Grim Sleeper: 22 Years of Terror in South Los Angeles

Lonnie David Franklin Jr. terrorized South Los Angeles for over two decades, using a .25 caliber handgun to murder young women in the city's poorest neighborhoods. The man who would become known as the Grim Sleeper claimed at least 10 victims, though investigators suspected the true number could be higher.

Franklin's first confirmed murder occurred in August 1985 when 29-year-old Debra Jackson was shot and left in an alley. What followed was a pattern of violence targeting vulnerable women—many of them sex workers or drug users aged 15 to 35—whose bodies were dumped outdoors in alleys, dumpsters, and bushes across South Los Angeles.

The killer operated in two distinct periods. The first wave of murders stretched from 1985 to 1988, claiming multiple victims before the murders stopped. Then, more than a decade later, the killings resumed in 2002 and continued until 2007. The sudden gaps in activity—the longest spanning 14 years—left investigators puzzled and made the case increasingly difficult to solve.

By January 1986, just months after the first murder, the LAPD had assembled a 49-member task force to hunt the killer. Investigators called him the "Southside Slayer," but the nickname never stuck in public consciousness. Franklin's violent campaign would remain largely unsolved for nearly 25 years.

The breakthrough came not from traditional detective work, but from advances in forensic science. In 2008, familial DNA analysis—a technique that searches for genetic matches to relatives in criminal databases—linked Franklin to a conviction on his son Christopher Franklin's record. This crucial lead finally gave investigators what they needed: a name.

Franklin was arrested on July 7, 2010, at age 57. When authorities searched his garage, they discovered a chilling archive: photographs of hundreds of women, weapons, and numerous identification cards. The evidence painted a picture of obsession and predatory behavior spanning decades.