Jury Begins Deliberating Case Of Accused 'Grim Sleeper' Killer
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Jurors began deliberating Wednesday the fate of a man accused of being the "Grim Sleeper" killer.
Lonnie David Franklin Jr. faces a possible death sentence if convicted of killing nine women - mostly in their 20s - and a 15-year-old girl and dumping their bodies in alleys and trash bins around South Los Angeles, Inglewood and unincorporated Los Angeles County. The murder charges include a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.
The 63-year-old former city garage attendant and sanitation worker is also charged with the attempted murder of Enietra Washington, who survived being shot in the chest and pushed out of a moving vehicle in November 1988. In testimony given Feb. 25, she identified Franklin as her assailant and said he took a Polaroid-type photo of her after shooting her.
The killings occurred between 1985 to 1988 and 2002 to 2007, with the assailant dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because of the apparent 13-year break in the killings. All of them were either shot -- mostly in the chest -- with a .25-caliber firearm or strangled.
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