Monster: Inside the Mind of Aileen Wuornos

After a break for coffee and cigarettes, Lee was introduced to Michael O’Neill, the attorney from the Volusia County Public Defender’s Office. Now the police could continue in earnest. On numerous occasions O’Neill advised her to stop talking, finally asking in exasperation, ‘Do you realise these guys are cops?’ Lee answered, ‘I know. And they want to hang me. And that’s cool, because maybe, man, I deserve it. I just want to get this over with.’

Horzepa: How many men have you actually shot and murdered? Shot and killed?

Wuornos: Six. All I can remember.

Horzepa: Six… six men that you remember?

Munster: You forgot about the one [inaudible]. That makes seven.

Wuornos: No, because I only did six.

Horzepa: OK.

Munster: Well, we’ll go over those six first.

Wuornos: Right. I think there’s only six.

Horzepa: OK.

Wuornos: I know… I think it’s six.

Horzepa: OK, well… we’ll go ahead now.

Wuornos: OK, yeah, because… because if you showed me all the pictures of the guys, I can tell you, and if you show me a picture of a guy that… you know, if there’s a seventh guy, I can tell you if I did or not because… I’m being very honest with you, as much as possible. I mean I am telling you the absolute, honest to God, so help me Lord, strike me with lightning in my heart right now, if I’m not telling you the truth.

Lee then went on to ramble for two minutes about how innocent Tyria was and what a sweet young innocent she had been while Lee had been out killing men. Then she was stopped short and asked when she aimed her shots.

Wuornos: I think I probably… it was… I always shot somebody, if I could, you know, as fast as I could, it would always hit right around this area. [She indicated to the centre of her chest.] Up here, right over… I always aimed to the mid-section so I know I shot them… usually it would be we both got naked and I was going to do an honest deed but I had a big fight. They… they were either going to physically fight me… either try to rape me or something or they were going to try to… you know, so they wouldn’t have to pay their… I don’t know what they were going to do. They just… started getting radical on me and I had to… do what I had to do.

Bruce Munster and Lawrence Horzepa had heard all of this soul-washing before from Lee. Now, with her lawyer present, they wanted to get down to business. The time for delicate niceties was over.