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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on the Grim Sleeper serial killer case in Los Angeles (all times local):
5:40 p.m.
A jury has returned a death sentence for a serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," who murdered nine women and a teenage girl over several decades in South Los Angeles.
The verdict Monday came nearly a month after 63-year-old Lonnie Franklin Jr. was convicted of 10 counts of first-degree murder. He will be formally sentenced at a later proceeding.
Most of the killings fit a similar pattern. Victims were either shot in the chest, choked — or both — and their partly clad or naked bodies were dumped in alleys and trash bins near where Franklin lived.
Police didn't connect the crimes to a serial killer for years.
Victims' family members and community residents complained the killings weren't thoroughly investigated because victims were poor and black, and some were prostitutes who had been using cocaine.
During the trial, defense lawyers questioned forensic evidence and said DNA from other men was also found on several bodies.
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12:55 p.m.
A jury has returned a death sentence for a serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," who murdered nine women and a teenage girl over several decades in South Los Angeles.
The verdict Monday came nearly a month after 63-year-old Lonnie Franklin Jr. was convicted of 10 counts of first-degree murder. He will be formally sentenced at a later proceeding.
Most of the killings fit a similar pattern. Victims were either shot in the chest, choked — or both — and their partly clad or naked bodies were dumped in alleys and trash bins near where Franklin lived.
Police didn't connect the crimes to a serial killer for years.
Victims' family members and community residents complained the killings weren't thoroughly investigated because victims were poor and black, and some were prostitutes who had been using cocaine.
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11:45 a.m.
A Los Angeles jury has reached a verdict in the penalty phase of the trial of a man convicted of "Grim Sleeper" serial killings.
The verdict will be read at 12:30 p.m. Monday.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against 63-year-old Lonnie Franklin Jr., who was convicted of 10 counts of first-degree murder in the killings of nine women and a teenage girl over several decades in South Los Angeles.
The case earned the "Grim Sleeper" nickname because of an apparent gap in the serial killings
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