Aileen Wuornos ( February 29 , 1956 â `` October 9 , 2002 ) was a serial killer , she confessed to killing 6 men and was put to death for it . Aileen Wuornos ( February 29 , 1956 â `` October 9 , 2002 ) was an American serial killer who killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990 , claiming they raped or attempted to rape her while she was working as a prostitute . She was convicted and sentenced to death for six of the murders and executed by lethal injection on October 9 , 2002 .