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Thread: Lonnie David Franklin, Jr. - California

  1. #1
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    Lonnie David Franklin, Jr. - California












    Possible victim Edwinta Hereford


    Enietra Margette (sole survivor)


    Lonnie Franklin, Jr.




    LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles authorities have identified a man arrested in the city's "Grim Sleeper" serial killings.

    Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley says Lonnie Franklin Jr. will be charged Wednesday with 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and special circumstance allegations that could make Franklin eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

    Franklin's exact age is unclear, with differing agencies saying he is 51 or 57.

    The killings occurred between 1985 and 2007.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    July 7, 2010

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police made an arrest Wednesday in the "Grim Sleeper" serial killings in which a man is believed to have killed 11 people since 1985, a law enforcement official said.

    The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and asked to remain anonymous, told The Associated Press the arrest was made but did not immediately provide a name or other details.

    "Today is a good day," Donnell Alexander, the brother of victim Monique Alexander, said as he watched police activity outside the South Los Angeles house where the arrest was made.

    Detectives have spent years probing at least 11 slayings between 1985 and 2007 in which the killer targeted young black women and one man.

    The killer was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because he apparently took a 14-year hiatus in his crimes.

    Dozens of police officials closed off a block around the 81st Street house where the arrest was made.

    Neighbors described the man who lives there as friendly and quiet. They said he was often seen working on cars in his front yard and would sometimes stop to chat with passers-by.

    Neighbor Brenda Locker, a retired city employee, said the man used to work for the city as a mechanic at the 77th Street police station and had retired.

    Alexander joined a crowd at the end of the block where the distinctive green house is located. A mobile command post was parked out front, and a line of police tents sheltered tables in the front yard.

    Alexander said he always kept faith there would be an arrest.

    "You don't think about it every day, but every birthday, every holiday, every Christmas," he said. "It's not closure but it helps."

    Neighbors were in disbelief.

    "He's a very good guy. I don't believe it," nearby resident Andre Wynn said.

    The "Grim Sleeper" case has dogged police even though they had the killer's DNA, a description from a survivor and had offered a $500,000 reward.

    The victims were shot, strangled or both, usually after some kind of sexual contact. Ten victims were women and several were prostitutes.

    Police have said it's possible the male victim, Thomas Steele, who was shot in 1987, was a friend of another victim or discovered the killer's identity.

    All the bodies were found outdoors, often in alleys a few miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

    The initial killings occurred during a time of extreme violence in parts of Los Angeles, when many young women were falling prey to crack cocaine and other drug addictions. As many as 30 detectives investigated the slayings in the 1980s but exhausted leads within a few years.

    A special squad of detectives was assembled after the most recent known "Grim Sleeper" killing, the June 2007 shooting of Janecia Peters, 25, whose body was found in a trash bin.

    The detectives have been focusing on the January 1987 slaying of Barbara Ware, a 23-year-old with a history of prostitution who was found shot in a South Los Angeles alley.

    A man called police to report seeing her body being dumped from a blue-and-white van. Within an hour police had used the license plates to locate the van at its registered address at a church. The van's engine was still warm and there were several congregants in the church, but none seemed to know anything. The trail stopped there.

    In 2009, police released a recording of the emergency telephone call in hopes someone would know the voice of the man.

    "I'd like to report a murder — a dead body or something," the caller said. "He threw her out ... the only thing you can see out is her feet."

    The caller then declined to identify himself, saying, "I know too many people." He then hung up.

    The one suspect description came from a woman who was sexually assaulted then shot and survived. She said a man with chiseled features and a black polo shirt who was driving an orange Ford Pinto offered her a ride to her sister's house.

    She said they exchanged banter and shortly after getting into the car, she was attacked and pushed from the car.

    Keisha Smith was among the crowd kept away from the 81st Street investigation scene by police tape. She said the arrested man was well known as a mechanic in the neighborhood and had often helped find parts for her truck.

    "It makes me feel scared," she said. "I have three little kids and he was that close to my kids."

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100707/ap_on_re_us/us_grim_sleeper_killings_7

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    'Grim Sleeper' Timeline

    Police have arrested a man suspected of killing mostly young, black women in South Los Angeles between 1985 and 2007. Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was taken into custody Wednesday on suspicion of being the notorious "Grim Sleeper" killer, named for the 14-year hiatus between murders.

    * Debra Jackson, 29, was found on Aug. 10, 1985 in an alley off of West Gage Avenue and South Vermont Avenue. She was shot three times in the chest and was found fully clothed, hidden under an old carpet. Jackson was a cocktail waitress and been on her way home from a friend's in Lynwood.
    * Henrietta Wright, 35, was found Aug. 12, 1986 in the 2500 block of West Vernon. She had been shot twice in the chest, was wrapped in a blanket, covered with a mattress. The killer had stuffed a man's long-sleeved shirt into her mouth. Wright was fully clothed but was shoeless.
    * Thomas Steele, 36, was found Aug. 14, 1986 near 71st Street and Halldale Avenue. Steele had been shot once behind the right ear and was dumped on the road fully clothed. Steele, of San Diego, was reportedly in Los Angeles to visit his sister.
    * Barbara Ware, 23, was found Jan. 10, 1987 in an alley of the 1300 block of East 56th Street with one shot to the chest. Ware was fully clothed, covered with trash and a plastic bag draped over her upper body.
    * Bernita Sparks, 25, was shot in the chest, strangled and beaten on April 15, 1987 and left in an alley in the 9400 block of South Western Avenue with one shot to the chest, strangled and beaten. Sparks was fully clothed and covered with garbage. Sparks was originally listed as Jane Doe No. 25.
    * Mary Lowe, 26, was found Nov. 1, 1987 after telling her mother she was going to a Halloween Party. Lowe was found shot in the chest and left in an alley near bushes in the 8900 block of Western Avenue. Lowe's mother said a neighbor saw Lowe get into a car with a young black man driving a rust or orange Ford Pinto.
    * Lachrica Jefferson, 22, was found Jan. 30, 1988 shot twice in the chest in an alley in the 2000 block of West 102nd Street in Lennox. A mattress covered her fully clothed body and a napkin scrawled with the word "AIDS" was placed over her face.
    * Alicia "Monique" Alexander, 18, was found shot in the chest in an alley near 43rd Place and Western Avenue on Sept. 11, 1988. Her nude body was covered with a mattress. Alexander had been sexually assaulted.
    * A woman identified only as "Margette" accepted a ride from a man on Nov. 20, 1988 and was shot in the chest. She says she was still bleeding as the man believed to be the Grim Sleeper snapped a photo of her as he raped her. He then dumped her out onto the street and went silent until 2001. She described her attacker as a smart, preppy-looking black man in his 30s driving a rust, red or orange Ford Pinto. The bullet removed from her chest matched the gun used to kill the first eight victims. Margette is believed to be the only known survivor of the Grim Sleeper.
    * Princess Berthomieux, 14, was found strangled in an alley in the 8100 block of South Van Ness Avenue in Inglewood on March 19, 2002. She had been missing since December 2001.
    * Valerie McCorvey, 35, was found in an alley between 109th and 108th Streets near Denker Avenue. McCorvey had been strangled and sexually assaulted. McCorvey's boyfriend was initially suspected of her muder, but DNA on her body matched evidence found on Berthomieux and Lowe.
    * Janecia Peters, 25, was found shot in the back and dumped in a garbage bag on Jan. 1, 2007. Peters' death was initially misreported as a stabbing.
    * In September 2008, the City of Los Angeles offered a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the Grim Sleeper.
    * In November 2009, Los Angeles police detectives released a composite sketch, along with an age-enhanced version, to the public based on the description from victim "Margette."

    http://cbs2.com/local/Grim.Sleeper.Timeline.2.1792682.html

  3. #3
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    July 8, 2010

    LOS ANGELES — To many of his neighbours and customers, Lonnie Franklin Jr. was just a friendly mechanic who often stopped to chat as he tinkered on cars in the front driveway of his mint-green house on 81st Street.

    But after police identified him as a serial killer Wednesday, other neighbours recalled traits that suddenly seemed chilling.

    Franklin, 57, was charged Wednesday with 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and special circumstance allegations of multiple murders that could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted. He's expected to be arraigned Thursday. Many of his alleged victims were prostitutes and all but one were women.

    Some neighbours said Franklin made no secret of enjoying the company of sex workers, who he would often bring back to a camper parked in his backyard filled with old cars and junk.

    Tasha Cole said he would point out different prostitutes when they would walk by and talk about them disrespectfully.

    "He knew all of them and their stories," she said.

    Another neighbour, Sherwood Howard, said Franklin would show off nude photos he took of the women from the neck down and talk about his exploits. He kept the pictures in the garage.

    "He'd go and mess with women all night long," Howard said. "We knew he was kind of weird, but he was a regular person. We never suspected he was killing them."

    Detectives have spent years investigating the slayings that occurred between 1985 and 2007. The attacker was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because he apparently took a 14-year hiatus from his crimes, from 1988 to 2002.

    The victims were shot, strangled or both, usually after some kind of sexual contact.

    The break in the case came after Franklin's son was arrested and swabbed for DNA, said Donnell Alexander, brother of victim Monique Alexander, who was given a briefing on the case by robbery-homicide detectives.

    Using a controversial technique known as a familial DNA search, the sample was flagged as similar to evidence in the serial killings, leading police to investigate relatives of Franklin's son.

    Detectives later swabbed a cup used by Lonnie Franklin Jr. at a restaurant and confirmed his DNA matched that in the serial killings, police said.

    District Attorney Steve Cooley said he believes the "Grim Sleeper" case was the first time a familial DNA search has been used successfully in California.

    Franklin's mint-green house is nestled amid a row of stucco homes, most of them single-story, in this working-class community where many neighbours know each other. The house is within blocks of the alleyways where some of his alleged victims were dumped.

    The initial killings occurred during a violent period in parts of Los Angeles, when many young women were falling prey to crack cocaine and other drug addictions. As many as 30 detectives investigated the slayings in the 1980s but exhausted leads within a few years.

    http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100708/grim-sleeper-killings-100708/20100708?hub=World&s_name=

  4. #4
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    LOS ANGELES (AP) — A one-time police garage attendant suspected of killing 10 people and stumping detectives for more than two decades was finally arrested Wednesday after police used DNA from his son to track him down.

    Lonnie Franklin Jr., 57, was charged with 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and special circumstance allegations of multiple murders that could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted, District Attorney Steve Cooley said.

    "Today is a good day," Donnell Alexander, the brother of victim Monique Alexander, said as he watched police activity outside the South Los Angeles house where the arrest was made earlier in the day.

    Detectives have spent years investigating slayings between 1985 and 2007 in which the killer targeted young black women and one man. The attacker was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because he apparently took a 14-year hiatus from his crimes, from 1988 to 2002.

    The victims were shot, strangled or both, usually after some kind of sexual contact. Several were prostitutes.

    Neighbors said Franklin talked openly about his encounters with local prostitutes, who he would often bring to a camper in his backyard. They also said he would show off nude photos he took of the women.

    The break in the case came after Franklin's son was arrested and swabbed for DNA, said Alexander, who was given a briefing on the case by robbery-homicide detectives.

    Using a controversial technique known as a familial DNA search, the sample came back as similar to evidence in the serial killings, leading police to investigate relatives of the man who was arrested.

    Detectives later swabbed a cup used by Lonnie Franklin Jr. at a restaurant and confirmed his DNA matched that in the serial killings, Alexander said, citing his briefing by police. Two police officials confirmed Alexander's account.

    Cooley believes the "Grim Sleeper" case was the first time a familial DNA search has been used successfully in California.

    State Attorney General Jerry Brown said the match came when an unspecified family member of Franklin was swabbed after getting convicted on a felony weapons charge.

    Los Angeles city personnel director Maggie Whalen said Franklin was hired in 1981 as an attendant at a Los Angeles Police Department garage, where he helped work on cars.

    The following year, he moved to the sanitation department, where he worked a number of jobs before becoming a refuse collector. He left city employment in 1989.

    Earlier Wednesday, dozens of police officials closed off a block around the 81st Street house where Franklin was arrested.

    Franklin's mint-green house was nestled amid a row of stucco homes, most of them single-story, in this working-class community where many neighbors know each other. The house is within blocks of the alleyways where some of his alleged victims were dumped.

    Neighbors described him as friendly and quiet and were stunned when they learned of his arrest. They said he was often seen working on cars in his front yard and would sometimes stop to chat with passers-by.

    Alexander joined a crowd at the end of the block where the green house is located. A mobile command post was parked out front, and a line of police tents sheltered tables in the front yard.

    Alexander said he always kept faith there would be an arrest.

    "You don't think about it every day, but every birthday, every holiday, every Christmas," he said. "It's not closure but it helps."

    The "Grim Sleeper" case has dogged police even though they had the killer's DNA, a description from a survivor and had offered a $500,000 reward.

    Police have said it's possible the lone male victim, Thomas Steele, who was shot in 1987, was a friend of another victim or discovered the killer's identity.

    All the bodies were found outdoors, often in alleys a few miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

    Rochell Johnson, whose mother Henrietta Wright was thought to be the killer's second victim when she was murdered in 1986, praised detectives.

    "I was just waiting for the day," she said. "It's a big relief for all the victims' families."

    The initial killings occurred during a time of extreme violence in parts of Los Angeles, when many young women were falling prey to crack cocaine and other drug addictions. As many as 30 detectives investigated the slayings in the 1980s but exhausted leads within a few years.

    A special squad of detectives was assembled after the most recent known "Grim Sleeper" killing, the June 2007 shooting of Janecia Peters, 25, whose body was found in a trash bin.

    The detectives have been focusing on the January 1987 slaying of Barbara Ware, a 23-year-old with a history of prostitution who was found shot in a South Los Angeles alley.

    A man called police to report seeing her body being dumped from a blue-and-white van. Within an hour police had used the license plates to locate the van at its registered address at a church. The van's engine was still warm and there were several congregants in the church, but none seemed to know anything. The trail stopped there.

    The one suspect description came from a woman who was sexually assaulted then shot and survived. She said a man with chiseled features and a black polo shirt who was driving an orange Ford Pinto offered her a ride to her sister's house.

    She said they exchanged banter and shortly after getting into the car, she was attacked and pushed from the vehicle.

    Keisha Smith was among the crowd kept away from the 81st Street investigation scene by police tape. She said Franklin was well known as a mechanic in the neighborhood and had often helped find parts for her truck.

    "It makes me feel scared," she said. "I have three little kids and he was that close to my kids."

    Franklin was expected to be arraigned Thursday.

    . http://rn-t.com/bookmark/8558149

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    July 8, 2010

    Los Angeles mayor says arrest in Grim Sleeper case ends years of terror

    The arrest of a suspect in the "Grim Sleeper" serial killings ended a quarter century of terror in the city dating back to the first murder in 1985, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday.

    "The terror began and spread throughout the streets of South Los Angeles," the mayor said at a news conference. "One man preyed on the innocent, and stole the lives of women living in some of our toughest neighborhoods."

    Lonnie Franklin Jr., 57, was charged Wednesday with 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and special circumstance allegations of multiple murders that could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

    Arraignment was expected later Thursday. Many of his alleged victims were prostitutes, and all but one were women.

    Police Chief Charlie Beck said a special detective team formed in 2007 made the investigation the largest ongoing case in his department.

    Porter Alexander, the father of victim Monique Alexander, said he thought police had given up and doubted he would live to see an arrest.

    "It shows today that the long arm of the law still prevails," Alexander said, adding that he was humbled and grateful.

    To many of his neighbors and customers, Franklin was just a friendly mechanic who often stopped to chat as he tinkered on cars in the front driveway of his mint-green house on 81st Street.

    But after police alleged he was the serial killer, other neighbors recalled traits that suddenly seemed chilling.

    Some neighbors said Franklin made no secret of enjoying the company of sex workers, who he would often bring back to a camper parked in his backyard filled with old cars and junk.

    Tasha Cole said he would point out different prostitutes when they would walk by and talk about them disrespectfully.

    "He knew all of them and their stories," she said.

    Another neighbor, Sherwood Howard, said Franklin would show off nude photos he took of the women from the neck down and talk about his exploits. He kept the pictures in the garage.

    "He'd go and mess with women all night long," Howard said. "We knew he was kind of weird, but he was a regular person. We never suspected he was killing them."

    Detectives have spent years investigating the slayings that occurred between 1985 and 2007. The attacker was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because he apparently took a 14-year hiatus from his crimes, from 1988 to 2002.

    The victims were shot, strangled or both, usually after some kind of sexual contact.

    The break in the case came after Franklin's son was arrested and swabbed for DNA, said Donnell Alexander, brother of victim Monique Alexander, who was given a briefing on the case by robbery-homicide detectives.

    Using a controversial technique known as a familial DNA search, the sample was flagged as similar to evidence in the serial killings, leading police to investigate relatives of Franklin's son.

    Detectives later swabbed a cup used by Lonnie Franklin Jr. at a restaurant and confirmed his DNA matched that in the serial killings, police said.

    District Attorney Steve Cooley said he believes the "Grim Sleeper" case was the first time a familial DNA search has been used successfully in California.

    Los Angeles city personnel director Maggie Whalen said Franklin was hired in 1981 as an attendant at a Los Angeles Police Department garage, where he helped work on cars.

    The following year, he moved to the sanitation department, where he worked a number of jobs before becoming a refuse collector. He left city employment in 1989.

    Franklin's house is nestled amid a row of stucco homes, most of them single-story, in this working-class community where many neighbors know each other. The house is within blocks of the alleyways where some of the victims were dumped.

    The initial killings occurred during a violent period in parts of Los Angeles, when many young women were falling prey to crack cocaine and other drug addictions. As many as 30 detectives investigated the slayings in the 1980s but exhausted leads within a few years.

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/08/los-angeles-mayor-says-arrest-grim-sleeper-case-ends-years-terror/

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    LOS ANGELES -- The man police say is the notorious serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper" made his first court appearance Thursday.

    57-year-old Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was only in court for a few minutes.

    His arraignment on 10 counts of murder has been postponed until Aug. 9.

    Franklin was arrested at 9:20 a.m. Wednesday morning in front of his home on 81st street in South Los Angeles.

    He was charged Wednesday with 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and special circumstance allegations of multiple murders that could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

    The arrest ends a 25 year investigation into the deaths of 11 people dating back to 1985.

    Police say Franklin was linked to the crimes using a relatively new and controversial forensic technique known as 'Familial' DNA searching.

    "Familial" searching allows investigators to look for close DNA matches in relatives when the suspect's DNA profile is not in the state database.

    According to police, a DNA sample taken from his son in an unrelated case was found to bear a close resemblance to DNA found on the victims.

    Cooley said detectives then used a discarded cup with Franklin's DNA to make the link.

    Franklin worked as an attendant working on LAPD cars in 1981, and then later worked in the sanitation department. He has since been working as a private mechanic.

    His arrest came as a shock to neighbors.

    "He's the neighborhood mechanic" said neighbor Eric Robinson, 47.

    "He volunteers at the park. A very good man. His daughter just graduated from college, I believe. He's a good mechanic, worked out of his garage. I've been here since 1976; that's how long I've known him. I'm not pretty shocked, I'm all the way shocked."

    The 'Grim Sleeper' is believed responsible for the murders of 10 women and one man from 1985 to 2007.

    After 1988, the killer did not commit any known homicides until 2002.

    He last struck on Jan. 1, 2007.

    A 12th victim escaped after she was shot and raped.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ktla-grim-sleeper-arrest,0,6820907.story?track=rss

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    Pizza helped cops nab 'Grim Sleeper' suspect

    Old-fashioned undercover work and a slice of pizza delivered the key genetic evidence that helped police nab the man wanted in the decades-long "Grim Sleeper" serial killings case as they put to use a provocative new DNA technique.

    Law enforcement officials on Thursday described how they used "familial DNA" searching to bring about the arrest of Lonnie Franklin Jr., on 10 counts of murder and other charges in killings between 1985 and 2007.

    Police hailed the arrest as an end to a quarter-century reign of terror on the streets of Los Angeles. The killer earned the "Grim Sleeper" nickname after taking a 14-year hiatus between slayings and re-emerging in 2002 to take three more victims.

    In the end, it was a meal at a Los Angeles restaurant that tripped up Franklin.

    An undercover officer pretending to be a waiter collected tableware, napkins, glasses and pizza crust at a restaurant where the suspect ate in recent days, allowing detectives to obtain a DNA match.

    The trail began to heat up when the DNA of Franklin's son was entered in a state database after he was convicted in a weapons case, authorities said. The son's DNA was similar to genetic material found on the victims, and authorities soon began following around Franklin to get his DNA and see if he was the suspected killer.

    California Attorney General Jerry Brown said it marked the first time in the nation that familial DNA had been used to break a case of such magnitude. He expects legal challenges but believes the case will hold up to the scrutiny.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38162451/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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    LOS ANGELES - Investigators are re-examining more than 30 cold case files to see if they can be tied to a suspect in the "Grim Sleeper" killings, the police chief said Friday.

    The cases, dating back to 1984, will be scoured for leads in light of new information gleaned since Wednesday's arrest of Lonnie Franklin Jr.

    "Now that we know who he is, where he lives, the cars he drove, have people to interview, we will go over all those old cases and look for connections," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said. "This is a city that was no stranger to homicides in the '80s and '90s, and we will be looking at all of those, especially the ones where the victims were female."

    Investigators will upload Franklin's DNA profile into a national database to see if it matches other samples where the DNA had degraded and scientists only were able to get a partial sample, Beck said.

    Franklin was dubbed the Grim Sleeper after a string of murders of young black women had south Los Angeles on edge in the mid-1980s. Then the killings suddenly stopped, only to resume again 14 years later.

    Now, investigators say they have possibly uncovered the reason for the long respite: He may have been spooked by a near miss by police in 1988.

    Franklin was arrested Wednesday at his lime-green house, just three doors down from a home that was searched extensively by police 22 years ago after the killer's only known survivor led cops there.

    Beck also noted that billboards plastered with a $500,000 reward and the suspect's police sketch were posted just eight blocks from Franklin's house and he drove by them every day.

    "We think that impacted the suspect's behavior in one of two ways: either he became more careful or he stopped his behavior for a number of years. That's an evolving theory," Beck said. "It's going to be difficult to be absolutely certain absent his confession."

    Law enforcement said despite more than two decades of old-fashioned police work, they were eventually able to crack the case using a brand new — and controversial — technique of "familial DNA."

    In early June, the LAPD submitted DNA evidence found on victims to the state Department of Justice, where geneticists in ran it through a database of 1.5 million samples.

    The database found no identical matches, but did find a "familial" match to a convicted felon whose DNA indicated he was either a brother or the son of the killer. An earlier search in 2008 had found no familial matches, but Franklin's son was added to the database in recent months for a felony weapons conviction.

    State investigators alerted the LAPD of Franklin's identity on June 30 after verifying the match through birth certificates, incarceration records and comparing Franklin's address to locations where the victims were found.

    But police still needed a sample of Franklin's DNA to definitively match it to the genetic material found on the victims.

    An undercover officer pretending to be a waiter in Los Angeles collected tableware, napkins, glasses and pizza crust at a restaurant where the suspect ate, allowing detectives to obtain a DNA match.

    Franklin made a first court appearance Thursday on the murder counts as well as one count of attempted murder and special-circumstance allegations of multiple murder that could lead to the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole.

    His arraignment was postponed until Aug. 9 at the request of his defense attorney, Regina Laughney. She did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.

    Law enforcement said despite more than two decades of old-fashioned police work, they were eventually able to crack the case using a brand new — and controversial — technique of "familial DNA."

    In early June, the LAPD submitted DNA evidence found on victims to the state Department of Justice, where geneticists in ran it through a database of 1.5 million samples.

    The database found no identical matches, but did find a "familial" match to a convicted felon whose DNA indicated he was either a brother or the son of the killer. An earlier search in 2008 had found no familial matches, but Franklin's son was added to the database in recent months for a felony weapons conviction.

    State investigators alerted the LAPD of Franklin's identity on June 30 after verifying the match through birth certificates, incarceration records and comparing Franklin's address to locations where the victims were found.

    But police still needed a sample of Franklin's DNA to definitively match it to the genetic material found on the victims.

    An undercover officer pretending to be a waiter in Los Angeles collected tableware, napkins, glasses and pizza crust at a restaurant where the suspect ate, allowing detectives to obtain a DNA match.

    Franklin made a first court appearance Thursday on the murder counts as well as one count of attempted murder and special-circumstance allegations of multiple murder that could lead to the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole.

    His arraignment was postponed until Aug. 9 at the request of his defense attorney, Regina Laughney. She did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.

    http://www.startribune.com/nation/98128304.html

  9. #9
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    July 10, 2010

    LOS ANGELES – The 57-year-old man charged with 10 murders in the Los Angeles "Grim Sleeper" case was arrested at least 15 times over four decades but was never sent to state prison despite the recommendation of probation officers, court and jail records show.

    Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested for burglary, car theft, firearms possession and assaults. But his crimes never were considered serious enough to send him to state prison or to warrant his entry in the state's DNA database, authorities said.

    "He's danced to the raindrops for a long time without getting wet," Detective Dennis Kilcoyne, head of the task force investigating the killings, told the Los Angeles Times.

    Franklin was arrested Wednesday on 10 counts of murder and other charges in the deaths of young black women that started in the 1980s, then suddenly stopped, only to resume again 14 years later — sparking the nickname Grim Sleeper.

    Franklin's public defender, Regina Laughney, said she's still reviewing materials in the case and it was too early for her to comment.

    One of the victims was killed in July 2003, when records show Franklin should have been in county jail but was released early because of overcrowding.

    Franklin pleaded no contest to receiving stolen property in that case, in which he was arrested at a Glendale mall driving a stolen luxury sport utility vehicle.

    A probation officer said it was unusual and disturbing that Franklin was still involved in such crimes at age 50, when most criminals have slowed down.

    "If at this age the defendant is still engaging in criminal activities," the officer wrote, "the community can best be served by imposing the maximum time possible in state prison."

    But Franklin received just a fraction of the maximum sentence_ 270 days in jail — and was still released four months early, according to jail data obtained by the Times.

    He also narrowly dodged the state DNA database. The following year, all felony convicts were put in the database after California voters passed a measure requiring it.

    Despite the long and varied record, Kilcoyne said Franklin did not commit the kind of violent crimes against women that might have drawn the attention of detectives in the Grim Sleeper case.

    Investigators now plan to use DNA to tie Franklin to dozens more murders, looking at more than 30
    cold case files dating to 1984, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Friday.

    "Now that we know who he is, where he lives, the cars he drove, have people to interview, we will go over all those old cases and look for connections," Beck said.

    Investigators will upload Franklin's DNA profile into a national database to see if it matches other samples where the DNA had degraded and scientists only were able to get a partial sample, Beck said.

    A technique called "familial DNA" led detectives to Franklin. In early June, the state Department of Justice ran DNA from the case through a database of 1.5 million samples.

    The database found no identical matches, but did find a "familial" match to a convicted felon whose DNA indicated he was either a brother or the son of the killer. An earlier search in 2008 had found no familial matches, but Franklin's son was added to the database in recent months for a felony weapons conviction.

    An undercover officer pretending to be a waiter in Los Angeles collected tableware, napkins, glasses and pizza crust at a restaurant where Franklin ate, allowing detectives to obtain a DNA match.

    Franklin made a first court appearance Thursday on the murder counts as well as one count of attempted murder and special-circumstance allegations of multiple murder that could lead to the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole.

    His arraignment was postponed until Aug. 9 at the request of his attorney.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100710/ap_on_re_us/us_grim_sleeper_killings_51

  10. #10
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    Convicted murderer attacks 'Grim Sleeper' suspect at county jail

    A day after he was convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a 5-year-old girl, Antonio Rodriguez attacked the alleged "Grim Sleeper" serial killer while the two were in custody at county jail, a sheriff's deputy testified Wednesday.

    Rodriguez had just finished meeting with his attorney at Men's Central Jail on Friday and was being uncuffed from his seat when he broke away from the deputy and punched Lonnie D. Franklin Jr. twice in the head, according to Deputy Ignacio Gracia of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

    Franklin, who was arrested July 7 and is suspected of raping and killing at least 10 people over the last 30 years, was seated near Rodriguez in the attorney meeting room and was handcuffed to his seat when Rodriguez struck him, Gracia said.

    Gracia, who restrained Rodriguez after the blows, said the attack appeared to be unprovoked. Rodriguez apologized to Gracia after, the deputy testified.

    "I was shocked," said Rodriguez's attorney, Robert A. Schwartz, during a break in the testimony. "I think he may have scored some credibility points with the other inmates."

    Franklin and Rodriguez are both "K-10" or "high-powered" inmates which means they are kept away from the general prison population because of the notoriety of Franklin's alleged crimes and because of Rodriguez's tendencies toward violence.

    Rodriguez, 29, said he felt "he had to" attack Franklin based on allegations that the 57-year-old man raped and murdered almost a dozen women, Schwartz said.

    The testimony about the alleged attack came during the penalty phase of Rodriguez's trial as the prosecution seeks the death penalty.

    Rodriguez has been in custody since Nov. 13, 2004, the day after his girlfriend's daughter, Desarie Saravia, died of multiple blunt force injuries. The jury last week convicted him of eight counts including first-degree murder, sexual penetration, corporal injury to a child and child abuse.

    He has also served three other stints in prison.

    Jurors also found Rodriguez guilty of abusing Desarie's brother, Brian, and are expected to recommend next week whether Rodriguez will spend life in prison without parole or face Death Row.

    Rodriguez's sister, Alma Esquivel, asked the jury to spare her brother's life.

    "With me, he's always concerned," Esquivel testified after being called to the stand by the defense. "When I was pregnant with twins - it was a high-risk pregnancy - he sent me letters (from prison). He gave me motivation to keep on going."

    Esquivel, a mother of three, said she never saw Rodriguez mistreat her children.

    Rodriguez is one of seven siblings who always took the blame in a home that was terrorized by a drunkard father who beat their mother, Esquivel said.

    Their father hit the children with a belt, made them stand for hours in time-outs or had them kneel on bricks, Esquivel said.

    "(He was) an animal," said Esquivel, sobbing. "He was mean to us. He was verbally abusive to us. He never took us anywhere. He never told us he loved us."

    Rodriguez, wearing a light blue shirt, grimaced as he fought back his own tears while his sister cried on the stand.

    The abuse was eerily similar to testimony heard earlier in the trial that Rodriguez hit Desarie and Brian with a belt or cord and made them stand facing the wall in hours-long time-outs.

    The family moved around the San Fernando Valley often and the father would disappear for months at a time, Esquivel said. Their mother supported the children on welfare and by cleaning houses or recycling cardboard. Their father eventually disappeared for good.

    "I wanted him to leave," Esquivel said. "We were happy that he was gone."

    Testimony continues Thursday at San Fernando Superior Court and the defense is expected to call medical experts to testify that Rodriguez suffers from brain injuries or abnormalities that at times, make him unable to control his behavior.

    http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_15516733?source=rss

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