Story of Aileen Carol Wuornos Who Is Serial Killer - Research Paper Example

Abnormal Psychology: Wuornos Aileen Carol Wuornos: Serial Killer American serial killer Aileen Carol Wuornos killed seven men in 1989 to 1990 in Florida and this led to her execution by lethal injection in October 9, 2002. She claims that her victims attempted to rape her and her acts were acts of self-defense. She was born on February 29, 1956 in Troy, Michigan to Diane Wuornos and Leo Dale Pittman, who married each other when Diane was only fifteen years old (Myers, et al 2005). Pittman regularly abused Wuornos and left her with one kid, Keith, while she was pregnant with Aileen. Both of them were alcoholics. They divorced even before Aileen was born (Hickey 2009). Dale Pittman was a convicted child molester and committed suicide in prison (Myers, et al 2005). Diane Wuornos, on the other hand, left her children to her parents – Britta and Lauri Wuornos. They both abused the kids as well, emotionally and physically. The grandfather proved to be harsher as he beat them even if their skin “was still raw from previous assaults”. Aileen sometimes wished that she weren’t born (Hickey 2009). Aileen’s aunt recounts that the child Aileen had so many behavioral problems that made schooling quite difficult. She had little friends and was a bit of a pyromaniac; in fact, she had burned a part of her face one time. She also had many visual and hearing problems. Her IQ was only 81 (Hickey 2009). Many people describe her as an incorrigible person, and had a temper. She did not socialize with her peers but always performed sexual acts with boys for loose change or cigarettes. She was labeled as a slut and whore and other derogatory names. She had no friends when she graduated in high school (Myers, et al 2005). She got pregnant at the age of thirteen and the father of her child was her grandfather’s friend. She had to put up the baby for adoption because she can’t raise a child. She was a regular alcohol drinker at age 12 and she ran away from home at age 15 (Myers, et al 2005). Her grandmother died, followed by her brother’s death. At this time, she wasn’t living with them but was always on the road, making money out of prostitution and panhandling (Hickey 2009). When she was 20, she moved to Florida and married a rich 69 year old man (Hickey 2009). The marriage only lasted for 60 days because the man is abusive. Her grandfather committed suicide then. She followed suit and shot herself in the stomach. Needless to say, she was unsuccessful. She had 6 attempts of suicide between her ages of 14 – 22. She also had unrealistic expectations this time, like, applying for a lawyer even if she did not have a college degree (Myers, et al 2005). She had many entanglements with law at this point in her life. She had been charged with auto theft, robbery, and disorderly conduct. She was working as a prostitute. She tells that she has been maced, raped and been beaten. She reported that she prostitutes herself 25-30 times a day (Hickey 2009). Then she met Tyria Moore. Moore became her first lesbian lover. Their relationship originally had been a sexual one but it had turned into a seemingly fraternal one. They moved in together, with Wuornos working as a prostitute and Moore keeping a regular job. It was during her life with Moore that she committed her crimes. Her life with Moore was filled with deceit, alcoholism, prostitution, transience (they moved from hotel to hotel) and violence. Wuornos always had this idea that she will become famous one day (Hickey 2009). She was heavily overweight when she was in her thirties. She attracted different kinds of men then. This was when her murders occurred. Richard Mallory was the first man to get killed, and Wuornos cited self-defense. He was a convicted rapist. His body was found with multiple bullet holes in a wooded area (Hickey 2009). This behavior of killing continued and she killed six more men: David Spears, Charles Carskaddon, Peter Siems, Troy Buress, Charles Humphreys and Walter Jeno Antonio (Myers, et al 2005). The method was this: Wuornos would stand by the road to prostitute then the victims, together with Wuornos, would drive themselves to a secluded area and continue to hug and kiss. Then when the men undress, Wuornos would go down the car and grab her belongings, shoot and kill the man. She would yell, “I knew you were going to rape me!” and shoot the man again until he dies. Then she would steal the men’s personal effects (Myers, et al 2005) After being arrested, she had been interviewed a lot of times, and at one time, she cited that she killed her victims because they refused to have sex with her (Myers, et al 2005). Diagnosis Wuornos meets the criteria for two DSM IV personality disorders: Antisocial Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder (APA, 2000). She has Antisocial Personality Disorder because she had a failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behavior; deceitfulness as indicated by lying; impulsivity and failure to plan ahead; irritability and aggressiveness; reckless disregard for safety of self and others; constant irresponsibility; and lack of remorse (Mayo Clinic). She has Borderline Personality Disorder because frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment as indicated by manipulative suicide attempts; a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation like her 60-day marriage; an identity disturbance with a persistently unstable self-image; impulsivity; recurrent suicidal behavior; affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood and inappropriate, intense anger and difficulty controlling it (Mayo Clinic). Treatment Theory and Goals Both antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorders are both behavioral (APA, 2000). They are both notoriously difficult to treat. They are both thought of being results of nature and nurture. Biologically speaking, it is plausible because Wuornos’ parents can be also antisocial (her father) and alcoholic. The environment she grew up in also contributed to her condition. However, since antisocial and borderline disorders are both behavioral diseases, they can be both treated in the same way. In fact, there is a twenty five percent chance (in the whole population) that antisocial personality disorder co-occurs with borderline personality disorder. It is incurable and will take lifetime treatment. Usually, the treatment starts with chemical therapy: drugs. These diseases can be controlled with the right drugs like antidepressant medications, mood-stabilizers, anti-anxiety medications and anti-psychotic medications (Mayo Clinic). These medications should always be appended with family therapy so that the family members should know how to treat and manage the patient. They will also be the ones to guide and nurture the patient so that the patient would not feel alone at all times. The most crucial and important aspect of the treatment program is the psychotherapy. This entails major behavior change as the psychiatrist treats the patient by changing the way he thinks. Also, the therapy is one of the most common and effective ways in treating behavioral problems. It involves uncovering the patients’ thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. Education is also incorporated in these therapy sessions. Types of therapy are cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic and supportive. Cognitive-behavioral approaches are usually undertaken, usually with supportive approach. To be more effective, the family is also taken into consideration, as in the supportive approach. References: American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR. Washington, DC: Author. Antisocial Personality Disorder (n.d.) Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/antisocial-personality-disorder/DS00829 Borderline Personality Disorder (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/borderline-personality-disorder/DS00442 Hickey, E. (2009). Serial Murderers and their Victims. Massachusetts: Wadsworth Publishing. Myers, W., Gooch, E., Reid, M. J. (2005). The Role of Psychopathy and Sexuality in a Female Serial Killer. Journal of Forensic Science Vol 50 Number 3. Retrieved from http://forensis.org/PDF/published/2005_TheRoleofPsycho.pdf Read More