The Grim Sleeper. Update: Arrest in the Grim Sleeper Case!

Weekly Contributor Christine Pelisek Named CNN's Most Intriguing Person of the Day

"Moments ago, CNN's Rick Sanchez named Pelisek the "Most Intriguing Person of the Day.""

​"This lady used to wait tables and write about . . . minor league hockey in Canada?" the burly anchorman said incredulously. "But today, she is the talk of the investigative journalism world for her reports on a string of old serial murders that connected to some new murders in Los Angeles.""

and

""She brought the case to public attention--this is good journalism--and two days ago police nabbed the serial killer suspect that she dubbed the Grim Sleeper," Sanchez informed the masses.

​"She made readers care again about some largely forgotten victims, and her work helped police make an arrest. Good for her! That is why Christine Pelisek is today the most intriguing person in the news.""
 
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/crime/la-weekly-pelisek-grim-sleeper/

Grim Sleeper: LA Weekly Staffer Christine Pelisek To Be Honored At City Hall For Coverage Of Serial Murder Investigation
By Dennis Romero, Wed., Jul. 21 2010 @ 6:02AM

Happening at this very moment:

"LA Weekly staff writer Christine Pelisek was scheduled to be honored Wednesday for her work in keeping the Grim Sleeper serial murder case on the minds of police and the public and for unearthing details of the case that had gone undiscovered.

City Councilman Bernard Park will praise her along with the Los Angeles Police Department detectives and personnel who cracked the case -- Det. Dennis Kilcoyne, Det. Paul Coulter, Det. William Fallon, Det. Clifford Shepard, Capt. Kevin McClure, and crime lab technician Greg Mathison -- at 10 a.m. at council chambers."

I really like good investigative journalism and journalists. They are few and far between these days. Kudos to Christine for her fine work.
 
Christine did an excellent job. Thorough, well-written, and interesting to read. I'm glad her work is being recognized!
 
This is a good Associated Press article from last week.

Friends say accused serial killer dropped hints

By THOMAS WATKINS
Associated Press Writer
Published: Thursday, Jul. 15, 2010 - 6:13 pm


LOS ANGELES -- "In hindsight, the investigation into the Grim Sleeper serial killings could have led to suspect Lonnie Franklin Jr.'s doorstep much sooner."

and

"Aside from the 10 murder charges, police suspect Franklin killed a man who may have discovered he was a killer. They are also reviewing whether Franklin was involved in about 30 other homicide cases. He has not been charged in those cases."

Note: In another recent article, it was mentioned about some of the evidence collected from Franklin's home. It included some (plural) guns. So, supposedly they will be checking the guns against other crimes.

and, of course there is the obligatory:

"Franklin was arrested at least 15 times for investigation of burglary, assaults and other crimes but avoided state prison. He is alleged to have killed one of his victims in July 2003, a time when he should have been in county jail but was released early because of overcrowding."

and

"A search warrant released Thursday shows police came tantalizingly close to catching the killer in 1988, after a woman he is accused of shooting and leaving for dead survived and provided investigators with an address where she thought her attacker had gone to fetch something.

Detectives searched the home but found nothing. It turned out the survivor identified a house three doors down from Franklin."

And other neighbor stories inbetween.
 
Also from the above link...a friend says:

"You would have a normal conversation, but he'd end up saying something gruesome," Tribble said.

And on the lone man who was murdered:

"police suspect Franklin killed a man who may have discovered he was a killer. They are also reviewing whether Franklin was involved in about 30 other homicides"

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/15/28...link=lingospot_related_articles#ixzz0uLnfkglQ
 
Grim Sleeper suspect's arraignment postponed

Tuesday July 27, 2010

"The arraignment of the South L.A. man accused of being the Grim Sleeper serial killer was postponed Tuesday until Aug. 23.

Lonnie David Franklin Jr. had originally been expected to answer charges against him at an arraignment on Tuesday morning. He has made no statements about the case so far."


Prior to the announcement of the postponment, the LA Times ran this aricle this morning:

Grim Sleeper serial killer suspect expected to answer charges at arraignment

And, I heard on TV today, that the postponement had something to do with a change in attorneys. But, I am not sure which attorney, for which side.
 
Wow - I'm not far from LA (bout 90 minutes) and have never heard of this case. I'm shocked!

Detectives have spent years investigating slayings between 1985 and 2007 in which the killer targeted young black women and one man. The attacker was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because he apparently took a 14-year hiatus from his crimes, from 1988 to 2002

I don't want to speculate here, but I will anyway. Is it because the targets were young black women?

My goodness - Dateline did an episode on Kyron Horman last night, and this child hasn't been missing a month. Yes, he's a young white male.

And yes, I'm white.

I just think there's some injustice in the media going on not covering this as much as they should!

MOO and all that.

Mel
 
This story got plenty of media attention, it was even on America's Most Wanted 3 times. Just because you hadn't heard of it, doesn't make it so. I have been following this case for years.
 
I think it has less to do with any 'color' issues, and more to do with the Police preferring to carry on their investigations quietly, without fanfare. That way, it is less likely they will be blamed for not solving some case.

In any event, Christine Pelisek (my new most all-time favorite crime reporter) talks about how she stumbled upon the case in this article from July 9th in The Daily Beast.


My Hunt for the L.A. Serial Killer

"I had gone to the battered building on Mission Road many times before. But that day, in January 2006, was stranger than usual: my skin tingled and a light sweat broke out on my forehead as my source at the coroner’s office told me that his office was quietly launching a task force to investigate whether more than three dozen murders in the Los Angeles area were connected.

I knew I had stumbled onto something that no one else had reported: a serial killer on the loose in Southern California.

My hunch, it seemed, had been right—a serial killer was on the loose in Los Angeles, still lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike again."


There is also this story, about that story:

How the Grim Sleeper got his name

"Toward the end of a recent New York Times story about a serial killer in Southern California was this single line: “Christine Pelisek, a reporter for L.A. Weekly who coined the Grim Sleeper’s nickname, wrote about the case and the pressure was back on.”

For me, that’s when the story got interesting."

By Theresa Vargas | July 27, 2010; 9:21 AM ET

And, then of course, all the links within those stories.

I actually would prefer if Nancy and whatshername stay away from this story. Let them stick to the kinds of stories they do. This is not one of them, imo.
 
In case someone missed this, here is a website devoted to finding the grimsleeper and now has updates and an interview with Christine Pelisek.

http://find.thegrimsleeper.com/

There had been a big media push, with large billboards in the area and stories in the paper and on news just before he was caught.
 
Wow - I'm not far from LA (bout 90 minutes) and have never heard of this case. I'm shocked!

Detectives have spent years investigating slayings between 1985 and 2007 in which the killer targeted young black women and one man. The attacker was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because he apparently took a 14-year hiatus from his crimes, from 1988 to 2002

I don't want to speculate here, but I will anyway. Is it because the targets were young black women?

My goodness - Dateline did an episode on Kyron Horman last night, and this child hasn't been missing a month. Yes, he's a young white male.

And yes, I'm white.

I just think there's some injustice in the media going on not covering this as much as they should!

MOO and all that.

Mel

There was a big media push, with billboards, articles, interviews, etc. in the several months before he was caught. It was targeted at the south LA area where he was prowling, but there was quite a bit of national coverage as well.
 
Christine Pelisek Leaves LA Weekly for the Daily Beast

By Tina Dupuy on September 16, 2010 7:40 AM

"Crime reporter Christine Pelisek has left the LA Weekly for the Daily Beast. ... She tells FBLA she will be sticking to her same beat. Pelisek is best known for her dogged work on the Grim Sleeper case that resulted in a serial killer being caught. ..."
 
LAPD to release images of 160 women taken by alleged 'Grim Sleeper'

December 15, 2010 | 6:24 pm

"In July, when Los Angeles police arrested Lonnie Franklin Jr., the suspected "Grim Sleeper" serial killer, they scoured his South L.A. property for incriminating evidence.

Among the more troubling discoveries were nearly 1,000 still photographs and hundreds of hours of home video showing women, almost all of them partly or completely nude and striking sexually graphic poses.

Detectives on the case have spent the ensuing months trying to identify the women to determine whether they are alive and to learn how they came to be photographed by a man charged with sexually assaulting and killing 10 women.

The attempt has proved fruitless. So Thursday the LAPD plans to publish images of the roughly 160 women in the hope that they, family or acquaintances will recognize them and contact investigators."

more . . .
 
A variation on the article from last night with some further information:

'Grim Sleeper' case brings flood of calls from families of missing women

December 16, 2010 | 7:36 am

"Since the July arrest of "Grim Sleeper" serial killer suspect Lonnie David Franklin Jr. for allegedly killing 10 people, Los Angeles police investigators have received 75 calls from the family and friends of missing women, wanting to know the fate of their loved ones.

After comparing information in those calls with evidence gathered in the Franklin investigation, detectives were soon able to discount most of the cases, said veteran homicide Det. Dennis Kilcoyne, head of the task force that tracked down the former city sanitation worker and police garage attendant. But Kilcoyne said investigators were taking a hard look at information generated by a handful of those contacts.

Officials are bracing for more inquiries with Thursday's release of images of about 160 women who were photographed or videotaped by Franklin."

more...
 
Can you help the LAPD put names to these faces.These photographs were recovered in the possession of the serial murder suspect dubbed in the media as "the Grim Sleeper."
http://www.latimes.com/media/acrobat/2010-12/58310839.pdf

Call 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call Crimestoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may contact Crimestoppers by texting the number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.
 
Can you help the LAPD put names to these faces.These photographs were recovered in the possession of the serial murder suspect dubbed in the media as "the Grim Sleeper."
http://www.latimes.com/media/acrobat/2010-12/58310839.pdf

Some of these photos look like cam's from the pc, the type you would find on cheap *advertiser censored* sites where a user connects and watches sex acts.. Also a couple of these stand out as do several of them look like a white van they were in

Picture #27 looks like someones trunk of their car ( the metal grating)

Picture # 56 and 57 are the same fence and on the left of photo 56 you can see the same blue tshirt that is on the female in 57

51,52 and 53 ( possibly 54 also) Look as if they are at a picnic/outdoor function and all of the same group ( family/friends ect)

#61 looks like a mug shot from police records
 
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/pics-in-grim-sleeper-case-to-be-released-20101216

SNIP

The photos were displayed at a noon news conference at police headquarters, and were also posted on the Los Angeles Police Department's website, lapdonline.org .

"We have 180 photos here -- some of them are duplicates; we don't know how many people are represented here," LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said at the news conference.

"These people are not suspects," he said. "We don't even know if they're victims. But we do know this: Lonnie Franklin's reign of terror in the city of Los Angeles, which spanned well over two decades, culminating with almost a dozen murder victims, certainly needs to be investigated further.

"And we certainly do not believe that we are so lucky -- or so good -- as to know all his victims," Beck added.

Beck said the photos were 20 to 30 years old, and those depicted -- if still alive -- would have aged accordingly. Beck urged people to call police with information about anyone they recognize in the photos.

and

The images were taken from videotapes, Polaroid photos and cameras with undeveloped film inside, all found in Franklin's home, police said.

The photos can be viewed at www.lapdonline.org , and also will be posted on the websites of the District Attorney's Office and the sheriff's department.
 
[UPDATED WITH PHOTOS] 180 Naked Women In 'Grim Sleeper' Serial Killer's Photo Collection Might Be More Victims

LA WEEKLY has the images in the form of jJPEGS which might be easier for some people to see rather than downloading the PDF. They are smallish but easy to see, and if you think you might recognize someone, you can always download at that time, the PDF.

Anyhow, this article talks about the case, the photos, and a little bit about Christine Pelisek, and I found it interesting.

"Pelisek spoke with Enietra Washington, sole surviving victim of Franklin's psychotic rampage. Washington, alongside family members of other victims, was invited to view the photos yesterday, prior to their release for public viewing at 1 p.m. today. ... "

and

They say Christine Peliseks writes (but I am not sure where she wrote this):


"Some of the pictures, which were taken by the 57-year-old Franklin before his arrest in July, show women who range from teenagers to women in their 60s, exposing their breasts or fully nude.

... [They] also viewed what may be the alleged killer's grisly trophies - bracelets, rings, earrings, watches, and necklaces confiscated from the Franklin home.

The photographs were taken in cars, in Franklin's motor home and in his backyard garage.

"We have no idea who the women are, what their circumstances are," or if they are still alive, says Kilcoyne.

Some photographs show women who look like they may be asleep, unconscious or dead.

"Some of them [are] in his car and their eyes are closed," says Washington. "Some of them look dead, if you ask me.""

much more at the article ...
 

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