You’d be hard pressed to find one in a crowd. The average serial killer generally blends in with everyone else (Directory Journal, 2010). In fact, most are soft-spoken and even polite. Their monstrous nature only comes through when you dig deeper into their personalities, actions, and habits. Most seem to have come from dysfunctional family settings and were emotionally, sexually, or even verbally abused as children (Directory Journal, 2010). It is almost as if this background activates some psychological trigger that increases their feelings of inadequacy or worthlessness that led them to seek out their own heinous form of release. Often considered America’s first female serial killer, Aileen Wuornos was neither first nor the worst. She had been suspected of committing at least seven murders and was sentenced to four of cases she had confessed to police. All the while, she maintained her innocence claiming that some or all of the killings were in self-defense. Born Aileen Carol Pittman on February 29, 1956 to Diane Pratt and Leo Pittman in Rochester Michigan (Osborn, 2009). He...
Aileen Wuornos was born on February 29, 1956 in Rochester, Michigan; at a young age she and her brother, Keith, were raised by their grandparents, after her parents divorced just months before Aileen was born. Her father, a career criminal, was later convicted of kidnapping and raping a seven year old girl and eventually hung himself in his prison cell. Wuornos grandparents drank heavily and parented with strict authority. Wuornos would later say that she was sexually abused by her grandfather and had sexual relations with her brother. She became pregnant at the age of 14, and the baby was given up for adoption, and was forced out of her home and lived in the woods. She was arrested during the mid 1970s for charges related to assault and disorderly
Aileen Wuornos is one of the most famous psychopathic serial killers in the world. Not only is she one of the only female serial killers, her killings are unlike any other there has been. She exhibited psychopathic traits since birth and her abuse as a child didn't help matters. She killed six men in the span of a year and told police she was the victim in all the cases, not admitting to intentionally killing them many months later. After getting caught by the police and going through a long, tedious trial she was found guilty of all her charges and was charged with the death penalty.
... truth. Once the prosecutor’s cross- examined Aileen her lies and conflicts she became angry. The jury returned only two hours later with a first degree murder verdict. Aileen did not stand trial again. Om March 1992 Aileen plead no contest to Dick’s, Troy and Spears murders. She received three more death sentences. In June, 1992 she admitted to the murder of Charles Carskaddon, and in November, she was given her fifth death sentence. February of 1993, she was put to die after admitting to the murder of Walter Gino Antonio. No charges were brought for the killing of Peter Siems, as his body was never discovered.
She had a low self-esteem, felt abandoned, sexually abused by those that were to care for her. As a child she was sexually promiscuous and having sex with other children to obtain cigarettes, drugs, and food, which is how she came to learn that she could make money in prostitution. When she was 14 she was forced to give up a baby to adoption. She never got to meet the little boy that was born on March 23, 1971 who was born at a home for unwed mothers, (“The Child of A Serial Killer: Aileen Wournos’s Son,” 2017) another issue of abandonment. After her brother passed away, she once again felt abandoned, which helped fuel her fire for the hatred of
Growing up in a abusive environment, Aileen Wuornos was abused by all the men in her life, this is the reason she is the first female serial killer. Her mother Diane and step dad Leo married at the age of 15. Diane abandoned Leo before Aileen was 4 years old. Aileens biological father never got to know her. He hung himself in prison in 1969.
1.), Wuornos was executed by the State of Florida on October 9, 2002. Wuornos became involved in antisocial activity and crime early in her life (Arrigo & Griffin, 2004). There were many risk factors in Wuornos’ life which may have contributed to her offending. Judge Uriel Blount, who nevertheless sentenced Wuornos to death for the murder of Richard Mallory, found as mitigating factors: “that Wuornos suffered antisocial and borderline personality disorders; her natural father and grandfather had committed suicide; her grandmother’s alcoholism; her mother’s abandonment of her as an infant.” (“The Case of Aileen Wuornos - The Facts”, n.d.). Wuornos was found guilty of the murder of Richard Mallory, and was persuaded in arguably dubious circumstances (Aileen: Life and death of a serial killer, 2004) to not defend five other murder charges, although she claimed self-defence on numerous
Whereas, disorganized serial killers typically have low IQ’s and are extremely antisocial. Pick their victims at random whenever the opportunity crosses. They find themselves compelled to perform rituals with every victim. It’s also known that some of these killers suffer with a history of mental illness.
They need to be broken down into the categories of sociopaths and psychopaths before that is determined. The research provided explains that in the case of sociopaths, they are more likely to be made into serial killers based on the types of environments they are around as they grow up. In the case of psychopaths, they are more likely to be born serial killers rather than made due to abnormalities found in their genetic makeup. But because such a difficult question cannot be answered with both choices there must be one answer that overpowers the other. In this case, the answer that is more logically sound is that serial killers are made. Although the sociopath category of serial killers are more likely to be born, it has been proven that the environment a person is raised up in influences how they grow up to be as an adult. “Combine this faulty wiring with inconsistent, too harsh, or even downright abusive parenting that confuses the child as to what the rules are and why one should obey them, and you quickly have an out-of-control child” (Lamb, Kassandra). Either way, the actions of a serial killer, whether sociopath or psychopath, should never be simply okayed or go
Aileen Wuornos Carol born on the 29th of February 1956 was one of the most famous serial killers of all times. Regarded as the first female serial killer in the United States, Aileen depicts the life of thousands of other people around the world whose lives were either changed or altered by their biological, environmental and developmental factors that made them to commit unimaginable crimes. This study analyzes the life of Aileen beginning with the crimes she committed. In addition, the study will examine the biological, developmental and environmental factors that led to the crimes she committed. Theories that could be applied to her actions including factors such as psychopathy will also be analyzed together with how they may have led to her crimes. In conclusion, the court
The murders committed are not just random, as we saw with the hit men. These organized killers typically are aware of the police system and know how to make their way around it. “The organized serial killer is often familiar with police procedures and takes great pride in thwarting investigations and taunting law enforcement officials by the careful placement or concealment of evidence” (Miller 5.6.1). This organization and careful placement allow the serial killer to become exceedingly dangerous, allowing them to accomplish their crimes. This adds to their motives that it is easy and there are no consequences. This allows the murder to continue to kill for their own personal reasons with no remorse. What adds to the aspect of a serial killer other than no remorse is the social alienation which we see often in the non typical serial killer due to the fact that they like normal serial killers, are often loners (Culhane 32). The hit man is another example of the non typical serial killer, yet he still follows this social alienation in his life. Even the most non typical killers have this social alienation in common whether it is before and continues after or during their kill
Serial killers have been around for decades but According To Jack Levin, 'seven of the ten largest mass killings in American history have taken place in the last decade (Douglas, p. 137). One of the most popular and well-known serial killers in history was Ted Bundy. He was convicted of killing three women but is suspected of killing thirty-six other women (Douglas, p. 137).
Serial killers are everywhere! Well, perhaps not in our neighborhood, but on our television screens, at the movie theaters, and in rows and rows of books at our local Borders or Barnes and Nobles Booksellers” (Brown). When people think of serial killers, names such as Dahmer, Gacy, Bundy, and Gein are cited. During the time Jack the Ripper was executing his victims in London, Holmes began his gruesome career in Chicago (America’s Serial Killers). “Despite being America’s first serial killer, Holmes is hardly a familiar name and until now we haven’t had any popular visual record of his crimes: (Spikol). Why is it that people only think of the more popular killers with higher known profiles? They are all very similar to one another because they share characteristics. H.H. Holmes was a successful serial killer because he was well educated, cunning and charming. Those are just a few traits Holmes ...
On macro sociological level, we must first acknowledge the existence of patriarchy. Patriarchy is, according to Dictionary.com, a social system in which power is held by men, through cultural norms and customs that favor men and withhold opportunity from women. This the type of society we have lived in for thousands of years and this is the society that Aileen Wuornos grew up in. Kate Millett states in her book Sexual Politics, “patriarchy’s chief institution is the family.” The family’s role in a patriarchal society is to “encourage its members to adjust and conform” (33) Aileen Wuornos’s family life was not typical however. Wuornos was frequently sexually abused as a child by male figures in her life. Her grandfather Lauri and her brother
An abused child who later earned her living as a sex worker, Aileen Wuornos was found guilty of killing six men and was later executed in a Florida prison by lethal injection in 2002. Having been involved in previous incidents with the law, she made a living as a sex worker on Florida's highways, and in 1989 she killed a man who had picked her up. She went on to kill at least five other men and was eventually caught, convicted and placed on death row.