Mental Disorders of Aileen Wuornos Aileen Wuornos was an infamous serial killer, she was known to have killed seven men from 1989 to 1990. Dr. Harry Kropp investigated her the year of the trial,“...he found her to be suffering from a “full blown delusional system” and having a Borderline Personality Disorder with Paranoid Features (CapitalPunishmentInContext.org)” Dr. Bernard, a psychiatrist that observed her the year of her trial, told she also had Antisocial Personality Disorder. While these are the only diagnosed illnesses, Wuornos showed some signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Many of the symptoms leading to her diagnoses stemmed from a childhood full of unwanted experiences. Childhood As a child, Wuornos went through a lot of traumatic experiences. To begin, she had many close family members commit suicide; including her father (a convicted criminal of child molesting). Her mother abandoned her, and to top it off, her grandfather (who too committed suicide) abused her. It was also said she had sexual relations with her brother while very young. When Wuornos was attending middle school, her mental “issues” were treated with mild tranquilizers, and she was raped by a close family friend. Having fallen pregnant from her rapist, Wuornos’ family forced her to give up the child to an adoption center. These events are likely what led to her Antisocial Personality Diagnosis, but these could also have caused some symptoms of PTSD in adulthood. …show more content…
Her family was incredibly unpredictable and it could be assumed she was an outcast in her adolescent