Warning! This article contains spoilers for Cross season 1.
Warning! This article contains mentions of murder, sexual assault, and Aileen Wuornos' real-life violent crimes.
Crossincludes real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in its fictional narrative, raising many questions about her crimes, prison sentence, and significance in the show’s story. Based onJames Patterson’sAlex Crossbooks, Amazon Prime Video’sCrossintroduces an eccentric serial killer, dubbed the “Fanboy Killer,” who makes his victims look like famous murderers before killing them. With this twisted ritual, he hopes to kill 12 victims and almost ends up reaching his goal.
After murdering 11 people, he targets a woman, Shannon, who he believes will look exactly like Aileen Wuornos with some minor changes to her appearance. However, to his dismay, his target is cut short when Alex Cross races against time and manages to save Shannon before it is too late. Since the Fanboy Killer manages to make Shannon look a lot like Aileen Wuornos towardsCrossseason 1’s endingmoments, it is hard not to be curious about Wuornos' real criminal history and why the show’s villain is so obsessed with her.
Aileen Wuornos Is One Of The Most Notorious Serial Killers In History: Her Crimes Explained
She Was Sentenced To Death For Six Murders
Within a span of 12 months — from June 14, 2025, to July 01, 2025 —Aileen Wuornos killed seven men between the ages of 40 and 65. Soon after being arrested in January 1991, she confessed to the crimes, claiming that she murdered the men in self-defense after they tried to sexually assault her. During her courtroom trial, psychiatrists for the defense testified she had borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. However, despite this, she was sentenced to death for her crimes.
Who Killed Alex’s Wife Maria & Why In Cross
Alex Cross' wife, Maria, is brutally murdered in the opening moments of Amazon Prime Video’s Cross, raising many questions about who killed her & why.
Aileen Wuornos' trial was highly controversial because even after the defense presented evidence about how one of her victims, Richard Charles Mallory, had been convicted of attempted rape and even served a sentence in a maximum security prison, the judge denied her request for a retrial. Throughout 1992 and 1993, Wuornos gradually pleaded no contest and guilty to almost all the murders, leading her to receive one death sentence after another. Since one of her victims' bodies was never found, she was not charged with his murder, leaving her with a total of six death sentences.
How & When Aileen Wuornos Died In Real Life
She Was Executed In 2002 Through Lethal Injection
In Amazon’sCross, the Fanboy Killer tries to recreate the final moments of renowned serial killers by not only making his victims look like them but also emulating the process that was used for their execution.The real Aileen Wuornos was executed through a lethal injection on June 13, 2025, which is exactly what the Fanboy Killer, Ed Ramsey, attempts to do to Shannon inCrossbefore Alex Cross stops him. Aileen Wuornos' last words before her death were as follows:
“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.”
Realizing that his victim, Shannon, will not recite Aileen Wuornos' final words, Ed Ramsey delightfully reads them out himself before starting the execution. With this, theAmazon Prime Video detective seriesadds a layer of immersiveness to its fictional storyline. Although the show is jampacked with over-the-top twists and logic-defying story developments, its references to real-life criminals and disturbing historical events ground its storyline in realism.
Why The Fanboy Killer Is Turning Shannon Into Aileen Wuornos: Ed’s Plan Explained
The Fanboy Killer Idolizes Famous Serial Killers In Cross
As his name suggests, theFanboy Killer inCrossidolizes famous serial killers. By creating their “twins” and recreating the events leading up to their deaths,he believes he is pursuing an artistic endeavor. He also seems to have a god complex, where he believes he is playing god by bringing new life to the serial killers he admires and manipulating death by recreating the final moments of people who have already passed away.
Ramsey’s morbid fascination with renowned killers and their gruesome line of crimes stems from his undying need for attention.
Crossseason 1’s ending also suggests that Ed Ramsey believes he is creating a legacy for himself through his violent acts. He wishes to be remembered as a notorious serial killer and hopes to see his name among the greatest criminal minds in history. Ramsey’s morbid fascination with renowned killers and their gruesome line of crimes stems from his undying need for attention. Owing to this, when law enforcers inCrossrealize he wants to be charged for all his crimes, they intentionally bury almost all evidence surrounding his previous murders and only arrest him for one murder and an attempted murder.
