Southside Slayer
| Lonnie David Franklin Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 30, 1952 Los Angeles, California |
| Other names | Grim Sleeper Southside Slayer |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Children | 2 |
| Killings | |
| Victims | 10-25+ victims, 1 survivor (known) |
|
Span of killings
|
1985–2007 (known murders) |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | California |
|
Date apprehended
|
2010 |
Grim Sleeper is the nickname for convicted serial killer Lonnie David Franklin Jr., responsible for at least ten murders and one attempted murder in Los Angeles, California. The attacker was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because he appeared to have taken a 14-year break from his crimes, from 1988 to 2002. In July 2010, Franklin was arrested as a suspect, and, after many delays, his trial began in February 2016. On May 5, 2016, the jury convicted him of killing nine women and one teenage girl. On June 6, 2016, the jury recommended the death sentence, and on August 10, 2016, Los Angeles Superior Court sentenced him to death for each of the ten victims named in the verdict.
Franklin was born on August 30, 1952. He grew up in South Central Los Angeles. He married and had two children. He was given a general discharge from the United States Army on July 24, 1975.
In the 1980s, following the deaths of several women in south Los Angeles, California, community members formed the "Black Women Count" movement. The group pressured police into setting up a task force and into acknowledging the deaths as serial killings. The coalition launched a media campaign and set a monetary reward aiming to capture the killer. The joint Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department-LAPD investigation determined that the crimes were committed by a single person labeled the "Southside Slayer". Their results were announced to the public on September 23, 1985.
According to investigators, evidence was found suggesting that several serial killers were murdering women in south Los Angeles. Louis Craine committed at least two of the "Southside Slayer" murders, and Michael Hughes, Daniel Lee Siebert, Chester Turner, and Ivan Hill at least one each. A separate series of killings commenced with the murder of Debra Jackson and a different MO involving a firearm. These became known, misleadingly, as the "Strawberry Murders." Sheriff's Detective Rickey Ross was wrongfully arrested due to a ballistics error. Two decades later, the perpetrator of these crimes was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" due to the long period of apparent inactivity between murders.
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