The Victims of Aileen Wuornos

Victims

Richard Mallory

‘Of course I didn’t want to kill them in my heart, but I knew I had to’

Richard Mallory was the first victim of Aileen Wuornos.  Mallory was brutally murdered at the hands of Wuornos using a .22- calibre pistol in a secluded area of a forest.  Wuornos claimed that Mallory had raped her and she had in turn defended herself using the .22- calibre weapon that she possessed.  Richard Mallory was, although the court at the time of the trial would never know, was a violent man who often frequented strip clubs and used the services of prostitutes. Mallory’s financial records revealed that he was on the verge of bankruptcy and he had spent time in a mental institution on the charge of attempted rape.  The aforementioned information regarding Richard Mallory’s background, specifically the charge of attempted rape, make it plausible for the account that Wuornos made to be true.  Was Richard Mallory the trigger for the following six murders that would occur? 

David Spears

‘I thought, what the hell you think you’re doing, dude, you know… you know I… I am going to kill you because you were trying to do whatever you could with me.  And I shot him through the… through the door and then he was kind of… went back and I went right through to the driver’s side and shot him again, and he fell back.  And, that’s all I remember on that one’

David Spears was the second victim of Aileen Wuornos.  Spears’s body, similarly to Mallory, was located in a secluded area with the fatal injuries caused by the discharge of a .22-calibre pistol.  In regards to physical appearance there was also a likeness to Richard Mallory and both men were middle aged.  David Spears in one source of reference is described as being ‘practical, predictable, honest and hard working’ which does not fit the description of the type of man that Wuornos would later go on to state in the trial into the crime.  It does not seem possible to imagine that David Spears, who was still ensuring that his ex-wife was financially secure, would be capable of viciously attacking a woman as Wuornos claimed.

Charles ‘Chuck’ Carskaddon

‘I shot him in the back seat and then I got out and kept shooting’

Charles ‘Chuck’ Carskaddon was the third victim of Aileen Wuornos.  Similarly to the previous victims he was also middle aged and described as being a decent human being.  Carskaddon’s body was located in a secluded area.  Originally Wuornos stated, as with the case of Mallory and Spears, that she reacted in the manner that she did as she was acting in self defence although she did later alter the version of events to state that she committed cold blooded murder.  Carskaddon had been shot fatally using a .22-calibre pistol exactly nine times.  If Wuornos was in fact acting in self defence, why would she need to shoot Carskaddon the amount of times that she chose to do? 

Peter Siems

‘He tried to get the gun from me and stuff, we’re struggling with the gun and everything else and a couple of bullets shot up in the air and finally I ripped it away and I had the gun in my left hand and I put it back in my right hand and I shot him immediately’ 

Peter Siems was the fourth victim of Aileen Wuornos.  Although unlike the case of Mallory, Spears and Carskaddon the location of Siems’s body has never been established.  According to one source Peter Siems was ‘deeply religious, easy-going and considered a real gentlemen’ which does not reflect the description that Wuornos gave of him to the court during her trial.  Peter Siems was sixty-five years of age at the time of his murder and this fact also makes it hard to believe that a man described by many as decent would be capable of viciously attacking a woman.

Eugene ‘Troy’ Burress

‘He physically attacked me… and he was… he laughed’

Eugene ‘Troy’ Burress was the fifth victim of Aileen Wuornos.  Burress was roughly the same age as Mallory, Spears and Carskaddon and his body was also located in a secluded area.  Burress was a hardworking individual and a respected member of the community.  Why would such as man attack a woman in such a way that would cause her to shoot him with her .22- calibre pistol twice. 

‘And I think I shot him right in the stomach or something’

Charles ‘Dick’ Humphreys

‘If I made $130, I’d take $30 and give her (Tyria Moore) the rest to pay the bills.  She always told me, ‘Get a motel with a swimming pool, because it’s so boring so boring here all day long’.  So I found a place with two swimming pools, a shuffleboard, a lounge, and a store with beer… the problem was I wasn’t supporting her as richly as she wanted.  She always wanted a brand-new car or a rented one.  She wanted clothes, she wanted an apartment with plush furniture.  ‘I’ve got to have my things,’ she said.  So materialistic.  I brought home about $300 every two weeks, but it wears you out, constantly talking to all those men, staying up.’

Charles ‘Dick’ Humphreys was the sixth victim of Aileen Wuornos.  He was fifty-six years of age at the time of his death, which is relatively close to the ages of the other victims of Wuornos.  Humphrey’s was a family man who was dedicated to his work.  Following a further investigation it was ruled that the cause of death was as a result of seven gunshot wounds to the body.  The murder weapon, responsible for the death of Mr Humphreys was identified as a .22- calibre pistol

Walter Gino Antonio

‘When we were struggling with the gun and everything else, again, he fell to the ground and he started to run back… run away.  And I shot him in the back… right in the back.’

Walter Gino Antonio was the seventh victim of Aileen Wuornos.  Antonio was a hardworking individual who worked also as a police officer in the reserves.  Would a man of this disposition be capable of carrying out a vicious attack, the answer is it does not seem likely.  Following the recent discoveries of the victims, later established as being murdered by Aileen Wuornos, the police were identifying the links between the various crimes.  The final victim of Wuornos, Walter Gino Antonio, was discovered in a secluded area with fatal injuries sustained as a result of multiple gunshot wounds from a .22- calibre pistol.