Katelyn Porter
Sociology 12
Mrs. Bonnell
October 22, 2013
Aileen Wuornos Many people assume that most serial killers are men. However, 46 year old American, Aileen Wuornos, has proven otherwise. In 1989-1990, she made herself remembered as the ‘First female serial killer in history”. She was a prostitute who killed her victims in what she claimed was self-defence. Aileen was born in 1956 and never met her father, as he was in jail at the time of her birth. He was a psychopathic molester. This left Aileen and her older brother to be cared for solely by their 17 year old mother. When Aileen was 4, her mother abandoned the family leaving the children to be adopted and raised by their maternal grandparents. While living with her grandparents, Aileen was sexually and physically abused by her grandfather. At 13, Aileen got pregnant and claimed that her brother Keith was the father. When the baby boy was born, he was immediately given up for adoption. The next few years consisted of engaging in sexual activities at school in return for food or drugs, continuous abuse at the hands of her grandfather and alcoholic grandmother and sexual relations with her brother. At the age of 14, following her grandmother’s death due to liver failure, Aileen dropped out of school and was kicked out of her home. This is the point where Aileen turned to prostitution. It is evident that her traumatic childhood was a contributing factor in her psychotic behaviour. She clearly developed hatred towards men based on the abuse she suffered as a child. The lack of care and love in her upbringing caused her to become a violent murderer. Often times, someone’s future relates back to their past. Certain moments and experiences can bring back similar memories from you’re childhood. In this case, experiences Aileen had once she left home brought back the negative and traumatic memories from her childhood. The outrageous treatment she experienced since an infant allowed her to portray an image among men and create such a forceful hate towards them. Her brother and grandfather
