Her teenaged parents divorced shortly before her birth. Aileen, known as Lee, and he brother Keith went to live with their maternal grandparents.

Their father hung himself in prison in 1969, and their mother moved to Texas. The children believed that Lauri and Britta Wuornos were their parents until Aileen was about twelve.

SHe and her brother became rebellious and incorrigible, and Aileen became pregnant at thirteen.

Her grandmother died shortly thereafter. Aileen placed the baby for adoption and left Troy, MI for warmer climes, becoming a hitchhiking prostitute.

She became involved in petty crime, as well, and had a short lived marriage before meeting Tyria Moore in a gay bar in Daytona, FL.

Tyria quit her job as a hotel maid, and moved in with Aileen, who supported them by prostitution. Money became tight,and Aileen turned to robbery and murder.

She robbed and killed seven men. Aileen was convicted of the death Richard Mallory, and received a death sentence.

She then recanted her self defense story, and pled guilty to the other killings.

Her former lover Tyria was instrumental in Aileen's decision to plead guilty, and Tyria's betrayal may have been the last blow Aileen's psyche could endure.

Alieen was executed by the State of Florida on Oct 9, 2002. Her execution sparked a great deal of controversy, and many people, including documentarian Nick Broomfield, publicly questioned the decision to execute a woman whom many felt was clearly mad.

Mr. Broomfield went on to produce two documentaries on Aileen: "The Selling of a Serial Killer" and "Aileen-The Life and Death of a Serial Killer."

The Aileen Wuornos case was also the subject of the motion picture "Monster".