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The police finally solved the case of the serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper." Detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department have been searching for him since he began killing women in 1985. Lonnie Franklin Jr, a 57-year-old, retired police mechanic, was arrested on July 7th and charged with ten counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
It is alleged that Franklin sexually assaulted and murdered nine young, black women. He also killed one man, perhaps because the victim knew one of the women or had discovered Franklin's identity. One woman survived and provided a description. How the police identified and arrested Franklin reads like a script for a suspense movie and reminds me of how the detectives caught one of the serial killers I evaluated.
The "Grim Sleeper" was given this name because he killed women between 1985 and 1988, then took a 14-year break, and began killing again in 2002. He murdered his last victim in 2007. Many of the victims were strangled and all were killed with the same 25-calliber gun. The killer left DNA evidence but the police did not find a match in the DNA database.
A special police task force was created and a $500,000 reward was offered but the case stalled. No suspects were identified until the state, using a new process called familial DNA, found a close match. DNA was collected from a man convicted of a weapon charge. His DNA was a close match to the "Grim Sleeper's." This indicated that the killer was one of his close relatives. It didn't take long for the police to zero in on his father.
The police did not have a sample of Franklin's DNA. Although he had been arrested approximately fifteen times for various offenses, he had never been sentenced to prison. In California, DNA was not collected from people convicted of property crimes. The head of the police task force was quoted as saying, "He's danced to the raindrops for a long time without getting wet." http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/07/09/2001138/cops-to-probe-cold-cases-fo…
Here is where the story really runs like a thriller. A policeman went undercover, posing as a waiter at a restaurant frequented by the suspect. After Franklin finished eating, the officer/waiter collected everything - the glasses, silverware, even the pizza crust. The DNA he was able to recover was a match to the "Grim Sleeper's." This was the first successful use of familial DNA in the state of California.
Familial DNA technology did not exist when the police caught one of the serial killers I evaluated. They used old fashioned police work. This is the story I was told when I was asked to evaluate the defendant for an insanity defense.
Three prostitutes were strangled to death. All were killed in the same small neighborhood. The police knew they were murdered by one man because of the DNA evidence left at the scene. He also tied the ropes with a distinctive knot. The police conducted a sweep based on a vague description of the suspect. Approximately fifty men who fit the description and lived in the neighborhood were brought into the police station and asked to "volunteer" a saliva sample. Only one refused.
I was told that the suspect was questioned for many hours and never confessed. The detectives tried to collect a DNA sample, but the suspect shrewdly refused the food and drinks he was offered. Eventually, he was released because there was no evidence tying him to the murders. He was, however, watched very closely as he left the precinct. When he spit on the ground, an officer rushed to scoop up the saliva. It was a match to the DNA left at the crime scenes.
The use of familial DNA is controversial and only two states, California and Colorado, have approved its use. It is widely used in Europe, New Zealand and Australia. California Attorney General Jerry Brown is quoted as saying, "This arrest provides proof positive that familial DNA searches must be a part of law enforcement's crime-fighting arsenal. Although the adoption of this new state policy was unprecedented and controversial, in certain cases, it is the only way to bring a dangerous killer to justice." http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/07/grim.sleeper.arrest/index.html
I expect Franklin's attorney will raise questions about whether the evidence was legally obtained and whether it is admissible in court. Did Franklin stop killing women during that 14-year hiatus or did he just improve his technique? Will more bodies be discovered? Will he be charged with the death penalty? These and many other questions remain to be answered during the next few months.
