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Lonnie Franklin Jr.

Also known as: Grim Sleeper

Active
1985–2007
Region
South Los Angeles, California, USA
Status
Convicted
Victims
10

Lonnie Franklin Jr. killed at least ten women and girls in South Los Angeles between 1985 and 2007, leaving most of them in alleys. He was nicknamed the "Grim Sleeper" because of an apparent gap in the killings after 1988. He was identified in 2010 through one of California's first successful familial DNA searches: a partial match to his son's profile led police to him, and DNA from items he left at a restaurant confirmed the match. Convicted of ten murders and one attempted murder in 2016 and sentenced to death, he died at San Quentin in 2020.

Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

Timeline of locations

  1. August 10, 1985
    Alley near West Gage Avenue (Vermont-Slauson) (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Debra Jackson was found in an alley near West Gage Avenue in Vermont-Slauson.

  2. August 12, 1986
    Alley off West Vernon Avenue (Hyde Park) (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Henrietta Wright was found in an alley off West Vernon Avenue in the Hyde Park area.

  3. 1987
    Alley off Western Avenue (Gramercy Park) (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Mary Lowe was found in an alley off Western Avenue in Gramercy Park in late 1987.

  4. January 10, 1987
    East 56th Street (Central-Alameda) (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Barbara Ware was found on East 56th Street in Central-Alameda.

  5. April 15, 1987
    Alley off South Western Avenue (Gramercy Park) (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Bernita Sparks was found in a trash bin off South Western Avenue in Gramercy Park in 1987. Janecia Peters, his last known victim, was found in the same alley almost 20 years later.

  6. January 30, 1988
    West 102nd Place (Westmont) (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Lachrica Jefferson was found in an alley on West 102nd Place in Westmont.

  7. September 11, 1988
    Alley near 43rd Place and Western Avenue (Vermont Square) (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Alicia Alexander was found in an alley near 43rd Place and Western Avenue in Vermont Square.

  8. November 20, 1988
    Attack on Enietra Washington (Gramercy Park) (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Enietra Washington, then 30, accepted a ride from Franklin and was shot and left for dead. She survived, testified against him at his 2016 trial, and has spoken publicly about the attack.

  9. March 2002
    Alley in Inglewood (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Princess Berthomieux, 15, was found in an alley in Inglewood in March 2002.

  10. July 11, 2003
    Denker Avenue (Westmont) (Recovery site, approximate area)

    Valerie McCorvey was found at the entrance to an alley on Denker Avenue in Westmont.

  11. July 7, 2010
    Franklin's home (South Los Angeles) (Killer's residence, approximate area)

    Franklin lived in a house in South Los Angeles. Police later found evidence there, including about 180 photos of women and a missing woman's school ID in his garage.

  12. July 7, 2010
    Arrest outside his home (Arrest, approximate area)

    Franklin was arrested outside his home on July 7, 2010, after a familial DNA search flagged his son's profile and DNA from items he used at a restaurant matched evidence from the crime scenes.

  13. 2016
    San Quentin State Prison (Prison)

    Franklin was held on death row at San Quentin, where he was found dead in his cell on March 28, 2020.

  14. February 16, 2016
    Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center (Court / trial)

    Franklin's trial opened in February 2016. The jury convicted him of ten murders and one attempted murder on May 5, 2016, and recommended death; he was formally sentenced on August 10, 2016.

Sources

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.