Was Aileen Wuornos really obsessed with Lizzie Borden? The truth behind Netflix’s Monster

Given the case of Lizzie Borden unfolded in the 1890s, you were no doubt left wondering what Aileen Wuornos has to do with the latest chapter of Monster. Their stories are connected, but not quite in the way they’re portrayed. 

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is the fourth installment of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s true crime anthology series, following on from Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez Brothers and Ed Gein. 

It’s the first time the Netflix show has centred on a female-led case, which unfolded in 1892 when Lizzie’s father Andrew and stepmother Abby were brutally murdered with a hatchet at their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. Although Lizzie was the number one suspect, she was ultimately acquitted due to a lack of evidence – and no one was ever charged. 

As for Aileen Wuornos, she was one of the most famous – and tragic – female serial killers in history. After being caught in 1991, she confessed to killing seven men between 1989 and 1990. In October 2002, she was killed by lethal injection. 

In Monster, Aileen is played by frequent Murphy collaborator Sarah Paulson. And she’s shown to be a huge Lizzie Borden fan, so much so that she goes to stay at Lizzie’s house with her girlfriend, Shelby (Jessie Lee) – a fictionalised character based on Aileen’s real-life ex-girlfriend, Tyria Moore.

Was Aileen Wuornos really obsessed with Lizzie Borden? 

In short, no, there is no evidence Aileen was a fan of or inspired by Lizzie in real life. This is entirely a creative decision made up by the writers of Monster. 

And despite Monster showing Aileen and her girlfriend staying overnight at the Borden house, that couldn’t have happened. Aileen was arrested in 1991 and remained behind bars until her execution in 2002, but the house didn’t open as a bed and breakfast until 1996.

The Netflix series does get a lot of details about Aileen correct, however, including her conviction, the abuse she experienced in her childhood, and the fact that her first victim – Richard Mallory – had served a prison sentence in Maryland for a violent attempted rape. 

A special shoutout also needs to be made for Paulson’s performance:

okay so i made a comparison edit of sarah paulson and aileen wuornos just to show y’all how much she ATE this role in the new monster season… like you can tell she sat there studying hours of footage to get every little detail perfect pic.twitter.com/IEHsg0nSlX

— ★ (@POPin4k) September 19, 2026

The show also features multiple instances of facts and fiction being merged together. A good example is the scene of Aileen’s execution. 

In Monster, as they’re strapping her down, she says she’s looking forward to “meeting my maker.” Aileen adds, “Also, that Lizzie Borden, ‘cause she’s the one who got away with it.”

Then, as the curtains open to reveal the audience, she gives her final words: “I would like to say I’m sailing with the Rock, and I’ll be back, like Independence Day, with Jesus. June 6, like the movie. Big mother ship and all. I will be back. I’ll be back.”

Finally, she asks for a song to be played as the lethal injection is administered: ‘Carnival’ by Natalie Merchant. 

In real life, Aileen really did give that final statement, except she didn’t say anything about Lizzie Borden beforehand.

Her actual last words were: “Yes, I would just like to say I’m sailing with the rock, and I’ll be back, like Independence Day, with Jesus. June 6, like the movie. Big mother ship and all, I’ll be back, I’ll be back.”

The statement is generally interpreted as a mix of religious and pop culture imagery. “The Rock” was reportedly a reference to Jesus, while the mothership and June 6 were references to the 1996 film Independence Day. The words “I’ll be back” are considered to be a nod to The Terminator.

And there is some truth behind the choice of ‘Carnival’ too, although it wasn’t actually played as Aileen was executed. She reportedly spent hours listening to Natalie Merchant’s 1995 album Tigerlily while on death row and had requested that the song, one of the album’s singles, be played at her funeral.

Natalie later revealed she only agreed to let the song be used over the closing credits of Nick Broomfield’s 2003 documentary Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer after learning about Aileen’s connection to her music.

Speaking to Street Roots in 2012, the singer-songwriter explained, “It was a little mortifying. At the same time, I thought, she did lead a really tortured life and my music brought her some solace, or peace. 

“She must have felt very strongly about it because she knew she was going to die and my song was what she wanted played at her funeral. That’s when I allowed him to use the song in his documentary.”

Why was Aileen Wuornos in the Netflix series?

She had no connection to Lizzie whatsoever in real life, but the cast and crew have explained why Aileen was included in the latest chapter of Monster, and it’s all to do with exploring the theme of female rage. 

Brennan told Netflix’s Tudum, “It points to this thread of rage that runs through the female experience from history to now.”

Separately, the co-creator explained, “She’s such a fascinating character. I mean, she could easily be her own season of the show. Of all the personalities in this show, even in the whole series, she’s stuck with me the most.”

Lizzie star Ella Beatty added, “I think the show is exploring a legacy of female rage and reaction to the hand they’re dealt.”

There’s also the contrast in their stories, something the creators wanted to explore. “In a way, Lizzie has a happy ending, and Aileen didn’t,” Brennan continued. “She didn’t get away with anything. So it felt right to land on her and give her, if not a happy ending, one that is satisfying.”

And all of this ties into the central theme running through every season of Monster: are monsters born, or are they made?

“This anthology asks the question, ‘Are monsters made or are they born?’” Brennan said. “And I don’t think Aileen Wuornos was born that way. I think she was made into the thing she was.”

What happened to Aileen’s real girlfriend Tyria Moore?

Aileen’s girlfriend Shelby is based on a real woman named Tyria Moore, although her portrayal in Monster has been fictionalised. Netflix hasn’t revealed why, but it’s most likely the same reason she was renamed in the 2003 film Monster: legal reasons. 

The film, which stars Charlize Theron as Aileen, sees Christina Ricci play a fictionalised version of Tyria named Selby Wall. Director Patty Jenkins previously explained that she deliberately changed the names of Tyria and Aileen’s victims because they, or their surviving families, were still alive.

The New Zealand Herald reported at the time that the decision was driven largely by the “stringent legal process” Jenkins had to follow while making the film. 

“To get the film made I had to prove – to a panel of lawyers whose job is to stop you getting insurance – that every single conversation Aileen and Selby had about anything to do with their murders and everything that happened between them came straight out of their own depositions,” the filmmaker explained. 

The real Tyria met Aileen at a gay bar in Florida in 1986, and the pair quickly began a relationship and moved in together. They remained together for around four and a half years, including during the period in which Aileen killed seven men.

Tyria always denied being involved in the murders, but Aileen did tell her about killing Richard Mallory. Tyria later said she initially didn’t believe her, but became increasingly suspicious as the killings continued. Their relationship eventually ended and Tyria returned to her family in Ohio.

After police tracked Tyria down, she agreed to cooperate with investigators in exchange for immunity. In January 1991, she made a series of recorded telephone calls to Aileen, telling her she was worried the police would implicate her in the murders. Aileen, determined to protect Tyria, ended up confessing and making it clear she acted alone.

Tyria then became a key prosecution witness during Aileen’s 1992 trial for the murder of Mallory. She testified that Aileen had told her she killed a man, but had not said Mallory raped or attacked her, despite Aileen arguing she killed him in self defence.

After the trial, Tyria largely disappeared from public life. She appeared in a 1992 Dateline episode, but has since avoided interviews and hasn’t participated in the numerous films and documentaries made about Aileen.

She is reportedly still alive and living a private life in Pennsylvania, although she has not publicly discussed Aileen or the case for decades.

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Featured image credit: Netflix