The 'Grim Sleeper' is sentenced to death for string of murders
- 8 years ago
A former Los Angeles garbage collector, convicted in the so-called Grim Sleeper slayings that spanned more than two decades, was sentenced to death on Wednesday, ending a lengthy case centering on the gruesome deaths of more than a dozen women in South L.A. Franklin, 63, was convicted earlier this year of killing nine women and a teenage girl from 1985 to 2007.
During the penalty phase of his trial, prosecutors connected him to five additional slayings.
But detectives believe he may have killed at least 25 women.
Police kept the slayings quiet despite suspicions that a serial killer was stalking black women — a decision that led to outrage and condemnation from many who attribute Franklin's longevity as a killer to police indifference.
Franklin earned the “Grim Sleeper” nickname because a gap in the killings between 1988 and 2002 suggested he had gone dormant.
But detectives believe Franklin never really slept.
During the penalty phase of his trial, prosecutors connected him to five additional slayings.
But detectives believe he may have killed at least 25 women.
Police kept the slayings quiet despite suspicions that a serial killer was stalking black women — a decision that led to outrage and condemnation from many who attribute Franklin's longevity as a killer to police indifference.
Franklin earned the “Grim Sleeper” nickname because a gap in the killings between 1988 and 2002 suggested he had gone dormant.
But detectives believe Franklin never really slept.