The childhood experiences of Aileen Wuornos contributed greatly to the development of her becoming a serial killer, however she may have had a genetic predisposition to kill and this alone may have been enough to drive her. But this predisposition is often triggered by ‘stressful’ events.
The debate of nature vs nuture when it comes to crime is quite an extensive one. There is a lot of research to suggest a killer is born a killer, but there is equally enough evidence to suggest a killer is made. Although, it can also be said it is a due to both. When focusing on a specific killer and even more specifically a serial killer, these many theories can be a applied to determine whether Wuornos was a product of her situation, her genetic makeup, or a many more factors than that.
According to source D, a serial murder is the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events. Aileen Wuornos murdered 7 men from 1989 – 1990 after becoming a prostitute along Florida’s highway. (E) So according to this definition, Wuornos was most definitely a serial
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That Aileen most likely inherited her aggressive behaviour from her father, which then lethally acted with her difficult childhood to produce a killer. “A biological predisposition acts in concert with a traumatic environmental situation.”(B) Although this source also states that the ‘triggers’ need to be “substantial and noteworthy…The discovery of adoption or the abandonment by divorcing parents are events received on a highly personal level.” (B) This correlates with Wuornos’ upbringing, as she was abandoned at the young age of 4 and then abused by her adoptive ‘parents’ , only to discover they were her grandparents. “Serial murderers, like all human beings, are the product of their heredity, their upbringing, and the choices they make throughout development.”