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Prostitute seeks new trial for murders By BILL THOMPSON of The Tampa Tribune
DADE CITY - Lawyers representing Aileen Carol Wuornos, the hitchhiking prostitute convicted earlier this decade of murdering six men in Central Florida, appeared Friday in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court seeking a new trial.Wuornos, 43, of Daytona Beach was sentenced to die in 1992 in Florida's electric chair for the slayings, carried out between December 1989 and November 1990. Wuornos' middle-age victims littered roadsides in Citrus, Dixie, Marion, Pasco and Volusia counties.
All had been shot to death with a .22-caliber pistol and found nude or partially nude.
Harry Brody, a lawyer from the state's Capital Collateral Regional Counsel in Tampa and the lead attorney in her appeal, said he's seeking a new trial because Wuornos received ineffective counsel during previous court appearances.
He declined to comment on any specifics, saying he only wants to ensure that Wuornos' constitutional rights were protected.
Brody said he expects to file a motion seeking a new trial by Jan. 15. Prosecutors would then have to respond, meaning a judge probably wouldn't rule on the matter until the spring.
The ``Damsel of Death,'' as Wuornos was dubbed, was convicted by a Volusia County jury in January 1992 for the murder of a Clearwater businessman, Richard Mallory. She subsequently pleaded guilty in the remaining cases.
Wuornos' story has been depicted in made-for-TV movies and in documentaries.
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