NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Aileen Wuornos

Aileen Carol Wuornos (born Aileen Carol Pittman) (February 29, 1956 – October 9, 2002) was an American prostitute and convicted serial killer who was sentenced to death by the state of Florida in 1992. She ultimately received five additional death sentences. Wuornos admitted to killing seven men, in separate incidents, all of whom she claimed raped her (or attempted to) while she was working as a prostitute. She was put to death via lethal injection on October 9, 2002. Aileen Wuornos. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Michigan. ... Rochester is a suburb of Detroit, Michigan located in Oakland County, Michigan. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Florida. ... Raiford is a town located in Union County, Florida. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... Lethal injection involves injecting a person with fatal doses of drugs to cause death. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... February 29th, or bissextile day, is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 306 days remaining. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Whore redirects here. ... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Lethal injection involves injecting a person with fatal doses of drugs to cause death. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

The early years

Aileen Carol Wuornos was born in Rochester, Michigan, to Diane Wuornos and Leo Dale Pittman. Her father, whom she never knew, was a psychopathic child molester who served time in Kansas and Michigan mental hospitals. He hanged himself in 1969 while in prison. Wuornos' mother, Diane, married Pittman when she was 15 and had two children. Aileen Wuornos's older brother, Keith, was born in 1955. Diane divorced Pittman less than two years into their marriage, a few months before her daughter was born. She abandoned her two children in 1960, leaving them in the care of their Finnish-born grandparents Lauri and Britta Wuornos, who raised them in Troy, Michigan. Lauri and Britta legally adopted the two children. Rochester is a suburb of Detroit, Michigan located in Oakland County, Michigan. ... See Also: Antisocial Personality Disorder Theoretically, psychopathy is a three-faceted disorder involving interpersonal, affective and behavioral characteristics. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Official language(s) none Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area Ranked 15th - Total 82,277 sq mi (213,096 kmÂ²) - Width 211 miles (340 km) - Length 417 miles (645 km) - % water 0. ... A psychiatric hospital (also called a mental hospital or asylum) is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ... It has been suggested that Suicide method be merged into this article or section. ... Troy is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Adoption is the legal act of permanently placing a child with a parent or parents other than the birth parents. ...

Wuornos claimed that her grandfather physically and sexually abused her as a child and her grandmother was an abusive alcoholic. In Lethal Intent, Sue Russell wrote that Wuornos was whipped with a belt by her grandmother. At the age of twelve, Wuornos and her brother Keith discovered that Lauri and Britta were not their biological parents. King Alcohol and his Prime Minister circa 1820 Alcoholism is the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the alcoholics normal personal, family, social, or work life. ...

Wuornos became pregnant at the age of thirteen. She also claimed to have had sex with multiple partners at a young age, including her brother. Upon giving birth to her child at a Detroit maternity home on March 23, 1971, she was banished from her family home and disowned by the community. The child was put up for adoption soon after birth. Wuornos was forced to take shelter in an abandoned car in the woods. Soon after she was sent to a home for unwed mothers. March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (83rd in leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ...

Britta Wuornos died in July 1971 (officially of liver failure, although Diane later accused Lauri of killing her). After their grandmother's death, Wuornos and her brother became wards of the court. Liver failure is the final stage of liver disease. ... In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. ...

Still at school, she began to work as a prostitute. She began using the alias Sandra Kretsch in May 1974. She was jailed in Jefferson County, Colorado for drunk driving, disorderly conduct, and firing a .22-caliber pistol from a moving vehicle. An additional charge of failing to appear in court was also filed when she left town ahead of her trial. Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area Ranked 8th - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 kmÂ²) - Width 280 miles (451 km) - Length 380 miles (612 km) - % water 0. ... Drunk driving (drink driving in the UK) or drinking and driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol (i. ...

She returned to Michigan, where on July 13, 1976, after an incident in which she threw a cue ball at a bartender's head, she was arrested in Antrim County and charged with assault and disturbing the peace. She was also served outstanding warrants for driving without a license and drinking in a motor vehicle. She was fined $105. July 13 is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 171 days remaining. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... A cue ball resting atop pool chalk In billiard games, the cue ball is usually the ball that a player must hit with the cue. ... Antrim County is a county located in the state of Michigan. ...

On July 17, 1976, her brother Keith died of throat cancer and Wuornos acquired $10,000 from his life insurance. Wuornos subsequently paid the $105 fine that was imposed upon her on August 4, 1976 and squandered the remaining money within two months on luxuries that included a new car, which she later wrecked. July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 167 days remaining. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Throat cancer is a common way of referring to some head and neck cancers, usually squamous cell carcinomas. ... Life insurance or life assurance is a contract between the policy owner and the insurer, where the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money upon the occurrence of the insureds death. ... August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

In late September of 1976, Wuornos hitchhiked to Florida. She was escorted by a wealthy seventy-six-year-old yacht club president named Lewis Fell. They married in 1976 and the news of their nuptials was printed in the local newspaper's society pages. However, Wuornos continually involved herself in confrontations at their local bar and was eventually sent to jail for assault. A month or so into their marriage, Fell had their marriage annulled. Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. ...

The middle years

On May 20, 1981, Wuornos was arrested in Edgewater, Florida, for armed robbery. She was consequently sentenced to prison on May 4, 1982 and released on June 30, 1983. On May 1, 1984 she was sentenced for attempting to pass forged checks at a bank in Key West. On November 30, 1985 she was named as a suspect in the theft of a pistol and ammunition in Pasco County. At this time, Wuornos had begun borrowing the alias Lori Grody from an aunt in Michigan. In December 1985, eleven days later, the Florida Highway Patrol cited Lori Grody (Wuornos) for driving without a valid license. May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (141st in leap years). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Edgewater is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Florida: Edgewater, Broward County, Florida Edgewater, Volusia County, Florida This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of Key West Key West is a city located in Monroe County, Florida. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pasco County is a county located in the state of Florida. ... The Division of the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), is a division of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles of the State of Florida, a state law enforcement agency with a primary duty to ensure the safety of the highways and roads of the state. ...

On January 4, 1986 Wuornos was arrested in Miami under her own name and charged with grand theft auto, resisting arrest, and obstruction by false information. Miami police had found a .38-caliber revolver and a box of ammunition in the stolen car. On June 2, 1986 Volusia County deputies detained Lori Grody (Wuornos) for questioning after a male companion accused her of pulling a gun in his car and demanding $200. Wuornos was found to be carrying spare ammunition, and a .22 pistol was discovered beneath the passenger seat she occupied. January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ... Motor vehicle theft is a crime of theft. ... June 2 is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Wuornos, now using the alias Susan Blahovec, was ticketed for speeding in Jefferson County, Florida just a week later. A few days after the Jefferson County incident, Wuornos met twenty-four-year-old Tyria Moore at a Daytona gay bar. They soon became lovers. Moore quit her job as a motel maid and allowed Wuornos to support them with her prostitution earnings. Despite their financial problems, Moore followed Wuornos from one cheap motel to another, and endured nights in old barns. Their romance dissipated within a year though they remained close friends and were inseparable for the next four years. Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. ... Tyria Moore at Aileen Wuornos trial . Tyria Moore (born 1965) is an American woman best known for her relationship with serial killer Aileen Wuornos. ... A gay bar is a drinking establishment which can vary in character as much as any other type of bar, but which caters exclusively or primarily to a gay and / or lesbian clientele. ...

In July 1987, Daytona Beach police had detained Moore and Susan Blahovec (Wuornos) for questioning on suspicion of hitting a man with a beer bottle. On December 18 that same year, Florida highway patrol cited Wuornos for walking on the interstate highway and possessing a suspended driver's license. In the Gregorian Calendar, December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years), at which point there will be 13 days remaining to the end of the year. ...

On March 12, 1988, under a new alias, Cammie Marsh Green, Wuornos accused a Daytona Beach bus driver of assault. She claimed that he had pushed her off the bus following an argument. Moore was listed as a witness to this incident. March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (72nd in leap years). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On July 23, 1988, Moore and Wuornos (using the Susan Blahovec alias) were accused by their Daytona Beach landlord of vandalizing their apartment. He claimed that they had ripped out the apartment's carpets and painted the walls dark brown without his permission. July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In November 1988, Susan Blahovec (Wuornos) launched a six-day campaign of threatening calls against a Zephyrhills supermarket, following an altercation over lottery tickets. Zephyrhills is a city located in Pasco County, Florida. ...

By 1989, Wuornos seldom traveled without a loaded pistol. She worked the bars and truck stops, supplementing her income from prostitution with theft. She allegedly began to talk with Moore about the many troubles in her life and her yearning for revenge. By this time, Moore and Wuornos were running into more financial problems.

The later years

The victims

Wuornos' first victim was store owner Richard Mallory in Palm Harbor, Florida, whom she murdered on November 30, 1989. Of the additional six victims, only five were found. Her other identified victims were Palm Harbor is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 1 day remaining // 1508 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year truce and cede several territories to Venice 1513... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... For the United States holiday, the Fourth of July, see Independence Day (United States). ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ...

Apprehension and sentencing

Wuornos was eventually identified when she and Moore were involved in an accident while driving a victim's car. She was apprehended a few months later. Wuornos cited self-defense for Mallory's murder, maintaining that he had attempted to rape her. She was convicted for his murder in January 1992 with help from Moore's testimony. When Wuornos was found guilty of the murder of Richard Mallory, she exclaimed at the jury "I'm innocent! I was raped! I hope you get raped! Scumbags of America!"

In November of the same year, Dateline NBC reporter Michele Gillens uncovered that Mallory had served ten years for violent rape in another state. Nevertheless, Wuornos was never given a re-trial. Current co-anchors Stone Phillips and Ann Curry. ...

On March 31, 1992, Wuornos pleaded no contest to the murders of Dick Humphreys, Troy Burress, and David Spears, saying she wanted to "get right with God." In her statement to the court, she averred "I wanted to confess to you that Richard Mallory did violently rape me as I've told you. But these others did not. [They] only began to start to." In June 1992, she pleaded guilty to the murder of Charles Carskaddon and received her fifth death sentence. In February of 1993, she plead guilty to the murder of Walter Gino Antonio. No charges were brought against her for the murder of Peter Siems, since his body was never found. In all, she received six death sentences. March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (91st in leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... In criminal trials in some common law jurisdictions, a plea of nolo contendere means that the defendant neither admits nor disputes the charge, and is an alternative to pleading guilty or not guilty. ...

Wuornos told several inconsistent stories about the killings she had committed. She admitted to killing seven men, in separate incidents. She claimed initially that all seven had raped her while she was working as a prostitute. Later, she recanted the claim of self-defense^[1].

During the trial, she was adopted by Arlene Pralle and her husband, after Pralle had a dream in which she was told to take care of Wuornos. According to Pralle, Jesus told her to write to Wuornos. Despite Pralle's help, her appeal to the Supreme Court was denied in 1996. The relationship was not to last, however, because Wuornos began to suspect that Pralle was only there for the publicity and the money. Wuornos told Nick Broomfield in an interview that Arlene Pralle and her then lawyer Steve Glazer were even telling her ways to kill herself in prison. Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest judicial body in the... Nick Broomfield with his famous sound boom and half-on headphones. ...

Execution

After her first death sentence, Wuornos often said she wanted "it all to be over." In 2001 she began fighting to be executed. She petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for the right to fire her legal counsel and stop all appeals, saying "I killed those men, robbed them as cold as ice. And I'd do it again, too. There's no chance in keeping me alive or anything, because I'd kill again. I have hate crawling through my system.... I am so sick of hearing this 'she's crazy' stuff. I've been evaluated so many times. I'm competent, sane, and I'm trying to tell the truth. I'm one who seriously hates human life and would kill again."^[2]. Some argued that she was in no state for them to honor such a request. The Florida Supreme Court is the highest court in the State of Florida. ...

Florida governor Jeb Bush instructed three psychiatrists to give Wuornos a fifteen-minute interview, from which all three judged her mentally fit to be executed. The test for competency requires that the psychiatrists are convinced that the condemned person [1] understands that he or she will die, and [2] understands what crimes he or she is being executed for. John Ellis Jeb Bush (born February 11, 1953), a Republican, is the forty-third and current Governor of Florida. ...

Wuornos later started accusing the prison guards of abusing her. She accused them of tainting her food, spitting on it, serving her potatoes cooked in dirt, and her food arriving with urine. She also accused them of overhearing conversations in "trying to get me so pushed over the brink by them I'd wind up committing suicide before the [execution]" and conversations "wishing to rape me before execution." She also complained of strip searches, being handcuffed so tightly that her wrists bruised any time she left her cell, door kicking and frequent window checks by guards, low water pressure, mildew on her mattress and "cat calling ... in distaste and a pure hatred towards me." Wuornos threatened to boycott showers and food trays when the eight officers are on duty. "In the meantime, my stomach's growling away and I'm taking showers through the cell of my sink."

Her attorney stated that "Ms. Wuornos really just wants to have proper treatment, humane treatment until the day she's executed," and "If the allegations don't have any truth to them, she's clearly delusional. She believes what she's written." [1]

During the final stages of the appeal process, she gave a series of interviews to Broomfield. In one interview, when she was not aware that the camera and sound equipment were recording her, Wuornos claimed that she was recanting her previous claims of self-defense because she "wanted to get it over with" and be executed. In her final interview, shortly before her execution, she claimed that her mind was being controlled by "sonic pressure" to make her appear crazy, and that she would be taken away by angels on a space ship ^[3]. When Broomfield attempted to get her to speak about how she had earlier claimed to have killed her victims in self-defense, Wuornos became livid, cursed Broomfield and terminated the interview. Broomfield later received a phone call from a friend of Wuornos', who told him, "She's sorry, Nick. She didn't give you the finger. She gave the media the finger, and then the attorneys the finger. And she knew if she said much more, it could make a difference on her execution tomorrow, so she just decided not to."^[4].

Wuornos had Kentucky Fried Chicken and fries for her last meal, according to Broomfield.

Post-mortem

After her execution, Aileen was cremated, and her ashes were taken by her childhood friend/ secret lover Dawn Botkins to her native Michigan and spread beneath a tree. The crematorium at Haycombe Cemetery, Bath, England. ...

She had requested that Natalie Merchant's song "Carnival" be played at her funeral. Natalie Merchant commented on this when asked why her song was played during the credits of the documentary Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer. Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne OShea Merchant (born October 26, 1963 in Jamestown, New York, USA) is a professional musician. ...

Wuornos was the tenth woman in the U.S. to be executed since the reintroduction of the death penalty in 1976 and the second woman ever executed in Florida. Tigerlily is an album by singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, released on June 20, 1995 (see 1995 in music). ... For information about the Record company see Death Row Records For information about the computer game see Deathrow (game) Death Row is a term which refers to the section of a prison that houses individuals awaiting execution. ...

Publicity

Within weeks of her arrest, Wuornos had engaged agents to sell the rights to her story as well as three of the law enforcement agents who were tracking her down. Inaccurately touted as "the first female serial killer," Wuornos' life has been documented in numerous books and portrayed in several films and television shows. Download high resolution version (475x705, 67 KB)Monster movie poster. ... Download high resolution version (475x705, 67 KB)Monster movie poster. ... Monster is a 2003 film about the life of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who was executed in 2002 for killing seven men in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ...

Nick Broomfield with his famous sound boom and half-on headphones. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Monster is a 2003 film about the life of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who was executed in 2002 for killing seven men in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... Charlize Theron (born August 7, 1975) is an Academy Award winning South African actress and former fashion model. ... Christina Ricci (born February 12, 1980) is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-nominated American actress. ... Tyria Moore at Aileen Wuornos trial . Tyria Moore (born 1965) is an American woman best known for her relationship with serial killer Aileen Wuornos. ... // The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to actresses, working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Jean Smart as Martha Logan in the television series, 24 Jean Smart (born September 13, 1951 [1][2] in Seattle, Washington) is an American film and television actress. ... 60 Minutes is an investigative television newsmagazine on United States television, which has run on CBS News since 1968. ... The term television channel generally refers to either a television station or its cable/satellite counterpart (both outlined below). ... For the Canadian channel, see CourtTV Canada The Courtroom Television Network, more commonly known as Court TV, is an American cable television network owned by Time Warner that launched on July 1, 1991. ... Diamanda GalÃ¡s, pictured in the early 2000s. ... Look up bitch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It Dies Today (formed in September, 2001) is a hardcore band based in Buffalo, New York. ... Obie Trice III (born November 14, 1977) is an African American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. ... Second Rounds On Me is the second album by rapper Obie Trice. ...

References

^ "Lady killer", The Guardian, 2001-08-02. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
^ Zarrella, John. "Wuornos' last words: 'I'll be back'", CNN, 2002-10-15. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
^ Broomfield, Nick. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (Film Summary). Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
^ Fuchs, Cynthia (2004-02-12). A Lot of Illegalness Going On. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
^ Transcript interview Nick Broomfield on Paula Zahn NOW. Voxant (2004-02-26). Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
^ Interview with Diamanda Galas. Terrorizer Magazine. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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