For true-crime fans, her case is nothing new—her story has been told and analyzed countless times. Yet even those who may not know the details will likely recognize her haunting mugshots, which became some of the most chilling images from her years behind bars.
Before her arrest, Wuornos was living in Florida and working as a prostitute when she robbed, shot, and killed several men over the course of a single year, between 1989 and 1990. Her actions shocked the nation and earned her a place in criminal history.
Initially, Wuornos claimed she had acted in self-defense, saying the men had tried to assault her. However, by 1991, she confessed to multiple murders and was eventually sentenced to death by the Florida courts.
Her life came to an end on October 9, 2002, when she was executed by lethal injection at the age of 46. Even in her final days, her story continued to attract fascination and controversy.
As she faced her final moments, she declared: “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.”
Netflix has now taken a closer look at Wuornos’ turbulent life in its newly released documentary Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers, which attempts to understand what led her down such a violent path and what her story says about justice, trauma, and society’s response to female offenders.
Wuornos’ years on death row have always been a topic of fascination, partly because she didn’t fit the typical profile of a serial killer. Her case challenged long-held assumptions about gender, violence, and mental health within the criminal justice system.
Before her death, Wuornos also agreed to participate in another documentary made by filmmaker Nick Broomfield titled Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer, which offered a disturbing and personal glimpse into her final days and state of mind.
She insisted that the police had been tracking her all along and even suggested that law enforcement allowed her to keep killing in order to build a stronger case. These statements have been heavily debated, especially since she never provided any proof to support her claims.
While her allegations remain unverified, they continue to spark conversation about her mental health and whether she fully understood the consequences of her actions in her final years.
