Aileen, Queen of the Serial Killers on Netflix: Where is Tyria Moore now and why did she help the police catch her murderous girlfriend?
The notorious killer was convicted for slaughtering seven men
Aileen, Queen of the Serial Killers on Netflix gives true-crime fans a fresh perspective on the so-called ‘Damsel of Death’, Aileen Wuornos, who was brought to justice with the help of her own girlfriend Tyria Moore.
This fascinating look at a tortured soul – who was convicted for the slaughter of seven men – uses archive footage to paint a complicated picture of a woman, known as Lee by her loved ones, underserved by the law yet simultaneously guilty of the worst things a human can do.
Here are the biggest question marks arising from Netflix documentary Aileen, Queen of the Serial Killers, including why Tyria forced Aileen to confess, where the ex-girlfriend informant is now and, most bizarrely, why a couple of farmers adopted a suspected killer.
Who was Aileen ‘Lee’ Wuornos?
Aileen Carol Pittman was born into a single-parent household in February 1956 after her parents Dianne Wuornos and Leo Pittman divorced. Facing life imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a minor, Leo died by suicide in 1969. Father and daughter never met each other.
Maternal grandparents Lauri and Britta Wuornos legally adopted Aileen and her older brother Keith when Dianne abandoned them. The future murderer engaged in sexual activity for cigarettes, food and drugs at high school, and was allegedly “gang-raped” on two occasions by her friends.
She gave birth to a son in 1971 after being raped by her grandfather’s friend; the baby was put up for adoption. Aileen’s grandfather then tossed her out of the family home when his wife died and she sought shelter in nearby woodland, supporting herself via prostitution.
Aileen claimed to have been raped at least 30 times over a four-year period after school. By 1989, decades of physical and alcoholic abuse had led to a poisoning of the mind and she began a killing spree.
How did Aileen Wuornos and Tyria Moore meet?
Three years prior to her murderous snap, Aileen met motel maid Tyria at a gay bar called Zodiac in Florida’s Daytona Beach.
Tyria was six years Aileen’s elder and had just got out of her first lesbian relationship, but the pair quickly moved in together. They were never apart except for the nights when Aileen went out “hooking”.
Aileen and Tyria were an item for around four and a half years.
Aileen Wuornos: Who did she kill?
Beginning in November 1989, a 12-month period saw Aileen murder seven men across Florida.
They were sex clients Richard Mallory, David Spears, Charles Carskaddon, Peter Siems, Troy Burress, Charles ‘Dick’ Humphreys and Walter Antonio. Each was discovered in the woods, with their cars were discarded in some other part of the Sunshine State.
Police captain Chris Binegar reported how the car seats had been pushed forward, and used condoms and blonde hair follicles were left at the scenes. The victims all had fatal bullet wounds, characterised by incremental “passion” as Aileen’s hate poured out of her with each kill.
The controversial case of Richard Mallory
Lead prosecutor John Tanner appeared to intentionally bypass “maniac” Richard’s psychological background during the trial. Aileen argued that she’d been forced to defend herself from him during their ‘exchange’.
Dateline correspondent Michele Gillen revealed to Aileen that Richard was convicted of assault with intent to rape decades before they met, and such was the level of his criminal sexual deviancy, he was institutionalised for 10 years.
A doctor from the institute referenced his patient’s “emotional disturbance” in court, pointing towards Richard’s “poor control of his sexual impulses”. He warned how they “present a potential danger to his environment”.
Aileen visibly teared up after learning about Richard’s dangerous history from Michele. Already slapped with the death penalty, she knew this could’ve swung the case in her favour.
“It’s sad isn’t it,” she said. “I feel so hopeless, I’m numb. I’m mad. When I get back to [her cell] I’ll show my anger to myself. To hell with you people, you don’t give a [bleep] so what the heck.”
Aileen Wuornos Netflix documentary: Why did Tyria Moore help the police?
Aileen’s beloved Tyria was sure to be considered an accessory to her crimes when the police were looking for two women.
“At that point [I thought] this is enough, I’ve had enough. I can’t go to prison for something that she did and that was drawing the line right there,” Tyria recalled. She proceeded to allow the police to tap her phone.
“I didn’t do it for the police at that time, I did it for myself,” she continued. “Living with her for four-and-a-half years, I know her better than I think anyone else does. I think she’s very intelligent. She knows how to work around things, she can lie her way out of anything. And that’s mainly why I wanted her to confess to the murders, because I knew she could lie her way out of it”.
The police were tightening their grip on Tyria’s family and so she begged Aileen to own up to her crimes during one emotional phone call.
“If I have to confess everything just to keep you from getting in trouble, I will,” promised Aileen, and that’s exactly what she did.
Where is The Last Resort bar?
The Last Resort bar’s address is: 5812 Ridgewood Avenue, Port Orange, Florida.
Undercover detectives arrested Aileen there in January 1991 and to this day The Last Resort remains a bikers watering hole.
A sign on the door heralds the establishment as the home of “ice cold beer and killer women”. Aileen’s signature adorns its graffitied frontage and newspaper clippings of her murderous exploits are plastered all over the walls and ceiling inside.
Around the corner there’s a hair-raising shrine namechecking Aileen’s victims, their ages and hometowns, in addition to their death dates.
Where is Tyria Moore now? Why doesn’t she appear in Monster?
Per Legit News, Tyria is now 63 years old and resides in Pennsylvania with her wife Joyce Karchner.
The couple tied the knot in May 2016, 14 years after Aileen died via lethal injection on death row. In the Netflix documentary Aileen, Queen of the Serial Killers, the eponymous figure revealed Tyria hadn’t been in touch since 1992.
She told Michele: “I always miss her and I’ll always love her. I’ll be thinking about her the day I’m executed, I loved her so bad”.
Oscar-winning biopic Monster, starring Charlize Theron as Aileen, noticeably omitted Tyria from the film. Instead, a character named Selby Wall (played by Christina Ricci) served a similar purpose to Aileen’s real-life partner on screen.
Who adopted Aileen when she was in prison?
Arlene Pralle, a kindly horse ranch owner, took pity on Aileen when she was locked up on charges.
“She is not a monster. She is a very caring, compassionate, feminine human being with a heart of gold,” Arlene argued in a TV interview. “I saw her picture in the newspaper and I got butterflies. When I was out on the lawnmower like 10 days later, Jesus asked me to reach out to her.”
Jesus’ message was clear: write Aileen a letter telling her all about him. Arlene and her husband Bob took it a lot further though, legally adopting Aileen.
“I wanted to be a mum forever, it was awesome,” was Arlene’s reaction after the adoption processed.
“We talked every single night. Our phone bills were $1,200 a month. I said: ‘Why do you keep hedging about wanting to accept Jesus in your heart and have the same peace that I’ve got?’ And she said: ‘Do you really want the truth? Because if I accept him and I’m born again I feel you’re just gonna leave me like everybody else…'”.
Arlene insisted that it was all about securing her place in heaven. “She said: ‘Well in that case, can I do it right here right now over the phone?’ Is that incredible? It was a God thing, it was truly 100% a God thing.”
Aileen, Queen of the Serial Killers is available to stream on Netflix now
Read more: Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix – the reason Lyle was bald and wore a wig
