How an undercover LAPD detective posing as pizzeria busboy helped catch alleged 'Grim Sleeper' serial killer linked to at least 10 murders
- Lonnie Franklin Jr, 63, is on trial for 10 murders and one attempted murder in Los Angeles' 'Grim Sleeper' case
- Franklin was arrested in 2010 after DNA evidence secretly collected from pizza parlor matched evidence from several crime scenes
- Undercover detective was sent to John's Incredible Pizza in July 2010 to pick up Franklin's plate and utensils for testing
- A raid of Franklin's home yielded a handgun and 1,000 photographs of women
Eating a slice of pizza at a Buena Park, California, eatery on the afternoon of July 5, 2010, Lonnie Franklin Jr had no idea that a middle-aged busboy lurking nearby was watching his every move and waiting for a chance to get a hold of his dirty plate and used napkins.
Franklin also did not know was that the hardworking staffer at John's Incredible Pizza was, in fact, an undercover Los Angeles police detective, and that he was in the middle of a three-day sting operation to catch the elusive 'Grim Sleeper' serial killer.
Details of Franklin's dramatic capture emerged in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday. The 63-year-old man is on trial for allegedly killing nine women and a 15-year-old girl between 1985 and 2007 in one of the city's most notorious serial killer cases.
Lonnie Franklin Jr, left, a suspect in the Grim Sleeper serial killer case, pictured in court on February 16, was arrested in 2010 after a sting operation involving an undercover detective posing as a pizza parlor bus boy
Elaborate ruse: The LAPD cop was sent to John's Incredible Pizza in Buena Park, California, to secretly collect Franklin's plate and utensils for DNA testing
Franklin, a former garage attendant, has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
He has been behind bars awaiting trial for nearly six years since his arrest in 2010 based on DNA evidence collected by the enterprising cop masquerading as a pizza parlor employee, reported the Los Angeles Times.
On that July afternoon five years ago, Franklin was eating pizza at a child's birthday party while the undercover cop was walking between tables at John’s Incredible Pizza carrying a plastic tub to collect dirty dishes.
Inside the bin, however, he had a separate metal pan reserved just for Franklin's trash.
In a CCTV video from the pizzeria that was played for the jury on Friday, Franklin is reportedly seen getting up from his table at the end of the meal and leaving the room where the birthday celebration was taking place.
With the suspect out of sight, the bogus busboy picks up Franklin’s plate and carefully deposits it in the metal container, covering it with a trey to avoid contaminating the evidence, which included a half-eaten slice of pizza; a fork; two napkins; two plastic cups, and a piece of chocolate cake.
Franklin, pictured in a mugshot from 1999 on the left and in court in August 2010 on the right, is suspected of killing 10 women between 1985 and 2007
Judge Kathleen A. Kennedy wipes her eye while Prosecutor Beth Silverman, left, delivers her opening statement in the People vs. Lonnie Franklin Jr. trial which began on February 16
DNA samples collected from those items would eventually lead to Franklin’s arrest in the ‘Grim Sleeper’ case.
Final victim: The groundwork for Franklin's capture had been laid in 2007, during the investigation of the shooting of 25-year-old Janecia Peters (pictured), whose naked body was found in the fetal position inside a trash bag
The groundwork for Franklin's capture had been laid three years earlier, during the investigation of the January 2007 shooting of 25-year-old Janecia Peters, whose naked body was found in the fetal position inside a trash bag under a Christmas tree, about 5 miles south of Franklin’s home.
DNA evidence collected from Peters' crime scene matched samples linked to two other killings, but at the time police did not know to whom the DNA belonged.
Police decided to try and match the DNA found at the various crime scenes to see if they could identify a family member, to narrow down the search.
The year before, Franklin's son Christopher was found guilty of a weapons charge. As part of the legal process, his DNA had been entered onto a database. When officers ran the mystery DNA through the database, they found a partial match with Christopher Franklin.
But they still needed a sample from Franklin’s father, Lonnie, to test against the previously collected evidence, which is why the LAPD decided to send in the undercover detective posing as a busboy to John's incredible Pizza in July 2010.
When police searched Franklin Jr's home three days later, they discovered more than 1,000 photographs of women and several hundred hours of video. Two of the still images were of murder victims, including one who had just been shot in the chest when she was photographed.
The raid on Franklin's residence on 81st Street in South Los Angeles also yielded a semi-automatic handgun, described by prosecutors on Monday as the murder weapon in the slaying of Janecia Peters, who is believed to be the 'Grim Sleeper's' final victim.
Officers raiding Franklin's house after his arrest found pictures of more than 1,000 women and videos
Debra Jackson, 29, on August 10, 1985 (left) and Henrietta Wright, August 12, 1986 (right)
August 10, 1985: Debra Jackson - A 29-year-old cocktail waitress who went to take a bus home after visiting her friend.
Her body was found three days later with three gunshot wounds to the chest.
August 12, 1986: Henrietta Wright - The 35-year-old was found dead in an alley near West Vernon Avenue.
She was shot twice and wrapped in a blanket and covered in a mattress.
January 10, 1987: Barbara Ware - The 23-year-old had been shot once in the chest and her body had been dumped under a pile of rubbish.
April 15, 1987: Bernita Sparks - 26-year-old went out to the shops but never returned. Her body was found in a bin, covered in rubbish. She had been shot, strangled and beaten.
October 31, 1987: Mary Lowe - 26-year-old left home to go to a party, but never returned. Her body was found in an alley of Western Avenue.
January 30, 1988: Lachrica Jefferson - Officers found the 22-year-old's body with a napkin over the face with the word 'AIDS' written on it.
September 11, 1988: Alicia Alexander - Another victim killed while going to the shops. The 18-year-old's body was also found in an alley near Western Avenue.
December 21, 2001: Princess Berthomieux - The end of the 14-year hiatus. DNA on the 14-year-old's body matched those of previous killings.
July 11, 2003: Valerie McCorvey - The 35-year-old had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
January 1, 2007: Janecia Peters - 25-year-old was shot in the back and her body was dumped in a rubbish bag.
