Aileen Wuornos By: Ayrianna Kalinski Melissa Saleh Ragih Murshed Aymen Shariff Gadi Bzeih Background Information ● Aileen Carol Wuornos was born on February 29, 1956 in Rochester, Michigan. ● Her early childhood was extremely traumatic. On several occasions, she had been sexually abused by her grandfather while living with her grandparents after she was thrown out of the house as a teenager. ● Her parents, Leo Dittman and Diane Wuornos, were troubled as well. Her mother was an alcoholic, and her father was schizophrenic while serving time in prison for child molestation. Background Information (Cont’d.) ● When Aileen was a teenager, she dropped out of high school, began engaging in promiscuous activity, and beared a child at just the young age of fourteen. ● Wuornos claimed that her brother Keith was the father of her child. ● Her son was later given up for adoption. ● In her late teens, Aileen lead a life of hitchhiking and prostitution which she continued to engage in Troy High School, the as she grew into an adult. high school Aileen attended for a short period of time. Background Information (Cont’d.) ● In the spring of 1986, Aileen met Tyria Moore outside a bar. Their relationship, at first, was platonic but they began dating later that year. However, their relationship ended in 1990 due to Tyria’s dislike of Aileen’s promiscuous behavior. Tyria Moore ● Before being sentenced the death penalty, in 2002, Aileen said that she identified as being a “Born Again Christian”. Legal Troubles ● Aileen had a previous history of legal troubles. ● Prior to becoming a convicted serial killer, she was arrested seven times. ● Over the course of her life, she had been charged with illegal possession of a firearm, forgery, assault, shoplifting, armed robbery, driving without a valid license, breaking- and-entering, resisting arrest, and obstruction of justice. Military Service ● Aileen had had no previous military service. Arrest Records ● In 1991, Wuornos was arrested and charged with first- degree murder of Richard Mallory, robbery with a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. ● Richard Mallory was the only murder that was sent to Richard court. Wuornos pleaded guilty to all other counts of Mallory murder during a no contest plea. ● During 1993-1994, Wuornos was charged with six death sentences. Although she pleaded guilty to all seven murders, police never found the body of Peter Siems. Therefore, Wuornos wasn’t charged with Siems murder. Peter Siems Forensic Techniques ● Aileen left behind fingerprints at a pawn shop where she frequently sold merchandise. ● During the investigation of Richard Mallory, police found Mallory belongings at a pawn shop with a receipt showing Wuornos thumb print. ● Fingerprints can be processed using two techniques: dusting and lifting or by the use of chemicals. ● Aileen had also used a .22 caliber pistol to execute her victims. ● As a result of firearms identification, analysts were able to match the striations on the bullet after it had been fired by comparing it to a sample. Forensic Techniques (Cont’d.) ● Furthermore, during 1986, Aileen and Tyria Moore were driving in a car that belonged to one of her victims. They later crashed, and they had to file an incident report with the police. ● When Tyria became aware of Aileen’s wrongdoings, she fled to Pennsylvania where her family lived but helped the police in convicting Aileen by agreeing to schedule a call with her. ● In the phone call, Aileen admitted that she was guilty of the murders. ● Aileen’s fingerprints would also be used against her when she left the fingerprints at the pawn shop where she worked. The fingerprints were then compared to those on her criminal record. Analysts subsequently ruled that the fingerprints were a match to the fingerprints on record. Modus Operandi (MO) ● Victims were often white males, and many of them were in their 40s and 50s (only two men were in their early 60s). ● She lured her victims with promises of sexual favors. ● After luring them, she robbed them of their personal belongings, including their cars. ● Wuornos would shoot her victims multiply times in the torso. Some victims were also found shot in the head or back. ● She disposed of the bodies in wooded areas and along interstate highways. ● Before murdering her victims, she also often robbed them of their personal belongings; so, that she could resell the items at a pawn shop she worked at. ● The cars of the victims were also often disposed not far from the location in which the bodies were disposed of. Status Today ● Before Aileen died, she stated that she was grateful that the electric chair was no longer a means of execution in the state of Florida while awaiting to be executed on death row. ● She died by lethal injection on October 9, 2002 at the Florida State Prison. Sources ● "Aileen Wuornos." Aileen Wuornos. 2014 Soylent Communications, 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. ● "Aileen Wuornos Childhood | Twisted Minds - A Website About Serial Killers." Twisted Minds A Website About Serial Killers RSS. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. ● Biography.com Editors. "Aileen Wuornos." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. ● "Aileen Wuornos." Criminal Minds Wiki. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. ● "The Case of Aileen Wuornos - The Facts | Capital Punishment in Context." The Case of Aileen Wuornos - The Facts | Capital Punishment in Context. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. ● "Florida Department of Corrections. Julie L. Jones, Secretary." Inmate Release Information Detail. 13 Oct. 2009. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. Sources ● http://murderpedia.org/female.W/w/wuornos-aileen-photos-8.htm ● https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:z3uIYambmaMJ:https: //www.tumblr.com/tagged/tyria%2Bmoore+&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us ● http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Wuornos,%20Aileen% 20_2008,%20spring_.pdf.