Aileen Wuornos: Serial Killer

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Aileen Wuornos was in born in 1956, and become one of very few American female serial killers. Her particular case is important in criminology because she defied the norms of stereotypical murderers-particularly those of female serial murderers. She was referred to as the “Killer Hooker” because she was worked as a prostitute and murdered her clients for money and power. She is a true example of a sociopath, someone who knows they did something wrong and has no remorse. In fact, she stated that she would have killed at least another 12 men if she hadn’t been apprehended. Her murder spree ran between December 1989 and November 1990 and during this time she managed to kill 7 men in the state of Florida. (Crime and Investigation. 2014)
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She managed to get lucky with love in 1976, when she married a very wealthy older man named Lewis Fall, who was the owner/president of a prestigious yacht club. The marriage lasted only two months, after it was clear Wuornos did not appreciate the stable and comfortable lifestyle he provided to her for the first time in her life. (Aileen Wuornos. Biography.com) She took advantage of him and consistently went to bars and engaged in physical fights leading to several arrests. Fall’s final straw was when Wuornos beat him with his cane during an altercation. Predictably, this incident was immediately followed by a restraining order and the marriage annulment (Aileen Wuornos. Biography.com). Later, she developed a relationship with Tyria Moore, whom she met at a lesbian bar. (Aileen Wuornos. Biography.com) Despite Wuornos’ intensive and undying love for Moore, it was she who bargained with police and gave them the details to all of the murders that led to her arrest, also leading to any charges of her being an accomplice dropped. (Crime and Investigation. 2014) (Capital Punishment in …show more content…
(Aileen Wuornos. Biography.com) These multiple instances over approximately 10 years were only a drop in the bucket compared to the crimes she would later commit. Interestingly, most female serial killers have had no previous history of any criminal activities, which is clearly not the case for Wuornos. (Farrell, Keppel, Titterington. 2011) It is also remarkable to point out that women usually kill weak individuals such as children or elderly, and that they normally know their victim very well. (Holmes, Hickey, and Holmes. 1991) This is not the case with Wuornos, quite possibly due to her line of work, as she murdered men she was unacquainted with that she encountered while