All around the world people who are interested in serial killers have heard of Richard Ramirez, John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgway, and numerous others who have put the fear of God into their victims and those who live in the areas that they picked for their wrath. Most of the time serial killers are men, however, every so often there comes a serial killer who is a woman, being just as cold-blooded and ruthless as the male serial killer. Unfortunately, female psychopathy is a very understudied subject, that needs to be brought out into the open.
I have picked three women throughout the course of time that have been some of the most horrifying killers of all time. Take a seat and learn about Aileen Wuornos, Rosemary West, and Elizabeth Bathory. Three women who became vicious killers all in very different ways and all for different reasons. Aileen Wuornos who killed out of supposed self-defense for men who she thought were going to rape her, Rosemary West who killed for the sheer sexual enjoyment of torture, and Elizabeth Bathory who killed thinking it would make her younger. Although women serial killers are few and far between, these three women will make you see just how vicious murder can truly be.
One female serial killer that most will remember is Aileen Wuornos, the Michigan brought up drifter who ended up in Florida killing seven men who she claimed raped or tried to rape her while she was working as a prostitute. A rough life from the get go, life for Aileen just was not in the cards. Her father who was a psychopathic child molester killed himself while in prison, her mother, a child herself decided early on that motherhood just was not for her and gave up Aileen and her brother for adoption, and her Grandmother who was no better than the rest , pushed Aileen away as she was used to, she later passed away when Aileen was just 14. After hitchhiking to Florida Aileen would meet Tyria Moore and after just a few months the two would become romantically involved for almost a year. During her relationship with Tyria Moore, Wuornos would support th two by tricking, she would also seal her fate by murdering Richard Mallory on November 30,1989, David Spears on June 1, 1990, Charles Carskaddon on June 6, 1990, Peter Siems on July 4, 1990, Troy Burress on August 4, 1990, Dick Humphreys on September 12, 1990, ending with Walter Jeno Antonio on November 19,1990. Just a few months after the last murder, Aileen would be arrested and convicted of the murders, by February 1993, Aileen had received six death sentences. In 2001, Aileen was tired of all the nonsense surrounding her trial and conviction, and decided to fight to be executed sooner. Florida having no problem with this request put Aileen Wuornos to death by lethal injection on October 9, 2002.
The next woman to commit murder with viciousness is Rosemary West of England. With the help of her husband Fred West, the two sadistically tortured and murdered 12 young women from April 1973 – August 1979 in the comforts of their own home. One of the victims was Rosemary and her husband Fred’s daughter, Heather. Her voracious sexual appetite,and her sadomasochistic tendencies were said to have been the reason for the murders. Rosemary and her husband would drive around the Gloucester area searching for young girls. Once they found what they were looking for, the two would then bring them back to their house, have sexual relations with them, torturing them in the process, and once their sadistic appetite was satisfied, the murders would take place. Arrested in 1994, nearly 20 years after the murders had occurred, the remains of the victims were found by authorities underneath their home. Her husband was also arrested and committed suicide while in custody. Rosemary West was convicted in 1995 on 10 counts of murder and is up for parole in 2019, in which she will be 66 years of age.
Known as the “blood countess”, Elizabeth (Erzebet) Bathory was a beautiful woman whom everyone adored in Hungary in the 1600’s. She was of royal blood, having relatives such as the King of Poland and the prince of Transylvania. She is by far the most infamous woman serial killer of Hungarian and Slovak history, as well as other countries. Being married at a young age, she spent most of her time in the Cachtice Castle in Hungary. With a lot of free time on her hands, Elizabeth would eventually begin to be involved in black magic which in the end would eventually be her downfall. Commoners who would work for Elizabeth would eventually disappear one after another. Her thirst for torture along with the need to feel young, would be the reason for the deaths of nearly 600 young girls. Her torture methods were extreme, hanging the girls from chains, poking and probing them while their blood dripped into a large bathtub like container, kept for later use for Elizabeth to bath in, thinking it would make her younger. Eventually she would start to invite girls from all around the country to come to her home for month long visits. After not returning home, the parents of a few would start to make accusations, bringing the authorities to the castle to investigate. Once inside the castle, they could not believe their eyes. Torture rooms with dead young females inside of them, and devices that would make you cringe. Having been of royal blood, the Countess Bathory could not be tried like any other commoner, and death was not an option. Instead, courts ruled to sentence her to life inside of her own dwelling. Windows and doors were sealed with only a small hole for food to pass through. Four years later, Elizabeth Bathory died in solitude, and the young girls of Hungary stopped disappearing.
