The Making of a Serial Killer Charles E Alexander Southern New Hampshire University PSY 310 Criminal Psychology Angela Meyer December 10th 2023
The Making of a Serial Killer How well do you know the person you sit next to in class or smile at as you walk down the hall every day? We'd all want to think we're adept at assessing character, but are we? According to the FBI, there are between twenty-five and fifty active serial killers at any given time. Throughout history, there have been a total of 4743 documented Serial killers. The United States leads the count by a wide margin, with a total count of 3204, which is more than double the amount for all other nations combined. In addition to Ted Bundy, some of the most notorious murders are John Wayne Gacy, also known as the Killer Clown, Gary Ridgeway, also known as the Green River Killer. While empirical evidence suggests that males comprise 85 percent of documented serial killers, 15 percent of these individuals have exhibited comparable levels of heinousness. As we investigate Aileen Wuornos, one of the most heinous female murders in the United States, we shall delve into the motivations and mechanisms that led her to her last destination. Summary Aileen Carol Wuornos was born (Aileen Carol Pittman) on February 29th, 1956, in Rochester, Michigan. She was born as the second of two children into a dysfunctional home. Her father Leo Dale Pittman was a convicted child molester, who while incarcerated committed suicide. Her mother Diane Wuornos who was a child herself at 16 when Aileen was born, abused drugs and alcohol and was incapable of effectively raising children. She abandoned her kids, dropping them off at their maternal grandparents when Aileen was three or four years old. Her maternal grandparents officially adopted her in March of 1960, three months after being abandoned. Sadly, this new arrangement would not help during the formative years. Her grandmother was a drunk as well and died of liver failure about the time Aileen was 14. Her
grandfather was an angry beast of a man who along with constantly beating and degrading Aileen would molest her and loan her out to his friends to do the same. To add more to her life of misery she was molested by her brother as well. By the age of 14 having already dropped out of school Aileen became pregnant from one of her grandfather's friends. Giving birth to a boy who was given up as soon as he was born. Having been thrown out of the house and sleeping in the woods Aileen struck out on her own hitchhiking across the country she lived off money she made as a prostitute. A life on the road quickly led to a life of crime leaving charges and cases everywhere she went. Failed marriage and drunken angry outburst eventually led her to killing and robbing seven men along the Florida highways. The tragic life of Aileen Carol Wuornos came to