2 More Slayings May Be Connected To Suspected 'Grim Sleeper'

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Detectives are investigating two more murders that may have been carried out by suspected "Grim Sleeper" serial killer Lonnie Franklin Jr.

Police announced the investigations Wednesday night during a meeting at Bethel AME Church, which is a few blocks from the South Los Angeles home where Franklin was arrested in July.

A total of six new investigations linked to Franklin have been opened.

Roughly 100 people attended the meeting organized by Councilman Bernard C. Parks.

"It's important for the Police Department to stay connected to the community," Detective Dennis Kilcoyne, of the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division, told The Times.

Franklin, 57, is charged with 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Before Franklin's arrest, detectives dubbed the suspected serial killer "the Grim Sleeper." They copied the moniker from reporting by the LA Weekly, which noted a gap of several years between similar killings in South Los Angeles.

Franklin has pleaded not guilty.

The LAPD has released about 180 photos of women whose pictures were found on Franklin's property. As a result of the photos, 72 women have been identified and ruled out as victims, according to The Times.

Calls and tips from the photos also led police to develop four new missing-person cases, according to the LAPD.

Detectives still have to identify about 62 women depicted in the photos, Kilcoyne said.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)