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Aileen Wuornos Serial Killer
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Aileen Wuornos Serial Killer
Aileen Wuornos the American serial killer was born on February 29th, 1956 in Michigan.
Her parent were young teenagers who divorced when she was born. The father was an alcoholic
who was accused of rape and sentenced for raping a young girl. He committed suicide while in
prison after some time. The mother was also alcoholic where she left the baby Aileen with her
Grandparents who were also alcoholic. When Aileen was a child, she started some mischievous
behavioral problems. She was engaged in minor cases of stealing, fighting, and setting fires. At
the age of 13 years, she became pregnant and she was forced to give out the child for adoption.
During her teenage age, she started taking alcohol, using other drugs, running away from home,
and to an extent prostitution. During the time she was a prostitute, she was abused both sexually
and physically (Booth, 2021). She was involved in several crimes and arrested for the crimes.
She also attempted to commit suicide so many times without succeeding. At that time, she was
involved also in several short-term relationships.
When Aileen Wuornos was 34 years of age, she killed seven men within one year. The
men who were killed were all middle-aged people. Aileen confessed that the reason for killing
them was because she wanted to rob them and no witness was supposed to survive for a cover-
up. That is when she gained the nickname “Damsel of Death”. Aileen Wuornor was considered
to be sociopathic. The issue regarding sociopathy and mental disorders were assumed by
psychiatrists to have originated from traumatic childhood life, and the experience of sexual abuse
(Booth, 2021). They added that there may be some genetic violence traits that she might have
inherited from her parents.
Some of the proof that she was a sociopath one she did not have empathy for others. She
had no close feelings or close bonds with anyone. The other reason was that she was fearless in
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her wild actions and did not respond to punishments. Her behavior of being someone who did
not care about anything seemed to be her lifestyle. She was arrested for robbery many times but
her behavior did not change. The other reason for her sociopath is during her childhood, she used
to fight others and set fire in dangerous places without minding the safety of others. Also in a
psychopathy checklist that assessed 20 psychpath traits, Aileen scored 32 out of 40 points which
was a very high score (Booth, 2021). The test indicated a high psychopathy trait in her. The
theory that is attached to research on psychopathy and predatory aggression argues that Aileen
was col blooded and calculated killer.
Reference
Booth, H. E. (2021). A Criminological Analysis of Notorious Serial Killers in the United States.
"A Criminological Analysis of Notorious Serial Killers in the United St" by Hannah E.
Booth (usd.edu)
