Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers, Netflix doccie exposes one crucial detail that Charlize Theron’s Monster left out
The Netflix documentary “Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers” reveals the crucial detail that Charlize Theron’s “Monster” omitted: Aileen Wuornos’s first victim, Richard Mallory, was a convicted rapist, which was suppressed during her trial and could have impacted her legal outcome. Picture: Netflix
Image: Netflix
The story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos is well known, especially to South African audiences as Charlize Theron played her in the 2003 movie called ‘Monster’, but that Hollywood production failed to mention one crucial detail which was revealed in the Netflix documentary Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers.
That, of course, was the fact that the first victim of Wuornos was a convicted rapist, Richard Mallory. Though in the movie, viewers witness a brutal sexual assault on Wuornos before she wrestles free and kills him - it’s never established that he was previously convicted of rape.
In the conclusion of the movie, very little is presented in terms of evidence as the movie reaches an emotional climax.
Therefore, the viewer would not know that Mallory had been previously convicted unless they looked up the case themselves.
Aileen Wuornos: The First Killing and Its Impact on Her Legal Journey
This is a crucial detail, as this first killing set off a chain of events for Wuornos, who pleaded not guilty to the charge - though there is no way of telling if she would not have gone on to become a killer had this event not taken place. There's absolutely no way of knowing, but that's not the point here either.
Mallory’s murder was the first Wuornos was tried for, found guilty for and then sentenced to death.
Not wanting to sit through the following six cases of murder since she had already been sentenced to death, Wuornos pleaded guilty to the remaining charges.
In the Netflix documentary, we see the moment that Wuornos finds out from an interviewer that Mallory was, in fact, a convicted sex offender. This evidence was suppressed during the trial, as Wuornos’s claim that she had first been raped before she killed Mallory was discredited.
This was years after she was convicted in 1992, and we’re privy to the breakdown of the already mentally ill Wuornos.
It’s a sad story about what led to Wournous becoming a brutal killer and how the legal system failed her, as she may have had a legitimate chance to avoid the death penalty. For showing that when the Theron movie didn’t, Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers can certainly be commended.