1 Serial Murderer - Aileen Wuornos Milestone One Southern New Hampshire University November 11, 2023
2 Serial Murderer - Aileen Wuornos Serial Murder: Aileen Wuornos Summary: There are many theories on why violent crimes are committed by individuals. There are psychological, environmental, and biological factors for every case. The case of Aileen Wuronos is no exception. From a young age she was subjected to severe traumatic abuse at the hands of her family. Her father, a convicted child abuser committed suicide in prison and her mother could not cope with the responsibility of parenting Aileen and her older brother Keith and eventually abandoned them. Because of this they were raised by their grandparents. The grandfather was sexually abusive, violent, and neglectful of the children while the grandmother suffered from alcohol use disorder. After falling pregnant by her brother at 14, Aileen was sent to a home for unwed mothers, where she gave birth to a baby boy who was given up for adoption. As Aileen moved into adulthood, she used prostitution as a means to survive in the world. After a failed marriage and the death of her brother she continued committing several crimes including armed robbery, forgery, theft, and assault. Her behaviors became more erratic and violent which escalated to the murder of 7 men across Florida from 1989 to 1990. The potential motivation to commit these crimes could range from the need to survive, to psychological and biological risk factors. Crime Assessment: Aileen Wuornos, although famous is not the only documented woman serial killer. In Alabama in 1955, Nancy Hazel or Nannie Doss, also nicknamed "Giggling Granny" and "The Jolly Widow", was caught and arrested for the murder of one of her husbands. She later confessed to killing four people, but it was suspected that she killed up to 12. Her mode of killing was through arsenic poisoning. Ted Bundy, a male convicted serial killer, showed early antisocial
3 Serial Murderer - Aileen Wuornos behavior in childhood. The exact number of murders is unknown, but he confessed to 30 murders between 1974 and 1978 across several states. He would appear weak and in need of assistance to lure victims to his car where he would knock them out, tie them up, mutilate and sexually assault their bodies. Patterns can be found from all of these similar crimes, including the murder of multiple victims, the lack of remorse, the sexual aspects, for Ted and Aileen the torture and brutal nature of the killing and early onset antisocial behavior accompanied by several risk factors like peer rejection, abuse, and insecure familial connections. Motivation for serial killers can range widely but it would be a fair assessment based on the information given that Aileen wanted to be in control and also make sure there was no witnesses to pin her to the crimes.