Aileen Wuornos

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Aileen Wuornos bigraphy, stories - Serial killer

Aileen Wuornos : biography

29 February 1956 – October 9, 2002

Aileen Carol Wuornos (February 29, 1956 – October 9, 2002) was a serial killer who killed seven men in Florida in 1989 and 1990. Wuornos claimed that her victims had either raped or attempted to rape her while she was working as a prostitute, and that all of the homicides were committed in self-defense. She was convicted and sentenced to death for six of the murders and was executed by the State of Florida by lethal injection on October 9, 2002.

Legacy

Books

FBI profiler Robert K. Ressler mentioned Wuornos only briefly in his autobiographical history of his 20 years with the FBI. Writing in 1992, he said he often does not discuss female serial killers because they tend to kill in sprees instead of in a sequential fashion.Ressler, Robert K. and Tom Schachtman. Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Hunting Serial Killers for the FBI. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1992, at p. 83. ISBN 0-312-07883-8. He noted Wuornos as the sole exception. Ressler, who allegedly coined the phrase serial killerThe Serial Killer Files by Harold Schecter ISBN 978-0-345-46566-5 to describe murderers seeking personal gratification, does not apply it to women killing in postpartum psychosis or to any murderer acting solely for financial gain, such as women who have killed a series of boarders or spouses. In 2002, journalist Sue Russell wrote a book about Wuornos called Lethal Intent.

In 2012 Lisa Kester and Daphne Gottlieb edited and published a collection of letters written by Wuornos to her childhood friend Dawn Botkins during her 10 years on Death Row. The book is titled: Dear Dawn: Aileen Wuornos in Her Own Words.

Documentaries

Filmmaker Nick Broomfield directed two documentaries about Wuornos:

  • Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1994)
  • Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)

Wuornos was the subject of episode "Death Row Prostitute: Aileen Wuornos" of the documentary TV series American Justice.

Wuornos was the subject of an episode of the documentary TV series Biography.

Wuornos was featured in the Deadly Women episode "Predators".

Film

The theatrical film Monster (2003) starred Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci. It tells Wuornos’ story from childhood until her first murder conviction. The film earned Theron the 2003 Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Aileen Wuornos.

The TV movie Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story (1992) starred Jean Smart.

Other media

An operatic adaptation of Wuornos’ life events premiered at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on June 22, 2001. Entitled Wuornos, the opera was written by composer/librettist Carla Lucero, conducted by Mary Chun, and produced by the Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts.

The singer Jewel wrote a song about Aileen called "Nicotine Love," the New York-based Metalcore band, It Dies Today, wrote a song "Sixth of June" referring to Aileen and the poet Doron Braunshtein dedicated a poem to her, called "Aileen Wuornos" that appears in his 2011 spoken word CD "The Obsessive Poet".

The singer Diamanda Galás recorded a live cover of the Phil Ochs song "Iron Lady", which she would often perform as a tribute to Wuornos.

The poem "Sugar Zero" by Rima Banerji is dedicated to Wuornos and appears in the 2005 Arsenal Pulp Press publication, "Red Light: Superheroes, Saints, and Sluts".

Murders

  • Richard Mallory, age 51, December 1, 1989—Electronics store owner in Clearwater, Florida. Wuornos’ first victim was a convicted rapist whom she claimed to have killed in self-defense. Two days later, a Volusia County, Florida, Deputy Sheriff found Mallory’s abandoned vehicle. On December 13, Mallory’s body was found several miles away in a wooded area; he had been shot several times, two bullets to the left lung were found to have been the cause of death. It was on this murder that Wuornos would initially be condemned.
  • David Spears, age 43—Construction worker in Winter Garden, Florida. On June 1, 1990, his nude body was found along Highway 19 in Citrus County, Florida. He had been shot six times.
  • Charles Carskaddon, age 40, May 31, 1990—Part-time rodeo worker. On June 6, 1990, his body was found in Pasco County, Florida. He had been shot nine times with a small-caliber weapon.
  • Peter Siems, age 65—In June 1990, Siems left Jupiter, Florida, for New Jersey. On July 4, 1990, his car was found in Orange Springs, Florida. Moore and Wuornos were seen abandoning the car, and Wuornos’ palm print was found on the interior door handle. His body was never found.
  • Troy Burress, age 50—Sausage salesman from Ocala, Florida. On July 31, 1990, he was reported missing. On August 4, 1990, his body was found in a wooded area along State Road 19 in Marion County, Florida. He had been shot twice.
  • Charles "Dick" Humphreys, age 56, September 11, 1990—Retired U.S. Air Force Major, former State Child Abuse Investigator, and former Chief of Police. On September 12, 1990, his body was found in Marion County, Florida. He was fully clothed and had been shot six times in the head and torso. His car was found in Suwannee County, Florida.
  • Walter Jeno Antonio, age 62—Police Reservist. On November 19, 1990, Antonio’s nearly nude body was found near a remote logging road in Dixie County, Florida. He had been shot four times. Five days later, his car was found in Brevard County, Florida.