Only On KCAL9: Letters, Phone Calls Give Glimpse Into Mind Of 'Grim Sleeper' Suspect
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Lonnie Franklin, Jr., also known as the suspected "The Grim Sleeper", hasn't spoken to any media outlet since his arrest, but he speaks to one woman every week.
Despite being behind bars in downtown Los Angeles for the past 19 months, he calls and writes to Victoria Redstall, who also visits him in jail.
"His personality when I see him is always upbeat. He's always happy, always got a joke to say," Redstall told KCAL9's Sandra Mitchell.
Charged with 11 murders between 1985 and 2007, police say he terrorized Los Angeles. His victims' bodies, most of them young black women, were found outdoors, often in alleys, after being strangled and shot.
Now awaiting trial, Redstall is one of the few people allowed to visit the alleged killer in jail.
"I go around the corner and there he is sitting in his orange jumpsuit. Sitting there chained with his legs and his handcuffs on. He's got the phone, and I'm behind the glass," she said.
Redstall is the author of two books on serial killers and she admits that she lied to deputies by telling them Franklin was her car mechanic so she could attain access to him.
The two discuss many topics such as cooking and cars, but the one thing that never comes up is his upcoming trial.
Redstall says that Franklin believes he is innocent: "He's not nervous about going to trial. He's just blase about it."
Franklin's trial is set to begin in just a few weeks and police are confident DNA and other evidence will prove he is "The Grim Sleeper".
