Aileen Wuornos had a troubled childhood marked by sexual abuse and early pregnancy. She became a prostitute and was in and out of jail for various offenses. In the late 1980s, she began killing older male clients who had either raped or tried to rape her, claiming self-defense. She was eventually charged and convicted of six counts of first-degree murder and was executed by lethal injection in 2002. Her case highlighted debates around the motivations and classifications of serial killers as well as defenses related to victims of abuse.

1. Aileen Wuornos
By Krystina Cornell

2. Childhood
• She was sexually abused as a teenager
• Pregnant at 14 claiming her brother as the father
• Raised by her grandparents – both abusive “parents”
• Ran away and became a prostitute
• Possibly could have become a murderer due to her father being a child
molester.

3. Adult Life
• Spent most of it being a prostitute • Spent his $10,000 life insurance
on a fancy car that she wrecked
• Sent to jail in May 1974 for later.
disorderly conduct, drunk driving, • In 1986 she met Tyria Moore at a
and firing a weapon from a vehicle gay bar and that relationship
lasted for 4 years.
• hitchhiking to Florida she met a
man, 69-year-old Lewis Fell, and
fell in love. Married in 1976.
Divorced soon after due to a
restraining order against Wuornos
after she hit him with his own
cane.

4. She stated that all the victims
had either raped or tried to
rape her and she killed them
in self-defense.
Motives

5. She would usually use a gun to shoot her
victims with a small-caliber weapon

6. Characteristics of the victims
•Older men
•From the Florida area
•Some were truck drivers

7. Police got calls from people saying that
Wuornos and Moore drove a car away
from an accident scene. They also found
some of the victims’ belongings in
pawnshops and they retrieved
fingerprints. And the fact that Wuornos
already had a criminal record it was easy

8. Charged With
On January 14 she went to trial for the death
of Richard Mallory. During this trial
psychiatrists said that she was mentally
unstable. She then pleaded guilty for all the
other murders. And was sentenced to death.

9. Before Death
Final Words Final Meal
• "I'd just like to say I'm • A cup of coffee
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."

10. On October 9, she was killed
by lethal injection.

11. Monsters Or Victims
• Some killers would disguise
themselves as other people; they
also would blend in with the
“regular people” They would act
differently to gain the trust of
people.

12. Scene of the Crime
Organized Disorganized
• 1. Planned Offense. • 1. Body left at scene.
• 2. Transports Body. • 2. Known Location.
• 3. Body Hidden. • 3. Crime Scene Sloppy.
• 4. Restraints used. • 4. Sexual assaults after
• 5. Missing weapons / death
evidence

13. Scene of the Crime cont.
Mixed Atypical
• Shows characteristics of • Can’t be classified as any
both organized and of these different crime
disorganized. scenes.
• Could have been
interrupted during the
crime.

14. Surprising Information
•The most surprising information I
found was that there are different
types of crime scenes. I also found out
that murderers are harder to spot then
I thought they would be.