Pamela Vadnais PSY 310 Criminal Psychology Angela Meyer Topic Selection: Aileen Wurnos Summary The case that I chose is Aileen Wurnos. She was born into a life of chaos on February 29, 1956, in Rochester, Michigan. She had it tough growing up. Her parents broke up before she was even born. Her mom was left to raise Wurnos and her brother Keith by herself. By the time she was four, they were sent to live with her mother's parents, who were not much better than their mother. Her grandfather was abusive to both Keith and Aileen. Aileen gets pregnant and goes to spend some time in a home for unwed mothers as a teenager. Eventually, Aileen drops out of school and turns to a life of crime. She turns to drugs and first gets arrested for a DUI and shooting a gun from a moving vehicle. Understanding the potential motivation behind her crimes would help us understand the reason why she committed them. The theory that I find to believe in this case is that the first victim that she killed most likely did rape her, and she killed him in self-defense. However, I
think because of her past of being abused sexually by her grandfather that she developed PTSD, and this rape threw her into a mental situation where she feared the men that reminded her of this man were going to assault her. So, she felt she had to kill them in order to protect herself. However, Aileen fits the description of a serial killer who kills for personal gain. Aileen may have stated that she was scared of these men, but after she killed them, she would take their personal items, such as wallets and sometimes even their cars. Aileen Wuornos killed her victims because of her traumatic childhood experiences of abuse and abandonment. Crime Assessment RICHARD MALLORY DAVID SPEARS CHARLES CARSKADDON PETER SIEMS TROY BURRESS CHARLES HUMPHREYS WALTER JENO ANTONIO Aileen was raised by her grandparents from a very young age. She grew up thinking that they were her parents. It wasn't until she was ten years old that she found out the truth. This is very similar to fellow serial killer Ted Bundy. Like many other serial killers, she had a rough childhood and even started to perform sexual favors for boys at the age of eleven. She then turned to drugs and prostitution as she got older.
Like many other serial killers, Aileen committed smaller crimes before committing murder. The crimes she committed first were DUI, assault, disturbing the peace, car theft, and many others. Aileen became a drifter and settled in Florida. She continued to be a sex worker. In 1989-90, Aileen would kill seven men (possibly eight). And she left their bodies on the roadside and took their wallets. She was caught in 1991 and said she killed them because they attacked her. Some people saw her as a strong woman who fought back against men. She got the death penalty for