At first glance, she seemed like any other little girl — “bright eyes, blonde hair, a shy smile.” But Aileen Wuornos’ childhood was scarred by pain and neglect. Her mother abandoned her at age four, calling it “the biggest mistake” of her life, while her father — imprisoned for kidnapping and assault — took his own life.

Raised by her abusive grandparents, Aileen faced “a form of child abuse” that left deep scars. At 13, she became pregnant after being assaulted and gave the baby up for adoption. Her grandmother’s death and grandfather’s suicide left her and her brother as wards of the state. By her teens, Aileen was living on the streets, trading sex for “cigarettes, drugs, and food,” and later arrested repeatedly for theft and assault.

In 1989, men began turning up dead across Florida. When caught, Aileen confessed to killing seven men but claimed self-defense: “I’ve been through so many traumatic experiences… I guess it’s become a way of life.” Prosecutors called her “America’s first female serial killer.”

Convicted and sentenced to death, she said, “I am a serial killer. I killed them in cold blood, real nasty.” Before her 2002 execution, she declared, “I’ll be back, like Independence Day… I’ll be back.”