A Bad Beginning:

Aileen Wuornos was born outside of Detroit, Michigan in 1956 to a teenage mother. Her mother, Diane Wuornos, was 15 years old when she married Aileen's father, Leo Dale Pittman on June 3, 1954. Wuornos never met her father, because he was in prison for the rape and attempted murder of an eight-year-old boy when she was born. Leo Pittman was considered to be a schizophrenic, who was convicted of sex crimes against children., was in and out of prison and hanged himself in prison in 1969. Aileen and her brother were raised by her maternal grandparents.

Unhappy Childhood:
Aileen burned herself at age 6 while playing with lighter fluid and the facial scars remained her whole life. Aileen was described as incorrigible and had a fighting temper. Her anger often broke out unpredictably and frequently unprovoked. Aileen isolated herself from her peers and would only socialize when she was engaging in sexual activities in exchange for cigarettes or
loose change from boys. She didn't have many friends and ended up pregnant at age 14. She was sent to an unwed mother's home and her baby was put up for adoption.

Hitchin' and Hookin':
Shortly after her baby's birth, Aileen's grandmother died. At the age of 20, Aileen was married to a man 50 years her senior which lasted for a month until he filed for divorce. The divorce was caused by Aileen's heavy consuming of alcohol and spending a lot of money. Aileen's husband not only filed for divorce from Aileen, but he also filed a restraining order against her. He claimed that Aileen was abusive by beating him with his own cane. Aileen, going by the name Lee, dropped out of school, left home and took up prostitution. In the next few years, her beloved brother died of cancer, her grandfather killed himself and Lee, hitch hiked to Florida.


Fast Cash:
Lee received $10,000 from her brother's life insurance She blew it in two months and had nothing to show for it. In May 1981 she was arrested for holding up a convenience store. She continued to turn tricks and live a day-to-day existence.

Lesbian Life:
Lee met 24-year-old Tyria Moore at a Daytona gay bar. Lee turned tricks to support them. Although the relationship started out loving, it quickly turned volatile. Yet, it was quite possibly the best Lee had ever known. The two moved from seedy motel to seedy motel, barely eking out an existence.

Serial Killer:
Aileen began to prostitute full time as a career at a gentlemen's club in Florida and was forced to leave when she reached the age of 30 due to aging. She then began a career of street prostitution. Aileen would post on the highway of Florida, waiting for someone to stop and offer her a ride.[15]When Aileen was in the vehicle, she would immediately reveal to the driver that she was a prostitute, and that she needed money. Most of the money that Aileen obtained went to alcohol, marijuana, and drugs. When Aileen and the victims compromised the sex exchange, she would lure the victims to park in secluded areas, and encourage them to undress. As soon as they got undressed, she jumped out of the vehicles, and screamed "I knew you were going to rape me!" as she shot them to death.
In December 1989 the body of 51-year-old Richard Mallory was found in the woods north of Daytona Beach. He had been shot three times. It was the first of six bodies that would turn up before Lee was caught.

The bodies pile up:
After Lee killed her victims, she stole their cars and money and pawned their belongings. Eventually Lee was caught by police on January 9, 1991 at The Last Resort, a biker bar in Harbor Oaks, Florida. Her lover Tyria Moore was found a day later at her sister's house in Pennsylvania.

Convicted:
Moore cooperated with police and got Wuornos to confess to the killings. Tyria testified against Wuornos at her trial. Lee Wuornos was convicted of killing Richard Mallory in January 1992, even though she claimed self-defense. It never came out at the trial, but in November of that year, Dateline NBC reporter Michele Gillens discovered Mallory had served 10 years for violent rape in another state. Wuornos never got a re-trial.

Sentenced to Die:
Wuornos confessed to killing three other men and was sentenced to die. Although she has been called the first female serial killer, she was not.

A final Strange Twist:
After seeing Wuornos on television, 44-year-old born-again Christian Arlene Pralle felt compelled to contact Aileen. She claimed Jesus told her to do so. Pralle quickly became an outspoken advocate of Wuornos, speaking with her daily and claiming her innocence on tabloid talk shows. Pralle eventually legally adopted Wuornos as her daughter. In the end, though, both Moore and Pralle abandoned Wuornos.

Wuornos was executed by legal injection on October 9, 2002. Her final words in the on-camera interview were "Thanks a lot, society, for railroading my ass."

The 2004 movie Monster portrays her life. Charlize Theron plays Wuornos and Christina Ricci plays Moore.

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