Grim Sleeper
Grim Sleeper | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Victims | 11 killed, one survivor |
Span of crimes | 1985 (first known victim) – 2007 (latest confirmed victim) |
| Country |  United States |
| State(s) | California |
Date apprehended | July 2010 [1] |
Grim Sleeper is the nickname for a serial killer in Los Angeles, California believed to be responsible for at least 11 murders and one attempted murder in Los Angeles since 1985. The attacker was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because he apparently took a 14-year hiatus from his crimes, from 1988 to 2002. [2][3][4]
On July 7, 2010, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, Steve Cooley, charged a suspect, Lonnie David Franklin Jr., 57, with ten counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and special circumstance allegations of multiple murders in the case.[5][6]
Investigation
In May 2007, the murder of Janecia Peters, 25, was linked through DNA analysis to 11, possibly 12, unsolved murders in Los Angeles, the first of which occurred in 1985. The "800 Task Force" was then formed, consisting of seven detectives. As a result of a four-month investigation by the LA Weekly, investigative reporter Christine Pelisek broke the news of the secret 800 Task Force, the linking of Peters' killing to a string of murders going back 23 years, and the fact that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief William Bratton had been silent on the killer's existence. The mayor and chief never issued a press release nor warned the South Los Angeles community of the killer's continuing activities. In some cases, the alternative newspaper was the first to inform the families that their daughters had long been confirmed as victims of a serial killer.[3]
In August 2008, the LA Weekly had an extensive interview with the sole survivor of the Grim Sleeper's attacks, providing several details. She described him as "a black man in his early 30s [...] He looked neat. Tidy. Kind of geeky. He wore a black polo shirt tucked into khaki trousers." She also described him as a "thin, neat, polite and well-groomed African-American guy." He owned "an orange Ford Pinto with a white racing stripe on the hood." "[I]t looked like a Hot Wheels [toy] car," the survivor recalled. He offered her a ride. After she refused, "He told me, ‘That is what is wrong with you black women. You think you are all that.'" He was persistent. After some banter back and forth, she got into his car. She "was impressed by the car’s interior. The gear-shift handle was memorable, pimped out with a ping-pong-sized marble ball. The inside was all-white, with white diamond-patterned upholstery." When she mentioned a party, he deftly invited himself and she said he was welcome to come. He then said that he needed to stop briefly at his uncle's house: "They wound through residential roads in his sporty car, ending up on a street whose name she did not take note of. The polite stranger parked outside a mustard-colored house partly obscured by hedges, got out, walked up to the house, briefly talked to someone inside, and returned about 10 minutes later." They began arguing, when "He suddenly pulled a small handgun out of a pocket on the driver’s side of the Pinto, and shot her in the chest as he drove along the residential streets." The killer apparently documented his attacks with a Polaroid camera: "She blacked out, but was startled awake by the bright flash of the camera. The black man had taken her picture and sexually assaulted her. She remembers grabbing at him, and the two struggled. She pleaded to be taken to a hospital. He refused. Despite her half-conscious condition, she’s almost certain he told her he couldn’t take her to a hospital because he didn’t want to get caught."[3]
In late August 2008, the same week the Weekly broke the sole survivor's story with information on the Grim Sleeper's body count of 13 victims, an aide to Police Chief William Bratton said he was too busy to comment on the case.[3] In early September 2008, officials in Los Angeles announced that they are offering a $500,000 reward to help catch the killer, who has murdered at least 10 women and one man in two sprees over the past 20 years.[4] On November 1, 2008, a story about the "Grim Sleeper" appeared on the television program America's Most Wanted. AMW stated that the killer was most likely a black male but did not want to rule out anyone.[7]
On February 25, 2009, for the first time, Chief Bratton held a press conference regarding the case at which police formally gave the killer the "Grim Sleeper" nickname chosen by L.A. Weekly. Bratton then released a call from the 1980s made to a 911 operator in which a man reports having seen a body, which later turned out to be a victim of the Grim Sleeper, getting dumped by the killer, with a detailed description and license plate number of a van connected with the now-closed Cosmopolitan Church.[8]
Arrest
On July 7, 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that an arrest had been made. District Attorney Steve Cooley identified the suspect as 57-year-old Lonnie David Franklin Jr.[2] The arrest of Franklin reportedly was due, at least in part, to the use of familial DNA analysis.[1] Police had been unable to find an exact match between DNA found at the crime scenes associated with the Grim Sleeper and any of the profiles in California's DNA profile database. Thus, police searched the database to try to find stored profiles that demonstrated sufficient similarity to the profile from the crime-scene evidence to allow police to infer a familial relationship between the person who left the DNA at the crime scenes and the similar profile stored in the database.
Police eventually located similar DNA belonging to Franklin's son, who had been convicted of a felony weapons charge.[6] According to Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, detectives then used a piece of discarded pizza[6] with Franklin's DNA to make the link. The identification was used to arrest Franklin after his DNA was obtained and deemed a match.[6]
Victims
These are the Grim Sleeper's victims in chronological order of attack:[9]
| Number | Name | Sex | Age | Found Dead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Debra Jackson | F | 29 | 10 August 1985 |
| 2 | Henrietta Wright | F | 35 | 12 August 1986 |
| 3 | Thomas Steele | M | 36 | 14 August 1986 |
| 4 | Barbara Ware | F | 23 | 10 January 1987 |
| 5 | Bernita Sparks | F | 25 | 15 April 1987 |
| 6 | Mary Lowe | F | 26 | 1 November 1987 |
| 7 | Lachrica Jefferson | F | 22 | 30 January 1988 |
| 8 | Alice Monique Alexander | F | 18 | 11 September 1988 |
| 9 | Enietra "Margette" ‡ | F | Unknown | Survived ‡ |
| 10 | Princess Berthomieux | F | 15 | 19 March 2002 |
| 11 | Valeria McCorvey | F | 35 | 11 July 2003 |
| 12 | Janecia Peters | F | 25 | 1 January 2007 |
‡ Enietra "Margette" was given a ficticious last name for her protection. Attacked on 20 November 1988, she is the only known survivor.[3] After her escape, there were no other known attacks for almost a decade and a half.
References
- ^ a b July 7, 2010 . "LAPD make arrest in Grim Sleeper serial killings". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
{{cite web}}: Text " 12:29 pm" ignored (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Arrest in 'Grim Sleeper' killings of 10 women, man". MSNBC. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ^ a b c d e Christine Pelisek, Grim Sleeper Returns: He's Murdering Angelenos, as Cops Hunt his DNA, LA Weekly, August 28, 2008
- ^ a b Grim Sleeper Serial Killer Hunted , SkyNews Report
- ^ The Associated Press (2010-07-07). "Police make arrest in 'Grim Sleeper' killings". msnbc.com. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- ^ a b c d Simon, Mallory (2010-07-08). "Police Suspect in Los Angeles Grim Sleeper case to be arraigned". CNN.com. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ^ http://www.AMW.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=60381/[full citation needed]
- ^ Pelisek, Christine (2009-02-25). "Tape May Hold Clue to Identifying Grim Sleeper Serial Killer – Los Angeles News – The Informer". Blogs.laweekly.com. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ^ "'Grim Sleeper' Timeline". cbs2.com. Retrieved 2010-07-08.