LAPD Expands 'Grim Sleeper' Probe To 250 Cases

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police investigating the man accused of the "Grim Sleeper" serial killings of prostitutes and other women in Los Angeles are expanding their review of cold cases to see if he is connected to them.

Cmdr. Andrew Smith said Tuesday that detectives are looking at as many as 250 unresolved files dating back to the late 1970s and early 1980s to see whether there are any links to Lonnie Franklin Jr.

Franklin has pleaded not guilty to 10 murders and one count of attempted murder.

Most of the victims linked to the "Grim Sleeper" were found in alleyways within a few miles of Franklin's home. They were killed after some kind of sexual contact.

The killings got their name because of an apparent long gap between some of the deaths.

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