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The infamous American serial killer the Grim Sleeper, also known as Lonnie David Franklin Jr., continues to haunt the city of Los Angeles to this day. Franklin Jr. escaped the eyes of the police for over 20 years before he was arrested as a suspect in July 2010.
His DNA was identified through familial DNA analysis, wherein the authorities located his son. A 911 call from the 1980s from an eyewitness mentioned Franklin and his car number as they watched him dump a body.
The A&E special Cold Case Files: The Grim Sleeper aired on Friday, November 8, 2024, at 9 pm EST and is currently streaming on A&E. The official synopsis reads:
"In Los Angeles in the 1980’s, a killer terrorised South Central, murdering African American women and discarding their bodies in the street. Yet, as the victim count rose, there were few suspects leading to fear and anger in a community often overlooked by the LAPD."
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It continues:
"Eventually dubbed “The Grim Sleeper,” this notorious killer went on to terrorize the neighborhood for decades until DNA technology allowed the LAPD to close in on the perpetrator."
Who was the Grim Sleeper?
The infamous Grim Sleeper was the moniker earned by Lonnie David Franklin Jr. as he operated as a serial killer between 1985 and 2007. Franklin Jr. took on black women in Los Angeles who struggled with drug addiction or were s*x workers, and he killed at least 13 individuals.
The modus operandi in the killings were either strangulation or shooting. The women were reportedly found entirely or partially naked and dumped in the dirty garbage-filled alleyways of the city. The rampage took place in the early 1980s, and the Los Angeles Police Department reached out to the public in September 1985 for information regarding the murderer dubbed Southside Slayer.
On the same note, the series of murders came to be known as the Strawberry Murders, referring to the women as they exchanged s*x for drugs. The Strawberry Murders brought about a slew of protests by Margaret Prescod and other community activists due to the negligence of the Los Angeles Police Department.
According to Los Angeles Times, the protests highlighted the divided effort of the authorities, especially as the investigation of Richard Ramirez or the Night Stalker went on. The Night Stalker targeted women from the upscale neighborhoods of Los Angeles and San Francisco between 1984 and 1985.
How was the Grim Sleeper caught? Details explored
The series of murders committed by the Grim Sleeper were investigated by the Southside Slayer Task Force consisting of LAPD and LASD officers. While the officers struggled to find a single killer, one element tied the murders together—a .25 caliber firearm used to shoot the women in the chest.
The murder of 25-year-old Janecia Peters was tied to 11 murders that remained unsolved in May 2007 through DNA analysis. An interview with the only survivor of Lonnie David Franklin Jr., Enietra Washington, gave the authorities a detailed description of his stature.
The LAPD did not have DNA samples of Franklin Jr. So, they traced him down after identification and collected his DNA from a discarded pizza to find a match. In July 2010, Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was arrested and charged with 10 counts of murder and an attempted murder.
Catch all the case details in the Cold Case Files: The Grim Sleeper currently streaming on A&E.
