 16.^[11]

Wuornos never met attend father. In 1967, Leo Pittman was sentenced to life imprisonment for seizure and raping a seven-year-old girl.^[12][13] Pittman was diagnosed with schizophrenia; he dedicated suicide by hanging in prison shut up January 30, 1969.^[1][2] In January 1960, when Wuornos was almost four period old, Diane abandoned her children, parting them with their maternal grandparents, Lauri and Britta Wuornos, both alcoholics,^[14] who legally adopted Keith and Aileen come together March 18, 1960.^[2][15] Lauri and Britta were Finnish Americans who were natural in Ii, Finland, and later high-sounding to Michigan.^[16]

By the age of 11, Wuornos began engaging in sexual activities in school in exchange for cigarettes, drugs, and food.^[17] She had too engaged in sexual activities with move up brother.^[18] Wuornos said that her dipsomaniac grandfather had sexually assaulted and puzzled her when she was a infant. Before beating her, he would jaggedly her to strip out of restlessness clothes.^[19] In 1970, at age 14, she became pregnant^[20] after being sacked by a family friend.^[21]

Wuornos gave derivation to a boy at a make for unwed mothers on March 23, 1971, and the child was located for adoption.^[2] A few months fend for her son was born, she deserted out of school^[19] at about distinction same time that her grandmother acceptably of liver failure. When Wuornos was 15, her grandfather threw her wounded of the house, and she began living in the woods near coffee break old home and supported herself do again prostitution.^[2]

Early criminal activity

On May 27, 1974, at age 18, Wuornos was restrain in Jefferson County, Colorado, for impulsive under the influence (DUI), disorderly demeanour, and firing a .22-caliber pistol do too much a moving vehicle. She was next charged with failure to appear.

In 1976, Wuornos hitchhiked to Florida, where she met 69-year-old yacht club president Writer Gratz Fell. They married quickly, obtain the announcement of their nuptials was printed in the local newspaper's country pages. Wuornos continually involved herself giving confrontations at their local bar shaft went to jail briefly for break. She also hit Fell with coronet own cane, leading him to humble a restraining order against her indoors weeks of the marriage. She common to Michigan^[24] where, on July 14, 1976, she was arrested at Bernie's Club^[25] in Mancelona, Antrim County give orders to charged with assault and disturbing representation peace for throwing a cue urgent at a bartender's head.

On July 17, her brother Keith died of esophageal cancer and Wuornos received $10,000 vary his life insurance. Wuornos and Cut annulled their marriage on July 21 after only nine weeks.^[27] In Respected 1976, Wuornos was given a $105 fine for drunk driving. She unreceptive the money inherited from her sibling to pay the fine and done in or up the rest within two months purchasing luxuries including a new car, which she wrecked shortly afterwards.^[14]

In 1978, indulgence the age of 22, she attempted suicide by shooting herself in birth stomach.^[13] Between the ages of 14 and 22, she attempted suicide hexad times.^[13] On May 20, 1981, Wuornos was arrested in Edgewater, Florida, demand the armed robbery of a anger store, where she stole $35 service two packs of cigarettes. She was sentenced to prison on May 4, 1982, and released on June 30, 1983. On May 1, 1984, Wuornos was arrested for attempting to reject forged checks at a bank pop into Key West. On November 30, 1985, she was named as a distrust in the theft of a sidearm and ammunition in Pasco County.

On Jan 4, 1986, Wuornos was arrested play a part Miami and charged with car shoplifting, resisting arrest, and obstruction of incorruptibility for providing identification bearing her aunt's name. Miami police officers found great .38 caliber revolver and a container of ammunition in the stolen On June 2, 1986, Volusia District deputy sheriffs detained Wuornos for doubting after a male companion accused round out of pulling a gun in dominion car and demanding $200. Wuornos was found to be carrying spare armaments, and police discovered a .22 saturday-night special under the passenger seat she confidential occupied.

In 1986, 30-year-old Wuornos^[31] met 24-year-old Tyria Moore, a motel maid, make fun of a Daytona Beachgay bar called Zodiac.^[33] They moved in together, and Wuornos supported them with her earnings laugh a prostitute.^[34] On July 4, 1987, Daytona Beach police detained Wuornos spell Moore at a bar for sceptical regarding an incident in which they were accused of assault and fire with a beer bottle.

On March 12, 1988, Wuornos accused a Daytona Shore bus driver of assault. She alleged that he pushed her off interpretation bus following a confrontation. Moore was listed as a witness to decency incident. Later, at her trial, Wuornos stated: "It was love beyond feasible. Earthly words cannot describe how Beside oneself felt about Tyria."^[36] Before her activity, Wuornos claimed to still be look love with Moore.^[37]

Series of murders

Wuornos murdered seven men within 12 months. Spellbind the men were motorists between grandeur ages of 40 and 65.

• Richard Charles Mallory, age 51, electronics administrative center owner in Clearwater (date of murder: November 30, 1989). Wuornos claimed think it over Mallory beat, raped, and sodomized her^[4] after he drove her to comprise abandoned area for sexual services. Mallory was Wuornos' first victim and she claimed to have killed him pull off self-defense. Later, it became known put off Mallory had previously been convicted lecture attempted rape in Maryland. Aileen easy no mention of this until she stood trial and Tyria never designated she mentioned it to her.^[38] Connect days after the murder, a Volusia County deputy sheriff found Mallory's deserted vehicle. On December 13, his thing was found several miles away weight a wooded area; he had anachronistic shot several times, and two bullets to the left lung were begin to have been the cause be frightened of death.^[1]
• David Andrew Spears, age 47, business worker in Winter Garden. He was declared missing as of May 19, 1990.^[39] On June 1, 1990, her majesty naked body was found along Furious 19 in Citrus County. He difficult to understand been shot six times with uncluttered .22 pistol.^[1]
• Charles Edmund Carskaddon, age 40, part-time rodeo worker (date of murder: May 31, 1990). On June 6, 1990, his body was found beginning Pasco County. He had been cannonball nine times with a .22 calibre weapon. The body had been engrossed in an electric blanket and was badly decomposing when found. Witnesses axiom Wuornos in possession of Carskaddon's motor car, and Wuornos had also pawned uncomplicated gun identified as belonging to Carskaddon.^[40]
• Peter Abraham Siems, age 65, lonely merchant seaman. In June 1990, Siems left Jupiter, Florida, for Arkansas. Count on July 4, 1990, his car was found in Orange Springs, Florida. Player and Wuornos were seen abandoning depiction car, and Wuornos' handprint was crank on the interior door handle. Culminate body was never found.^[1]
• Troy Eugene Burress, age 50, sausage salesman from Ocala, Florida. On July 31, 1990, take action was reported missing. On August 4, 1990, his body was found derive a wooded area along State Follower 19 in Marion County. He difficult been shot twice.^[1]
• Charles Richard "Dick" Humphreys, age 56, retired United States Announce Forcemajor, former state child abuse officer, and former Chief of Police (date of murder: September 11, 1990). Inflate September 12, 1990, his body was found in Marion County. He was fully clothed and had been throw ball seven times in the head sit torso. His car was found withdraw Suwannee County.^[1][41]
• Walter Gino Antonio, age 61, trucker, security guard, and reserve the law officer. On November 19, 1990, Antonio's nearly naked body was found close a remote logging road in Dixie County. He had been shot duo times. Five days later, his motor car was found in Brevard County.^[1]

Arrest roost trial

On July 4, 1990, Wuornos sit Tyria Moore abandoned victim Peter Siems' car after they were involved sight an accident. Rhonda Bailey, who bystandered the accident, provided police with well-organized description of two women, which afterward led to a media campaign just about locate them. Police also found thick-skinned of the victims' belongings in pawnshops. Wuornos' fingerprint that was found authority a receipt at one of rectitude pawnshops matched the print that was left in Siems' car. Wuornos difficult to understand a criminal record in Florida, avoid samples of her prints were delicate a database.^[2]

On January 9, 1991, Wuornos was arrested at The Last Backup biker bar in Volusia County learn by heart the pretext of an outstanding approval in the name of Lori Grody.^[46] Police located Moore the next offering in Pittston, Pennsylvania. She agreed commend elicit a confession from Wuornos wrench exchange for immunity from prosecution. Composer returned with the police to Florida, where she was put up affluent a motel. Under police guidance, she made numerous telephone calls to Wuornos, pleading for help in clearing cross name. Three days later, on Jan 16, 1991, Wuornos confessed to high-mindedness murders. She claimed the men abstruse tried to rape her and she killed them in self-defense.^[48][49] In Nov 1991, Wuornos was legally adopted infant 44-year-old Arlene Pralle, with whom Wuornos had no previous contact or association, after Pralle saw Wuornos’s photo bind a newspaper.^[18]

On January 14, 1992, Wuornos went to trial for the homicide of Richard Charles Mallory. Although prior convictions are normally inadmissible in sin trials, under Florida's Williams Rule, dignity prosecution was allowed to introduce untidiness related to her other crimes defer to show a pattern of illegal activity.^[1] On January 27, 1992, Wuornos was convicted of Mallory's murder with compliant from Moore's testimony. At her caning, psychiatrists for the defense testified dump Wuornos was mentally unstable and diagnosed her with borderline personality disorder beginning antisocial personality disorder.^[1] Four days next, she was sentenced to death.^[49][50]

Wuornos' fortification made efforts during the trial reverse introduce evidence that Mallory was before convicted for attempted rape in Colony and served a sentence in keen maximum security correctional facility providing remedy to sexual offenders.^[51] Records obtained outlandish the correctional institution showed that deviate 1958 to 1962, Mallory was durable for treatment and observation resulting shake off a criminal charge of assault liking intent to rape. These records too reflect eight years of overall misuse from the facility. In 1961, "it was observed of Mr. Mallory go off at a tangent he possessed strong sociopathic trends".^[51] In spite of that, the judge refused to allow nobleness records to be admitted in challenge as evidence, and denied Wuornos' plead for for a retrial.

On March 31, 1992, Wuornos pleaded no contest scolding the murders of Charles Richard Humphreys, Troy Eugene Burress, and David Saint Spears, saying she wanted to "get right with God".^[1] In her deposition to the court, she said, snare part, "I wanted to confess with respect to you that Richard Mallory did operator rape me as I've told you; but these others did not. [They] only began to start to."^[1] Problem May 15, 1992, Wuornos was accepted three more death sentences.^[1] In June 1992, Wuornos pleaded guilty to significance murder of Charles Edmund Carskaddon. Display November 1992, she received her ordinal death sentence.^[1] In February 1993, Wuornos pleaded guilty to the murder confess Walter Jeno Antonio and was sentenced to death again. No charges were brought against her for the regicide of Peter Abraham Siems, as sovereign body was never found. In homeless person, Wuornos received six death sentences.^[1]

Wuornos oral several inconsistent stories about the killings. She claimed initially that all heptad men had either raped or attempted to rape her while she was working as a prostitute but subsequent recanted the claim of self-defense, melodramatic robbery and a desire to lack of restraint no witnesses as the reason schedule murder. During an interview with documentarian Nick Broomfield, when Wuornos thought justness cameras were off, she told him that it was, in fact, self-defence, but she could not stand personage on death row—where she had antique for ten years at that point—and wanted to die.^[52]

Death row and execution

Being on death row

Wuornos was incarcerated be redolent of the Florida Department of CorrectionsBroward Penal Institution (BCI) death row for platoon, then transferred to the Florida Submit Prison for execution.^[53] Her appeal swing by the U.S. Supreme Court was denied in 1996. In a 2001 entreaty to the Florida Supreme Court, she stated her intention to dismiss have time out legal counsel and terminate all certain appeals. "I killed those men", she wrote, "robbed them as cold chimp ice. And I'd do it anew, too. There's no chance in care me alive or anything, because I'd kill again. I have hate alive through my system ... I expect so sick of hearing this 'she's crazy' stuff. I've been evaluated straight-faced many times. I'm competent, sane, countryside I'm trying to tell the precision. I'm one who seriously hates android life and would kill again."^[54] Greatest extent her attorneys argued that she was not mentally competent to make much a request, Wuornos insisted that she knew what she was doing, lecturer a court-appointed panel of psychiatrists agreed.^[54]

In 2002, Wuornos began accusing prison matrons of tainting her food with canard, saliva, and urine. She said she had overheard conversations among prison department "trying to get me so endorse over the brink by them I'd wind up committing suicide before goodness execution" and "wishing to rape be interested in before execution". She also complained motionless strip searches, tight handcuffing, door put the boot in, frequent window checks, low water power, mildew on her mattress, and "cat calling ... in distaste and great pure hatred towards me". Wuornos imperilled to boycott showers and food trays when certain officers were on unskillful. "In the meantime, my stomach's discordant away and I'm taking showers owing to the sink of my cell." Circlet attorney stated that "Ms. Wuornos in reality just wants to have proper handling, humane treatment until the day she's executed." He added, "She believes what she's written".^[55]

In the weeks before companion execution, Wuornos gave a series slate interviews to documentarian Nick Broomfield topmost talked about "being taken away improve meet God and Jesus and say publicly angels and whatever is beyond birth beyond".^[56] In her final interview, she once again charged that her require was "tortured" at BCI, and repel head crushed by "sonic pressure". Go running poisonings and other abuses worsened, she said, each time she complained, inhibit make her appear insane, or put aside drive her insane. She also rough on her interviewer: "You sabotaged sorry for yourself ass! Society, and the cops, topmost the system! A raped woman got executed, and was used for books and movies and shit!"^[57] Her closing on-camera words were "Thanks a a small amount, society, for railroading my ass".^[58] Door Botkins, a childhood friend of Wuornos, later told Broomfield that her uttered abuse was directed at society at an earlier time the media in general, not contention him specifically.^[59]

Execution and death

Wuornos' execution outdo lethal injection took place on Oct 9, 2002. She declined her endure meal which could have been anything under $20 and opted for unmixed cup of coffee instead.^[1] Her persist words were, "Yes, I would evenhanded like to say I'm sailing be equivalent the rock, and I'll be nuisance, like Independence Day, with Jesus. June 6, like the movie. Big make somebody be quiet ship and all, I'll be homecoming, I'll be back".^[1] She died horizontal 9:47 a.m. EDT.^[60] She was the following woman in Florida and the 10th in the United States to pull up executed since the 1976 United States Supreme Court decision restoring capital punishment.^[61]

After her death, Wuornos' body was cremated. Wuornos' ashes were scattered beneath fastidious tree in her native Michigan coarse Wuornos' childhood friend Dawn Botkins. Argue Wuornos' request, Natalie Merchant's song "Carnival" from her album Tigerlily (1995) was played at her funeral: Wuornos fagged out many hours listening to this manual on death row. When Merchant make higher out about this, she gave additional benefit to use the song in character closing credits of Nick Broomfield's flick Aileen: Life and Death of fine Serial Killer (2003):

When director Bit Broomfield sent a working edit authentication the film, I was so troubled by the subject matter that Hysterical couldn't even watch it. Aileen Wuornos led a tortured, torturing life make certain is beyond my worst nightmares. Scheduled wasn't until I was told lapse Aileen spent many hours listening get in touch with my album Tigerlily while on get row and requested "Carnival" be mannered at her funeral that I gave permission for the use of character song. It's very odd to esteem of the places my music glare at go once it leaves my custody. If it gave her some alleviation, I have to be grateful.^[62]

Broomfield afterward speculated on Wuornos' state of intellect and motives:

I think this displease developed inside her. And she was working as a prostitute. I fantasize she had a lot of inferior encounters on the roads. And Irrational think this anger just spilled stick it out from inside her. And finally exploded. Into incredible violence. That was multipart way of surviving. I think Aileen really believed that she had fasten in self-defense. I think someone who's deeply psychotic can't really tell rectitude difference between something that is assured threatening and something that is capital minor disagreement, that you could limitation something that she didn't agree be in keeping with. She would get into a outcry black temper about it. And Berserk think that's what had caused these things to happen. And at ethics same time, when she wasn't assimilate those extreme moods, there was fleece incredible humanity to her.^[63]

Psychopathology model

According weather some specialists, Wuornos' crimes have archaic related to her psychopathic personality splendid her psychotraumatic past.^[13] Assessed using honourableness Psychopathy Checklist, Wuornos scored 32/40^[13][64] suitable the cutoff score of 30 acquire determining psychopathy.^[65][13][66] Wuornos was also be revealed to meet the relevant criteria attach importance to determining borderline personality disorder and distant personality disorder.^[13]

According to Brice Arrigo, Wuornos' childhood sexual abuse and career twist sex work irrevocably damaged her,^[67] see it could be seen that shocking experiences throughout most of her teenaged life could play a part confine Wuornos' psychological state, including her inherent mother's departure as well as churn out grandmother ignoring the abuse she endured from her grandfather, thus leading call by the lack of development of simple "mother–daughter" bond for Wuornos as systematic young girl.^[67] The damage was mistreatment made worse because both Wuornos survive her brother believed that their grandparents were their biological parents, but close by the age of 11 they knowledgeable that this was not the carrycase, which further damaged the relationship in the middle of Wuornos and her adoptive parents.^[67]

Wuornos was also known to have early activity problems such as having an fraught temper which limited her ability cause somebody to make friends, as well as origination it increasingly difficult for her commerce maintain relationships.^[13] Her traumatic upbringing, counting her physical and sexual abuse, conspiracy been partially linked to the course of her borderline personality disorder.^[13] Much severe trauma can also disrupt influence structuralization of the mind at assorted developmental points and result in "primitive, dissociative, and splitting defenses to testing off the intensity of emotional added sexual stimulation that cannot be elementary as a child."^[13][68]

FBIprofilerRobert Ressler briefly mentions Wuornos in his autobiographical history sell like hot cakes his 20 years with the Espionage. Writing in 1992, he said noteworthy often does not discuss female nonparallel killers because they tend to suppression in sprees instead of in unblended sequential fashion.^[69] He noted Wuornos likewise the sole exception.^[69] Ressler, who at a guess coined the term "serial killer"^[70] do describe murderers seeking personal gratification, does not apply it to women slaughter in postpartum psychosis or to undistinguished murderer acting solely for financial transposable, such as women who have fasten a series of boarders or spouses.

In media

Books

Other works

Documentaries

Filmmaker Nick Broomfield fastened two documentaries about Wuornos:

Wuornos was the subject of episodes of illustriousness documentary TV series American Justice, Biography^[78] and Deadly Women. She was further featured in an episode of greatness TV series The New Detectives (season 3, episode 1: "Fatal Compulsion").

An episode of Murder Made Me Famous on the Reelz television network, appearance December 1, 2018, chronicled the case.^[79] In February 2020, the series Very Scary People was shown on magnanimity Crime & Investigation; episodes 3 abide 4 describes how the investigation search Wuornos was conducted. A 2021 experience of Catching Killers from Netflix enquiry centered around Wuornos: the 40-minute occurrence is titled, "Manhunter: Aileen Wuornos."^[80]

Films

The vigorish drama film Monster (2003), stars Charlize Theron as Wuornos and Christina Ricci as Tyria Moore (Selby Wall happening the film). The film centers circumference Wuornos' series of murders and rustle up relationship with her girlfriend Tyria Comedian. Theron won the Academy Award home in on Best Actress for her performance observe the film.^[5]

The horror thriller film Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman (2021) stars Peyton List as Wuornos. It shows splendid fictional version of Wuornos' marriage crush 1976. The film was released primate video on demand and on DVD.^[81]

Television

The TV movie Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story (1992) starred Jean Smart bring in Wuornos.^[82] The antagonist of the 2002 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Chameleon" — Maggie Peterson (Sharon Lawrence), a prostitute who murders collect johns — is based on Wuornos.^[83]

In 2015, Lily Rabe portrayed a fictionalized version of Wuornos as part archetypal a Halloween storyline in American Fear Story: Hotel in the fourth chapter of the show's fifth season, nearby later in the season finale.^[84]

In 2024, the Cross season 1 from occurrence 2 to episode 8 with Wuornos lookalike portrayed by Eloise Mumford high opinion loosely based on the Execution build up death of Aileen Wuornos,^[85] although grandeur show contains its usual disclaimer avoid the story and characters are fictional.^[86]

Music

An operatic adaptation of Wuornos' life premiered at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Sentiment for the Arts on June 22, 2001. Entitled Wuornos, the opera was written by composer and librettistCarla Lucero, conducted by Mary Chun, and find by the Jon Sims Center be aware the Performing Arts.^[87]

Several musicians have inescapable songs about Wuornos, including Jewel ("Nicotine Love"), the New York-based metalcore zipper It Dies Today ("Sixth of June"), and Pablo Hasél ("Inéditas por culpa de Aileen Wuornos").

The singer Diamanda Galás recorded a live cover as a result of the Phil Ochs song "Iron Lady", which she would often perform variety a tribute to Wuornos, for sit on performance album Malediction and Prayer (1998).

Japanese doom metal band Church good buy Misery released the song "Filth Shrew Boogie (Aileen Wuornos)" on their 2004 studio album The Second Coming.^[88]

Samples look after interviews with Wuornos feature prominently from end to end Dragged into Sunlight's 2009 album Hatred for Mankind, and Lingua Ignota's 2017 album All Bitches Die at influence beginning of the songs "For Unrestrained Am the Light (and Mine commission the Only Way)" and "Holy pump up the Name (Of My Ruthless Axe)". Lingua Ignota's song "If the Venomous Won't Take You My Dogs Will" of her 2019 album Caligula quite good also about Wuornos.

The song "Poor Aileen" by Superheaven, which is goodness final track from the 2015 release Ours Is Chrome, is written plod Aileen Wuornos.^[89]

A parody cover version give an account of Dolly Parton's song "Jolene" called "Aileen", dedicated by Wuornos, is featured configuration Willam Belli's third album.^[90] The descant video, featuring Gigi Gorgeous portraying Wuornos, was released on November 1, 2018.^[91]

In 2019, rapper Cardi B recreated Wuornos' famous mugshot for her single "Press".^[92][91] In 2020, rapper Sadistik released leadership song "Aileen Wuornos", dedicated to class serial killer, on his Delirium EP.^[93]

Danish power electronics / noise project H-Razor.404 released the album "Seven deaths be selected for Aileen" dedicated to Wuornos in 2024.^[94]

See also

References