Who is Tyria Moore? All about the key figure in Aileen Wuornos case

Aileen Wuornos anchors the new Netflix documentary Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers, and Tyria Moore is the figure whose choices helped bring the case to a close. Moore was Wuornos’ girlfriend during the period of the killings. Her recorded calls and courtroom testimony later became central to the prosecution.

Between late 1989 and late 1990, seven men were found shot along Florida roadways. Wuornos was arrested in January 1991 and was eventually sentenced to death, with her execution carried out in 2002. The documentary revisits those facts and the debate around motive, self-defense claims, and the role Moore played as the investigation tightened.

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Case overview: Aileen Wuornos and the investigation

Detectives linked scenes through ballistics, pawn slips, and a crashed vehicle that Wuornos and Moore were reportedly seen abandoning. A palm print tied Wuornos to one victim’s car. She was arrested at a Volusia County bar after weeks of surveillance.

Wuornos was arrested at a local bar following surveillance operations (Image via Pexels)

In interviews, Wuornos admitted to multiple shootings and later pleaded no contest in several cases. She also alleged assaults by some of the men. Prosecutors argued planned robberies. The record shows both lines of argument, and the documentary lays out those threads for viewers.

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Who is Tyria Moore in the Aileen Wuornos story?

Tyria Moore was a motel maid in her mid-20s when she met Wuornos in 1986 at a Daytona Beach bar. They moved in together. By most accounts, Wuornos supported the household through sex work while Moore left her job. The relationship, close and fast-moving, reportedly shifted under financial stress and frequent moves between motels and trailers.

When the killings began in 1989, Moore said she didn’t participate. As media attention grew and evidence mounted, she left Florida and later cooperated with investigators. Under police guidance, she placed recorded calls to Wuornos, urging a full account of the events. On those tapes, emotion and fear are plain to hear.

During the call, Wuornos said:

“I’m not gonna let you go to jail. Ty, I love you. If I have to confess everything just to keep you from getting in trouble, I will.”

Moore later took the stand and described what she knew of the period, while stating she had no role in the crimes.

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Tyria Moore, the taped calls, and the Aileen Wuornos confession

The motel-based calls, arranged by authorities, were made after Moore was located out of state and returned to Florida. During those conversations, Wuornos made incriminating statements that investigators recorded and logged. In court, Moore’s testimony supported the state’s case on sequence and context.

Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (Image via Netflix)

Wuornos maintained that the first killing followed an alleged sexual assault and that she acted to survive. The jury heard both the allegations and the counterclaims. The verdicts that followed hinged on the admissions, physical evidence, and a pattern the state presented across scenes.

For many, Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers is the first time these materials are heard straight through without commentary. The approach lets the calls, interviews, and courtroom clips carry their own weight.

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Where is Tyria Moore after Aileen Wuornos?

After the 1992 proceedings, Moore stepped away from publicity. She reportedly declined participation in dramatizations and most later interviews. Public records and scattered reports place her living quietly, outside Florida, with no ongoing media presence.

No charges were filed against her in the murders. In the documentary, voices around the case describe her cooperation as a turning point, while also noting the pressure she allegedly faced at the time.

Moore’s place in the Aileen Wuornos story is not about celebrity. It sits at the junction of a private bond and a public investigation. For viewers who have seen or plan to see Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers, her role explains how the case moved from rumor to evidence, from search to arrest, and finally to the verdicts that still shape the discussion today.

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