List of serial killers who were sexually abused. When a person is revealed to be a serial killer, many people like to delve into their childhoods to see just what went wrong. What happened in their formative years that could have affected their minds? Were their bad childhoods linked to their crimes? These types of questions sometimes lead to revelations about negative childhood experiences that these serial killers faced. Sometimes, violent perpetrators experienced violent crimes from an early age. Serial killers who have sexual components to their murders sometimes dealt with sexual abuse in their childhood.
The serial killers on this list have admitted to being sexually abused in their past. Whether it was used in their defense when on trial for their lives or came out after the fact, these vicious killers dealt with unimaginable hardships from an early age. While there’s no definitive link between sexual abuse and future violent behavior, it played a part in the mind of a killer.
What serial killers were molested? How did it factor into their crimes? This list begins to answer those questions and more.
6 Serial Killers Who Were Sexually Abused,
Aileen Wuornos
As a kid, Aileen Wuornos was sexually abused by her grandfather, who raised her after her parents abandoned her. It's no wonder that as an adult Wuornos killed men she believed were sexually assaulting her.
Albert DeSalvo
Albert DeSalvo killed many people as the Boston Strangler. However, you feel a bit sorry for him when you hear that he was sold as a slave by his father when he was a child.
Mary Bell
Before Mary Bell took the lives of younger children, she was sexually abused at the hands of her mother. Bell's mother worked as a prostitute and used her daughter from the time she was 4.
Michael Bruce Ross
When Michael Ross was 6-years-old, his uncle molested him. Throughout his childhood, Ross was beaten and was raised by a crazy mother. As an adult he killed 8 people and was eventually executed.
Anthony Sowell
Anthony Sowell killed at least 11 women whose remains were found in his home. As a child, he was sexually abused by a cousin and a nephew that was much older than him.
Andrew Crawford
Andre Crawford raped and murdered 11 women in Chicago in the '90s. Crawford later came forward about his sexual abuse as a teenager by his foster family and other relatives.