Meet Aileen Wuornos, The Woman Behind Netflix’s True-Crime Doc ‘Aileen: Queen Of The Serial Killers’

The Halloween season is officially here, and Netflix is all prepared to spook its viewers – not with ghosts, but with real-life horrors that are far more sinister than classic horror stories. Leading its lineup of bone-chilling releases is Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers, a gripping true-crime documentary that dives deep into the twisted psyche of America’s most notorious female serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, infamously dubbed the ‘Damsel of Death’.

Forget haunted houses and supernatural scares; this Halloween, the streaming giant turns the spotlight on the evil that once lurked in plain sight, on the terrifying reality of human darkness. With its latest addition to the true-crime sphere, Netflix explores how a woman’s life of trauma, rage, and survival spiralled into a mind-numbing killing spree.

Meet Aileen Wuornos, the woman who redefined America’s image of a serial killer

Between 1989 and 1990, Aileen Wuornos embarked on a terrifying killing spree that changed the way America once understood evil. Over the span of one year, the ‘Damsel of Death’ took the lives of seven men across central Florida, all motorists aged between 40 and 65. Aileen, who worked as a sex worker, later claimed to have acted out of self-defence. 

According to Capital Punishment in Context, Wuornos robbed all her victims and stole their cars, depositing most of their belongings in pawnshops. After her arrest in 1991, she was sentenced to death the next year for six of the murders. A decade later, she was executed by lethal injection in 2002.

What was Aileen’s childhood like? Inside her tragic life that spiralled into unimaginable violence

Born in Michigan in 1956, Aileen’s childhood life was marked by years of abuse, abandonment, and instability. Her father was reportedly a convicted child rapist who died by suicide in prison. She was only four years old when her mother abandoned her and her brother, leaving them in the care of their grandparents, where she suffered years of physical torture and sexual abuse. 

After a decade of unimaginable abuse, 14-year-old Aileen found herself pregnant with a baby after being molested by a family acquaintance. After the baby was born, he was given up for adoption. Not long after this, she was kicked out of her grandfather’s house at age 15. All alone with nowhere to go, Aileen began living in the woods and eventually turned to prostitution for survival. What followed was a lifetime was petty crimes, volatile relationships, and a growing rage towards men, which would eventually manifest in her trail of murders.

Who were Aileen’s victims?

As is common with most serial killers, Aileen’s victims also shared several key traits. Her victims were all middle-aged men, typically aged between 40 and 65, who mostly encountered her through her occupation as a sex worker. Most of these men were blue-collar workers with jobs in travel, sales, or security, and were often alone while on the road. Wuornos reportedly met them while hitchhiking or offering prostitution. 

Aileen’s very first known victim was identified as Richard Mallory, a 51-year-old electronics store owner and a convicted rapist, whom she killed in December 1989. Months later, in May 1990, she would find her second victim, David Spears, a 43-year-old construction worker from Winter Garden, Florida. Not long after this, 40-year-old part-time rodeo worker Charles Carskaddon became the ‘American Boogywoman’s third victim. 

In June 1990, Aileen Wuornos targeted her fourth victim, Peter Siems, a 65-year-old retired merchant seaman. Although his body was never recovered, investigators found his abandoned car bearing Wuornos’s palm print, linking her directly to the crime. Her fifth victim was 50-year-old sausage salesman, Troy Burress, followed by 56-year-old former police chief and retired Air Force major, Dick Humphreys. Her seventh and last victim was Walter Antonio, a 60-year-old trucker and security guard whom she killed in November 1990.

Inside Aileen’s arrest and confession

After leaving a trail of bodies across central Florida, Aileen Wuornos’ downfall began when investigators found her fingerprints in a victim’s car, along with some pawned items belonging to the previously murdered men. After a nationwide manhunt for the notorious ‘Damsel of Death’, Wuornos was arrested in January 1991.

Police located Aileen’s girlfriend, Tyria Moore, and convinced her to help reach out to Aileen. The resulting taped confession, obtained through Moore, remains one of the most haunting elements of the case. On the call, after Moore tearfully told Wuornos that police were coming after her, the latter could be heard, her voice strained in emotion:

“I’m not gonna let you go to jail. Ty, I love you. If I have to confess everything just to keep you from getting in trouble, I will.”

Revisiting the ‘First Female Serial Killer’ through Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers

Netflix’s upcoming documentary, Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers, takes viewers back into the disturbing psyche of America’s notorious ‘Damsel of Death’, and her menacing grin that can make the bravest look away. Directed by Emily Turner and produced by BBC Studios in collaboration with NBC News Studios, the film promises never-before-heard audio and unseen footage, including Aileen’s own death row interviews.

The documentary examines how Aileen became who she was, not as an excuse for her crimes, but to explore her twisted psyche and motivation, resulting from years of trauma and mental strain. Turner shared:

“Aileen said, ‘I’m going to talk to you about the truth of my crimes,’ and from watching this interview, a very different version of her comes through — contradictory, very human, at times quite disturbing.”

Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers premieres globally on Netflix on October 30, 2025. This isn’t just another retelling of a killer’s rampage, but a deep dive into a damaged mind turned deadly.

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