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More than 1,000 photographs were found in the home of Lonnie Franklin Jr., the serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper. Police kept the slayings quiet despite suspicions that a serial killer was stalking black women - a decision that led to outrage and condemnation from many who attribute Franklin’s longevity as a killer to police indifference. The deaths drew little, if any, media attention. Many of the women were initially listed as Jane Does. He targeted women who were drug addicts or prostitutes and often dumped their naked bodies alongside roads or in the trash. Both are on California’s death row.īut the Grim Sleeper proved to be the most persistent. Michael Hughes was convicted of killing seven women Chester Turner of 14 women and a fetus. In addition, several other serial killers were operating in the same area in those years.
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The deaths in the mid- to late ’80s coincided with a surge in slayings linked to the crack cocaine epidemic. The attacks failed to raise alarms the way other famous serial slayings by killers such as the “Hillside Strangler” or the “Night Stalker” did.
The killer, one of California’s most prolific, targeted victims who were generally young, vulnerable and, at times, ignored. “There could never be a justification for what you have done.” In imposing the sentence, Kennedy said she had struggled throughout the case to understand what motivated Franklin. When another victim’s sister told Franklin that she recognized him, he got angry, shouting, “That’s a bald-faced lie.” “I’m still battling that,” Alexander said.įranklin nodded once more and turned back toward the judge. “I know she didn’t do anything to hurt you,” Alexander told Franklin, “I know that.”Īlexander told Franklin that she had thought a lot about forgiveness but said she was finding the concept extremely difficult. (Dupree told reporters after the hearing that he saw Franklin mutter, “I didn’t do it.”) She repeated her question, louder: “Why?”Īgain, he whispered. “I’d like to know, why?” Alexander asked, gripping the lectern.įranklin whispered something in response. Franklin to turn around and face me,” she said.įranklin turned his head slowly, locking eyes with Alexander. Mary Alexander, whose 18-year-old daughter was murdered, spoke directly to Franklin. But earlier in the morning, he did react to statements delivered by some of the victims’ relatives. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)įranklin sat stoically as Kennedy sentenced him - just as he had throughout the trial. Laverne Peters, holds a photograph of her daughter, Janecia when she was a senior at Inglewood High School. 1, 2007, in the 9500 block of South Western Avenue in Los Angeles. Janecia Peters, a 25-year old woman, was found dead Jan. Daryn Dupree - the last remaining detective who worked on the task force that investigated the Grim Sleeper killings - said he is “very confident” that she is one of his victims. Moore wasn’t listed in the criminal complaint against Franklin, but Los Angeles police Det. When Moore, the surviving victim, addressed Franklin, her body began to shake. At one point, the nephew of Henrietta Wright, whose body was found under a mattress in an alleyway in 1986, addressed Franklin directly, saying, “You’re a cold-hearted dude.” Franklin nodded slightly. A victim’s uncle said he remembered how loudly she used to cry when he babysat her as a child - a reminder, he said, of how she did everything in her life passionately. Before the hearing, one of the victim’s sisters thanked a juror and said, “God bless you.” The juror winked at her.ĭuring the hearing, a woman spoke of losing her best friend, but said she still hears her voice in dreams. “Amen,” other family members in the audience said.įive of the jurors who convicted Franklin attended, occasionally nodding. “My hope is that he spends the rest of his glory days in his jail cell, which will become his trash bag.”
“The defendant took my daughter, murdered her, put her in a plastic bag - a trash bag - like she was trash,” Laverne Peters, whose 25-year-old daughter was found in a garbage bin in 2007, told the court before Franklin was sentenced. The sentence came toward the end of an emotional hearing where more than a dozen family members and friends of victims read statements, many of them repeatedly asking why Franklin chose to attack members of his own community.
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