More than three decades after serial killer Aileen Wuornos was arrested while drinking her last beer, the Florida biker bar where it all happened continues to serve as a morbid monument to her infamous life and crimes.
The Last Resort in Port Orange, Florida, is more than just a local watering hole; it’s a true-crime pilgrimage site. Behind the bar hangs Wuornos’ framed mugshot. Her face adorns T-shirts and bottles of hot sauce. A painted portrait, part of a makeshift shrine, lists the men she murdered alongside the bar’s audacious slogan: “Home of ice cold beer and killer women.”
A Killer’s Legacy Maintained
Owner Al Bulling, who has run the bar for 33 years, knew Wuornos well. “She wanted to be remembered and keep the memory going,” Bulling told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “Well, we’ll keep it going for her.”
Wuornos, a prostitute who fatally shot at least seven men between 1989 and 1990—claiming the killings were in self-defense—was arrested at The Last Resort in January 1991. After a conviction and a decade on death row, she was executed by lethal injection in 2002 at age 46. RELATED: Florida Highway Killer: Aileen Wuornos — Traumatized Victim Or Cold-Blooded Murderer?
Nearly four decades later, the fascination with America’s most notorious female serial killer is spiking again, thanks to the release of a new Netflix documentary, Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers.
The documentary, directed by Emily Turner, features never-before-heard audio, archival footage, and rare prison interviews with Wuornos herself, who famously inspired Charlize Theron’s Oscar-winning portrayal in the 2003 film Monster.
“The real Aileen Wuornos is not a serial killer,” she says in the film. “I was so drunk and so lost, so f—ked up in the head, man, that I turned into one. But my real self is not one.”
The enduring mystery and tragedy of Wuornos’ story—a cascade of childhood trauma, abandonment, sex work, and ultimately, murder—continues to draw visitors to The Last Resort from around the globe. Bikers, true-crime fans, and the simply curious flood the bar, which has maintained much of its appearance since the killer’s time there. READ: ‘America’s First Female Serial Killer’ Aileen Wuornos: A Look Back At Her Florida Crimes, Execution
“They come from all over the world,” Bulling said. “They just come, ordinary people, because they know it’s all here. Everything’s the same. Same pool table, everything.”
The lingering local ties to Wuornos extend down South Ridgewood Avenue to the former Fairview Motel, now renamed the Scoot Inn, where she stayed just before her arrest.
Final Words
Wuornos’ final words before her 2002 execution—a bizarre reference to an alien mothership and Jesus—are etched on the wall under her picture at The Last Resort:
“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 mothership and all, I’ll be back, I’ll be back.”
The ongoing fascination with Wuornos continues to shape how society discusses women who kill. For some, she remains a symbol of rage born from abuse; for others, she is simply a cold-blooded murderer—a complex duality that ensures the killer’s memory will continue to draw crowds to the Florida bar where her dark reign ended.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
