Los Angeles' Notorious Serial Killer, the Grim Sleeper, Dies on Death Row

By Danielle Ong First Posted: Mar 30, 2020 08:17 AM EDT

(Photo : Youtube)
'Grim Sleeper' Lonnie Franklin Jr.

Lonnie David Franklin Jr., an infamous serial killer known as 'The Grim Sleeper', has reportedly died in prison at 67-years-old on Saturday.

Corrections authorities found Franklin unresponsive in his cell on death row at the San Quentin State Prison. Officials said there were no signs of trauma but are still waiting for the results of the autopsy for confirmation.

Prison officials said the serial killer was found dead on March 28 at around 7:20 in the evening. Medical assistance was summoned and pronounced his death at 7:43 PM.

Franklin had been waiting on death row since August 2016 after he was charged for the murder of nine women and a teenage girl. Authorities linked him to 14 deaths but believe he may have had more than 25 victims.

His youngest victim was a 15-year-old runaway who was found strangled in an alley in 2002.

Murder Spree

The Grim Sleeper was a moniker coined by LA weekly in 2018. He flew under the radar for decades, largely due to his victims which mostly involved prostitutes and drug addicts.

Authorities did not disclose the cases to the public. The media also remained indifferent. Both factors allowed Franklin to continue his operation without much challenge. Some of the murders were connected through ballistic and genetic evidence, but authorities lacked the DNA needed to definitively prove a connection.

Franklin was arrested after a victim and the only known survivor, Enietra Washington, escaped and reported the crime to authorities. Her testimony helped prove the case against the Grim Sleeper, Lonnie.

Franklin was known to keep photos of his victims which were found after authorities combed through his home following his arrest. The police department found more than 1000 photos and videos that involved women, some of whom were found to be his victims.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) released the photos to the public in hopes someone would be able to identify the women in the photographs. The photos showed several women in sexual poses, some of whom appeared to be unconscious or dead.

To this day, 35 women are still unidentified.

Catching the Grim Sleeper

Franklin was connected to the murders after authorities re-examined the old cases. They discovered their database had a similar DNA profile to that of genetic evidence collected on one of the victims.

After police determined the DNA belonged to his son, investigators followed Franklin to a pizza place where a detective posing as a busboy successfully collected the killer's DNA from a pizza slice.

Police made the arrest in 2010 as Franklin was walking out of his home he shared with his wife and two children.

He was sentenced to death 31 years after the death of his first known victim. The victim, who was killed in 1985, was shot three times in the chest with a .25 caliber gun---the same weapon Franklin would go on to use in nine other crimes.

His arrest has brought to light questions on why it took the Los Angeles Police Department 25 years to hold him accountable for the deaths of at least 10 victims. Many communities suggest it may have something to do with the victims being women of color.

A news report suggested the delays are a result of politicking as new cases were discovered during an election year.

Investigations are still ongoing as detectives try to uncover whether Franklin, who once worked for sanitation, had disposed of more victims, undetected.