Milestone Two: Aileen Carol Wuornos Southern New Hampshire University Dr. Tim Franklin April 7, 2024 Kecia R. Norrell
Demographic summary: Aileen Wuornos was born Aileen Carol Pittman on February 29, 1956, in Rochester, Michigan and died by execution on October 9, 2002, in Starke, Florida. She was born to teenage parents, Diane Wuornos, and Leo Pittman, and they also had a son, Keith. Her mother is of Finnish descent and her father was of English descent. Aileen never knew her father; however, he was a psychopath imprisoned for kidnapping and raping a 7-year-old girl. He was schizophrenic and committed suicide by hanging. Aileen had a deeply troubled childhood, when at age four she and her brother were sent to live with her grandparents (Encyclopedia Brittanica, 2024). In her early teens, she spent time at a home for unwed mothers and eventually dropped out of school turning to prostitution. In 1989 - 90, posing as a hitchhiking prostitute, she killed at least seven middle-aged male motorists and left their bodies along the highways of Florida and southern Georgia. Some speculate that she may have killed an eighth motorist during the same period. She was arrested in early 1991, and admitted to the killings but claimed self-defense after the men assaulted her. In 1992, she was convicted of one of the murders and sentenced to death (Encyclopedia Brittanica, 2024). She later plead guilty to three more murders, admitting that she killed for profit rather than self-defense. She was executed by lethal injection. Biological factors: Aileen Wuornos, one of the most notorious female serial killers, had a complex background that significantly influenced her behavior (Experiences, D.S., 2023). Her parents both struggled with mental health issues. Her father suffered from schizophrenia, and her mother was a teenage mother. Her father's mental health challenges led to his suicide in prison. These predispositions contributed to Aileen's own mental health struggles.
Aileen's upbringing was far from stable and loving. Her grandmother was an alcoholic and her grandfather, who adopted her, abused her during her childhood. By the age of eleven, she was already exchanging sexual favors for cigarettes and drugs at school. Also, during this period, she engaged in sexual activities with her brother Keith. At the age of fourteen, Aileen became pregnant by a family friend and gave birth to a boy, whom she put up for adoption. Her tumultuous family environment and early exposure to sexual abuse had a profound impact on her psychological development. After being kicked out by her grandfather, Aileen turned to prostitution to survive and lived in the woods near her grandparents' home. She has been arrested many times for armed robbery, check forgery, firing a gun from a moving vehicle, driving under the influence, failure to appear, and auto theft(Encyclopedia Brittanica, 2024). . In 1976, she hitchhiked to Florida, where she met her husband, Lewis Gratz Fell; however, their marriage didn't last. Aileen very well could have suffered from personality disorders, such as antisocial personality disorder or borderline personality disorder