Aileen Wuornos: The Life and Crimes of a Serial Killer

This episode details the life and crimes of Aileen Wuornos, a notorious American serial killer who murdered seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. The text traces her traumatic childhood marked by abandonment and abuse, which experts believe contributed to her later development of antisocial and borderline personality disorders. While working as a highway prostitute, Wuornos utilized a .22-caliber revolver to kill her clients, initially claiming self-defense before later admitting to robbery as a primary motive. Following her 1991 arrest and a series of high-profile trials, she was executed by lethal injection in 2002. The source also catalogs her significant cultural impact, noting how her story inspired numerous books, documentaries, and the Academy Award-winning film Monster. Through its comprehensive sections, the article examines the intersection of psychopathology, societal failure, and criminal justice.