Aileen Wuornos: The First Female Serial Killers

While researching homicides, specifically serial killings, I came across female serial killers. One female that stood out most was Aileen Wuornos, who murdered seven men and was deemed the “first” female serial killer. Her case caused much controversy, and she was extremely recognized for the killings of those men. Aileen had a troubled past and many feminist criminologist believe this to be the reason for her actions. The purpose for this essay is to inform the reader about Aileen Wuornos’ case and how her familial life led to her life of crime as an adult.

Aileen Wuornos, also known as Lee, was a female greatly publicized for her killings. Between 1989 and 1991, Wuornos killed seven men while prostituting on the highway in Florida. Her

On June 3, 1954, Diane (14) and Leo (17) eloped; a year later they had their first child Keith, Lee’s older brother. Leo, Wuornos’ father, was known for his mischievous behavior and anger issues. Her mother, Diane, claimed to have had been abused and “touched” by her father when living at home. She eloped with Leo to escape her family issues and once married she dealt with daily abuse. In 1955, Aileen’s parents divorced. Lee never met her father and was abandoned by her mother. Lee and her brother Keith were soon adopted by their

Friends of Keith also recall having witnessed incest between the siblings. In her teenage years Lee began to shoplift, abuse drugs more frequently and drank regularly. Lee also began running away frequently and the police would bring her home. At the age of fourteen Lee became pregnant. In “The Female Homicide Offender: Serial Murder and the Case of Aileen Wuornos” Shipley and Arrigo mention that

[Aileen] gave several different versions of how this event occurred, including she was brutally raped at gunpoint and knifepoint for 6 hours by an Elvis Presley look-alike. …Aileen claimed to have been raped nine times in her life. She reported that several of the rapes were the product of men she eventually murdered. …Aileen Wuornos told many different tales, some of which are firmly refuted by those who know her. …given her sexual promiscuity, it is likely that at some point she was raped, … …Aileen alleged on various occasions that the father was alternatively was Keith, Lauri, a neighbor boy, and an older man in the community. …we know for certain … that Lauri and Britta sent her to the Michigan Children’s Aid Society for help. [Her] grandparents were ashamed of and angry with Aileen. Her caseworker noted that she was immature, impulsive, and had no conceptualization of the future.