On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we explore some true crime and look at the life and murders of Lonnie David Franklin JR, aka, The Grim Sleeper. This serial killer was considered the longest operating killer west of the Mississippi River, and it took decades to catch him. He preyed on prostitutes in South Central Los Angeles, and he was only caught due to a piece of pizza and a crazy DNA match that didn’t even connect to him.

Nobody really knows much about The Grim Sleeper’s youth, except that he was born in South Central LA in 1952. He spent some time in the army, but he was dishonorably discharged for gang raping a woman in Germany where he was stationed. Back in the states, he lived a typical blue collar life. He was married with two kids, worked in sanitation and even for the LAPD for a bit (not as a cop...).

But in the meantime, a string of murders originally assigned to the Southside Slayer were mounting in the worst parts of South Central. Hookers were being found shot in the chest, but there were so many dead prostitutes there that the police thought it was several people doing the killing. And it was.

So, how many serial killers used the same hunting grounds as the Grim Sleeper? How did he get his nickname? How did the local LA Weekly newspaper help bring him down? How did a DNA link to his son get him arrested? What does this have to do with a pizza party? How did he kill his victims, and what grisly mementos did the cops find when they raided his house? Listen, laugh, learn.

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://murderpedia.org/male.F/f/franklin-lonnie.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grim_Sleeper

https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Lonnie_David_Franklin

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/grim-sleeper-serial-killer-everything-you-need-to-know-252246/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/30/us/grim-sleeper-dies-death-row/index.html

https://www.ranker.com/list/grim-sleeper-scary-facts/amandasedlakhevener