Introduction
Female serial killers are frequent objects of scientific analysis. Women are believed to be profoundly different from men, but their intentions and acts often challenge popular conceptualizations of crime and deviance. The name of Aileen Wuornos and the story of her life have been popular topics of discussion in mass media and professional literature. Dozens of researchers and criminology scientists tried to understand the motives behind Wuornos’s murders. The roles of gender, sexuality, homosexuality, power and excitement have been examined in detail. Nevertheless, the real causes of crime and deviance in Aileen Wuornos’s remain poorly understood. This paper attempts to shed light on Aileen Wuornos’ figure of a serial killer and explain possible triggers of crime through the lens of her personal, psychological and social backgrounds. A combination of biological, psychological, and social control theories will help to create a complex picture of Wuornos’ motivations and their implications for crime.
Aileen Wuornos: Back in Time
Wuornos was born on February 29, 1956, in Michigan, in a troubled family of an alcoholic child molester and an alcoholic mother (Myers, Gooch & Meloy, 2005). Her father hung himself in a prison where he served a life sentence for raping a 7-year-old girl (Myers et al, 2005). Wuornos’s mother abandoned her early in life, and Aileen was supposed to live with her alcoholic grandparents (Myers et al, 2005). Her grandfather was physically abusive (Myers et al, 2005). Her grandmother was entirely passive and did not take any actions to stop physical abuse against Aileen (Myers et al, 2005). Emotional complexities and physical abuse caused severe behavioral disturbances in Aileen. Her IQ never exceeded 81 (Myers et al, 2005). She was diagnosed with at least one personality disorder and was urged to attend school counseling sessions, which never happened (Myers et al, 2005). At the age of 13, she became pregnant but was forced to give away her child for adoption (Myers et al, 2005). She developed an alcohol addiction at 12 and in 15 ran away from home (Myers et al, 2005). At the age of 20, she married a 69-year-old man but the marriage did not last long; the same year she lost her brother who died of cancer, and her grandfather committed suicide (Myers et al, 2005). Aileen herself had six suicide attempts between the ages of 15 and 22 (Myers et al, 2005). She was a prostitute and was arrested for various charges, from the influence of narcotics to shoplifting and even armed robbery (Myers et al, 2005). She developed a stable romantic relationship with Tyra Moore (Myers et al, 2005).
A brief description of murders
Wuornos committed her murders between December 1989 and November 1990 when she was finally arrested. At the time of arrest she was 34 years old (Myers et al, 2005). Wuornos killed seven men, all white and aged between 41 and 65 (Myers et al, 2005). All men were victims of opportunity, killed by multiple.22 caliber rounds, usually from 3 to 9 gunshots per victim (Myers et al, 2005). At least three of Wuornos’s victims were left nude, somewhere in wooden areas and at a distance from state and interstate highways (Myers et al, 2005). Most victims had their money and possessions stolen by Wuornos (Myers et al, 2005). In light of all these controversies, it comes as no surprise that Aileen Wuornos remains an extremely intriguing figure (McLeod, n.d.). Her lesbian identity was a frequent object of criminological analysis (Robson, 1997). This is one of the reasons why the most important elements of Wuornos’s image of a serial killer remain poorly understood. Biological, psychological, and social control perspectives can facilitate the analysis of Wuornos’s personality and her motivation for the crime.
Aileen Wuornos: Biological, Psychological, and Social Control Theories
Biological theories of crime suggest that criminal acts and intentions are rooted in biological mechanisms. Biological theories help to explain the link between genetics and crime. According to Siegel (2010), researchers examined the heritability of criminal intentions and deviant behaviors in individuals and concluded that parental deviance could raise the likelihood of misbehaviors and law violations in children later in life. “A number of studies have found that parental criminality and deviance do, in fact, have a powerful influence on delinquent behavior” (Siegel, 2010, p.143). Genetic influences and parental deviance help to explain the roots and consequences of Wuornos’s criminal behaviors. Aileen Wuornos is, by all means, a product of complex biological influences. Her father was a kidnapper and child molester (Giannangelo, 2006). He was a predator and the main source of violence and intimidation in his family (Giannangelo, 2006). Aileen had never been his daughter but he planted a seed of violence in her (Giannangelo, 2006). Wuornos exemplifies the case of intergenerational violence and antisocial conduct, whose roots and mechanisms are yet to be understood (Giannangelo, 2006). Aileen’s parents’ substance-abusing behaviors could have caused genetic problems related to cognitive and emotional impairment (Siegel, 2010). Parental deviance could predict severe difficulties in Aileen’s mental development: her IQ could never reach higher than 81 and she was diagnosed with a personality disorder (Myers et al, 2005). Aileen was growing in the family environment, where autonomy and independence were the products of continued abuse and violence (Picart, 2006). Wuornos’s violence was a natural response to parental deviance and misbehaviors, which Aileen witnessed early in life.
Biological factors alone cannot explain the complex motives of Wuornos’s crimes. Apparently, childhood experiences and trauma caused profound psychological effects on her mental, moral, cognitive, and emotional development as an adult. She lacked attachment with her parents and significant others and, consequentially, failed to develop trust and respect for others (Siegel, 2010). She became impulsive and faced difficulties in school (Siegel, 2010). She found it extremely problematic to create and sustain stable romantic relationships (Siegel, 2010). Eventually, she developed a few personality disorders that were detected and diagnosed after her arrest. Wuornos met the criteria for two personality disorders: first, she was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder; second, she met the criteria for borderline personality disorder (Myers et al, 2005). She demonstrated emotional features and behaviors characteristic of psychopaths (Myers et al, 2005). She was impulsive and frantic, irritable and aggressive (Myers et al, 2005). Wuornos demonstrated blind disregard for security and safety of self and others (Myers et al, 2005). She lacked any remorse for having killed seven innocent men (Myers et al, 2005).
Certainly, the case of a madwoman killing seven males stirred the hearts and minds of committed feminists. Dozens of studies were conducted in an attempt to reconsider Aileen’s madness from a feminist perspective. Chan (2001) writes that women and men respond to stressful events in different ways. Young (1996) suggests that Wuornos’s madness is just a convenient way to reestablish the longstanding vision of incompatibility of femininity and sanity. However, that Aileen met the criteria for several personality disorders was obvious. Her murders and sadistic intentions had little to do with the historical oppression of women in a patriarchal society. Wuornos was one of the most dangerous female serial killers in the history of America. She was a complex product of biological and psychological childhood influences.
Social control theory can add to the current knowledge of Aileen Wuornos and her crimes. “Social control theories maintain that all people have the potential to violate the law and that modern society presents many opportunities for illegal activity” (Siegel, 2010, p.226). Social control theories rely on two essential premises: containment (external factors of crime) and neutralization (inner values and self-image) (Matza, 1964). In Aileen Wuornos, neutralization mechanisms came in a variety of forms. That she could get what she wanted without following laws and prescribed behaviors Aileen learnt early in life: she used sex and prostitution as the easiest way to earn money, get drugs and alcohol (Myers et al, 2005). She assumed no responsibility or remorse for having killed seven men. Wuornos devised complex strategies to justify her crimes. She claimed that her first victim, Richard Mallory, tried to rape her and she had to protect herself (Dodge & Bates, 1990). Later she said that he did not try to rape her but, instead, told her he had been sentenced for rape (Dodge & Bates, 1990). Most probably, he simply added to her childhood memories of violence and abuse, thus enabling her to murder him (Dodge & Bates, 1990). At times, she claimed she wanted to protect families of her victims from the risks of violence and abuse (Dodge & Bates, 1990). Finally, upon confessing, Aileen said she did so only to retain her relationship with Tyra and make sure the latter was not blamed for murders she had never committed (Dodge & Bates, 1990). Those, however, were complex signs of Aileen’s mental and emotional disturbances, all of which had their roots in her childhood experiences. The lack of social control and self-image merely escalated and supported her motivation for violent crimes.
Aileen Wuornos is, probably, one of the most complex cases in the history of the American criminal justice system. She drew national attention to the fact that women could be as aggressive and violent as men (Jacobs, 2011). Her adolescence was extremely painful and misbalanced. She lacked parental attachment and control. She experienced physical and emotional abuse. The history of sexual abuse and violence in her family added to the burden of emotional and cognitive problems in Aileen. Her murders were compound products of multiple genetic, psychological, and social influences. She was a psychopathic type of personality. She had several personality disorders and failed to establish close relationships with anyone but Tyra. Her sadistic intentions and willingness to kill led her to imprisonment. Death sentence was a logical response to her crimes. Before a lethal injection was used to execute her in 2002, Aileen Wuornos said: “I’d 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” (Squires, 2002). Why Wuornos cited June 6 in her words will forever remain a mystery.
Conclusion
Aileen Wuornos is rightly considered as one of the most dangerous female serial killers in the history of America. Much has been written and said about her sexual identity and its implications for crime. Despite the growing body of literature about Wuornos, the real causes of her crimes and violence remain poorly understood. Most probably, Aileen Wuornos’s crimes were complex products of multiple biological, psychological, and social influences. She had a family history of deviance and sexual abuse. She met criteria for two personality disorders. She lacked parental attachment and control. Death sentence was the most logical response to Wuornos’s crimes.
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