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Police Try to See if 30 Other Cases are Connected to Alleged 'Grim Sleeper' Serial Killer
As the arraignment of accused serial killer Lonnie David Franklin, Jr. was postponed to August, police were working to see if other unsolved cases are connected to him.
Up to 30 cases bare similarities to the serial killer's style. But with no DNA evidence collected in them, it was difficult to connect the murders to the mysterious "Grim Sleeper." That changed Wednesday when police arrested Franklin and searched his home, finding guns that will put under ballistics tests.
The "Grim Sleeper" moniker, as named by the LA Weekly in 2008, came to because of a gap in the killings. Seven of the killings took place between 1985 and 1988 before they stopped. Then between 2002 and 2007, three more occurred. But police believe new evidence will help fill in the gap, which LAPD Chief Charlie Beck called "one of the troubling aspects of the case."
During the investigation, the public was told the serial killer took the lives of 11 people, but Franklin was only charged with 10. Connecting the sole male victim to the evidence was reportedly inconclusive.