Aileen Wuornos

Last Updated on July 4, 2026

Aileen Wuornos was one of the most famous female serial killers.

She killed seven men by shooting them in America in 1989 and 1990.

She later claimed the murders were in self-defence.

Aileen Wuornos’ girlfriend was Tyria Moore, and to support the pair, she was working as a prostitute.

Aileen’s execution by lethal injection took place on October 9th, 2002.

Early Crimes

Before the murders, Aileen Wuornos’ young life was spent being arrested on several occasions for numerous crimes.

Aileen was arrested in 1974 for driving under the influence, disorderly conduct and firing a gun from a moving car.

Aileen Wuornos married Lewis Gratz Fell after arriving in Florida.

The marriage was quickly annulled after she assaulted him.

Not long after arriving in Florida, she was jailed for assault after a bar fight in 1976 and left the state.

Upon returning to Michegan was arrested on a further assault charge after assaulting a bartender with a pool ball.

In 1981, she was arrested for armed robbery of a convenience store and served 13 months in prison.

Between 1984 and 1987, there were several arrests for theft, fraud, gun related charged charged and assaults against men.

Aileen Wuornos Victims

The first victim of Aileen Wuornos was Richard Mallory.

His abandoned vehicle was found on 2nd December.

Weeks later, his body was found on December 13th, 1989.

He had been shot twice in the chest, but Aileen claimed the murder was in self-defence.

David Spears was the second victim of Aileen Wuornos.

He was a construction worker, and later his naked body was found on the side of the road on 1st June 1990.

He had been shot in the chest six times.

On June 6th, 1990, the body of Charles Carskaddon was discovered in Pasco County.

The cause of death was nine gun shots in the chest and abdomen.

The body of Aileen’s fourth victim, Peter Siems, was never found.

His car was found abandoned on July 4th, 1990.

Witnesses saw Aileen and girlfriend, Tyra, abandoning the car.

Later, her palm print was found inside the car.

Aileen’s fifth victim was Troy Burgess, who was reported missing on July 31st, 1990.

His body was discovered 5 days later in August 1990 in the woods alongside State Road 19.

Troy had been shot twice in the chest.

The body of Charles “Dick” Humphreys was discovered on September 12th 1990.

He had been shot four times in the head and chest, and days later, his car was discovered in another county.

Walter Jeno Antonio was the final victim of Aileen Wuornos.

He was found partially nude on a remote road, but his car was found in another county.

Investigation and Arrest

The investigation began after Aileen and Tyria abandoned Peter Siems’ car after they were involved in a traffic accident.

Some witnesses had seen them driving the car and gave descriptions to the police.

Aileen had sold a number of the victims’ belongings to pawn shops.

They were able to match prints to the abandoned vehicles.

She had fingerprints on file due to previous arrests, and they were able to match the prints.

Aileen Wuornos was arrested on January 9th, 1991, following a bar brawl.

A day later, Tyria Moore was picked up by the police.

She was offered immunity from prosecution in return for getting Aileen to confess to the murders.

Aileen confessed following several phone calls from Tyria asking for her help in clearing her name.

Initially, she claimed that the murders were self-defence after the men had attempted to rape her.

Whilst in custody and awaiting trial, Aileen was legally adopted by Arlene Pralle and her husband.

Trial and Sentencing

The trial of Aileen Wuornos began on January 14th.

She was initially on trial for the murder of Richard Mallory.

Aileen was later found guilty of capital murder on January 27th, 1992.

Four days later, she was sentenced to death by electric chair due to the aggravating factors of the crime.

She pleaded no contest to the murders of David Spears, Charles Humphreys and Troy Burress.

This led to three further death sentences.

Aileen received a fifth death sentence in November 1992 for the murder of Charles Carskaddon.

She later received a sixth for the murder of Walter Antonio.

The body of Peter Siems was never found, so the state was unable to bring charges against Aileen.

During the trial, she was diagnosed as a psychopath with a borderline personality disorder.

Appeals

A request for a retrial was refused against the prosecution for the murder of Richard Mallory due to evidence of past sexual offences that wasn’t admitted at trial.

The evidence was uncovered by a Dateline reporter despite detectives denying there was any evidence of sex offences.

Aileen’s automatic appeal to the US Supreme Court was denied in 1994.

She claimed she was poorly advised at previous trials.

In 2001, she petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to terminate all pending appeals and dismiss her lawyers.

Aileen wanted to fast-track her execution due to increasing irrational accusations of sonic weapons attacking her body and mind.

She was also starving herself as she was convinced her food was being tampered with.

Execution

Aileen Wuornos died after being executed by lethal injection on October 9th 2002.

She declined her last meal and instead asked for a cup of coffee.

Aileen Wuornos last words were “Yes, I would just like to say I’m sailing with the rock and I’ll be back, like Independence Day, with Jesus. June 6, like the movie. Big mother ship and all. I’ll be back, I’ll be back.”

Media

The story of Aileen’s crimes has been the subject of numerous documentaries.

This is due to the rarity of women becoming serial killers.

The Charlize Theron movie ‘Monster’ told the story of Aileen from childhood until the Mallory trial.

It is based on the book Monster: My True Story (AD*), her story told in Aileen’s own words.

Theron won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the Aileen Wuornos movie.

Both the detectives and Tyria Moore sold their stories to media outlets and were subjects of book and movie deals.

The letters between Aileen and her close friend Dawn became the subject of the book Dear Dawn: Aileen Wuornos in Her Own Words (AD*)

Childhood and Family

Aileen Wuornos’ childhood may have played a part in her becoming a female serial killer.

She never met her father, Leo Dale Pittman, as he was in prison when she was born.

He was a convicted paedophile and committed suicide in prison.

Her mother, Diane Wuornos, abandoned her at the age of four, and she lived with her grandparents.

A young Aileen Wuornos was sexually active and began exchanging sex acts for money, drugs and cigarettes.

She was sexually abused by her grandfather and became pregnant by one of his friends.

In 1971, Aileen Wuornos gave birth to a son, and he was put up for adoption.

Her grandfather kicked her out of the house shortly after her grandmother’s death.

Aileen Wuornos’ brother, Keith Wuornos, died of esophageal cancer in 1976.

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