3-2 Final Project Milestone One

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3-2 Final Project Milestone One 1 3-2 Final Project Milestone One Tiffany White PSY-310 Southern New Hampshire University November 11, 2023

3-2 Final Project Milestone One 2 Summary Aileen Wuornos was born in Rochester, Michigan, on February 29, 1956, where she endured psychosocial trauma with her family. Her father, was convicted of child molestation, took his own life in prison, leading to her mother abandoning Aileen and her brother, Keith. Raised by their neglectful and alcoholic grandparents, Wuornos encountered a challenging family environment from an early age. Wuornos claims her grandfather participated in the sexual abuse. She became pregnant at 14 and gave the child up for adoption. In the mid-1970s, Wuornos struggled to survive, engaging in sex work and facing legal issues. “Having been involved in previous incidents with the law, she made a living as a sex worker on Florida's highways, and in 1989, she killed a man who had picked her up.” (Biography.Com Editors, 2021) After a brief marriage to yacht club president Lewis Fair, she continued a destructive path of crime and violence. In 1986, she entered a volatile relationship with Tyria Moore. From late 1989 to 1990, Wuornos murdered seven men along Florida highways. She was arrested in January 1991, and tracked down through fingerprints and palm prints. Moore made a deal with the authorities, securing Wuornos's confession and accepting sole responsibility for the murders. “In 1992 she was convicted of one of the murders and sentenced to death. She later pleaded guilty to three more of the murders and admitted that she had killed for profit and not in self-defense. She was executed by lethal injection.” (Jenkins, 2023) It seems plausible that Aileen Wuornos was motivated to commit the series of murders by the profound and enduring trauma she experienced throughout her life. The crimes she committed were serial, targeting multiple men along Florida highways from late 1989 to 1990. “Serial

3-2 Final Project Milestone One 3 murder, the unlawful homicide of at least two people carried out by the same person (or persons) in separate events occurring at different times.” (Jenkins, 2023) Wuornos's troubled upbringing, marked by sexual abuse, parental abandonment, and a dysfunctional family environment, played a pivotal role in shaping her psychological state. Her turbulent adolescence, coupled with a tumultuous adulthood involving criminal activities and violent incidents, suggests a pattern of psychological distress. It is conceivable that the murders served as an outlet for Wuornos's deep- seated anger, a way to exert control, or perhaps a form of revenge against those she perceived as threats. The choice of victims and the brutal nature of the crimes may point to a complex interplay of psychological factors, including a distorted sense of power and control. “In many cases, the killings are thought to give murderers a feeling of power—which may or may not be sexual in nature—over their victims.” (Jenkins, 2023) Crime Assessment Comparing the case of Aileen Wuornos to others similar to hers, several compelling parallels and intriguing distinctions come to light. Jane Toppan is a good example of this, both women grappled with tumultuous childhoods characterized by abandonment, abuse, and familial dysfunction. Early indicators of psychological distress manifested differently in each, with Wuornos contending with alleged sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy, “Wuornos would later state that she was sexually abused by her grandfather and had sexual relations with her brother.” (Biography.Com Editors, 2021) and Toppan exhibiting signs of turmoil following a broken engagement. “Soon after the death of Mrs. Gibbs, Jane returned to Lowell in an attempt to woo her brother-in-law, O.A. Brigham.” (Lowell Historical Society, 2022) Notably, both embarked on careers involving intimate contact with vulnerable individuals—Wuornos in sex work and

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3-2 Final Project Milestone One 4 Toppan as a private nurse. Their journeys into criminality, spanning offenses from assault and robbery to murder, reflect a disconcerting evolution in their adult lives. Deceptive tactics played a pivotal role in both cases. Wuornos resorted to using aliases, while Toppan manipulated the symptoms of her poisonings to obscure detection. However, nuances emerge in their methods and motivations. Wuornos gained notoriety for shooting her victims along highways, whereas Toppan employed poison as her weapon of choice. While Wuornos's motives are multifaceted, entwined with her traumatic past, mental health struggles, and criminal endeavors, “She later pleaded guilty to three more of the murders and admitted that she had killed for profit and not in self-defense. She was executed by lethal injection.” (Jenkins, 2023) Toppan's motivations remain somewhat enigmatic “Jane Toppan couldn’t resist that excitement, and admitted she aspired “to have killed more people — helpless people — than any other man or woman who ever lived.” (New England Historical Society, 2023). Both cases underscore profound psychological disturbance, adept manipulation, and a disturbing pattern in victim selection. Wuornos targeted vulnerable men, potentially exploiting her clients within the context of sex work, while Toppan preyed on patients under her care. The crimes share a common thread of asserting power and control, with Wuornos wielding dominance through violence and Toppan holding sway over life and death via poison. “In many cases, the killings are thought to give murderers a feeling of power—which may or may not be sexual in nature—over their victims.” (Jenkins, 2023) In unraveling the motivations, it becomes evident that the intersection of early trauma, psychological complexities, and criminal inclinations significantly contributed to propelling these individuals toward committing heinous acts.

3-2 Final Project Milestone One 5 References: Biography.Com Editors, Biography. C. E. (2021). Aileen Wuornos: Biography, Serial Killer, charlize theron monster. Aileen Wuornos An abused child who later earned her living as a sex worker, Aileen Wuornos was found guilty of killing six men and was later executed in a Florida prison. https://www.biography.com/crime/aileen-wuornos Jenkins, P. J. (2023a, October 5). Aileen Wuornos. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aileen-Wuornos Jenkins, P. J. (2023b, October 31). Serial murder. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/serial-murder Lowell Historical Society, L. H. S. (2022, October 29). Lowell’s ties to “Jolly” jane, Massachusetts’ female serial killer. https://www.lowellhistoricalsociety.org/lowells-ties-to-jolly- jane-massachusetts-female-serial-killer/ New England Historical Society, N. E. H. S. (2023, October 28). Jolly Jane Toppan, the killer nurse obsessed with death. JOLLY JANE TOPPAN, THE KILLER NURSE OBSESSED WITH DEATH She got her kicks out of murdering her patients. https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/jolly-jane-toppan-killer-nurse-obsessed-death/ SNHU. (2023). Psy 310 final project scenario serial murder. PSY 310 Final Project Scenario Serial Murder - Southern New Hampshire University. https://learn.snhu.edu/d2l/lor/viewer/view.d2l?ou=6606&loIdentId=25056

3-2 Final Project Milestone One 6 Staff, C. M. (2021, November 9). Jane Toppan. https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime- library/serial-killers/jane-toppan/

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