Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2004;22(3):375-93.
doi: 10.1002/bsl.583.

Serial murder and the case of Aileen Wuornos: attachment theory, psychopathy, and predatory aggression

Bruce A Arrigo  1 , Ayanna Griffin
Affiliations
Case Reports

Serial murder and the case of Aileen Wuornos: attachment theory, psychopathy, and predatory aggression

Bruce A Arrigo et al. Behav Sci Law. 2004.

Abstract

The extant research on female homicide has yet to offer any systematic assessment of why women murder serially. Part of the explanation is attributed to existing literature focusing on justifiable and excusable homicide, or women who kill their abusive partners because they have been battered, fear that their lives are in danger, or are otherwise victimized. Thus, predatory homicide perpetrated by women has not received extensive attention in the relevant literature. This article aims to address this deficiency by providing a detailed case study analysis of Aileen Wuornos, a convicted serial murderer executed at Broward Correctional Institution in Pembroke Pines, FL, on October 9, 2002. By linking the literature on attachment theory with the research on psychopathy and predatory aggression, this article argues that Aileen Wuornos was a cold blooded and calculated killer: a serial offender responsible for her delinquent and criminal behavior. Generalizing from the case of Aileen Wuornos, several tentative recommendations are proposed as linked to clinical and forensic prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as future research on women, psychopathy, and predatory serial homicide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Grievance-fueled sexual violence.
    Higgs T, Darjee R, Davis MR, Carter AJ. Higgs T, et al. Front Psychol. 2023 Mar 14;14:1070484. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1070484. eCollection 2023. Front Psychol. 2023. PMID: 36998362 Free PMC article.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources