Title: The Unique Motives of Female Serial Killers | Psychology Today
Headings: The Unique Motives of Female Serial Killers
Scott A. Bonn Ph.D.
The Unique Motives of Female Serial Killers
Women kill for very different reasons than men.

Content: The husband and wife serial killing team of Gerald and Charlene Gallego provides an example of this rare affiliation. Between 1978 and 1980, the Gallegos killed a total of 10 victims, mostly female teenagers, whom they kept as sex slaves prior to murdering them. The victims were selected primarily for the lurid sexual gratification of Gerald Gallego, who was the dominant partner in the murderous relationship. A notable exception to the typical characteristics of female serial killers was the notorious highway prostitute Aileen Wuornos, who killed outdoors instead of at home, used a gun instead of poison, killed strangers instead of friends or family, and killed for personal gratification and vengeance. It is my belief that Aileen Wuornos rose to infamy primarily because she was atypical of female serial killers, in that she "killed like a man." The lack of public awareness of female serial killers prior to Aileen Wuornos was due to the virtual absence of female serial killers in the news and entertainment media. Until Wuornos, the mass media almost always depicted a serial perpetrator as a deranged man, due to the erroneous and paternalistic societal notion that women could not commit such crimes. Unlike the obscure and rarely discussed Black Widow killers throughout history, Wuornos became a popular culture icon because she defied stereotypes and did not kill "demurely," as societal norms dictate that a woman should. Interestingly, the most prolific serial killer in all of history may have been female—Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed, who was born on August 17, 1560. Elizabeth was a countess from the renowned Báthory family in Hungary.