We bring you the updates of this trial now gripping the US ...
Credit: Reuters Credit: AP
Franklin was arrested after detectives ran DNA from the crime scenes
against a database seeking a partial match with any of the suspect's
relatives when they identified Franklin's son Christopher
Photo: LA Times/Polaris
Prosecutor Beth Silverman, pictured, showed the jury photographs of ten women she believes were murdered by Franklin between 1985 and 2007 on the opening day of the trial which is expected to last for four months
After 30 years, Franklin appeared in court, almost six years since his arrest in 2010.He insists 'he has not killed anyone.'
Photo: Reuters
Janecia Peters was 119 on the list released by the LAPD following Franklin's arrest. Her body was found dumped under a Christmas tree in 2007.
Photos: LA Police Dept
October 31, 1987: Mary Lowe - 26-year-old left home to go to a party, but never returned. Her body was found in an alley of Western Avenue.
Photos: LA Police Dept
April 15, 1987: Bernita Sparks - 26-year-old went out to the shops but never returned. Her body was found in a bin, covered in rubbish. She had been shot, strangled and beaten.
Photos: LA Police Dept
January 30, 1988: Lachrica Jefferson - Officers found the 22-year-old's body with a napkin over the face with the word 'AIDS' written on it.
Photos: LA Police DeptDecember 21, 2001: Princess Berthomieux - The end of the 14-year hiatus. DNA on the 14-year-old's body matched those of previous killings.
Photos: LA Police Dept
July 11, 2003: Valerie McCorvey - The 35-year-old had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
Photos: LA Police Dept
January 1, 2007: Janecia Peters - 25-year-old was shot in the back and her body was dumped in a rubbish bag.
Prosecutor Beth Silverman, pictured, showed the jury photographs of ten women she believes were murdered by Franklin between 1985 and 2007 on the opening day of the trial which is expected to last for four months
Sitting
in the dock with a formal blue shirt and a pair of reading glasses,
Lonnie Franklin Jr watches the big screen as the faces of ten women are
shown to the jury.
Credit: LA Police Dept
The
63-year-old former police mechanic from Los Angeles is accused of
killing the women over a period between 1985 and 2007, having taken a
break between 1988 and 2002. The gap between the murders earned him the
moniker 'Grim Sleeper'.
Franklin
denies the murders. But when detectives raided his house they found a
bizarre collection of more than 1,000 photographs and several hundred
hours of video. Police believe as many as 180 of those women have been
killed by the Grim Sleeper.
Credit: LA Police Dept
Franklin denies killing the women whose bodies were all found within a five mile radius of his house
Photo: AP
Porter Alexander, pictured holding a photograph of his daughter Alicia,
who is one of Franklin's alleged victims. Mr Alexander was forced to
leave the courtroom when an image of his daughter naked was shown to the
jury
Over the
next four months, prosecutors will attempt to link Franklin to the first
ten killings. The youngest victim was just 15. At the same time,
detectives will interrogate cold case files to try and link Franklin to
other unsolved cases, some of which date from the 1970s.
The bodies of all ten women were found within five miles of Franklin's home in South Los Angeles.
Prosecutor
Beth Sliverman set the scene:
'Many of the young women had been shot. Most had been subjected to some form of sexual assault. Their bodies were dumped in alleys, stuffed into garbage bins while some were covered with a mattress.'
'Many of the young women had been shot. Most had been subjected to some form of sexual assault. Their bodies were dumped in alleys, stuffed into garbage bins while some were covered with a mattress.'
Officers raiding Franklin's house after his arrest found pictures of more than 1,000 women and videos
It is feared that many of the women on the list may have been murdered by the Grim Sleeper
Photo: AP
The photographs were recovered by detectives who raided Franklin's South Los Angeles home, pictured
The photographs were recovered by detectives who raided Franklin's South Los Angeles home, pictured
Photo: AP
Photo: AP
The woman who survived despite being raped and shot told detectives her attacker was a black man in his 20s and between 5'8 and 5'10 tall weighing about 160 pounds. She described him as 'soft-spoken and articulate'. She said his hair was trimmed and he had a 'pockmarked face'.
Franklin
was arrested after detectives ran DNA from the crime scenes against a
database seeking a partial match with any of the suspect's relatives
when they identified Franklin's son Christopher
Photo: LA Times / Polaris
Prosecutors projected images for the jury of the ten women who they claim were murdered by Franklin
Franklin,
according to prosecutors, was invisible, able to blend in perfectly
amid the chaos of a city which was blighted by crack cocaine.
For
the families, the graphic details were too much. Photographs of each
victim were shown to the court. Groups of family members wept openly.
Some had to leave the court.
Prosecutors claim that all the victims, bar one, had cocaine in their system.
The
families claim that the LAPD was not interested in investigating the
deaths of young black women, some of whom had turned to prostitution to
pay for their addiction. Police
are undecided over the Grim Sleeper's true record of death.
One victim survived an attack in 1988 which some believe scared the killer into taking a break until 2002 when the urge to murder became too strong.
One victim survived an attack in 1988 which some believe scared the killer into taking a break until 2002 when the urge to murder became too strong.
Others
say a serial killer will not take a break and there are more victims
out there. Women who had disappeared and their bodies never found.
The woman who survived despite being raped and shot told detectives her attacker was a black man in his 20s and between 5'8 and 5'10 tall weighing about 160 pounds. She described him as 'soft-spoken and articulate'. She said his hair was trimmed and he had a 'pockmarked face'.
One
team of detectives has been going through cold case files going back to
the 1970s to see if any of the unsolved cases match the Grim Sleeper's
profile.
Photo: AP
Families erected memorials to the women outside a church on the 25th anniversary of the first murder
Speaking
at the time of Franklin's arrest, police chief Charlie Beck released a
montage of 180 woman whose photographs had been found inside the
suspect's house.
He told a press conference: 'These people are not suspects. We don't even know if they're victims.
Photo: Reuters
Janecia Peters was 119 on the list released by the LAPD following Franklin's arrest. Her body was found dumped under a Christmas tree in 2007.
THE TEN LA WOMEN LONNIE FRANKLIN JR IS ACCUSED OF MURDERING
Photos: LA Police Dept
August 10: Debra Jackson - A 29-year-old cocktail waitress who went to take a bus home after visiting her friend. Her body was found three days later with three gunshot wounds to the chest.
August 10: Debra Jackson - A 29-year-old cocktail waitress who went to take a bus home after visiting her friend. Her body was found three days later with three gunshot wounds to the chest.
Photos: LA Police Dept
October 31, 1987: Mary Lowe - 26-year-old left home to go to a party, but never returned. Her body was found in an alley of Western Avenue.
Photos: LA Police Dept
January 10, 1987: Barbara Ware - The 23-year-old had been shot once in the chest and her body had been dumped under a pile of rubbish.
January 10, 1987: Barbara Ware - The 23-year-old had been shot once in the chest and her body had been dumped under a pile of rubbish.
Photos: LA Police Dept
April 15, 1987: Bernita Sparks - 26-year-old went out to the shops but never returned. Her body was found in a bin, covered in rubbish. She had been shot, strangled and beaten.
Photos: LA Police Dept
October 31, 1987: Mary Lowe - 26-year-old left home to go to a party, but never returned. Her body was found in an alley of Western Avenue.
October 31, 1987: Mary Lowe - 26-year-old left home to go to a party, but never returned. Her body was found in an alley of Western Avenue.
Photos: LA Police Dept
January 30, 1988: Lachrica Jefferson - Officers found the 22-year-old's body with a napkin over the face with the word 'AIDS' written on it.
Photos: LA Police Dept
September 1, 1988: Alicia Alexander - Another victim killed while going to the shops. The 18-year-old's body was also found in an alley near Western Avenue.
September 1, 1988: Alicia Alexander - Another victim killed while going to the shops. The 18-year-old's body was also found in an alley near Western Avenue.
Photos: LA Police DeptDecember 21, 2001: Princess Berthomieux - The end of the 14-year hiatus. DNA on the 14-year-old's body matched those of previous killings.
Photos: LA Police Dept
July 11, 2003: Valerie McCorvey - The 35-year-old had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
Photos: LA Police Dept
January 1, 2007: Janecia Peters - 25-year-old was shot in the back and her body was dumped in a rubbish bag.
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