Most of the victims were found shot in the chest by a .25 caliber gun, two of those victims were found strangled. The last victim however, was found with a napkin covering her face with the words AIDS in bold letters. The bodies were typically found hidden under rubbish or in trash bins. Autopsies revealed semen in the victims but given their field, it was considered consensual.
Angry people of color rose in the community when nothing turned up and was determined by the residents as the police just not giving a damn. As a result, a coalition of black people set up their own group and offered a reward.
Oddly, the killings stopped and did not start up again until fourteen years later in 2002 when the police found three more victims, the killer having used the same MO. This was when police began to refer to this killer as the Grim Sleeper, and the case was reopened, only this time a Task Force was set up that consisted of six detectives. Despite the formation, the LAPD did not release any news of the killer's return until a reporter published it in the newspaper. As such, they were forced to eventually offer a reward of $500,000 for any information that lead to the killer.
With no matches of DNA in the database, police decided to try a technique called 'familial DNA' which will identify relatives. That turned out to be the answer to their prayers when it led them to Christopher Franklin who'd been incarcerated on a weapons charge. That partial match led them to his 57-year old father, Lonnie David Franklin, Jr., and ultimately matched the DNA collected from a half-eaten slice of pizza by an undercover cop posing as a waiter. Checking Franklin's background proved that he had actually worked for the City of Los Angeles' Sanitation and Police Departments as a mechanic during the years 1981 through 1988 when he retired on disability. It was later apparent that since he'd worked with the police every day, he knew how to avoid arrest and because he'd stayed out of trouble, his mouth had never been swabbed.
Further investigation would show that in 1989, he'd been arrested and convicted of stolen property as well as assault and battery. Even though he'd been incarcerated for a portion of that time, it was proven that he'd been on probation when the killings had occurred. This composite was drafted by a sketch artist based on witness testimony of one victim who'd been successful at getting away.
A canvas of witnesses would reveal that Franklin was known for talking badly about prostitutes, female drug addicts, and as he liked to refer to them, 'slutty' women in the neighborhood.
Others would say he was a doting grandfather who frequently helped neighbors fix their cars and stole the parts to do it. Apparently, knowing the parts had been stolen didn't seem to faze any of those people.
Finally, police raided Franklin's home, only to find the .25 caliber gun, the same that was used to kill some of the victims, but the most telling piece of evidence was the 180 photographs of the women he'd killed, many of whom were nude. And for the photographs of those women still alive only meant they were on his hit list.
In 2011, Lonnie David Franklin, Jr., was charged with 10 counts of murder and is currently awaiting trial scheduled to begin this month. I will keep you posted on the outcome of this trial. If convicted, Franklin could likely face the death penalty.
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