Description
The chilling true story of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos, whose violent crimes shocked the nation—and inspired the Academy Award–winning film Monster.
When police in Florida’s Volusia County were called to investigate the murder of Richard Mallory, whose gunshot-ridden body had been found in the woods just north of Daytona Beach in December 1989, their search led them to a string of dead ends before the trail went cold six months later. During the spring and summer of 1990, the bodies of six more middle-aged white men were discovered—all in secluded areas near their abandoned vehicles, all but one shot dead with a .22 caliber pistol—and all without any suspects, motives, or leads.
The police speculated that the murders were connected, but they never anticipated what they’d soon discover: The killings were the work of a single culprit, Aileen Wuornos, one of the first women to ever fit the profile of a serial killer. With the cooperation of her former lover and accomplice, Tyria Moore, the police were able to solicit a confession from Wuornos about her months-long killing spree along Florida’s interstate highways. The nation was quickly swept up in the drama of her trial and the media dubbed her the “Damsel of Death” as horrifying details of her past as a prostitute and drifter emerged.
Written by the Reuters reporter who initially broke the story, Dead Ends is a thrilling firsthand account of Wuornos’s capture, trial, and ultimate sentencing to death by lethal injection, that goes beyond the media frenzy to reveal the even more disturbing truth.
I was not very familiar with this case before reading Dead Ends. Sure I have heard the name Aileen Wuornos and knew she was a convicted and executed serial killer, but that's really all I knew. I never knew she was pregnant at such a young age, or tossed out on her own so young.
This was a highly detailed and informative account of how Aileen Wournos was caught, and her subsequent trial and sentencing.. There is no doubt she was guilty but after reading about people who planned to use her story as their own personal jack pot, or ending up with an attorney who called himself Dr. Legal I can't help but almost feel a speck of sympathy, not so much for her but for the childhood she had, and the child she was. I can't help but wonder if her son ever found out who his mother was and for his sake I hope he didn't know. Some questions are better left unanswered. 4 out of 5 stars from me.
When police in Florida’s Volusia County were called to investigate the murder of Richard Mallory, whose gunshot-ridden body had been found in the woods just north of Daytona Beach in December 1989, their search led them to a string of dead ends before the trail went cold six months later. During the spring and summer of 1990, the bodies of six more middle-aged white men were discovered—all in secluded areas near their abandoned vehicles, all but one shot dead with a .22 caliber pistol—and all without any suspects, motives, or leads.
The police speculated that the murders were connected, but they never anticipated what they’d soon discover: The killings were the work of a single culprit, Aileen Wuornos, one of the first women to ever fit the profile of a serial killer. With the cooperation of her former lover and accomplice, Tyria Moore, the police were able to solicit a confession from Wuornos about her months-long killing spree along Florida’s interstate highways. The nation was quickly swept up in the drama of her trial and the media dubbed her the “Damsel of Death” as horrifying details of her past as a prostitute and drifter emerged.
Written by the Reuters reporter who initially broke the story, Dead Ends is a thrilling firsthand account of Wuornos’s capture, trial, and ultimate sentencing to death by lethal injection, that goes beyond the media frenzy to reveal the even more disturbing truth.
I was not very familiar with this case before reading Dead Ends. Sure I have heard the name Aileen Wuornos and knew she was a convicted and executed serial killer, but that's really all I knew. I never knew she was pregnant at such a young age, or tossed out on her own so young.
This was a highly detailed and informative account of how Aileen Wournos was caught, and her subsequent trial and sentencing.. There is no doubt she was guilty but after reading about people who planned to use her story as their own personal jack pot, or ending up with an attorney who called himself Dr. Legal I can't help but almost feel a speck of sympathy, not so much for her but for the childhood she had, and the child she was. I can't help but wonder if her son ever found out who his mother was and for his sake I hope he didn't know. Some questions are better left unanswered. 4 out of 5 stars from me.
I received an advance copy for review.
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