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'Grim Sleeper' Serial Killer - Everything You Need to Know · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The grim Sleeper. Even the name itself sends chills down
• 0:03
  your spine. Right. It makes you think of someone lurking
• 0:06
  in the shadows, just waiting for the right moment to strike,
• 0:10
  And sadly, that's exactly what Lonnie Franklin Junior did in
• 0:13
  Los Angeles for over twenty years. He terrorized those streets. Today,
• 0:18
  we're going to take a deep dive into the case.
• 0:21
  I think by the end you'll agree it's both fascinating
• 0:23
  and deeply disturbing.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is. You have this incredible brutality and
• 0:26
  then the mystery that surrounded the crimes for so long.
• 0:30
  It's hard to grasp how someone could evade capture for
• 0:33
  that length of time.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and then there's the gaps between murders. The fact
• 0:37
  that they finally caught him using DNA was groundbreaking at
• 0:39
  the time, but then we have this mountain of evidence
• 0:42
  suggesting there might be way more victims out there. We
• 0:45
  may never even know the true extent of his crimes.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: It really does make you think about the limits of
• 0:49
  law enforcement, and about the inequalities that contributed to the
• 0:52
  tragedy in the first place, and the fact that people
• 0:55
  are capable of such darkness. And then you add Franklin's
• 0:58
  recent death on death Row another layer to this already
• 1:02
  complex story.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, it's like he took those secrets, those identities to
• 1:06
  the grave with him, died before he could reveal who
• 1:09
  those women in the photos were. But let's not get
• 1:11
  ahead of ourselves. Let's start by talking about Lonnie Franklin
• 1:13
  Junior himself. Did he fit the profile of your typical
• 1:17
  serial killer and not really?
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: Not at all. Neighbors described him as friendly, quiet, even
• 1:23
  helpful at times. He was totally blended into society, seemed
• 1:26
  completely normal, all while hiding this dark secret.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: So how is it that someone who seems so unassuming
• 1:33
  could commit these horrific acts.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Well, we have to remember serial killers often have a
• 1:37
  way of charming people, a superficial charm. Of course, it
• 1:41
  helps them gain the trust of their victims, and Franklin
• 1:44
  he specifically targeted vulnerable women. Merely all of them were
• 1:47
  black women who were either addicted to drugs or involved
• 1:50
  in sex work, women that were often overlooked. Sadly, that
• 1:53
  made them easier to prey on.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: It's heartbreaking, isn't it to think their struggles made them targets?
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: It is I really understand the scope of his crimes.
• 2:02
  We need to look at the social context. We're talking
• 2:05
  about Los Angeles in the eighties and nineties, a city
• 2:07
  in crisis. You had the crack cocaine epidemic and just
• 2:11
  the surge of violence.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and tragically there were multiple serial killers operating in
• 2:16
  the same area at the same time. Made it even
• 2:18
  harder to connect the.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: Dots exactly with that level of violence, especially in South Central,
• 2:24
  Isolating Franklin's crimes must have been incredibly difficult. And you
• 2:28
  can't talk about this case without addressing the criticism of
• 2:30
  the laped's handling of these murders. Many felt there was
• 2:33
  a real lack of urgency in the investigations, and it's
• 2:36
  hard not to see that as connected to the fact
• 2:38
  that most of the victims were black women.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it really exposes the systemic bias that can exist
• 2:43
  within the justice system.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: It does, and the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders,
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  a group formed in nineteen eighty nine, really highlighted that
• 2:51
  sense of being overlooked. They protested what they saw as
• 2:53
  police in action, demanded more protection for black women.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Their activism was so important, wasn't it In bringing the
• 2:59
  intention to the cases. In the middle of all this darkness, though,
• 3:03
  there was a glimmer of hope, and that came in
• 3:05
  the form of Inutral Washington, the only known survivor of
• 3:08
  Franklin's attacks. Her story is just incredible, so much strength.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: It is a really remarkable woman.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: Back in nineteen eighty eight, Franklin offered her a ride
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  and when she said no at first, he actually said,
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  that's what's wrong with you, black women. People can't be
• 3:21
  nice to you. Crazy, right, Yeah.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: It's a look into his mindset. He needed to dehumanize
• 3:27
  his victims, exert that control.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: Sadly, Anetra felt bad form and got in the car
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  and that's when he attacked her, shot her, raped her,
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  and left her for dead. It's a miracle she survived.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: Her survival was a turning point. I think her testimony,
• 3:41
  the evidence from the attack, it would all be crucial
• 3:44
  later on in identifying Franklin.
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  Speaker 1: It's just amazing how even in the darkest moments, courage
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  can prevail. It's also a reminder though, that even with
• 3:52
  a survivor like Inetra, justice can be slow. It's incredible
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  that her case remained unsolved for years. That's a real
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  test to the systemic issues we've been talking about.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: For sure, makes you realize we've got to keep pushing
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  for a system that really does protect and serve all
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  people equally.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Couldn't agree more, which brings us to two thousand and seven.
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  When the LAPD finally formed a task force specifically to
• 4:14
  focus on the grimms Leaper case, it felt like they
• 4:17
  were finally acknowledging the severity of the crimes, taking a
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  step in the right direction.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was long overdue, but even with a dedicated
• 4:24
  task force, they still had tons of challenges, right, lack
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  of witnesses, DNA samples that had degraded over time, and
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  of course the long gaps between the murders made it
• 4:34
  so hard to establish patterns.
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  Speaker 1: It must have felt like trying to solve a puzzle
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  with half the pieces missing. And then a breakthrough the
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  use of familial DNA searching and that was twenty ten.
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  Pretty new technique back then, right, and definitely not without controversy.
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  Speaker 2: That's right, had only recently been allowed in California. Basically,
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  they were comparing DNA from the crime scenes to the
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  States Fellon database.
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  Speaker 1: And incredibly they got a partial match. Not to Lonnie Franklin,
• 5:00
  but to his son Christopher, who had a felony weapons
• 5:03
  possession charge.
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  Speaker 2: It was brilliant detective work. I think they recognized that
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  even a partial match could get them to the killer.
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  Speaker 1: Huge moment in the investigation. They finally had a link
• 5:14
  to Franklin, but they still needed his DNA to be
• 5:17
  absolutely sure what happened next.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: Well, they had to get creative, so they came up
• 5:22
  with this undercover operation to obtain Franklin's DNA.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: Okay, you've got to tell me more about this.
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  Speaker 2: They followed him to a pizza restaurant. He was at
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  a birthday party, and they had an officer posing as
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  a busboy collect his discarded pizza crust.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, that's thinking outside the box.
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  Speaker 2: They tested the DNA from the pizza crust and it
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  was a match. They finally had him.
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  Speaker 1: Lonnie Franklin Junior was arrested in twenty ten, bringing his
• 5:47
  reign of terror to an end. But as we'll see,
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  this was only the beginning of another chapter, a complex
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  and truly disturbing one.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, his arrest opened up a whole new set of questions,
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  maybe even more unsettling than the ones they had already answered,
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  and that's where we'll pick up when we come back.
• 6:02
  Welcome back. So as we move into part two, things
• 6:06
  take a really dark turn. We're going to talk about
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  what they found at Lonnie Franklin Junior's house.
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  Speaker 1: Right after the arrest, investigators searched his home and what
• 6:15
  they discovered was horrifying.
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  Speaker 2: It was a collection of almost one thousand photos and videotapes.
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  A lot of them showed women and girls, some were unconscious,
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  some in compromising positions, and others, well, let's just say
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  the images are very suggestive that they may not have
• 6:31
  been alive.
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  Speaker 1: It's a chilling thought, you know, a collection of potential victims,
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  their lives captured in these snapshots. It makes you wonder
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  how many families are out there still searching for answers,
• 6:42
  not knowing their loved one's fate.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: It's a massive undertaking. But the police do believe these
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  images point to many more murders than those that have
• 6:50
  officially been linked to Franklin, potentially making him one of
• 6:53
  the most prolific serial killers in American history. Thankfully, there
• 6:57
  are ongoing efforts to identify these women. Ad even released
• 7:01
  some of the photos to the public, hoping someone might
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  recognize a face, a piece of clothing, anything that could
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  help bring some closure to these families.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: It's heartbreaking, but it also shows how committed law enforcement
• 7:11
  is to pursuing justice for every victim. What stands out
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  to you about the photos and videos?
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  Speaker 2: It raises a really complex issue, balancing the need for
• 7:20
  justice with the sensitivity surrounding these very personal images. I mean,
• 7:24
  on the one hand, they're crucial evidence, potential ways to
• 7:27
  identify more victims and hold Franklin accountable. But on the
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  other hand, there's the issue of privacy, respect for the
• 7:33
  victims and their families.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a tough situation with no easy answers. And
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  to make things even more complex, Lonnie Franklin Junior died
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  in prison in twenty twenty one while he was waiting
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  to be executed. He never confessed to any of the
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  crimes and never revealed the identities of those women in
• 7:50
  the photos.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: It adds another layer of tragedy to this already tragic story.
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  It really reinforces that even with a condition, even with
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  the killer brought to justice, some some times questions just
• 8:01
  go unanswered. What are your thoughts on that?
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: It makes me think about those families left with so
• 8:06
  many unanswered questions. His death must have been a mix
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  of emotions for them. Relief maybe, but also that sense
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  of unfinished business. It's a reminder that the impact of
• 8:15
  these crimes, those ripples of pain and loss, can go
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  on for generations.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and it brings up this larger conversation about the
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  death penalty in California. Executions are incredibly rare in the state.
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  A lot of inmates end up dying of natural causes
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  before their sentence can be carried out.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, makes you question the effectiveness of capital punishment in
• 8:34
  the first place, its purpose, even its morality. Does taking
• 8:38
  a life, even for these horrible crimes, actually achieve justice.
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: It's a question that goes way beyond this case, a
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  debate about justice, morality, and what role the state should play.
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  But if we bring it back to the Grim Sleeper case,
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  there are still so many unanswered questions. We've talked about
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  the women and the photos, but there are other mysteries too.
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  What motivated Franklin? Was there something in his past, a trauma,
• 9:02
  some kind of trigger.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a question that forensic psychologists and criminologists are
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  always trying to figure out what leads someone down a
• 9:08
  path to such extreme violence. How can we even begin
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  to understand those dark parts of the human mind.
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  Speaker 2: It's a tough but crucial question. And then there's that
• 9:17
  fourteen year gap between some of the murders. Did he
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  really sleep, you know, like his name suggests, or were
• 9:24
  there other victims during that time that just haven't been discovered.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: That's terrifying to think about. And don't forget Franklin worked
• 9:30
  as a sanitation worker, meaning he had access to landfills,
• 9:34
  places where a body can be easily disposed of. No
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  one the wiser. It makes undiscovered victims seem even more likely.
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  Speaker 2: You know, some experts think that serial killers rarely stop completely.
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  They might change things up, their patterns, how they do it,
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  even their location, but that urge, that compulsion, it could
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  always be there.
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  Speaker 1: It's a scary thought. So what's the takeaway from all
• 9:54
  of this?
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  Speaker 2: Well, even though Franklin is dead, this case is far
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  from closed. The investigation continue. Who is there still searching
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  for answers? Justice for all his victims has to be
• 10:03
  the top priority.
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  Speaker 1: And with that will wrap up Part two. Stick around, though,
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  because in Part three we'll explore some of the broader
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  implications of this case, its impact on forensic science and
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  what's being done to try and prevent future tragedies. And
• 10:20
  we're back for the last part of our deep dive
• 10:23
  on the Grim Sleeper case. We've talked about the crimes,
• 10:26
  the investigation, all his unanswered questions, but now I want
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  to focus on what we can all learn from this
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  dark period in LA's history.
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: I think that's really important because even though Lonnie Franklin
• 10:36
  Junior himself is gone, what he did has had a
• 10:39
  lasting impact the families of his victims. They're still dealing
• 10:43
  with the trauma, the grief, and the fact that they
• 10:45
  may never have closure, and the community as a whole
• 10:48
  is still grappling with the impact of his crime.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely beyond that immediate human costs, though, the Grim Sleaker
• 10:54
  case really forced everyone to face the systemic failures in
• 10:57
  law enforcement. Remember all that criticism the LAPT, especially given
• 11:01
  the areas where the murders were happening.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: Right, and this case just made those biases so painfully
• 11:06
  clear how those biases can actually impact how investigations are conducted.
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  It showed everyone that every life, every single life, deserves
• 11:15
  the same attention, the same protection. It doesn't matter what
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  your races, what your social standing is, what your circumstances are.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: It seems like the case was a turning point, not
• 11:24
  just for the LAPD but for law enforcement all over
• 11:27
  the country. Have things changed, I mean, how are these
• 11:30
  types of cases handled now?
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: Oh, definitely. There have been a lot of reforms in
• 11:34
  how missing persons cases are investigated and how the police
• 11:38
  work with communities to prevent crime. They're really emphasizing building
• 11:42
  trust and collaboration now between law enforcement and the communities
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  they serve.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: That's good to hear. It seems like DNA technology played
• 11:48
  a big part in this case too. It's kind of
• 11:50
  wild to think that a pizza crest led to Franklin's arrest.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: It is pretty amazing. It was a major moment for
• 11:54
  forensic science, that's for sure. Familial DNA searching, Yeah, it
• 11:58
  was controversial, but it really changed things.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: You mentioned the controversy. What were some of the concerns
• 12:03
  about familial DNA.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: Well, some people were really worried about privacy and if
• 12:09
  the technology would be misused, But the fact that it
• 12:12
  worked in the Grim's sleeper case that paved the way
• 12:14
  for it to be used more often and just think
• 12:17
  about all the advances since then. We have much more
• 12:19
  sensitive tests now, bigger databases, and we can get DNA
• 12:23
  from the tiniest pieces of evidence. It's completely revolutionized how
• 12:27
  we solve crimes.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: Amazing how far we've come. But you're right, those ethical
• 12:30
  questions are still important.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely, there are questions we need to keep talking about.
• 12:35
  How do we find that balance between solving crimes and
• 12:38
  people's right to privacy. What can we do to prevent
• 12:41
  the technology from being misused. It's an ongoing conversation.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: It is as we wrap up this deep dive that
• 12:47
  nickname the grim Sleeper, it really sticks with you. It
• 12:50
  just captures the horror of what he did, preying on
• 12:53
  these women for more than two decades, and the fact
• 12:56
  that he might have gotten away with it completely if
• 12:58
  it weren't for a nature Washington, and the advance is
• 13:00
  in forensic science. It's just unsettling.
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: You're right, and it really makes us confront some uncomfortable
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  truths about our society, about the biases in the system,
• 13:10
  how vulnerable marginalized communities are, and how we need to
• 13:13
  keep fighting for a more just world for everyone.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: That's an important message to take away from all of this.
• 13:19
  Any last thoughts before we finish up.
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  Speaker 2: I think what really stays with me is that even
• 13:23
  though Franklin was convicted and he's dead now, the Grim
• 13:26
  Sleeper case isn't over. There could be so many victims
• 13:29
  out there. We've seen their faces in those photos and videos,
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  but we don't know their stories. I guess it reminds
• 13:36
  us that justice isn't always this simple clean thing. Sometimes
• 13:40
  it's a long road and there might always be loose ends.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a powerful reminder that the search for justice
• 13:45
  doesn't really ever end. If you've been as fascinated by
• 13:48
  this case as we have been, I encourage you to
• 13:50
  learn more. There are documentaries out there, articles websites that
• 13:55
  go even deeper into the investigation, the victims, and the
• 13:58
  search for the truth.
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: When we understand these complex cases, when we see the
• 14:02
  impact and keep talking about them, we can try to
• 14:05
  prevent tragedies like this from happening. Again.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us as we went into the dark
• 14:09
  world of the Grim Sleeper. Until next time, stay curious,
• 14:12
  stay informed, and keep asking the tough questions.