Aileen Wuornos gave birth to a son in 1971, when she was about 14; he was put up for adoption. At 20, she married 69-year-old yachtsman Lewis Gratz Fell in May 1976, but their marriage was annulled after nine weeks.
According to the Journal of Forensic Sciences, Wuornos kept the pregnancy secret for six months. After her grandparents learned of it, she was sent to a home for unwed mothers. The child’s father is unknown; Wuornos said one of her grandfather’s friends raped her. The article says childhood friend Dawn Botkins appeared to corroborate her account in the 2025 Netflix documentary Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers.
Weeks after the wedding, Fell filed for a restraining order against Wuornos, alleging she had a “violent and ungovernable temper” and had beaten him with his cane. Wuornos denied the allegations and said Fell had attacked her.
