Welcome back to my blog! This week I will be talking about the Grim Sleeper serial killer case. Although the real number of victims may never be known for sure, it is believed that the “Grim Sleeper” killed about twenty-five women.

Loonie David Franklin was born on August 30,1952 in Los Angeles, California. Although he married and had two children, he received a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Army in 1975 after he was convicted of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl.

In the mid-1980s, the Los Angeles Police Department became aware of a possible serial killer. This serial killer was targeting black women who were street sex workers and drug users. In September 1985, the Police Department described the case to the public at a press conference and asked for tips. The Police Department was highly criticized for failing to announce the news sooner. By January 1986, fifteen murders had been linked to this case. The Los Angeles City Council decided to increase the reward money that was being offered for information, from $10,000 to $25,000. In late 1986, some evidence gathered, suggested that there was more than one killer. At the time, it was believed that there could be four or more killers.

The investigation continued all the way until 2009 when one of the “Grim Sleeper’s” survivor was interviewed. There was also a 9-1-1 call released from the 1980s in which a man reported seeing a body being dumped by Franklin. The caller gave a detailed description of Franklin, including his license plate. In March 2009, Enietra Washington who was one of Franklin’s survivors, was interviewed. She described Franklin as a “black man in his early 30s”.

On July 7, 2010, Franklin was arrested. He was charged with ten counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and special circumstances allegations of multiple murders. He was identified for arrest on familial DNA analysis. On December 16, 2010, the Los Angeles Police Department released 180 photos of women that were fund in Franklin’s home. Overall, the police were able to find over 1,000 photos and several videos in his home.

On May 5, 2016 after nearly three months of trial and a day and a half of jury deliberation, Franklin was convicted of all counts. Prosecutors presented evidence to four other victims they believed Franklin was also responsible for. Prosecutors ended up not charging Franklin with these murders because they feared it would delay the trial even further. On July 6, 2016, Franklin was sentenced to death and the Superior Court sentenced him on each count, naming the individual victims.

On March 28, 2020, Franklin was found unconscious in his cell and was pronounced dead. The cause of death is still undetermined.

Source: https://allthatsinteresting.com/grim-sleeper