True Crime Rewind: Serial killer Aileen Wuornos goes off in court | Banfield — Transcript
Full transcript
- 0:01[Music]
- 0:04If you watch this show pretty often, you
- 0:06have met quite a few serial killers that
- 0:08you've probably never heard of before.
- 0:11And plenty that you have heard of. You
- 0:13know, the Bundy's and the Gayies and the
- 0:14BTK's of the world. But as varied as
- 0:17those guys were in their methods and
- 0:20their motives, they all had one thing in
- 0:21common. They were or still are guys.
- 0:26Not so the serial killer in tonight's
- 0:28true crime rewind. Eileen Warnos was a
- 0:32prostitute in Florida who robbed and
- 0:34killed seven of her male clients in a
- 0:3612-month span from November of 1989 to
- 0:39November of 1990.
- 0:42She said that her victims either raped
- 0:44her or tried to rape her. And she
- 0:47claimed that she killed them in
- 0:48self-defense, but the authorities were
- 0:50not buying it. Her stories weren't good.
- 0:52In 1992, Warnos was convicted of murder
- 0:55in one case and sentenced to life in
- 0:57prison. And two months later, she
- 0:58pleaded no contest to three other
- 1:01murders, saying she wanted to get right
- 1:03with God. She also believed
- 1:07that that would spare her the death
- 1:09penalty. But Eileen Waros was wrong
- 1:11about that, and that is what led to one
- 1:14of the most epic courtroom outbursts of
- 1:18all time. Take a look.
- 1:21I have made peace with my Lord and I
- 1:23have asked forgiveness. I am sorry that
- 1:26my acts of self-defense ended up in
- 1:28court like this, but I take full
- 1:30responsibility for my actions. It was
- 1:32them or me. I am sorry for all the pain
- 1:35that my actions have caused. I am
- 1:38prepared to die if you say it is
- 1:40necessary.
- 1:44I sentence you in case number 91-463
- 1:48to death for the murder of Troy Burus.
- 1:51Case number 91-304.
- 1:54I sentence you to death for the murder
- 1:56of Charles Humphre. Case number 91-112,
- 1:59Citrus County case number, I sentence
- 2:01you to death for the murder of David
- 2:03Spears.
- 2:06>> Thank you.
- 2:07And uh probably see uh I'll be up in
- 2:10heaven while y'all rotten in hell.
- 2:14>> He will handle that.
- 2:16>> One of these days to handle that.
- 2:18>> Okay. There will be an automatic appeal.
- 2:20You have the right to an appeal, Mr.
- 2:21Glazer. Is that going to be handled by
- 2:23you?
- 2:23>> Your wife and kids get raped.
- 2:25>> I would ask that you appoint office.
- 2:28>> Okay.
- 2:29>> I'll appoint the public defender's
- 2:30office uh to handle the appeal. There's
- 2:33one other thing that I want to say that
- 2:34I think needs to be said. I know I was
- 2:36raped. You ain't nothing but a bunch of
- 2:38stump.
- 2:39>> Therefore, these proceedings are now
- 2:40>> putting somebody who was raped.
- 2:49>> Yeah, that one has stayed with me.
- 2:52Warnos later pleaded guilty to two other
- 2:55murders in October 9th, 2002. 23 years
- 2:59ago today, Eileen Waros was exe executed
- 3:03by lethal injection. Her last meal was
- 3:06simply a cup of coffee. News Nation
- 3:09affiliate WFLA covered Waros's appeals
- 3:12and her final moments.
- 3:15>> Despite the protest, the governor said
- 3:17he had no problem with giving the
- 3:18go-ahad with Waro's execution.
- 3:22>> This is a um serial killer. is a person
- 3:27who murdered u freely
- 3:31and uh waved her rights that she has for
- 3:36appeal.
- 3:38>> I don't I don't have any misgivings
- 3:40about doing it.
- 3:42>> Yesterday, the state supreme court
- 3:44rejected two efforts to stop the
- 3:46execution.
- 3:47>> As you know, Een Warnos was a prostitute
- 3:49who picked up her victims along the
- 3:50interstates of Central Florida. And
- 3:52several of the murders had a Bay Area
- 3:54connection. One of her former lawyers is
- 3:56also from Tampa Bay. Our Eight on Your
- 3:58Side team coverage continues with Rod
- 4:01Challenger.
- 4:03In December of 1989, scrap metal hunters
- 4:05found the body of 51-year-old Richard
- 4:07Mallerie of Clearwater at an illegal
- 4:09dump site in Valuchia County. He was
- 4:12apparently Eileen Wernos's first victim.
- 4:15June 1st, 1990, police found the body of
- 4:1743-year-old David Spears of Winter
- 4:19Garden along US19 in Citrus County. Five
- 4:24days later, the body of 40-year-old
- 4:26Charles Karcodan from Missouri showed up
- 4:28in a Pasco County field near Interstate
- 4:3175 and State Road 52. Clearwater lawyer
- 4:34Joe Hobson represented Wornos for two
- 4:36years as she appealed her conviction and
- 4:39death sentence.
- 4:40>> Eileen
- 4:41was a very complex character.
- 4:45>> He worked for a state agency
- 4:46representing people on Florida's death
- 4:48row.
- 4:49>> Sometimes she would see us, sometimes
- 4:51she wouldn't. I think I had about four
- 4:53to a half dozen audiences with Eileen.
- 4:55Sometimes we'd have productive uh
- 4:58sessions with her and sometimes she
- 5:00would uh be inhospitable.
- 5:03>> Hopson says though Florida law says
- 5:05Wernos was sane enough to be executed.
- 5:08Her behavior seemed to indicate
- 5:09otherwise.
- 5:11>> She would vacasillate. She was all over
- 5:13the proverbial map. Um I don't again I'm
- 5:16a lawyer, not a psychiatrist. I do not
- 5:17think she was competent to be executed.
- 5:19Eventually, Warnos fired Hobson and her
- 5:22other lawyers, gave up her appeals, and
- 5:24accepted death. I'm Rod Challenger, News
- 5:27Channel 8.
- 5:30>> Man, that was only 2002. And that video
- 5:32looks like it's from so long ago. Do you
- 5:34remember this? Because just a year after
- 5:36Waros died, her sorted story gave rise
- 5:38to this hit film, Monster. Eileen was
- 5:42played by Charlie Siron, and there you
- 5:44can see it. She won the Oscar uh for her
- 5:46performance in that role.
- 5:47>> Thank you for watching. Subscribe below
- 5:49and download our NewsNation app right
- 5:51now on your phone and you will get
- 5:53fact-based, unbiased news for all
- 5:56Americans.
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