1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,320 Speaker 1: Her childhood wasn't hard, it was brutal, and it left 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: marks that not only didn't fade, they grew. Aileen Carol 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: Warnos was born on February twenty ninth, nineteen fifty six. 4 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: Leap year, leap day. Born literally on a day that 5 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: barely exists. That's sort of poetic in a grim way, 6 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: because for most of her life she was treated like 7 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:25,080 Speaker 1: she didn't exist either. I'm Patty Steele. Does any of 8 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: that excuse her for becoming a prolific serial killer? That's 9 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:37,480 Speaker 1: next on the backstory. We're back with the backstory. There's 10 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: no justifying what she did, but it is interesting to 11 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: hear her backstory. Aileen Warnos had a rough start in 12 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: life and it never got better. Her parents were kids themselves. 13 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: Her mom, Diane, was fourteen when she married Aileen's father, Leo, 14 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: who was eighteen. The marriage quickly fell apart. Within two years, 15 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: Diane was gone, abandoning Aileen, who was just six months old, 16 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: as well as her older brother Keith. Her father was 17 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: already out of the picture, doing time for the rape 18 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: of a child. Aileen never got a chance to meet him. 19 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: He hanged himself in prison before she turned fourteen. So 20 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: who raised her Her grandparents on her mom's side, Laurie 21 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: and Britta. But the word raised is kind of doing 22 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: some heavy lifting here. Laurie was a heavy drinking, controlling 23 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: guy with a cruel streak. Aileen said. Laurie beat her, regularly, 24 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: called her vile names, and emotionally just tore her apart 25 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: until she believed she was worthless. And then there's Grandma Britta, 26 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:43,279 Speaker 1: also an alcoholic, she rarely protected Aileen or even bothered 27 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: to look up when she was being abused. Aileen later 28 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: claimed her grandfather and some of his friends sexually abused her. 29 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: The patterns clear. She learned early on that adults were 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: not to be trusted, that love could hurt, and that 31 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: home wasn't safe, and for her, the outside world was 32 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: no better. By the time she was just nine years old, 33 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: Eileen was trading sex for money, food and cigarettes. Kids 34 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,519 Speaker 1: her own age made fun of her, boys used her, 35 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:16,240 Speaker 1: her classmates called her cigarette pig, and adults they simply 36 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: ignored her. From the time she was a small girl, 37 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:24,680 Speaker 1: Aileen was already surviving instead of living. This traumatized child 38 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: was already adapting to a world where being exploited was 39 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: part of the game. Her body was her only bargaining chip. Then, 40 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,920 Speaker 1: at fourteen, she got pregnant. The father was a much 41 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,799 Speaker 1: older family friend who had raped her. Her grandparents sent 42 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: her away to a home for unwed mothers in Detroit, 43 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: and in nineteen seventy one she gave birth to a 44 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 1: baby boy, but he was taken away and adopted out. 45 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: She never saw him again. By the time she was fifteen, 46 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: Eileen was back at home, but then her grandmother died 47 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: of liver failure almost immediately, and her grandfather kicked her 48 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: out of the house. Now Aileen, still fifteen, was homeless, 49 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: with no education, no job, no support, and nobody to 50 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: turn to. She slept in abandoned cars and in the woods. 51 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: She hitchhiked from town to town doing sex work just 52 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: to eat. Her childhood was nothing but trauma, and that 53 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 1: made her tougher and meaner, simply as a way of surviving. 54 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: Psychologists later diagnosed her with borderline personality disorder and antisocial 55 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: personality disorder based on her inability to regulate her emotions, 56 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: her rage outbursts, her constant fear of abandonment, and her 57 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: black and white thinking. She didn't trust people because people 58 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: had never been trustworthy. She didn't believe in safety because 59 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: she had never been safe. Aileen slowly realized that the 60 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: world was a predator and she was the prey until 61 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: she decided to fight back. Got to say, again, none 62 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: of this justifies what she did. At least seven men died, 63 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: seven lives extinguished, sons, brothers, fathers. But it begs the question, 64 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: how does a person become capable of killing so many people? 65 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: Aileen's life tells us she was abandoned, molested, beaten, homeless, raped, institutionalized, 66 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: ridiculed and forgotten. She slowly cracked and no one noticed 67 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 1: or cared until it was too late. Aileen once said, 68 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: I wanted to be loved ever since I was a kid, 69 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: just someone who would love me, but it never happened. 70 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: Pretty haunting. That's a line from somebody who never had 71 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: a chance to be human. She was born into violence, 72 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: raised in it, used by it, and ultimately she became it. 73 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: Aileen Warnos's childhood was the blueprint for her violence. When 74 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: we talk about true crime, we focus so much on 75 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: what they did, but sometimes the why is even more 76 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,040 Speaker 1: terrifying and a bit more interesting, because honestly, the why 77 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: can be traced back to failures in parenting, in protection, 78 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,559 Speaker 1: in institutions, and in a society that should have seen 79 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,280 Speaker 1: her and helped her. By the time she was in 80 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:15,040 Speaker 1: her early twenties, Aileen had drifted to Florida, moving from 81 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 1: town to town and again supporting herself through sex work. 82 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: It was here that she met Tyrea Moore, a maide, 83 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 1: at a motel. They got into a romantic relationship, and 84 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 1: Aileen was smitten. Somebody finally cared for her, and she 85 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: was determined to provide for them both. So around the 86 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: same time, between nineteen eighty nine and nineteen ninety, the 87 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 1: bodies of seven middle aged men were found scattered along 88 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: highways in central Florida. Each had been shot multiple times, 89 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: and their cars or trucks, as well as their belongings 90 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: were missing. The victims included Richard Mallory, David Spears, Charles Carskadden, 91 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: Troy Burris, Dick Humphreys, Peter Siemes, and Walter Antonio. The 92 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,040 Speaker 1: investigation kicked into high gear and then really gained momentum 93 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:06,480 Speaker 1: when Aileen and her girlfriend Tyrea were seen abandoning Peter 94 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: Seem's carr after an accident. Witnesses gave descriptions and then 95 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: fingerprints found on stuff that had been pawned linked Aileen 96 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: to the crimes. Eventually, cops found Tyrea in Pennsylvania and 97 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,600 Speaker 1: convinced her to get a confession from Aileen in exchange 98 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,359 Speaker 1: for immunity. Tyrea made a number of phone calls to Aileen, 99 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: pleading with her to confess to clear Tyrea's name. On 100 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: January sixteenth, nineteen ninety one, Aileen confess to the murders, 101 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: claiming self defense. She claimed that each of these men 102 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 1: had either raped or attempted to rape her while she 103 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: was working as a prostitute, and that she killed them 104 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:49,040 Speaker 1: in self defense. On the other hand, the prosecution argued 105 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 1: the murderers were committed during robberies, pointing to the theft 106 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,039 Speaker 1: of the victim's belongings and the sale of their stuff 107 00:06:55,080 --> 00:07:00,560 Speaker 1: at pawnshops. The trial of Aileen Ornos began on January five, thirteenth, 108 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety two, in Vlusha County, Florida. She was charged 109 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,559 Speaker 1: with the first degree murder of Richard Mallory, a fifty 110 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: one year old electronics store owner. Although Aileen would eventually 111 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,280 Speaker 1: confess to killing the other six men, this was the 112 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: only case that actually went to trial. She pleaded guilty 113 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: or no contest. In the other cases, The prosecution painted 114 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: the picture of a cold blooded killer who murdered her 115 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 1: victims during robberies. They were able to introduce evidence from 116 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: her other crimes under Florida's William's Rule, which allowed the 117 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: prosecution to establish a pattern, and that crumbled her claim 118 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: of self defense. For their part, Aileen's defense team argued 119 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: that she suffered from borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder, 120 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: which impaired her judgment. They claimed she killed Mallory in 121 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: self defense after he violently raped her, but the judge 122 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 1: denied the defense's request to introduce Mallory's prior conviction for 123 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: attempted rape as evidence. On January twenty seventh, nineteen ninety two, 124 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: the jury found Aileen guilty of first degree murder. Four 125 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: days later, she was sentenced to death. Since the murder 126 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: was committed during a robbery and it was what they 127 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: called especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, Aileen waived her right 128 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: to provide more evidence during sentencing. In the months following 129 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: her conviction, she pleaded no contest to three of the 130 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: other murders, saying she wanted to get right with God. 131 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 1: She later pleaded guilty to two more murders and got 132 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: two more death sentences. In the seventh case, no charges 133 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,559 Speaker 1: were filed because the body was never found. Aileen Warnos 134 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:42,320 Speaker 1: was executed by lethal injection on October ninth, two thousand 135 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,319 Speaker 1: and two, at the age of forty six. Her last 136 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,280 Speaker 1: words were a little bit puzzling. I'm sailing with the 137 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: rock and I'll be back like Independence Day with Jesus 138 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: June sixth, like the movie Big Mothership and all I'll 139 00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 1: be back. Her trial and convictions sparked debates of the 140 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: treatment of women in the criminal justice system and the 141 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 1: impact of childhood trauma. The life and crimes of Alien 142 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: Warnos were later depicted in the two thousand and three 143 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: film Monster. Charlie's theren won an Academy Award for Best Actress. 144 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: Hope you're enjoying the Backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave 145 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,320 Speaker 1: a review and follow or subscribe for free to get 146 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:31,320 Speaker 1: new episodes delivered automatically. Also feel free to DM me 147 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:33,199 Speaker 1: if you have a story you'd like me to cover. 148 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:37,240 Speaker 1: On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty 149 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 1: Steele I'm Patty steel The Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, 150 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: Premier Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. 151 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 1: Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We 152 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,200 Speaker 1: have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to 153 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 1: reach out to me with comments and even story suggestions 154 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at 155 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,320 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, 156 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 1: the pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.