Florida has a weird relationship with its villains. We’ve got the heat, the swamps, and the kind of crimes that make the rest of the country stare at their news feeds in disbelief.
But when people talk about a female serial killer in Florida, they almost always mean one person: Aileen Wuornos.
She wasn't some refined "Black Widow" sipping arsenic in a tea parlor. She was a hitchhiker with a .22-caliber revolver and a lot of rage. Honestly, the way she’s been turned into a pop-culture icon is kinda bizarre. Between 1989 and 1990, Wuornos killed seven men along the state’s highways. She didn't use poison or "womanly wiles." She shot them.
The Reality of the Female Serial Killer in Florida
The media loves a tidy label. They called her "America's first female serial killer." That’s actually a total lie. Women had been killing in streaks long before she showed up. Judy Buenoano—the "Black Widow" who was executed in Florida just a few years before Aileen—is a perfect example. Buenoano used arsenic and even blew up a car.
Wuornos was different because she killed like a man.
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Most female killers target people they know: husbands, kids, patients. Wuornos targeted strangers. She worked as a prostitute along I-75 and other major Florida arteries. The men she killed were "johns" who picked her up.
Here is the list of men who crossed paths with her and never went home:
- Richard Mallory: The first. A store owner.
- David Spears: A construction worker found in Citrus County.
- Charles Carskaddon: A rodeo worker shot nine times.
- Troy Burress: A salesman missing for a week before his body turned up.
- Charles "Dick" Humphreys: A retired police chief and child-abuse investigator.
- Walter Antonio: A trucker found in Dixie County.
- Peter Siems: A 65-year-old whose body was never found, though his car was.
Why the "Self-Defense" Argument Still Sparks Debates
Wuornos never denied the killings. Not really. Her defense was basically: "They tried to rape me."
She claimed Richard Mallory, her first victim, was a violent sex offender. It turns out she was actually right about that part—Mallory had a history of attempted rape. But the courts didn't care. Under Florida’s "Williams Rule," the prosecution brought in her other murders to show a pattern of robbery, not defense.
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Basically, the jury saw a woman who was tired of being a victim and decided to become the predator.
Life wasn't kind to her. She was abandoned by her mom. Her grandfather was allegedly abusive. She was pregnant at 14. By the time she hit the Florida highways, she was already broken. Psychiatrists later diagnosed her with Borderline Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder. Her PCL-R score—a common tool to measure psychopathy—was a 32. For context, anything over 30 is considered a "classic" psychopath.
The Arrest at The Last Resort
She didn't go down in a blaze of glory.
Police caught her at a biker bar called "The Last Resort" in Volusia County. It was January 1991. They didn't even have her for the murders yet; they picked her up on an outstanding warrant for carrying a concealed weapon under the name Lori Grody.
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The real betrayal came from Tyria Moore. Moore was Aileen’s girlfriend and the person she claimed to be "doing it all for." Under police guidance, Moore made phone calls to Wuornos, crying and pleading for her to confess so Moore wouldn't get in trouble. It worked. Aileen confessed to protect the only person she thought loved her.
Beyond Wuornos: Other Florida Names You Should Know
While Aileen gets the movies and the documentaries, she isn't the only female serial killer in Florida history. The Sunshine State has seen a few women who were arguably more "successful" at staying under the radar.
- Judy Buenoano: Executed in 1998. She killed her husband, her son, and a boyfriend. She was all about the life insurance money. She even tried to blow up her fiancé with a car bomb.
- Christine Falling: Known as the "Killer Babysitter." Between 1980 and 1982, she killed several children in her care. She claimed she heard voices telling her to "kill the baby." She’s currently serving life in prison at the Lowell Correctional Institution.
Actionable Insights for True Crime Researchers
If you're looking into the history of these cases, don't just watch the movies. Monster is a great film, but it takes creative liberties. To get the real story:
- Read the Court Transcripts: The Florida Supreme Court files for Wuornos v. State or Buenoano v. State are public record. They lay out the evidence without the Hollywood "glam."
- Look at the Williams Rule: This is a specific piece of Florida law that allows prosecutors to use "collateral crimes" to prove a defendant’s intent. It’s the reason Wuornos was convicted so quickly.
- Study the Victimology: Most people focus on the killer. If you look at the victims of female serial killers in Florida, you’ll see a massive divide between those who kill for "pecuniary gain" (money) and those who kill out of "reactive rage."
Aileen Wuornos was executed on October 9, 2002. Her last words were some strange rambling about a mothership and Jesus. She was 46. Whether you see her as a cold-blooded killer or a victim of a system that failed her, she remains the most studied woman in Florida's criminal history.
To truly understand the legal precedents set by these cases, one should examine the 1992 11th Circuit Court ruling on Buenoano's habeas corpus petition, which details the use of toxicological evidence in arsenic cases. Additionally, researching the Florida Department of Corrections execution records provides the most accurate timelines for the conclusion of these high-profile capital cases.