So, I wanted to do something a little bit different for my 70th true crime post on my blog and instead of focusing on one case, I thought it would be an interesting idea to make a compilation of five cases. In this post I will briefly visit each of the cases where a female has been the culprit (or co-partner) in a series of cold blooded murders.
Obviously there are quite a number of high profile female murderers in the world, past and present but I have selected just five that come to my mind. I hope you find this post interesting and informative. I also want to thank you for all of the support these past few years and I just want to remind you that my new Instagram (previous was KittysOnTheCase which was deleted by Instagram) is @CaledonianKittyx
All of my other links can be found here
So, let's get into it and find out if some women really are more deadlier than the male....
Aileen Wuornos:
Aileen's probably the most infamous female murderer in the world with dozens of books, documentaries and even a movie (detailing some of her life on the road as a hooker, her killings and trial: Monster, 2003) being based on her and her crimes. Charlize Theron won an Oscar for her amazing performance as Aileen in the movie, Monster.
Aileen's story is a complicated one, some think of her as a cold blooded murderer who killed her punters for money and some people believe that she was a victim who was defending herself against men who were a potential danger to her.
Her life was a nightmare from the beginning and she had to learn how to survive from such a young age. Everyone, except for a childhood friend Dawn Botkins, took advantage of Aileen in one way or another and I'm not excusing her crimes but in my opinion she was psychologically damaged from her childhood.
Aileen had dreams and tried to live a decent life but it seemed that every time she tried, the doors were always closed to her and all she felt that she could do was sex work. In a desperate need for love she began a lesbian relationship with a woman by the name of Tyria Moore. Tyria, who Aileen was devoted to, turned out to be like a lot of the other people in Aileen's life and proceeded to live off of Aileen's earnings as a prostitute. Tyria had been working in a hotel when they first got together but decided that Aileen made more money from hooking so she gave up her job and it was on Aileen's shoulders to support them both.
Having spent a number of years hitchhiking and having sex with various strangers for money, Aileen was used to the hard life and had dealt with various people in the past but something happened with a male punter that set her on the path to murder.
Aileen hitched a ride with a man named Richard Mallory and unknown to Aileen, Richard had a background of sexual violence towards women. He had actually spent time previously in prison for rape and had been fired from a job for molesting a female co-worker.
That night on the 30th of November 1989, it began like any other ''arrangement'' with a punter for Aileen, they drove somewhere secluded, had a few laughs and a few drinks but according to Aileen, Richard suddenly turned nasty as well as verbally abusing her, forcing himself on her, he assaulted her and raped her with an iron bar. Aileen's version of events of that night have varied and we may never know for sure what really happened that night but something happened for Aileen to feel the need to pull the gun out of her purse and shoot Richard Mallory, the first punter out of hundreds she had before, to be murdered, why him?.
Richard wasn't a man that was missed, nobody seemed to care that he was missing. He had a bad reputation and with so many enemies, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack for the police.
After this incident, Aileen went on to murder six more men who she claimed were about to sexually assault her. The circumstances were similar, they picked her up, drove to a secluded area, all seemed fine at first and then things turned deadly. As I mentioned before, Aileen had been hitchhiking and hooking for a long time and people came forward years later to testify that they had picked Aileen up in the past and never had a problem with her.
One wonders if, in these situations with these six other men, did they suddenly turn nasty? It's not uncommon for customers of sex workers to turn nasty or violent, they think that because someone is a sex worker and they pay them some money for their time that they are somehow beneath them and do not deserve respect. Whether we want to admit it or not, toxic masculinity exists, there are amazing men out there but there are also not so amazing men who like to take advantage of women. Aileen was clearly a woman who had been though a lot of hell in her life and had gotten to the point where she wouldn't tolerate anyone trying to harm her or disrespect her.
You can imagine the scene, these guys getting hot and heavy and expecting more than what Aileen was willing to give or they had not agreed to. It's so easy for that situation to turn nasty.
I used to work for a support organisation whilst I was studying Counselling and Psychology at university and had heard a lot of stories about what sex workers had to go through whilst working on the streets. It is a very difficult and often very dangerous way to earn a living.
Aileen was eventually caught and the woman she though would be by her side, Tyria, ended up sailing Aileen down the river to save her own skin. Tyria pleaded ignorant to everything, claimed she knew nothing of the murders but in reality she knew far more than she let on and sat back counting the money and enjoying the items from the men who had been murdered that Aileen had brought home. After Richard Mallory's murder, Aileen and Tyria used his car to move some of their belongings to another residence and there was still blood in the car.
Aileen was found guilty and sentenced to death. She was executed on the 9th of October 2002 by lethal injection. She was just 46 years old.
It was also clear to anyone who had paid attention to Aileen's interviews leading up to her death that she wasn't of sound body and mind. It was a wonder why her execution was allowed to have gone ahead. A lot of people believed that Aileen should have been placed in a psychiatric hospital and should have had help a long time ago.
Aileen was cremated and the one and only person she could rely on in her life, Dawn Botkins took her ashes and scattered them under a childhood tree back in Michigan which was Aileen's wish.
Joanna Dennehy
Well, where do I start with Rose West? The last on my short list of female murderers but certainly not the quietest, for behind the frilly blouses and the glasses is a cold. calculated, manipulative murderer, torturer and rapist who, together with her late husband Fred West, murdered 12 victims. 9 bodies of young women were found in their back garden at a house of horror infamously known as 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester, England. Another victim's (an 18 year girl who was 8 months pregnant with Fred's baby) dismembered remains were found in a cornfield.
Rose had come from an abusive childhood, her mother had suffered from psychological problems and her father sexually assaulted her. Rose also molested her two younger brothers.
So her background was very messed up from the start so when she met Fred West at the age of 15 and he was 27, he seemed to be the love and care that she thought she was looking for but she was very naive and quite behind with her mentality. With Fred's blessing and some say orders, she went into prostitution which her parents soon caught wind of and sent her to a home for troubled girls.
Despite the problems and her parents not approving of the relationship with Fred, she soon moved in with him. Her parents did what they could to stop her seeing Fred but it was of no use as she was completely infatuated with him and refused to stay away. To her parents further horror she ended up pregnant and placed into care but claimed that she would have an abortion if she was released. Rose decided not to have the termination and moved in with Fred resulting in her parents disowning her.
Whilst Fred was in prison for petty crime, Rose murdered her step daughter (Fred's daughter from a previous relationship) Charmaine who had been living with them and this was said to be the beginning of the murderous horror that was to take place at the hands of Rose and Fred West. When Fred came out of prison he helped dispose of Charmaine's body.
Rose continued with prostitution and even advertised her services, Fred would even watch her have sex with punters through a hole in the wall.
After a series of horrendous rapes, murders and burying the most of the remains of their victims in their back garden, Rose and Fred West were finally brought to justice. Rose was given a whole life order with no chance of parole. Fred West committed suicide whilst on remand in prison on New Years Day in 1995.
Rose is currently serving time in HM Prison New Hall.
In another snippet of unbelievable information which is in fact true, Rose West and Myra Hindley had a brief affair whilst being held at the same prison.
The murders at 25 Cromwell Street is a huge case and one which has a lot of detail to cover so I have attempted to briefly cover it here but obviously there is so much more to this case with what went on. This is another case which has been requested by my readers and it is on the list to look into further in a future post but hopefully in this post you get a brief idea of what happened and why I have included Rose on my list.
Well, I can't believe I have now published my 70th true crime post here on my blog. I hope you have found this post an interesting read and I look forward to your comments if you wish to share them here or elsewhere on my social media. I will be discussing the cases I've mentioned in this post, further in my podcast on my Patreon
Thank you for your support, if you have enjoyed my past 70 true crime posts and wish to make a little donation or buy me a coffee to show your support for my work, please donate here. Thank you so much x
Further reading & sources:
- Talking With female Serial Killers | Christopher Berry Dee
- Love of Blood | Christopher Berry Dee
- Monster (Book) | Christopher Berry Dee
- The Moors Murders | Emlyn Williams
- Kristen Gilbert | Lynn Dillman
- Aileen Wuornos | Born To Kill (Documentary)
- Joanna Dennehy | Born To Kill (Documentary)
- Myra Hindley | Real Stories (Documentary)
- Moors Murders | CTSB (Documentary)
Wow!!! For your 70th true crime post this was incredible as all your work has been.
ReplyDeleteThese 5 women are exactly as you depicted... deadly... dangerous and frightening. I remember the case of Kristen Gilbert vividly as my mother had just gotten out of a nursing home at the time when she made the news as the "Angel of Death" was captured.
The news made her fearful of what could of happened if that lady or someone like her had worked at three facility she was in at the time.
Each one of these women you have mentioned are truly frightening and this was well done. A truly brilliant addition to your volumes of work and sets a perfect post for your 70th case!
Truly Incredible! 👏👏👏❤❤❤
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ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the comments and taking time to read the post. I really appreciate it x
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