Timesuck with Dan Cummins - 261 - The Grim Sleeper Serial Killer and the Southside Slayer murders

Episode Date: September 13, 2021

Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was but one of the numerous prolific serial killers preying on sex workers in South Central Los Angeles in the 1980s. And then after possibly going to "sleep" during the 1990s, he started killing again in the first decade of the 2000's. The Grim Sleeper preyed almost exclusively on black, female, crack-addicted sex workers in South Central where he lived. South Central was in the midst of a crack epidemic when he got started in 1985 (or possibly 1984), and by the time he was done in 2007, he'd killed at least ten women but likely closer to twenty-five. And one man as well. Today we dig into our first black serial killer, look into racial bias when it comes to media coverage of black killers and black victims, explore the LA 80's crack epidemic, and more, in another true crime edition of Timesuck. Link to unidentified Lonnie Franklin possible murder victims: https://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-grim-sleeper-lapd-pictures-photogallery.htmlWe're donating $15,400 this month to the American Nurses Foundation Coronavirus Response Fund for Nurses. This Covid response fund provides mental health support, direct financial aid, education, and evidence-based information, and overall advocacy for nurses. To learn more: https://www.nursingworld.org/foundation/programs/coronavirus-response-fund/ Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xckEOGL-ZKUMerch - https://badmagicmerch.com/ Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :) For all merch related questions/problems: [e-mail] (copy and paste) Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.

From at least as early as 1985 to at least as recently as 2007, a serial killer Lonnie David Franklin, Jr. Eventually dubbed the Grim sleeper, Rome the streets of South Central Los Angeles, where he was born and raised, targeting young and particularly vulnerable women. This killer kidnapped, raped, beat, typically shot his victims with a small 25 caliber semi-automatic pistol

he often carried in his shirt pocket. He obsessively took photos of his victims both dead and alive, both clothes and nude, often in sexually explicit positions, saving them as trophies and keeping them carefully tucked away in the garage behind his home where he worked. His youngest victim, just 15 years old. Not apprehended until 2010, the grim sleeper roamed the streets of South Central for a quarter of a century. Incredible, he got away considering how careless he was with his murders.

Rather than carefully hiding the remains of his victims in some heavily wooded body disposal site, he typically just tossed them out of his old pinto and into some urban alley. The bodies were often discovered the next morning after he killed them. And he almost always shot his victims while they were still sitting inside his car. He left so much evidence. He took photos of the victims, shared them with any of his friends who wanted to see him, not the best way to not get caught, but no one tipped the police off to him. And he wasn't caught for so, so long. Why? How? N-H-I. No human involved. N-H-I was a term thrown around by some L-A-P-D officers officers originally investigating the murders in the mid 80s when the killings began.

And it was used because the victims were often sex workers, or all assumed to be turning tricks on the side at least, and all, or at least nearly all of them addicted to crack cocaine. And they were black. The term crackhead was thrown around a lot, and hooker. It was like the victims weren't seen as humans. They were viewed as less than human. They were black, crackhead hookers. So who cares?

NHI, no human involved, so no real investigative priority given. But this is not going to be some LAPD blame game. Some apathy from the LAPD only partially explains why Lonnie was able to keep killing for so long. There was a lot of outrage over how the grim sleeper investigation was handled, but to be fair to the police, the murders were investigated. Detectives were assigned, leads were followed, but it's real hard to solve a series of serial murders when the murders are the work of just one of many serial killers active in the

same area at the same time in an area also full of a lot of gang murders and numerous other random homicides as well. South Central LA was one of the most murderous, if not the most murderous neighborhood in all of America in the 80s, 90s. Still is an incredibly violent neighborhood. And at the height of the murders, it was a predominantly black poor, crime-rattle neighborhood with a strong local sentiment of both fucked the police and don't snitch. And a lot of cultural apathy also helped the grim sleeper keep killing. Being a snitch, talking to the police was seen by many South Central residents,

definitely by a lot of people who Lonnie Ranwith is being lower than being an actual criminal. You don't call the police because you don't want the neighborhood to see you as a snitch. And also due to fear of the police. You don't want to call the police and have them show up and shoot you.

That was the mentality of a South Central mother interviewed in a documentary I watched about all this. That's what she taught her kids. Do not talk to the police ever about anything. And many others who live near Lonnie Franklin seem to share that sentiment. So sad. A history of bad relations between LAPD members and black South Central neighborhoods due to a lot of racism over the years definitely also helped Lonnie out.

However, the police are supposed to solve a series of murders. In a neighborhood, we're on average, a few people were killed every single day when almost no one wanted to help them with the investigation. And the LAPD were far from the only ones who saw the grim sleeper victims as less than human. So did many of the people outraged by their handling of their investigation. Many residents of South Central felt no different than the police. They didn't care about black crackhead hookers either. Old friends Alonnie's after he was arrested when being interviewed for a documentary,

while being real careful not to snitch and say they didn't think Lonnie did it, they also laughed talking about how much Lonnie hated crackheads. They laughed about how if a crackhead got into a car with Lonnie, they could see how they probably weren't going to ever come back out. It was a big joke. Of course, Lonnie got away with what he did for so long. If both the cops and the neighborhood see the victims as disposable, if women are being murdered in a neighborhood where people are being murdered every single day, if almost no one is willing to help the police in their investigation, well, then I guess killers just get to keep killing.

Don't they? A lot of different factors allowed Lonnie. And others like him to get away with what they did when they did it. Lonnie was one of numerous serial killers active in South Central during the violent, crack-ademic world of the 80s and 90s. When police were overwhelmed, overtired, often just plain burnt, the fuck out. Tired of trying to put out what seemed like a never-ending series of fires in a neighborhood that seemed like it was continually engulfed in murderous flames. Homicide detectives got new cases weekly, if not daily. Most of them involving drugs or gang related violence.

Eye witnesses were hard to come by, reluctant to talk, and do again to the crap, crack epidemic, ravaging, salcentral, notoriously unreliable. How long can one work in that kind of environment before you become incredibly jaded, desensitized to murder? And residents were desensitized towards people going missing, towards people they knew being murdered, how could they not be? There were a lot more interested in just keeping their heads

down, trying to survive than they were and trying to worry about other people's problems. All these circumstances align perfectly to allow the Grim sleeper to pray on the women of South Central for a long, long time. The story of the Grim sleeper is not just a story of a serial killer. It's a story of a twisted, sadistic man who hid in plain sight and overworked police department,

a distrustful and broken neighborhood and vulnerable women seen as disposable due to a combination of the race, line of work, gender, and drug addiction. Today we meet the Grim sleeper. Find out how we got that nickname. Meet a few of his fellow neighborhood serial killing dirt bags and learn a little bit about South Central and the crack epidemic on another true crime serial killer edition of TimeSuck. This is Michael McDonald and you're listening to TimeSuck. You're listening to TimeSuck. To TimeSuck. Happy Monday, meat sacks. Welcome to the cold to the curious.

Take a break from the world around you that many places and definitely according to the news often seems like a continually burning dumpster fire these days where emotion and rage seem to continually trump reason and consideration, but you're here. Your life, you woke up this morning. The Reaper didn't visit last night. The Grim sleeper didn't visit you. Get air in your lungs and I hope you know, either a dick they can still get harder or a pussy can still get wet. So you're winning. You're beautiful motherfucker. You're listening to an episode about a serial killer. You're not being attacked by a serial killer.

That's something, right? Thank you for listening to my crazy ass. Dan Kalman's master sucker the suck master the crown jewels jeweler quality control inspector. Illuminati shill. Dude, trying to apply common sense to a world around him like a stupid, sheeple son of a bitch. And you are listening to time suck. Hell, Nimrod, hell, Lucifina, praise, but jangles and glory be to triple M. I hope I had fun with some of you and fill you last weekend, looking forward to continuing the symphony

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Because Friday and Saturday shows already sold out. So thank you. Thank you, Johnny Dare. All those appearances over the years helped out tremendously. Love Johnny. Fine meat. I'll remind you that the bad magic production charity, the month is the American Nurses Foundation, coronavirus response, fund for nurses donating 15,400 of our Patreon subscriptions. Thank you, Space Lizzards. Nurses aboard the brunt of the work. This past 18 months with the ongoing pandemic, this response fund provides mental health support, direct financial aid, education, evidence-based information, and overall advocacy

for nurses. To find out more, click the link in the episode description or just search coronavirus response fund for nurses on the interwebs and it comes up first. And finally, new time suck universe T in the store at badmagicmerch.com. Fun collage design, a lot of random objects associated time suck in some way, the art warlock never sleeping on new designs. One last thing, don't have exact dates, don't even have a lot of info, but we put it down payment on reserve in a voice count camp on Lake Cordelaine. They're not

going to be there this week. Hard an event planner for the bad magic gathering of 2022. It'll happen in August. If it happens, it looks like it's going to happen. Wanted to do it last year, but COVID fucked that up. Fucked out of 2021. Really helping things are 99% back to normal December 2022. I think they're going to be going to have limited tickets when we do announce it. I have more details regarding food trucks, games, live music, live podcasts, etc. It'll be in conjunction with scared of death and as we dumb, the plan

I'm going big, keep that in the back of your mind for 2022 travel plans and overnight adult fun camp with a bunch of people who are decent but have fucked up senses of humor. Cult, cult, cult. More details down the road. Now show. It's grim sleeper time. It's happened to a time machine. Head back to South Central LA in the 80s. Get our minds around the urban war zone.

We're Lonnie Franklin, haunted his prey. Where he was but one of many monsters. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ Gonna start by examining America's 80s crack economic. It's our central a bit. Then we'll meet Lonnie in today's timeline where the majority of the episode will take place. The 1980s, the Los Angeles metro area

was a place so much wealth and promise for some and for others such a hopeless crime filled city. I guess it's still that way in parts, neighborhoods. So crazy that Beverly Hills and neighborhood perhaps more traditionally symbolic of success and wealth than any other neighborhood in America, rodeo drive people, only about 15 miles away from the roughest parts of South Central.

15 miles away from such a different world, especially back in the 80s and 90s. And by the way, there are parts of South Central that are fantastic, great neighborhoods. This is, you know, speaking in general, generalities. There we go, because I don't want to get a bog down and like, well, that actually, this one street, but actually, this little block is fine.

It just bogs it down too much. And there's already a lot of info to cover here today. The Watts neighborhood, South Central, and the area around it, just north of Compton, just east to Inglewood, where a lot of today's story takes place, has a median household income based on the most recent data available of $37,553. Beverly Hills, almost three times that, $106,936.

The poverty rate of Beverly Hills, they do have some apartments, not all mansions, 8.25 percent, poverty rate of Watts, 31.1 percent. And things in South Central are much better now, much better than they were when Lonnie started killing. The murder rate for South Central and how it's changed over the years is a little hard to identify because most crime stats for South Central get lumped into overall LA crime stats. But according to area vibes dot com, which ranks neighborhoods across the country in

various categories compared to the national average, Beverly Hills has 21% less violent crime than the national average, while Watts has 321% more crime than the national average. And again, used to be much worse than that. According to the LA Times, the nation's response to the crack epidemic of the 1980s and 90s destroyed rather than built up neighborhoods. South Central became an impoverished, predominantly African-American area with high crime rates and no job opportunities, and the 80s crack dealers employed more South Central residents than major companies like AT&T, IBM, and Xerox combined.

So what the fuck happened? How did South Central become what it became? Let's look at the area's history. The roots of South Central Los Angeles current state traced back to the beginning of the 20th century. The neighborhood now known as Historic South Central includes the area between the Harbor Freeway on the West, Central Avenue on the East, Washington Boulevard on the North, and Vernon Avenue on the South.

Though this pocket is about 40 square miles big, the name South Central became an umbrella term for Black Los Angeles, a much larger area, stretching all the way to Watson Compton on the South and west across the 110 freeway into Inglewood and the Crenshaw district. Technically, the term South Central was only geographically accurate for their rectangular parcel of the Central Avenue corridor, but his history has shown neighborhood names and popular culture, not always historically or geographically accurate. Historian Steve Isorati, or Isor-Ardi, I don't know. His name is only mine, a written, not pronounced.

ISO-ARDI, your guess is as good as mine. Steve, I, it's already, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I was already, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how's the, how, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I don't know, I have no idea. Right about how the term South Central became to be in his book, The Dark Tree. Lured by an expanding economy and the prospect of jobs, the relatively low cost to real estate, a mild climate, and a seemingly less overt racism, African Americans began moving to Los Angeles and large numbers after 1900. For the next 40 years, their numbers doubled every decade, and by 1940, represented slightly more than 4% of the total population. These new residents were moving into a heavily

segregated city, racially restrictive housing covenants were written directly into LA area property deeds, like they were in many other parts of America, like they were basically in all of America. Banks and insurance companies also enforced this segregation to the practice of denying loans, insurance policies, and other financial services for African Americans who attempted to sidestep these covenants. This practice is known as redlining. It continued well after these covenants were declared unconstitutional in 1948. One of the only areas not covered in these restrictive covenants extended south from downtown

LA, along central Avenue, all the way to slasin. As Izo, all of Black Los Angeles, from Central Avenue to Watts to the Crenshaw District. The African American population of South Central then doubled because of the Second World War. The need for workers in the aerospace industry and other wartime jobs caused the US government to make it illegal for government contractors to discriminate and hiring. The opening of these jobs lured thousands and thousands of African Americans to LA in the 40s. Lonnie G. Bunch. Thank you, Lonnie, for having a last name that is easy and phonetic.

A long time historian with the Smithsonian Institute writes, between 1942 to 1945, some 340,000 blacks settled in California, 200,000 of whom migrated to LA. Damn, 200,000 people. Flooding into mostly South Central, primarily because of the restrictive covenants between 1942 and 1945. This period became known as the Great Migration. The Great Migration led to the heyday of Central Avenue as a jazz district and the West Coast Harlem.

Numbers, eeries, music venues, night clubs, like the Lincoln Theater, club Alabama. Stretched from Pico to Slosson from 1920s to the early 60s, Numbers, eerie, music venues, nightclubs, like the Lincoln theater, club, Alabama, stretch from Pico to Slaasen from 1920s to the early 60s, the Dunbar hotel at 43rd, at 43rd and central, was where jazz luminaries like Billy Holiday, Duke Ellington, Elephant's Gerald, and Lester Young would stay when they visited Los Angeles. Despite the story musical and cultural history, though, a serious lack of housing and overcrowding, right? So many people coming in, housing couldn't keep up, made for poor living conditions for local residents.

In 1948, the court case, Shelley versus Kramer rendered the restrictive housing covenants illegal, and then things opened up as far as where black residents could live a little bit, because people just still refuse to loan a lot of African Americans money. A graduate of the 50s, a broader southern section of LA, from Watts and West towards Englewood and the Crenshaw District became increasingly African American, West Adams, Limert Park, Baldwin Hills, gradually became middle class and upper middle class African American areas. Burbank and Beverly Hills neighborhoods like that, they stayed wide as fuck.

As the 1950s gave way to the early 60s, more neighborhoods were desegregated and several of the leading black churches were beginning to wield political influence and local civic affairs. By the early 60s, side states, African-Americans had significantly transformed their status in Los Angeles. Their protests were widespread,

their demands were well known, and their political influence, if still uneven was undeniable. Most important African-Americans participated in daily urban life in ways that would have been impossible two decades earlier. This is another historian saying this, however, one area where LA's black community did not make progress in the 50s and 60s was with their relationship with local law enforcement. The reputation of the LAPD became especially notorious for being racist under the long reign of chief William Parker,

1950 to 1966. Parker infamous for not only promoting racial profiling and aggressive policing policies, but also for harassing black businesses and black patrons along central avenue. So frequently that his policing methods led to not only breaking up central avenues vibrancy, but also to the 1965 Watts riots. Parker was a puritanical crusader against what he called race mixing. He's a real piece of shit and not a big fan of jazz either apparently a lot of night clubs, Duke joints rated and shuttered under his reign.

Here's an example of the kind of city pulled 1954 John Dolphin owner of Los Angeles's premier R&B record shop near the corner of Central, organized a protest of 150 black business people against an ongoing campaign of intimidation and terror directed at interracial trade. According to Dolphin, Park and his officers blockaded his store, turned away all white customers, and warned them that it was too dangerous to hang around black neighborhoods. I just went out of their way to fuck with their business. It was episodes like that that would create the kind of racial tension that would explode in the 1965 Watts rights. Another issue, I had never heard of before this week, the

stifled the one's prosperous spirit of the South Central community was the California State Highway Commission's campaign to build both one ten and I-ten through the heart of South Central. The path for Interstate Ten was especially troubling because it cut directly through a 500-foot wide section of West Adams known as sugar hill Sugar Hill was considered one of the most beautifully well kept neighborhoods of African Americans anywhere in America Many residents felt the freeways path going right through it was a big fuck you to the black community and it seems like you know It probably was African-American Santa Monica opposed the proposed route also through their area because it bisected the one small black community in Santa Monica and enclave near pico in 26th.

I 10 ended up bulldozing through both neighborhoods destroying hundreds of houses of relatively affluent black residents, gutting the heart of the black community. Similar process happened 10 miles east of sugar hill and boil heights were five freeways intersect including the 10 the destructive process process, the freeway construction, also just happened to occur in a neighborhood of color. Weird. And then the Watts riots happened. Issues like highway construction combined

with frustration with the LAPD and a general brewing unrest of racial inequality and intercity poverty, contributed to the outbreak of six days of rioting in Watts in August of 1965. The catalyst for the riot to occur on August 11th on a warm night when a highway patrol motorcycle officer pulled over a young African American man named Marquette Frye for speeding. Large crowd assembled around the officers as he attempted to arrest Frye and the unrest began. I discussed this

in more detail and sucked to 09 the American riots episode. In quick summation, six days of rioting covered about 46 square miles, left 34 people mostly black dead, over 1,000 wounded, almost 4,000 arrested, property damage amounted to 40 million with over 600 buildings damaged and or destroyed. Parts of the area never financially recovered from this devastating destruction. And when recovery finally happened, it didn't last long. In 1975, the black arts movement in LA flourished in Southern California. devastating destruction. And when recovery finally happened, it didn't last long. In 1975, the Black Arts Movement and LA flourished in Southern California, they would continue to more limited form beyond 1975, but then changing economic conditions,

and changing to public policy drastic changes in the late 70s, and then the rise of Reaganomics in the 80s led to less and less funding for the arts, more difficult circumstances for local artists and musicians. Economic restructuring in the manufacturing sector, you know, encouraged factories to move out to the suburbs out of urban areas in many cities, including LA. Other changes in the economy made all those jobs, black residents moved across the country for in the great migration suddenly real scarce. Fueled primarily by a wave of plant closures in the 70s and 80s, black unemployment and

poverty rates rose. Back in the 60s, LA County was the second largest auto making center in the US right behind Detroit. Then GM, Chrysler, Ford and others moved their plants. Other once prosperous local so-called industries, like oil drilling, refining, also saw a lot of jobs, leave the area, the aerospace industry, saw some jobs, leave the area, a lot of jobs leave the area, the aerospace industry saw some jobs leave the area, no good, you know, good paying jobs, no new ones replace the holes that the plants leaving left in the local economy. The Bay Area was able to transition into tech during the late 70s and 80s when they saw a similar migration of some industries, LA did not see any equivalent job growth. The area began to lean more and more heavily on filmmaking, right? And the LA film industry has never

provided nearly enough jobs to employ millions. And that Hollywood machinery has never done more than really just kind of dip its toes into South Central. And then at the same time, a lot of jobs are leaving, there was also substantially less social program funding. This is fucking huge. Once in office in early 1981, President Reagan cut a total of $140 billion from US social programs,

including the elimination of free school lunches for over a million impoverished kids. Food stamps, the comprehensive employment and training act, federal guaranteed loan programs for higher education, federally funded legal assistance and other similar programs. These programs budgets were slashed big time, regularly reduced funding for the aforementioned programs by $44 billion. Who did this all hurt? Right, I hurt the poorest Americans, which included many of the recently unemployed residents reduced funding for the aforementioned programs by 44 billion. Who did this all hurt?

To hurt the poorest Americans, which included many of the recently unemployed residents of South Central. The timing was horrible. And then, guess who else showed the fuck up in South Central in 1981? It emits all this. Crack. So much fucking crack. Throw back to the old two-pock episode there.

Mess arguably much more destructive cousin, right? New freeways cut to the heart of the nicest black neighborhoods. Jobs go away, social programs get massively cut. So many poor people are hurting, then crack shows up and it's like, Hey, I can make you forget about all that shit. I can make you forget about your problems. Just smoke me, come on, come on, do it. What do you have to lose?

Everything? I guess, but come on, losing everything never felt so good. Crack! Fucking crack! Many of the black neighborhoods in South Central, unsurprisingly, quickly collapsed into urban decaves. Too much, crack was the straw that just fucking destroyed a bunch of backs.

Talk about crack for a second. Forget what I said a moment ago. I was joking, about crack being really bad. That's actually a silly rumor spread by the DEA as propaganda, a bunch of jokes. No, crack is actually really good for you. Did you know that in each and every crack rock you get 345% of your daily recommended dose of Jivitaminsi?

Yeah, but you hadn't heard that, huh? Or that crack is loaded with vitamins D, E, K, B6, B12, full of important minerals like magnesium and potassium. They didn't teach me that in the dare program. Crack is an important source of lean proteins. Omega-3 fatty acids. Fuck yeah. If you smoke at least three crack rocks a day, you don't even need fruits or vegetables anymore. And speaking of crack, let me introduce our first sponsor. Today's time suck is brought to you by Whipple Crack Edition.

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Not sure how long I'm going to keep beating that dead horse. But for real, crack showed the fuck up in South Central, 191, big way. It did kind of whip its way in the South Central. And crack is really, really, really bad for you. Crackers cocaine has been combined with other substances to form white crystals resembling small rocks, users heat and smoke it. And cocaine is awesome, JK kind of. You never know if it's been laced with something, so maybe don't do it.

It's a white powder. It comes from the leaves of the cocoa plant. Most users snort it, some rub it into their gums. They're also other ways much less common to inject it or smoke it. And crack is cocaine's most addictive form. And the American Addiction Center, dot org, American Addiction Centers, dot org, list cocaine as the most addictive drug. So crack is the most addictive form of arguably the most addictive narcotic.

Crack doesn't fuck around. Many of you already know that I openly endorsed legalizing drugs to reduce the number of non-violent offenders in prison, transition to a rehab and education kind of priority, not an arrest and incarceration focus when it comes to drug use, but still, don't fuck around with crack ever. Seriously, this episode is going to lay out in many ways as just a giant PSA to never smoke crack. It's about as smart as playing Russian roulette. The effects of smoking crack are instant and intense. They can last up to 10 minutes, it's all. The effects of snorting cocaine can start within five minutes, last up to 30 minutes, less intense than smoking it. The

fast, short nature of crack highs, most likely what makes it more addictive. Crack is inhaled to the lungs, spreads to the body, producing the high, much more quickly, last for a shorter time in this snorting John Giordano, an addiction counselor at the founder of the National Institute for Holistic Addiction Studies. Adding, this causes a cycle of bingeing and crashing, which puts the user at a greater risk of dependence. Crack rocks, first hit the LA streets in 1901, an alarming increase in hospital emergency room visits quickly followed. And it got worse here after a year. first hit the LA streets in 1901 in alarming increase in hospital emergency rooms,

emergency room visits quickly followed. And it got worse year after year. Cracked may have fucked up South Central in the 80s and 90s more than any other single factor. In 1905, cocaine related hospital emergency visits rose up to 26,326,300. In 1906, these incense rose another 110% up to 55,200 and then between 84 and 87 cocaine incense increased to 94,000. Yeah, yeah, 55,200. There we go. 26,000 three. Is that what I said earlier? Who's my mind? Despite all this, early governmental response was neglect. Why? Probably because crack flood of the streets of South Central instead of Beverly Hills and Malibu, where powdered cocaine was much more popular. Snorting coke quickly became associated with middle-class and affluent whites, smoking crack became associated with poor blacks.

Why? Money. Crack is easier to develop than powder cocaine. It's more cost-efficient to produce, can be cut down further with shit like baking soda. Crack is cheap. It was sold for as little as $2.50 per mile, a small capsule that contains pebble size pieces of crack that were approximately one tenth of the gram of powdered cocaine. Meanwhile, a gram of cocaine would cost around 750 bucks in 1991.

Much more expensive than it is now. By the end of the decade, it would drop below 300, the price of crack would drop with it. As you can see, if you're poor, if you're living in South Central, you might not be able to afford to buy, you know, a tenth of a gram of Coke for 75 bucks, if they'd even sell that small of an amount, but you could probably buy that much crack for $2.50. And that purchase of only just a couple bucks would immediately fuck your whole world up.

You get real, real high, and you know, you quickly leave you with side effects like weight loss, high blood pressure, hallucinations, seizures, paranoia, not giving a fuck about anything other than getting more crack. Because that high is going to be gone in 10 minutes or less. You can go through several rounds of crack pretty fucking fast. Right? You can get high, go back to being sober, get high, go back to being sober, go back to being sober, you know, less than an hour.

And you can go from never having used it ever before to being seriously addicted in just a single day. When the so-called crack epidemic took hold, America had a choice to make. View it primarily as a health and welfare issue, put money to education, rehab, or view it primarily as a criminal act to put money to law enforcement and incarceration. And America chose the latter. And that choice kicked South Central right in the fucking dick.

Uh, the judicial system made crack public enemy number one when it came to drugs. Punishing crack users literally a hundred times more severely than punishing powdered cocaine users. How crazy is that? A hundred times more severely. That decision was really fucking stupid and blatantly racist and it did not slow down crack use. It did send a lot of people to prison for dealing crack.

And once in prison for a long crack sentence, you know, once forced to join the gangs at ruled prison in the 80s and 90s, if you weren't hard and criminal, when you got there, you probably were by the time you got back out and moved back to your neighborhood, a neighborhood like South Central. Persons convicted in federal court of possession of five grams of crack received a minimum mandatory sense of five years in federal prison. You would have to possess 500 grams of regular Coke to get that same sense. That is so absurd. That is fucking unreal.

Trying to sell less than a fifth of an ounce of crack will get you the same sense as trying to move over a pound of Coke. This policy put a lot of young men black in prison in 2012, 88% of imprisonments from crack were African American. 1986, 134% more people went to prison for drug violations than in 1980. One in every four African American males, age 20 to 29, was either incarcerated or on probation or parole by 1989. Largely for crack related offenses,

which contributed to the US having the highest incarceration rate in the world by 1995. That stat increased to nearly one in three to nearly one in three African American males age 2029 in prison, largely for drug offenses. What the fuck with the high risk of a longer sense? Why were so many young black men fucking around with crack? Well, money. Again, money. Money is the answer to so many questions. The loss of quality urban jobs and a decrease in social program funding contributed to the rise of the crack cocaine economy. Crack offered a quick fix with a high profit margin.

You can keep selling to the same addicts over and over and over because it constantly needed more crack. Small time dealer can get a profit of $2,000 a month selling crack. That's equivalent to about $6,000 a month now. And that's tax-free money. That's like making 130, 140K a year in a regular job. With all that money to be made, South Central saw a major rise in crack dealers. And thus, a major rise in gangs fighting for the right

to sell that crack. As local gangs, bloods and crypts in particular got more and more involved in L.A.'s crack industry, that murder rate naturally skyrocketed. In the 70s, L.A. County saw an 84% increase in murders. The rate rose from 12.5 per 100,01970 through 23 per 100,01979. And then the rate just kept going up by 1990 as 28.3. Law enforcement responds with mass arrests, mass incarceration, police chief Darrell Gates,

chief of the LAPD from 78 to 1992, deployed armored cars to break down crack homes during weekend raids. Officer, we're arrest hundreds of people in a single weekend for nonviolent offenses. Many of those who are released claim they often found their cars have been destroyed after police impounded and searched them. So they're more hard up than they were before they went in, which gave them more incentive to try and deal some crack again. All this happening during the high of the infamous and misguided war on drugs, a war that

also became a war on drug selling gangs in South Central. The police constantly responding to drug and homicide calls. Officers were quickly overwhelmed. Massive hiring programs still was not enough to stop the bleeding, to literally stop the bleeding. There was just way too much crime, too many drugs, too many murders for officers to handle. In the 80s LA's murder rate was over three times greater than it is today.

And more of those murders occurred in South Central than in any other area of the city. LAPD's 77th Division worked most of the cases in South Central. Homicide detectives in South Central were overworked, tired compared to homicide detectives and wealthier neighborhoods. Seventy-seventh Division got over 130 murder cases, murder cases a year,

with only eight detectives to work them all. Craziness. And let me back up for a second actually, that more than three times greater than it's today. That was actually more than three times greater than it was a few years ago. Based on that particular information, I just saw an article after I made the notes

about how there's been a recent rise 2020, 2021 with homicides again in LA County. With all the shit going on, South Central also had in the 80s and 90s multiple serial killers to deal with, including the grim sleeper Lonnie Franklin, Jr. So much serial killing that a 1905 South Central resident Margaret Prescott founded the black coalition fighting back serial murders to protest the LAPD's lack of policing in the areas where murders occurred. Their mission statement declared the low profile media coverage and problems with the investigation are examples of women's lives not counting in black prostitute women counting least of all. Okay, now that we've established some crime context for South Central in the 80s when Lonnie got started We're almost ready for Lonnie's timeline and we'll meet some of those other serial killers in the in the timeline Before getting into all that, I do want to make it clear that South Central again Not some bear and fucking wasteland. It can come across that way much of this episode

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods Plenty nice homes with well-maintained lawns and hardworking law-biting families families living inside of them, or plenty of relatively safe streets, some good schools, good shopping, et cetera. But also some very troubled neighborhoods, especially in the 80s and 90s. And one doc that producers went to an alley, where one of the bodies that won a Lonnie's victim, so it had dumped years earlier, and almost immediately fled after hearing gunshots. And the guy who took him to the alley, he was not shook. He was not surprised. He's like, yeah, that's just kind of what happens around the alley.

I was like, I He was not surprised. He's like, yeah, that's just kind of what happens around the salient. I was life. I've traveled all over. I drove through South Central at night, back around 2005. One of the only times in my life, I felt genuinely scared. I had so many people staring at me with the, what the fuck do you think you're doing here, vibe? Did not feel a hopeful welcoming vibe.

Not a, hey, how you doing buddy? I felt a vibe of anger and fear. I've driven into plenty of other neighborhoods at night, never felt what I felt in that area of South Central east of Englewood, north of Compton. So much respect for everyone able to grow up in an area like that and not turn to crime and not turn to violence. People who were able to hold down a steady job by a house,

help raise a family, et cetera, kudos to you. Hale to the South Central, hard working grinder. You're one of those people, I think you've done something incredibly impressive. Thrived in an area with so much work against you, that many people never have to face here in America, like a fucking crack epidemic, the gangs and the crime that come with that.

You've thrived with so much work against you, so many people working against you, people like to grim sleeper. All right, now let's meet this evil motherfucker. Shrap on those boots, soldier. We're marching down a time suck timeline. Oh, my God. On August 30th, 1952, Lonnie David Franklin Jr.

is born in South Central LA. Mom Ruby describes a strong, wild former beauty school student from Texas. And his father Lonnie Sr. was half grizzly bear and half alligator. A lot of people think his dad is where he got his murderous nature from. No, that'd be kind of awesome actually.

No, his dad described as laid back longshoreman, 100% human. Sound like a good dude. Lonnie Jr. grew up in South Central first on E 78th Street then Grand Avenue, then West 81st with his mom and dad and his sister Patricia five years younger than him. Otis Ruby's older son from another relationship grew up in Texas with relatives, but would visit the Franklin household during the summer.

While accounts due to solid childhood, his parents were married, his dad had a solid union job, loaded and unloading cargo ships, a few miles from the home on the coast back when nearby Venice Beach and El Segundo had a lot more industry than they do now. His mom raised the kids and from what it sounds, also sometimes worked as a hairstylist. When he was young, Lonnie did not show any behavioral problems. He was a poor student, no struggle with reading and writing. When he was in the fifth grade, Ruby hired a college student to tutor him. He had a tutor right there as an indication that the family was doing pretty well, right?

Just a solid middle class family. I don't even think I knew what a tutor was until maybe high school. Unfortunately, the extra study did not help his grades. Lonnie struggled through high school. His parents even had him change schools to try and help him before he transferred to Dominguez High School in nearby Compton, where he enrolled in a work study program. I just called him morning and to a job in the afternoon. Dominguez High named after Don Manuel Dominguez,

a 19th century California rancher who inherited over 75,000 acres. From his dad who inherited that land from his uncle, Juan Jose Dominguez, who had the land granted him by the King of Spain in 1784. Easy E, MC Ren, two members of the hip hop supergroup, NWA, gangster rap pioneers, they went to Dominguez High, pro bowl, Legion of Boom, cornerback, Richard Sherman went

there. A whole bunch of former former professional basketball football baseball players went to Dominguez. Franklin did not do real well there, but he did excel at fixing cars as work study program. Being an accomplished gear head became a huge source of self esteem for the future killer. Gave Lonnie a skill, some money he would use to impress girls. Apparently girl crazy beginning of the young age, initially in a non-murderous way, which is obviously the preferred way to be girl crazy. Unfortunately, it seems that his car skills led him into crime. It would quickly become known as the go-to mechanic for some local gangsters, you know, when they needed stolen cars stripped or modified. It seems that his car skills led him into crime, who would quickly become known as the go-to mechanic for some local gangsters, you know,

when they needed stolen cars stripped or modified. Lonnie was no snitch, happy to make some extra cash, working for whoever. Lonnie loved cars. He used them to pick up his victims later in life, started driving them, according to Family Law, when he was only seven years old. That's when Lonnie senior taught him to drive.

That is ridiculous, seven. Seven? Did he sit on some phone books? With more books taped to a shoe, so you reach the pedals? Driving to seven sounds like some little rascal shit. I guess, and Dad was helping him a bit for that first ride. He wasn't just, you know, taking loops around the block solo,

picking up some friends for a play day. 1966, when he was just 14, his dad gave him his first car, allowed Franklin to drive it around the neighborhood. That's when he started driving solo for real, got his license the following year. In addition to being a gear head, his youngster, Franklin, also known to be a fast talker and a flirt always quick with the compliment. He would use those flirtation skills later to lure victims into his car. Uh, kind of thanks to the crack epidemic, the only flirtation skill he'd

really need was to be able to say, Hey, I have some crack. Uh, his first childhood crush was on a neighborhood girl when he was just seven or eight. In the eighth grade, he fell for a girl named Kate, lost his virginity to her when he was 14. It were a couple for about a year from what I could tell. He didn't even kill her, single time. Ninth grade, Lonnie dated a classmate named Shannon, till she moved to another state at the end of the school year.

Franklin told some people he got Shannon pregnant. She had a son by him, I doubt it. He lied about stuff in this period of his life, unclear if Franklin had anything to do with a child, or if that story's even true. Franklin's next major romance was with the girl named Rochelle, it a pretty serious relationship that ended up dating, excuse me, through Lonnie's junior and senior years.

None of these people seemed to have had any, at least they didn't come public with any, that dude creeped me the fuck out stories in this phase of his life. From birth to around a sophomore year of high school, especially, he seemed to be by all accounts of mild manner, mostly respectful young man who liked to flirt with the ladies. I wonder what some of these women, if they're still around, thought when he was caught. How strange to have an ex who ends up being a serial killer.

If I dated someone who turned out to be a serial killer, oh man, I definitely racked my brain. Trying to remember if they'd ever done anything indicative of being a psychopath. While Lonnie was going to high school in dating, he also started to get in trouble with a law. In 1969, at the age of 16, got arrested twice for Grand Theft Auto. The following year, 1970, arrested for burglary.

Then he got expelled from Dominguez High. We're getting into a fight with the classmate two weeks shy of graduation. That sucks. I remember kid in my graduating class who dropped out during senior year. Man, it's so close. This was so confusing to me.

He didn't get kicked out. Wasn't even flunking out. He just didn't want to go anymore. He just didn't feel like hanging around. He gets that degree. I'm not sure what happened to him. Hopefully he made it out all right, but man, odds are probably against that.

You're definitely not doing your resume any favors when you drop out of high school. You can overcome that of course, but dig yourself a hole right out the gate on your future career with that move. Lonnie soon got a job as a box boy when you got kicked out. It was called a box boy then, as called a bagger when I did it at a local grocery store.

It was bagging people's groceries, he did that for about a year, and that takes us out of his childhood and into the seventies. Again, yes, he had some trouble with law, but it doesn't seem like he had an especially traumatic childhood. If he experienced any significant trauma or was abused in some way or if he showed signs of sociopathic behavior like some other serial killers have when they were younger, we don't know about it.

No one's ever come forward with any info regarding any of that that I'm aware of. And Lonnie certainly hasn't said shit about his past since being arrested. Dude would never admit he killed anyone despite an overwhelming amount of evidence, including a woman who he attacked who lived, including so much DNA evidence. His family has not opened up about him to anyone to my knowledge, really. So let's move on to the next phase of his life, one that will turn pretty shitty, pretty fast, but it's kind of funny and interesting. Let's talk about the five years he worked primarily as a birthday clown. Hello, 1971 and 1976, Lonnie worked for Tashon singing telegrams.

He'd show up at someone's office or house with, you know, or whatever, she'll help somewhere, dress in an old school, classic Bozo clown get up. So creepy to me. He wore a wig that was bald on top with red hair, you know, shooting out the sides, white face paint, the red noise maker, honked when he squeezed it on his nose.

Big oversized floppy shoes, blue loose fitting, pajama-type clown outfit, with a couple big red cotton balls covering buttons on the chest. You can find pictures of this online, some frills at the ends of his sleeves on his neckline. You've seen it, this imagery. He was a allegedly really good at juggling. Okay, it making blue animals better than average on the roller skates. He would

sometimes have to wear not the best singing voice, but I guess he made up for it with enthusiasm. So weird. He had a decent clown name, I guess, smacky. It would be very appropriate actually. Now, this is a job that would lead to his first real prison sentence. He just could not handle it when kids would laugh at him. Short temper, short fuse. And a lot of the time, when they'd yell at him, you know, teasing whatever, he'd get shitty with the kids.

And then the parents, of course, they'd get mad. And then he would get even more upset. They'd get more upset. A brawl would sometimes break out. And after one of these brawls, he ended up getting a two year prison sentence for putting the dad in the hospital. I forget in a fight during the man's daughter's

16th birthday party after he realized they'd only hired him as a joke to mock him. I guess they kept making fart noises with their hands or something blaming it on him laughing at him and he got mad about it. And while he was in the middle of singing, I'm a little teapot, a song they kept requesting over and over and over. You fucking snapped. He ended up trying to choke out the dad with a popped balloon giraffe. And then he tried to electrocute the dad somehow with one of those kind of handshake buzzers. And it's crazy all the sounds. And early in mid 70s, Lonnie was one of many birthday clowns to be sent to prison for assault and sometimes murder.

Part of an epidemic of clown theme violence in the U.S. highlighted in Time magazine in an expose titled Bozo Bob's Back. That article would inspire President Jimmy Carter to pass a law tacking on additional mandatory sentencing for anyone committing assault while dressed in clown gear. And the same article would inspire Stephen King to begin writing it, which we'd finally publish a decade later 1986. And one more thing,

did anyone believe fucking any of that? Any of that stupid clown bullshit at all. Did anyone pause the episode at the wrong time and tell people that America had a scourge of clown-related violence in the 70s? Did anyone tell that to a friend or coworker who now thinks you're completely out of your fucking mind? Gotta hope so. I'm done now for the moment.

For the moment. The next phase of Lonnie's life does turn pretty shitty, pretty fast though. That part was true. On July 26, 1971, one month shy of 2019, Franklin joins the army. He does basic training at Fort Ord and Monterey Bay, California. That Fort Ord would close down in 1994, by the way. January 72, Lonnie was deployed overseas, stationed with the 71st air defense artillery at the Kelly Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. And there, Franklin's true sexual deviants, if it didn't show up before, definitely begins

to reveal itself. On April 17th, 1974, 12.30 AM, I just after midnight, 17-year-old Ingrid, on her way home from her boyfriend's place when life as she knew it took a terrible turn. She was waiting to catch a train home at the Zufenhausen train station in Osberg, town 9 miles north of Stuttgart when three young American men in a fiat pull up alongside her. Two of them step outside the car, ask for directions while angry as giving those directions to them more than happy to help if she can.

One of them grabs her by the shoulders, pushed her into the back seat and piles in behind her and they take off. Then one of the men, a man who would turn out to be Lonnie Franklin, quickly holds a long foot long roughly, white handled butcher knife to her Lonnie Franklin, quickly holds a long footlong roughly white-handled butcher knife to her throat, and threatens, I'll kill you. The men drive her to an empty field where they take turns, raping her, cutting her stomach, and taking pictures of it all, fucking animals. This will go on all night.

Angry survival in St.Tel's her not to fight. She hopes being compliant will spare her life, and it may have done just that. She strikes up a conversation with Lonnie between assaults, hoping to win his sympathy. The rapes continue again until just before dawn when it's finally over. Ingrid plays along in order to get the men to take her home. On the way home, she gives her phone number to Lonnie, hoping it will help the police. You catch him later. It's fucking so brave.

This young girl, this would work. It would work because a sexual predator would actually be fucking dumb enough to call her. Local police took Ingrid's accusations extremely seriously because they had just heard about how three men fitting that same description, driving a fiat, had attempted to grab an 18 year old girl an hour before Ingrid was abducted. Only a neighbor here in that girl's scream saved her from the same or even worse fate. The police asked Ingrid if she would set up a date with the man, she'd given her number

to if he called. So he does. The following evening Ingrid is standing outside the Ludwig's Berg station waiting for Lonnie to pick her up. Local officers, military police watching nearby. She'd been told to drop a handkerchief from her pocket when she spotted her a silent and then the police would take over. When Lonnie approaches, she quickly throws the handkerchief to the pavement, police move

in, grab that motherfucker. When he's arrested now, 21 year old U.S. Army private Lonnie, David Franklin, Jr. had that foot-long butcher knife in his boot, just a bit incriminating. Franklin's working as a kitchen supervisor, a resident cook at that time, and obtained the rank of specialist fourth class. March of 73, he even received the 30 second Army Air Defense Command Award for Best Mess for the third and fourth quarters of 1972. But now, of course, his military career is over. Franklin taken into custody May 5, 1974 charged with the

rape and kidnapping of Ingrid and the attempted kidnapping of the 18-year-old woman who escaped. His accomplices also in the army charged with the same crimes. On December 20th 1974, a panel of judges convicts Franklin and the other two men for kidnapping and the rape of Ingrid, as well as the attempted kidnapping of the other victim. Lonnie sentenced three years and four months in a German prison. While in prison, May 5th, 1976, Lonnie's given a general discharge from the military after he serves his prison sentence, sorry, before he finishes it, yeah, in Stuttgart. I should hope he was discharged. How fucked up would that be if he wasn't?

Hey, Lawnie, you're not getting kicked out of the military, bud. We think you're a great soldier. You're a fantastic kitchen supervisor. But we better not hear about the raping again. We have a serious three strikes in your out rape policy. Now you got one. So I guess, yeah, sure, I mean, you can rape one more time, but that's it. We're very strict when it comes to lots of raping.

What is fucked up is the army decided against giving him a dishonorable discharge. Did not get a dishonorable discharge for that shit. Why? Because that would have made it difficult for him to find city, state, or county work later. Who cares? Fuck that guy, unreal.

Kidnapping an array plus account of attempted attempted kidnapping an array, and they're like, ah, we don't want to make a heart for this fella to get good benefits later down the road. And he will get good benefits down the road, by the way, he will end up working for the fucking city, county. Also, not the same country, I know, but I hate that he only got little over three years for kidnapping an array plus another count

of attempted kidnapping an array. If you were to get caught, dealing a bit of crack, a tiny amount of crack in the US in the 80s, you get at least five years. Shake them ahead. I consistently infuriated how soft the world at large is when it comes to punishing sex offenders,

especially with blatantly guilty, especially violent incidents like this, 1977. Lonnie gets out of German prison. He's back in South Central LA. He learned a valuable lesson from his experience abroad when you commit a horrific crime, do not leave the victim alive to turn you in. He quickly starts attending classes

at the LA Trade Technical College when he gets home, studying to become a mechanic. What you already knew the basics of? He learned more of course, he just agreed, that would make it into job easier. It is at this college where he meets his wife, Sylvia Leno. She's 21, he's 24. Guess they didn't tell her the truth

when it came to what he'd been up to the past few years. So how is Germany, Lonnie? I've always wanted to visit. Oh, not good. Not good at all for me. I rate one girl this any depressing for a couple years. Fucking Germany. Hey, you wanna leave this restaurant?

Go to some dark alley where I can hold a knife if you throw it and take some pics. These two get married in 1978, have two kids. A daughter, Crystal, was born in December of 1978. Their son, Crystal, were born August of 1981. The family gets a place, not clearly bought or rent this first place, on 111th place in South Central. Not far off from Crenshaw, I believe.

Later, 1986, the family will buy Lonnie's childhood home when Lonnie's dad dies, a bungalow at 1728 West 81st Street in between Western and Harvard. Couple blocks away from the Golden Bird. Johnny's childhood home when Lonnie's dad dies, a bungalow at 1728 West 81st Street in between Western and Harvard. Couple blocks away from the Golden Bird, great wings joint, based on Yelp reviews, and Tumbi's pizza. Also apparently solid based on reviews,

just east of Englewood. Let's take a second now to push pause in what will be his murder timeline and get to know Lonnie a little bit better before covering his crimes. His future crimes, get to know his wife Silnie a little bit better before covering his crimes. His future crimes. Get to know his wife Sylvia a little bit too. Strange that Lonnie will often claim to have been married before Sylvia. Although this woman's name is unknown probably because she's not

real. His lie is time not mine. And the fuck would he have had another wife while he was in a German prison? I don't buy it for a minute. This is some bullshit I feel like he made up, made up. Cover for the time he spent in a German, so I wouldn't have to explain why he was really there. None of his friends interviewed in videos I've seen seem to have known anything about his time in Germany, his crime there. Instead, they all seem to think he briefly had a wife between leaving California to join the army and returning home,

because that's what this piece of shit told him. He told his buddies he hated women because of this imaginary first wife. He said she was a straight crackhead. She used his words, which does not make sense because crack did not show up until 1901, and he married Sylvia in 1978. So how the fuck was she getting crack

when there was no crack to get? He told his buddies that this mystery wife spent his hard earned money on drugs, spent it on crack instead of bills. That's why he was now so rough on crackheads. His friends didn't know that he killed these crackheads, at least of course they didn't admit that after he was apprehended for that. But some of them did admit when they talked to the documentary people that he,

you know, he was real rough on them. Some of them knew he tortured them. One even admitted to joining in on that torture, admitted it on camera. Fucked up, crew for friends. On a Franklin Hades woman, he'll likely never tell the world why. See, up, crew for friends. On the Franklin hates women. They'll likely never tell the world why. C'sa, them as primarily fuck objects. Well, saw them. He's dead now. Number six workers who had sex with them were interviewed after he was arrested. They

all spoke to him, making strange and sadistic requests. He wanted to roughly satimize them while they wore a collar on a leash, bark like a dog, shit like that. He wanted them to push 40 ounce malt liquor bottles inside them, stick screwdrivers, up their asses, not making up those examples. And then it became enraged whenever they said no, became very verbally and physically abusive. If he wasn't already physically abusive in those examples, he was the sadist who wanted to use women like almost nobody wants to be used, like they weren't human. Several women who had encounters with him, sex workers, who said they made him feel, or he made them feel like they were't human. Several women who had encounters with him, sex workers,

who said they made him feel, or he made them feel like they were not human. He made up a stupid fake wife story to try and justify all this shit. Well, going to trade school and afterwards, Lonnie had various jobs. He ran a gas station for a little bit, worked as a patient scheduler with veterans of affairs. As a fucked up, he got to do anything for the military

after what he got discharged for. Was a security guard and later a truck driver before a friend hired him to set up parties, do maintenance work for his entertainment company, he wanted health benefits so he applied for a job with a city and got it in 1901. Oh, it's good thing his discharge didn't hold him back. He was hired as a garage attendant at LAPD's central division, fucking work for the LAPD a few years before they'd be looking for him. He was promoted to be a mechanical per gave it up a year later when he accepted another

government job with the city's department of sanitation as a garbage man. It paid better offered the young father more overtime hours. Well, he's getting that good city job, good county job. I guess it was city job. His wife Sylvia Franklin worked first in a legal office then worked for the Inglewood School system first as an administrative secretary then as a senior clerk to the superintendent and the board. She made decent money like Lonnie did.

The two were able to buy some rental properties. The family lived a nice middle class lifestyle with plenty of disposable income. Income Lonnie would use frequently on sex workers. He often tortured and sometimes killed. Sylvia has been described as a loyal wife. No one seems to have a bad thing to say about her. The Valley Christian felt she could not portray her husband until he was proven guilty. She stayed by his side even after he was caught until he was convicted. She would visit him in jail until his conviction. A retired FBI agent said Sylvia was a strong one with a strong belief

system, which just hold on to her husband because he was innocent until proven guilty. After Lonnie's conviction Sylvia and the entire family took a big step back from the media. They never really spoke to the media to begin with, but then they completely disappeared. Interestingly, a few of Lonnie's friends did say that the two of them lived very separate lives, lived in the same house,

but may have slept in different bedrooms, and were almost never seen in public together. Lonnie did her things, Sylvia did hers, or Lonnie did his things, excuse me, Sylvia did hers. She seems to have looked the other way regarding any of her husband's indiscretions. And what did Lonnie's neighbors think of him? Well, they thought he was a, you know, a talented birthday clown. That's Mackie. Mackie was out of, again, he started working for Tashon singing telegrams again in the mid 80s. He was able to control his temper a lot more effectively

ignore the kids, fuck with him. JK, gotcha. No, the community of South Central, you know, felt he was friendly and quiet. He worked on cars in his front yard, chatted with anyone who would walk past. Like to talk about the Lakers and the Dodgers. So I guess he wasn't totally quiet. He's quite if he didn't know him. He wasn't described in one source as friendly and quiet,

but another source he described as chatty. I like to talk about the Lakers, the Dodgers, CSI, 48 hours, and once his crime started getting some media buzz, Once the Grim sleeper moniker was thrown out there, he loved to talk about the media's cover to the Grim sleeper. Once he got knocked on it, one woman in the neighborhood actually started avoiding Lonnie because he wouldn't shout the fuck off about the Grim sleeper. Lonnie lived on a street of single family homes in South Central with a great street for a serial killer to live on, great neighborhood for a serial killer. His neighborhood, one of the highest homicide rates

in the nation for years. Lonnie spent his entire life in his childhood home. His parents lived there. He lived there. His son Christopher later took ownership of the house. Neighbor's thought of Lonnie as a kind and compassionate neighbor who volunteered in the community helped elderly residents off the block

and fixed their cars for free. He went to friends' kids, high school graduation ceremonies, brought his elders gifts on their birthdays. Although he and Sylvia had an on again, off again relationship for the 30 years they were married. He loved his two children dearly. I was a caring father. Neighbor of vet Williams told the Seattle Times after his rest, his family didn't want

for nothing. No one in the world is an angel, but I could admire someone for taking care of his family in his home. That is a interesting perspective on a serial killer. Look, I don't like how he constantly shot and raped and strangled his sexually tortured and killed women, but no one's perfect. He was a good provider.

So, you know, overall, maybe not that bad of a dude. Neighbors knew that Lonnie would fix their cars for low price, cut their lawns even, put up Christmas lights for the elderly. He was seen by many as a good, active, father, hardworking mechanic, good neighbor. Dad has spent a lot of time with the kids, especially his son, Christopher. You know, many people in neighborhood had known Lonnie

for literally his entire life outside of that German prison sense, but they didn't know the real him. Lonnie didn't fit the traditional profile of a serial killer. The majority of serial killers in America are white males between the age to 20 and 30, at least that's when they become active. Lonnie was a black man believed

who had committed his first murder at age 32. Interesting stat I would like to share about this. Thanks to media coverage, I had long assumed that there were almost no black serial killers, not true. The Grim sleeper is the first black serial killer we've covered here after covering around, I don't know, 30 serial killers or so, almost all them white, but not because there haven't been many black serial killers out there. In reality, around 20% of American serial killers are black men and only 13.4% of the population in America is black. So the myth of the white male serial killer is just that.

A myth. Serial killers come in all colors. Black men are just prone to serial killing as white men. Starting late like Lonnie did, though, that is unusual. Lonnie also targeted black victims, which is atypical at least in a media-covered sense, but maybe not in reality. A 2016 nationwide study done by some sociologists found that black murder victims received 2.8 news articles each versus 3.8 news articles for white victims.

So maybe serial killers target black victims more than it appears, and we just don't hear about it. Lonnie did kill sex workers, which has been a common target for serial killers target black victims more than it appears and we just don't hear about it. Lonnie did kill sex workers, which has been a common target for serial killers of all races since hitchhiking faded in popularity in the 70s. Women hanging out somewhere alone, we're willing to get into a car with a man they don't know that has long been the favorite target of serial killers. Many of them, women who these men can typically physically, you know, overpower, women whose

families often don't know where they are. Again I wish we could legalize prostitution so that sex workers would be less marginalized. They arguing, just don't do it. If you don't want a risk being killed by some predator, this is intellectually simple and hollow as the argument of, well, just be abstinent. If you don't want an unwanted pregnancy or an STD, it's a flippant, poorly thought out. Argument doesn't speak to the true complexity of human nature. There's some easy dismissive shit to say that doesn't actually help anyone.

About a thoughtful is the parenting mandate of because I said so. Hollow slogans. Oh, hollow slogans and statements. They're enduring popularity. Maybe eternal. So many seem to love that shit. A line will file four injury claims that work between 1983 and 1987. The main one being a rotator cuff injury and he will retire by

1989 at the age of 37. I received monthly disability checks from the city after his accident until he's convicted of murder. That point is wife, Sylvia. Well, she'll start to receive them once he's in jail, but not when he's convicted. Excuse me. A lot of people would not be happy about that. All sorts of being caught as disability will be called into question.

It seems like he committed insurance fraud it. Insurance fraud in addition to his other crimes. Fake those injuries. That's crazy. Crazy that he wasn't honorable when he came to insurance. Seems like he had so much integrity. After taking his early retirement, Lonnie turned alternative ways to make money on the side crime mostly.

Lonnie's neighbors described him as a small time crook. He would get them a flat screen TV for a deal, always had a lot of car parts on hand. For a few years, he could get people all kinds of shit. Dude basically ran a retail store out of his house. He stole electronics, brand new spakers, computers, still in their boxes, second hand bicycles, car parts,

stolen cars, flat screen TVs, all sorts of shit. It was an off the books business, right? It was either he had stolen or more know, bought from people who had stolen them. How could he get away with that? Well, because, you know, crime of that kind was just very much tolerated in his neighborhood. And it was a strong don't snitch ever very much spoken rule in his neighborhood. And the main documentary I watched to immerse myself with this topic, a white British man interviews lots of black, south central residents who had run ends with their new Lonnie.

And numerous times he asked them like, well, why didn't report this? Why didn't you report that to the police? And without fail, they either look at him like he's fucking crazy to even suggest that, or they straight up laugh at the absurdity of that question. A few speak to how basically being a snitch is the worst thing you can fucking be.

And when no one will report anything to the police, that is how you get a house on your street that has a black market, you know, many best buy basically inside of it. That is so funny for me to envision. I picture some public access commercial for Lonnie's electronics, car parts, and more, super store. Hey, friends, if you look at South Central and know how to keep your mouth shut, come to Lonnie's house this week, no earlier than noon, no later than 5 p 5pm, not on the weekends. Do not show up with Sylvia's home. If you see her dots in the driveway, you keep on driving, friends, stores closed.

This week Lonnie has a new Apple IIE. Retails for 1400 at fries, electronics at George's for 300 bucks. No box, no power cord, no questions. Those are the largest sort of car batteries, all batteries, just 10 bucks each. Cash only, no questions. They also have a large assortment of car batteries, all batteries just 10 bucks each. Cash only no refunds. Or about some new, cordoban, white wall tires, full set for only 50 bucks. Larry's AutoZone on Crenshaw, selling the exact same tires for 130 bucks. At least they were.

They might be out of them right now though, you hear what I'm saying? Finally, we have a Beretta Minks 22 short automatic pistol, only 80 bucks. Mickey's pawn tried to sell the exact same gun yesterday for 150 like before they were robbed. I mean, the exact same gun. You get it. So come on over to Lonnie's electronics car parts and more super store. Where is Lonnie's store located?

Well, if you don't know Lonnie, where he lives, it's on the corner and none of your business and fuck you, snitch. Don't ask around. If you know, you know. If you don't,itch don't ask around if you know you know if you don't you don't laudney's neighbor who is full of a lot more crime than his house store all the same neighbors who were helping elderly residents with the christmas lights looking out for one another we're also drug dealers crack addicts gangsters

sex workers etc. interesting local culture everyone had their own problems they didn't have any interest in possibly making life a lot harder for themselves if anyone found out they were a snitch. They didn't want anyone snitching on them. One of the dudes in Doc I Watch got his ass beat halfway through the documentary, middle-aged man got jumped by several dudes just for talking to the filmmakers about Lonnie maybe being the grim reaper after he'd been arrested. Lonnie had a lot of people in neighborhood who remained loyal to him after his arrest. They made money off him for years. He offered what he called easy insurance jobs to him, paid people to burn cars, rid of other items.

One man would later tell a reporter about a time Lonnie hired him to burn a car. And inside the car, he found a woman's clothing covered in blood. He said on camera, he didn't think anything of it at the time and just completed the job. Bullshit, he didn't think anything of it. Probably assumed someone fucking got murdered. You know, but he wanted the money and he didn't want to snitch and he probably didn't want to die. If he snitches, it might, you know, legitimately

be his bloody clothes in the back of some other van, some other car. Well, Lonnie seems to have had her reputation as being a nice guy who dabbed in quite a bit of crime. Most of the people who said that on camera were other dudes. Maybe every single person who said that was a dude when I really think about it. A lot of women interviewed after he was arrested, but before he was convicted, wouldn't say that they thought he was guilty of being the grim sleeper, but they did talk about how he was a very known perv. A lot of the men who knew him admitted, you know, his encounters with women could be dicey, that he was overtly promiscuous as one man said. And when a woman didn't want to do what he wanted, a lot of guys did readily admit that he became pretty hostile.

A lot of his guy friends knew about his pictures. So many pictures, so many explicit news. One of Lonnie's friends, a man named Albert Shelby recalled that once when he was riding around with Lonnie, he popped open his glove box, pulled out a fat stack of nude pictures of women. He didn't think much of it at the time he said. Several other old friends talked about how Lonnie had so many pictures of naked women about how he loved to show them off to other dudes, real explicit shots of women sometimes, parts of him would be in the photos too.

I'm guessing you can figure out which parts just never his face. Some of his friends had pics too, they'd pass them around. It was a whole thing. There was almost always, you know, they were almost always, excuse me, pictures of local crack-addicted sex workers. He had quite the collection of panties as well. South Central resident of that Williams was getting a car fixed by Lonnie when he said he wanted to show her something and then he showed her a box filled with women's underwear. She didn't say what he said when he showed those to her. I'm guessing there's

probably some kind of dirty solicitation, something real clever. How about you don't worry about what you owe me for your car. You just give me those panties instead. And once they're off, how about I stick my dick in there? You know, maybe take a few picks. Probably something real smooth like that. Multiple neighbors reported the Seattle Times and other outlets that Lonnie hired sex workers regularly.

Some said every week, you talked about them very negatively, though, called them crackheads. Look, a woman named Francis Williams told the paper, he was a nice guy, but a freaky old man. He just talked nasty. He said he'd get women to do strange things and strange places with him. Nick Brumfield and Mark Hoefelin, producers of the documentary Tales of the Grim Sleep for that's a doc I will refer to here and there this episode where most of the interviews

I'm referring to came from. They went around the Lonnie's neighborhood interviewing all kinds of people who knew him. The interview, three of his closest friends, Steve Gary and Richard, Gary told Bloomfield and Lonnie, or that Lonnie once showed him a 25 automatic as well. They always kept in either his pants pocket or a front shirt pocket. He recalled a time when he saw handcuffs

fall out of Lonnie's car as well. Lonnie also showed him naked pictures of a lot of random women. Talked about how, you know, he talked about how Lonnie would tell him that he should try and get the reward money offered for the capture of the grim sleeper. Gary questioned Lonnie about the gun knowing the grim reaper or sleeper used a 25 automatic and he laughed. Gary said, it was like he was letting me see these things.

It was like maybe he was feeling guilty and he wanted me to get the reward. Or maybe he just got off on fucking Heiden plain sight. Just flaunt in the shit and still getting away with it. Richard told Brumfield that one time he and Lonnie were driving around looking for a car to steal and then Lonnie spotted a girl and he flipped. They passed her, Lonnie pulled over, he got out, ran to the girl, grabbed her by her hair, pulled her over to the car, which he screamed for help. Richard said he told Lonnie to let her go and that Lonnie then caught his senses and did

let her go. And then a bunch of police came over to the car, but they were, they were let go. Greg and Richard also took graphic sexual photos of women like Lonnie. It weren't committed to it like he was according to them. Lonnie always kept a camera tripod and a mattress inside his van where he did most of his work according to his old buddies. Richard told Bloomfield that Lonnie paid him four times to clean the carpet of that van. And you remembered cleaning out a stain looked like oil, but darker, uh, maybe easier to get out than oil. Never directly said he thought it was blood, but clearly in fur

is it? Come on, it's fucking blood. Woman only identified as Pam, a former sex worker, crack addict, and South Central local also spoke a lot about Lonnie with these documentarians. Without Pam, no, it would have been, no one would have been willing to talk to broomfield out of fear of you know you know being snitches being seen as snitches when the dog opens up and broomfield and hopefully then walk up to Lonnie's old house a neighbor man starts aggressively repeatedly screaming at them called him pecker woods tell him to get the white asses out of the hood. Pam explains them that the neighbors are priced suspicious that they're undercover law enforcement. Pam also got a lot of girls,

Lonnie used to pay for, to have sex with, to talk to the producers, like Delishan. Del is one of the women in Lonnie's collection of Polaroids, one of the rare girls who was not now confirmed murder victim or missing, now creepy as this, Lonnie took her photo when she was asleep and dating Lonnie's son Christopher, when they were both in high school. She spent many days in his house, went on vac was asleep and dating Lonnie's son, Christopher, when they were both in high school.

She spent many days in his house, went on vacations with Christopher and Lonnie, knew the entire family. Delitold Brunfield that Lonnie was a horny old man. That was just how everyone viewed him, a horny old man. She said that when she was with Christopher in his bedroom, as in having sex with her in high school, she could hear Lonnie in the hall, listening to them outside the door. What the fuck? One of that perv was taking notes,

maybe giving advice to his teen son afterwards. Christopher would later say that his dad and him were best friends. Just, you know, just taking him inside later, and he's like, hey dude, you gotta, yeah, slow your thrust down when you first get going. I keep hearing ya, I keep hearing you start too fast. We've been talking about that. That's why she never finishes.

You gotta pop out sometimes, switch over to your hands. You know what I'm saying? Maybe slap the head, slow it down a about that, that's why she never finishes. You gotta pop out sometimes, switch over to your hands, you know what I'm saying? Maybe slap the head, slow it down a bit. This whole race is not a sprint. You gotta save that for the last 20 yards, you understand? So fucking creepy. Delivery called seeing porn mags all over the house.

Well, not, I'm sorry, not all over the house, but in Lonnie's portions of the house, like in the bathroom next to the toilet, do you remember the shoe box full of nude pictures, Lonnie passed around to his friends once in front of her. Do it was sexually obsessed. Like most of these sexually sadistic murders creeps seem to be.

They'll also recall that Lonnie had three cell phones. He said, one was for business, one was personal, and one was for quote, hose and crackheads. Well the fuck was his wife doing during all this? Sounds like she just, you know, was real happy just looked the other way. She was real heavy in the church, almost never home. Also, their home was apparently segmented up somehow where she had her domain in the house. He had his. He also had the garage

in the backyard and Sylvia never went to some of these places. She'd also go stay with friends for days at a time, right? They were on again, off again. No one says why. And she has never spoken to reporters about her relationship with johnny uh... she was gone so much people again wondered if they were actually married just constantly avoiding her life with him and i guess to be fair to her maybe fucking scared of him scary dude maybe we're that she told him you know uh... if they didn't arrest him she would

disappear like so many of the women he picked up did who knows dela and lana's chris furt once borrowed uh... lana's church fan why did he have access? Della and Lana's Christopher, once borrowed Lana's church fan, why did he have access to the church fan? And they found Polaroid pictures and lace underwear in the glove box there. Jesus Christ, he had to have panties and fucking Polaroids everywhere. Do you thought it was strange, but assume

to just belong to one of the sex workers that Lana liked to hire? Okay, now that I've taken a little detour, painted a general picture of what a fucking creep this guy was, what people in the neighborhood seem to think of Lonnie. Now that we know a bit more about him as an adult in this marriage, let's go back to the timeline of the Grim sleeper investigation, picking up a 1984.

Shortly before Lonnie started to kill, when several other area serial killers were already active. In 1984, the LAPD formed a 49 member task force to try and catch who they were called as the time, the South Side Slayer. In the early 80s, police had discovered several women's bodies dumped in alleys and dumpsters in South Central. The LAP Sheriff's Department and police department investigated the murders, and initially

they thought the murders were committed by one individual. That mystery killer, they dubbed the South Side Slayer. The LAPD said the South Side Slayer was a mythical, evil, single force to at one point was suspected in at least 20 other slanes in the country. Christine Pelasek, an L.A. Times writer who also wrote a fantastic account of Lonnie's life and crimes titled The Grim Sleeper, The Lost Woman of South Central, a booktime magazine called One of the Best True Crime Books of All Time. We leaned on it heavily in the research for this episode.

She later wrote for the Times, I suspect that there were six separate serial killers, prowling that 51 square mile area. They were all hunting the same game. Poor black women desperate to score a next hit of the highly addictive crack cocaine that was ravaging the working class neighborhoods. The task force to catch the slayer was led by John St. John, nicknamed Jigsaw John after working as a dismem working a dismemberment murder in Griffith Park where he had to literally piece of victims, multiple body parts back

together to solve the crime. I got. St. John will retire in 1993, a highly decorated detective known for solving a lot of cases others couldn't. He was most known for helping catch serial killers. He pursued a dozen of them. Excuse me over the course of his career. St. John would really have his hands full with Southside Slayer murders, which would

quickly become known as the Southside Slayer Slayers murders. Plural. Over the following years, it was found that another black serial killer, Lewis Crane, committed at least four of the so-called Southside Slayer murders. He was convicted of four murders, 1989, then died of AIDS and prison later that same year. He was convicted of four murders in 1989, then died of AIDS and prison later that same year. The serial killer Michael Hughes, also black, killed at least seven Southside women currently on death row, been a prison since 1993. Another former military guy, investigators think he may have also killed additional women while stationed in Michigan and Maryland.

Daniel Lee Sebert, a white dude, swung through South Central in 1975 to kill two women. He killed somewhere between 10 and 13 between 1979 and 1986, traveling around the country, before going to prison in Alabama, dying there in 2008. Chester Turner, another black man convicted of killing 15 women, most of them in South Central, between 1977 and 1998. Damn. His nickname became the Southside Slayer. A suspected of killing God knows how many more been sitting on death row since 2003. Still very angry dude. Just a couple years ago, he got sentenced, when he got sentenced to a few more murders that, you know, added up to the 15. He screamed like I'll be back and bunch of her fanaties. He like walk out of the courtroom. Ivan Hill still not done

get another black serial killer targeting women, a man who earned a nickname to 60 freeway killer. Killed at least nine women between 1979 and 1994, at least one of them in South Central. Almost all the victims of these killers, young black female sex workers, struggling with crack addiction, in addition, some of the murders attributed to the South Side slayer originally may have been committed individually by various women's pimps or clients or gang members unrelated to any serial killer. Holy shit. A lot of uproar made the documentary about why couldn't the LAPD catch this dude? Well, I think you can see how the case of the grim sleeper was very fucking difficult.

Having to be a lot of predators roaming the streets of South Central in the 80s, 90s, praying on sex workers during a vicious crack epidemic. In early September 1985, St. John and the team thought they'd caught a big break in the South Side Slayer case. Three black sex workers were attacked. Two of them were giving information to the police. By 1987, they found ballistic evidence linking at least five of the murders to the same 25 caliber handgun. And thus, you know, one person, then in 1988, a victim contacted them about an attack and her description matched some of the other cases.

The task force would work for two years, receive over 5,000 tips, offer $25,000 reward, but eventually all their leads would dry up and they would end their operation. Why didn't any of their leads lead them to the Grim sleeper? For a lot of reasons, as I've laid out, but part of it was, you know, a large part of it had to say that, again, people living in Lonnie's neighborhood just didn't snitch those who could have really helped catch him. They didn't talk to the cops. Now that we've have an overview of all the sex worker killing that was going on in

South Central when the grim sleep was most active, let's get into some of their murders he specifically would later be charged with right after a sponsor break. I'd rather pause here than pause in the middle of the descriptions of Lonnie's homicides. Thanks for listening to our sponsors and supporters meet sex. I appreciate you supporting our sponsors. The support or show as well. Really, I just wanted to see how many times I could say support in that sense. On August 10th, 1985, Lonnie killed his first known victim, Deborah Jackson age 29. Probably part time sex worker, definitely full time mother in human being. Deborah was born in 1956 and her life was far from easy. Born into poverty,

she'd had her first child at only 14, 14, still a kid herself. And in her lifetime, she would have three children. She moved to LA in the 80s to take care of her grandma. There was a loving and devoted mother, but she lost custody of her kids when she began struggling with an addiction to crack fucking crack So much crack in this episode 1985 Debra worked in South Central as a cocktail waitress state and woman named Beatrice Mason 29 year old army nurse right before she was killed Beatrice was planning to break up with Debra Because she had stolen her money to buy some crack

Debra was a cosmetology student before her final relapse She just gotten back from rehab when she moved in with Beatrice. Got a job as a waitress. Then when she relapsed, it's believed she occasionally started turning tricks to feed her addiction. A few days before she was killed, this is so fucking sad. Deborah's kids had escaped from their foster home to find their mom and they did find her. And then Deborah sent them back to the foster home and told them, we'll be together soon. When I get you back, we're going to be at Big Moss House. And then they never saw their mom alive again. Fuck.

My God, that is a childhood memory no kid should ever have. Deborah took a bus after visiting a friend and she never made it back home. Her body was found three days after she took off. Lane and Allie in your West Gage Avenue in the Vermont sloss and area. Just left out in the alley like some trash because that's how the Grimm Sleeper saw her. She's found laying underneath a carpet with her hand poking

out. She's been shot three times in the chest. The police initially accused Beatrice of killing Deborah, but with a strong alibi, she's quickly cleared as a suspect. Deborah's murder gets little attention, like little media attention. Why? Because LA had so many fucking murders in the 80s, there were too many to keep track of. And because papers didn't want to only talk about murders and other murders came across as more sensational. When Deborah was found, another serial killer had already begun to dominate LA area headlines. Dale, Okazaki and Maria Hernandez's bodies

had just been found, early victims of Richard Ramirez the night stalker. South Central wasn't the only part of LA.A. dealing with sadistic maniacs. Dale and Oriya were roommates attacked in their home. Hernandez was survived barely after being shot in the face when she pulled into her own garage. Ocasaki got shot in her own kitchen. We went all over this few years ago, we sucked at evil, candy, loving, fuck.

His victim got a lot of press because unlike the sleepers victims, they were not out working the streets. They were not smoking crack they had not made choices that you know put them in harm's way they certainly were not you know asking to be murdered the grim sleeper victims but they were not minding their own business in the supposed safety of their homes like uh... rameera's victims dail and maria and others and then rameera's got him anyway

why do attacks like that get the most press well Well, partly because I think they're the most relatable and we like the relatable stories because I think we're primarily a selfish species. A lot of LA media readership were horrified by the night soccer attacks because it felt like he could attack them and that made their, his attacks scarier, fear cells with the grim sleeper attacks.

You could tell yourself, well, as long as I don't walk the streets and sell my body and smoke crack, he won't give me. Though he's less scary to more people. It doesn't make the coverage disparity right, but newspapers are not nonprofits. They need an audience to make money and sales stats have proven over and over again that audiences buy shit that speaks more directly to them personally. For mirrors, we'll be captioned on August 31st this same year, then his trial will dominate all the news outlets in the city.

Deborah's murder will not get much pressed. Does begin a pattern that will eventually many years later, help lead to Lonnie's arrest. He'll use that same 25 caliber gun to kill almost all his victims. It wasn't until 1988 that the police realized Deborah's murder was connected to a serial killer. Unfortunately, took the LAPD almost 25 years to catch the right man. Lonnie would, upon his convictions for murder, take the title of the longest operating serial killer west of the Mississippi, longer than the Green River killer Gary Ridgeway.

All his victims murdered by either shooting or strangulation, and their bodies will be found in close proximity to Lonnie's house. Debra's murder was the beginning of a series of killings involving a firearm that police initially called the strawberry murders, a pretty derogatory strawberry slang term for women who used sex work to buy drugs, specifically crack, sell their strawberries for crack, cleared the name for these murders, conveyed how a lot of officers saw the victims. They weren't really human, they were crackhead selling strawberries. And so many in the neighborhood saw them as well, NHI, no human involved.

Black, South Central sex workers, particularly those addicted to crack were fucking terrified in the mid and late 80s. Of course, they were so many of them disappearing. How many will never actually know? But anecdotally, it sounds like hundreds. On September 23rd, 1905, the task force reveals the name, South Side Slayer to the public. Later, the LAPD will realize, as I mentioned, that there were numerous serial killers roaming the South Central streets, but they will not reveal this for many additional years and then they will be criticized for not revealing that Sadly when they initially revealed that they are hunting the South Side Slayer They are not bombarded with good tips. All right, don't snitch not even when a serial killer or serial killers are you know killing young women left and right in your neighborhood, I guess

Seems like that would be a good time to you know kind of break that rule August 12, 1986 Lonnie murders his next knownknown victim, Henry at a right, age 35. She was born in 1951. She was another mother. I had five kids. Before her life fell apart, shortly before her death, she worked during the day as a cafeteria worker for the LA Unified School District and worked nights as a cocktail waitress. Then a fire destroyed her house, all her belongings.

She was forced to move in with one of her sisters. Her life again, not easy. After the fire, when it fell like the world was out together, she became extremely depressed and soon looking for some escape, any escape from her life and her problems. She started to abuse drugs and her favorite drugs soon, of course, became that highly addictive crack. Eventually, your stepdad kicked her out for smoking crack and then she started staying with friends or at hourly motels with Johns. If I had to turn the tricks to Peter Habit, then not long after starting to work the streets,

Henry had a disappear to the night of August 12th, and her body was found the next morning. She was found near the 2500 block of West Vernon Avenue in Hyde Park. Left dead in the alley again, tossed out like the fucking trash again, but shot twice in the chest, wrapped in a blanket, covered with the mattress. January 10, 1987, the third grim sleeper victim's body, the body of Barbara Ware literally found as a trash. Her remains found under a pile of trash in the 1300 block of East 56th Street in the central Alameda area.

She was shot once in the chest. Lonnie loved shooting women in the chest. She's only 23. And again, hard life. Barbara's mom had died when she was just a kid. She got into trouble when she was in middle school. Now by the time she turned 20, she was already estranged from her family, struggling with an addiction to crack. Before she ran into the grim sleeper, she'd already attempted suicide because of depression and lost custody of her daughter. She had recently

agreed to go to rehab again to regain custody of her kid, got a job as a waitress. She was on the right track for a bit, then relapsed. Her dad had just cut her off financially. That was the last time any of the family saw her. Although it wouldn't be revealed until a year later, a man witnessed someone dumping Barbara's body into the alley where she was found. He insisted on remaining anonymous. The call transcript reads, a murder or dead body or something, the address is 1346, each 56th treat in the alley, someone threw her out.

The only thing that's hanging out of this, like you threw a gas tank on top for, and only thing you can see out his defeat, the guy that dropped it off was driving a white and blue Dodge van, and then he provided the license plate number, one PZP746. When asked who he was, you said, Oh, I'm saying anonymous. I know too many people.

Okay, then bye bye. Finally, someone's ditches, I guess some people believe that Lonnie though made this 911 call because maybe he felt guilty. And I'm not sure I believe that. The police did investigate. The van was registered to the Cosmopolitan church, local Pena, Costal church. The police did not find enough evidence on the van to bring anyone in

in the tip lead to no suspects. The van was likely the van Lonnie used to dump Barbara's body. He had driven it. He had, he had a lot of other people associated with the church had. Lonnie's wife Sylvia member of the church this time was Barbara's sex worker. Sound like it was a suspect

that she was turning some occasional tricks for money to bike crack. Many of these victims not full-time sex workers. Their waitresses worked at, you know, the school, had other various jobs, but they were addicted to crack. And their jobs didn't give them enough money to buy all the crack they wanted. And with the money that they earned from the straight job

ran out, they got desperate. And being addicted to crack does make it hard to hold down a full-time job. And often they were, you know, constantly in between jobs. And so they would sell their bodies to get high. I told you this was going to feel like an anti-crack PSA. On April 15, 1987, the body of 25-year-old Bernita Spark is found in a dumpster on the 9400

block of southwestern avenue in Grammarcy Park. Had her body made it to the landfill, likely she would just be among hundreds of missing women from the area and not a known murder victim. Two men found her remains called the police. She was shot, strangled, beaten, punched in the head and faced numerous times, been shot in the chest like the others with that 25 from close range. Bruneet's mother, Eva Beard, last person who saw her, she and Bruneet were together until 10, 30 pm on April 15th. Bruneet had told her she had just gotten a new job at a cafeteria worker at a local elementary school. Excited to start that following Monday.

Bernita told her mom she's gonna go buy some cigarettes and then never seen again. What she also has sex worker at least sometimes, maybe, maybe not in this case. A crack was found in her system during her autopsy. A woman named Rosa Harris did provide the police some details after this murder. She woke up to the sounds of woman screaming, then saw Slim Black man leaving the alley near her house. So another snitch, I like it. Like like in these snitches when they do show up. Her description was too vague to lead any suspects. October 1st, 1997, Halloween night. Mary Lowe's 26 year old body found that an alley in the

8900 block of Western Avenue in Grammarcy Park. Mary left home to go to a Halloween party, never came back. She was a known sex worker, crack addict in the area. On Halloween night, her friend was having a party at a bar. She went, she called her off again, on again, boyfriend, man named Gino, would 1145 to ask for a ride, but he said no, that at 115 a.m. One of Mary's friends saw her leave the club where the party was with two black men. And then 10 a.m. the next day's friends saw her leave the club where the party was with two black men and then 10 a.m. The next day a father and his nine year old son are walking to the alley and they find her body lane and midst some trash

Always the fucking trash Sean the fucking chat with that 25 again Her body like all other grim sleepers bodies thus far appeared to have been dressed after death Lonnie would have sex with these women before killing them then put their clothes back on except for their panties Which investigators think he kept his trophies. We know he had sex with them because he left his DNA all over these crime scenes. And I said sex, not rape, because it's impossible to say whether or not the sex started off as consensual since he likely paid them or at least promised to pay them for sex. Crackpipe found a Mary's purse near her body.

Autopsie revealed she had, you know, crack cocaine or system. January 30, 1988. Another victim found La Cricka Jefferson, age 22. Her body is found with a napkin over her face and napkin has the word AIDS written on it. Her body is found in the 2000 block of West 102nd place in the Westmont area. Poor La Cricka's murder overshadowed in the news by the murder of Karen Toshima. That just happened to the predominantly white and affluent neighborhood of Westwood. The big promotion to work at a big super bowl coming up next day.

Karen Toshima and her boyfriend Eddie Poon were in a celebratory mood on a Saturday night, January 30th, 1988. They hit the shops along busy blocks in Avenue near the UCLA campus, campus, and then a violent flash. They turned out to be in the wrong place the wrong time. Two rival black street gangs, the Rolling 60s Crips from South Central and the Mansfield Hustler Crips, had come face to face in a video arcade. The angry confrontation quickly spilled onto the streets where Tsushima and Poon happened

to be walking. Hustler member Tyrone Swain, certain the Rolling 60s were responsible for a recent drive by attempt on his life, strode towards his rivals, snarling and taunting, rolling sixties, crypts, gangster, a derro, de wit, baby rock Collins, or derrell, de wit, baby rock Collins, then pulled a 38 caliber handgun out of his coat pocket, open fire. The bullets flew by Swain, one of them struck de Shima in the temple, the 27 year old graphic artist rushed to UCLA Medical Center, declared dead at 11 the next morning. You see him as murdered through a quick and passionate response, not only in LA, but across

the country. The press covered the shit out of this attack because again, it felt like it could happen to anybody. Much more relatable to a lot of people than what happened to La Crica. Because of a strong racial bias as well, more on that in a second, local politicians were outraged. gang members had open fire in the popular Westwood moving restaurant district. And that they killed an innocent by bystander. Los Angeles Councilman, Zev Yaroslavsky, whose district included Westwood, proposed that the city offered $25,000 reward for info leading to the suspect in the senseless shooting. After Tashima's murder, police patrols in Westwood tripled more than

30 officers assigned to catch a killer. LAPD brought in more than 40 people for questioning. And by the end of the week, baby rock Collins was in custody. Community activists, back down in South Central, fucking outraged. They felt that nothing was being done to help the victims of gang violence in South Central, but now that the violence spilled into a wealthy white neighborhood, politicians were demanding action, and an arrest was quickly made. Right?

They're not wrong. Of the 205 gang killings in LA, 1997, more than half occurred in South Central, innocent bystanders account of her approximately a third of the gang related homicide deaths there. One of them, a nine year old boy, Deandre Brown, playing in a sandbox when he's hit and killed by a stray bullet. Why wasn't his murder covered? He wasn't smoking crack.

He wasn't turning tricks. He wasn't living a dangerous life, getting in the stranger cars, he wasn't a gang, he was a home, playing, he got shot and killed. And his murder got very little media attention. Why? Probably because he was black and lived in a neighborhood considered by many to be the ghetto. So he wasn't relatable to many in white America, racial bias.

If I was his family, neighbor just lived anywhere in South Central, yeah, be fucking pissed too. The coverage disparity signaled all too clearly that the media, perhaps the nation at large, has valued the lives of South Central Black citizens, little less than an on-black living in a nice neighborhood. Just a few eyes before Karen, she was killed. LeCrick and Jefferson murdered and dumped in an alley. The media never released any invulner.

LeCrick was like other victims struggling with crack addiction. Her mom, one to Hutton, had warned her to stay out the streets. The Cricket was dream at one time to be a pediatrician, but then her life took a different turn. She was living in Kansas with her dad, then moved back to LA a few years before 1988. Her life soon became centered around partying and smoking that devil fucking crack! Rack! So much crack! Her Crack addiction led her to getting into cars with strange men doing whatever they asked so she could get more money from her crack.

The last person to see her live outside of Lonnie Franklin was a friend Jody Gatewood. The cricket come to Jody's apartment 9.30 pm, left two hours later to 11.30 pm. And this is going to this next little section to speak how powerful crack addiction is. And now after that, she hears Jody hears loud voices outside. Seize the cricket in the passenger seat of a white Mercedes. She's arguing with the driver who won't let her out of the car. LaCrica escaped, ran into Jody's apartment, tells Jody the man had to hold a, been holding a knife to her neck.

Uh, LaCrica should have obviously stayed inside after that, but crack started calling. So powerfully addictive. And she left the apartment again at 5 30 AM. Go find some crack. She's dead four hours later. 9 20 AM, birth of Johnson finds her body under a mattress and an alley. and she left the apartment again at 5.30 a.m. Go find some crack. She's dead four hours later. 9.20 a.m. Bertha Johnson finds her body under a mattress and an alley.

Neighbor here had her to scream, called a saw the body, called the police, did the same man who held a knife to her neck, get her, or was she frightened by one predator and then killed by another? Who knows? Like many of the other victims, she's found dressed but with no underwear and with the crack pipe in her possession. So not not sure if Lonnie

was that first guy or not. She'd been shot in the chest with 25. So he know he was a second guy. On September 11, 1988, Alicia Monique, Alexander's body, found their Nali near 43rd place in Western Avenue and Vermont, square, killed while going to the killed while going to the local liquor store only 18. Last day of her life she'd woken up her dad asked if he wanted anything from a and a liquor store. He told her no, I don't want to think baby. I want us to come home.

So if I can sad hour later Mary Alexander notices her daughter has not come home yet. She wouldn't come home, you know, the rest of the day Monique had run away before, but she'd always come back within 24 hours. Her parents were worried. They call her brother, Donnell, who insisted she'll be home soon. She was generally a good kid. She was a nurturing, loving girl. Like to take care of her younger sister.

She enjoyed drawing, ballet, writing horses, ice skating, going to the beach with her friends, you know, good middle class life. And then fucking crack, start a calling. Don't smoke crack. When she started smoking the crack, she dropped out, her senior year of high school, you know, crack told her the school didn't matter. Started dating at local 28, you know,

year old Mary Dude, also like crack. She got into a fight with her brother just day before being murdered for taking his rental car, for a joy ride, probably go find some crack. Her parents hoped her current behavior was just a phase that she would grow out of it, but crack was not having that shit. Cracks always like, no, no, no, no, don't get sick. Come on, they're just jealous.

Just smoke me. Smoke me and you feel better. Just keep smoking. Six days after she went missing, four boys found her body in an alley. They're walking a dog when the dog started digging your mattress. The mattress pad fell over. They saw a foot poking out. Man named Douglas Booker then called the police. Monique's parents are, of course, devastated. Her father wondered

how could they kill her on my watch? Her brother, Donnell, had recently robbed someone during a drug deal. He thought they killed Monique for revenge initially. Except for the longest time, I thought I got my sister killed. Even shot in the chest under the left breast. Atop she talks, she talks, talks, the college report came back to reveal, you know, of course, cocaine or system. Clear to detectives that one man had killed the seven women. The killer's signature stretched beyond the 25 caliber gun. All seven victims have been shot in the chest in an almost identical location from the

angle of the bully, my God, from the angle of the bullet entry points. It appeared the killer was sitting to the left of his victims when he fired, that he was real close to them. Southside slayer detective Richard Harrow figured that each of the victims sitting the pastor's seat of the car when the shots were fired. In Monique's case, as with other victims that appeared the gun had been placed either directly on or very near the skin. With Monique's death, Harrow had a new significant clue to add to the mix, a witness. Thank God. Someone else finally starting to really snitch here.

Someone had seen her get into either 1974, 1975, Ford Pinto or Chevrolet Vega, dark brown or rust in color with a loud muffler at 11 p.m. on September 6 on the Southeast corner of 69th in Normandy. Car aside, a rear windows were tinted or covered by curtain. The witness notice would appear to be a spot on the right front fender, possibly due to repair job and an object hanging from the rear view mirror or line on the dash. A bulletin as well as a sketch of these car types

when it was sent out to all vice and patrol units but nothing came back. Possible Lonnie kept his pinto in the garage and out of sight most of the time. Just over two months later police finally get their truly, their first truly big break in this case, a victim who lives. Someone Lonnie attacked, tried to kill, didn't kill.

She would describe the suspect's car as an orange, Ford Pinto. Let's meet her on November 20, 1988. Lonnie shot and raped 30 year old, a Neetra, Washington. Only confirmed survivor of his attacks as far as his later trial will go. However, numerous other women will give interviews and that grim sleeper documentary claiming they had also been attacked by Lonnie at different points in time.

A Neetress testimony years later will go a long ways towards making sure Lonnie is, you know, sent to prison with no hope of getting out. A Neetress shot by a man with a 25 automatic, her bullet wounds, the bullet found logs in her chest matched with the other women whose case is a gun cold. She gave the police the first description of Lonnie but she didn't know his name, not at that time. She told the police that the man pulled up a long citer in an orange Ford Pinto, offered her a ride. He said no and then the man responded, quote, that's what's wrong with all you black women. People can't be nice to you. You think you're

all that. And each of the said she then felt sorry for this fucking asshole except for his ride. She was also working the streets this time and no surprise here addicted to crack that added to her incentive to get into the car. While sitting in the pastor's seat talking to him she felt blood coming from her chest all the sudden. She says she doesn't remember being shot. She thinks you may have passed out for a moment shot after being shot.

Then when she recovers she suddenly realize that she's been shot asked why the man did it. You know asked him. He said it was because she disrespected him. And then pushes her out of the car, raves her, takes some pictures, leaves her for dead. And Nita incredibly lives, she is tough as fuck. She manages to get to a friend's house

and they drive to the hospital. And she contacts the police and tells her story. If it wasn't for her and the info she gave police, Lonnie might not have ever been caught. And Nita had no idea. Well, you probably would have for a reason to explain later, but this definitely helps. Helps the C.O.S. conviction. A Neatra had no idea she'd almost been murdered by a serial killer.

21 years later, March of 2009, and Neatra has an interview with investigative journalist Christine Pelasek from LA Weekly, you met Christine. This is the first time her statement was made public. And Neatra described her attacker as a black man in his early 30s. He looked neat, tidy, kind of geeky. We're a black polo shirt tucked into khaki trousers. Thin, neat, polite, well groomed African-American guy. The man was driving an orange Ford Pinto with the white racing stripe in the hood. She said it looked like a hot wheels car. After he smarted off to her, she accepted a ride, got in the car, impressed by the car's

interior. The gear shift handle was memorable. She said, pimped out with the ping pong size marble ball inside was all white with white diamond patterned upholstery. Damn it. Too bad the story wasn't publicized on local news stations back in 88. So many good details, right? More racial and really economic bias here.

And each of us poor black woman addicted to crack in South Central. If she'd been a rich white woman, not addicted to shit in Brentwood, her story would have been given all kinds of coverage. This is the bummer. It's a big fucking bummer if they could have gotten that info out about a very distinctive car. Maybe they would have caught Lonnie. There's no fucking way. The streets of South Central were flooded with orange Ford Pinto. It's back in 88. They stopped making those pieces shit. 1980, after only a decade of production, they were never really wildly popular because they were notoriously dangerous and unreliable. And they got rear-ended, you know,

bad gas tank placements and design led all too often to explosions. Slight drawback, thought model of car. And they're fucking ugly. Sorry, Pinto lovers, but you have to know most people filled that way. I'm surprised it's this big gear head Lonnie was driving this Pinto. Nitra told Lonnie driver the Pinto. She was going to a party. Pinto lovers, but you have to know most people feel that way. I'm surprised it's this big gear head Lonnie was driving this Pinto.

A Nietzsche had told Lonnie driver the Pinto she was going to a party. He invited himself, but said he first needed to stop at his uncle's house. He then wound around through residential roads in his sporty little car, ended up on a street whose name she didn't take note of. And then he parked outside a mustard colored house, partly obscure by the head. Just got out, walked with the house, briefly talked to someone inside, returned about 10 minutes later. He and a Nietzsche argued then. He suddenly pulled out a small handgun out of his pocket on the driver's side of the Pinto, shot her in the chest as he drove along the

residential streets. She blacked out, but it was startled awake by the bright flash of the camera. The man had taken her picture, sexually assaulted her. She remembers grabbing it and the two struggled. She pleaded to be taken to a hospital. He refused. Despite her half-conscious condition, she's almost certain he told her he couldn't take her to a hospital, he refused. Spider half conscious condition, she's almost certain. He told her he couldn't take her to a hospital because he didn't want to get caught. So more details of what I went over a moment ago. So the police she thought she knew where he lived, but at the time of the attack it was dark.

Spider being dark, Nitra almost led police directly to his house. She was so fucking close. She was off by two houses. Two. And then it would take the police over 20 additional years to find the correct house. And that seems obviously like a big, you know, LAPD fuck up.

Why didn't they look into owners of those houses? Check to see if any of those owners owned Pinto's as well. I'm not sure. Maybe the Franklin House was registered under Sylvia's name. Maybe the Pinto was registered under Lonnie's name, or maybe the Pinto wasn't registered at all. I mean, he did deal in stolen cars on a regular basis. Maybe it wasn't registered under his name.

I don't know. Could've been hidden in this garage. I don't know. Could've been just a, you know, poor investigative work. Maybe like some critics claim officers assigned to this case working numerous other cases well, just didn't care that much about a Neetra or her testimony. She was a sex worker addicted to crack, right?

NHI, no human involved. February of 1989, the South Side Slayer case gets derailed by police folks in their attention on the wrong guy for a lot of the killings. Ricky Ross, a black narcotic detective, arrested in his car in the strawberry murders kill area. He's found smoking in cigarette with a sex worker, a sex worker, maybe he's gotten a little too friendly with. Other officers thought they were smoking crack. Ross pulled away in a neurotic manner when officers approached his car and then they found an unregistered nine millimeter gun in his trunk.

And that gun was then matched to three murders. Every Ross was charged with murdering three women, but he was released after independent experts determined LAPD had botched their ballistics testing. Also LAPD police chief Darrell Gates made allegations that Ross was high on cocaine when in fact he tested negative. So what the fuck is going on here? Ross files a lawsuit but loses until his death in 2003 numerous LAPD detectives which swear he was the killer. And maybe he was one of the killers. Maybe got off on a technicality. Thanks to that botched ballistics test. Meanwhile, it appears that the Grimm's Grimm sleeper

has gone to sleep. No more women's bodies are turning up with bullet holes in their chest and cocaine in their system. Maybe that close call with an actress scared Lonnie and had taken a break from murder. Or maybe he started hiding the bodies of his victims instead of just leaving them out in dumpsters and alleys for anyone to find.

1993 Lonnie's arrested, but it doesn't have shit to do with sex workers or murder or crack. He's got strip and stolen cars. His charge was felony possession of stolen property. Six charges of grand theft auto and he served some time. Sends to 365 days in the county jail, but due to overcrowding is out in just four months. 1997 Lonnie receives a charge for misdemeanor battery. Does not serve time for this one. 1999 Lonnie now 47 receives another charge for misdemeanor assault. Spends almost two years in jail. When the bodies that started showing up in 2002 are later linked to the Lonnie's earlier

murders, he'll earn the moniker of grim sleeper for sleeping or taking a pause for murder during these years. Serial killers do often take breaks from killing, but 14 years is very atypical, but is that what really happened? A lot of people don't think the grim sleeper actually ever did go to sleep. Based on examining South Central murder descriptions, years later, he may have killed up to 14 additional Jane Does during that time. Lonnie Franklin, maybe one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. Before we get back to his known murders, let's check in with the LAPD. In the early 2000s,

William Bill Bratton was LA's police commissioner. Many think that he and other elected officials paid no public mind. The resurgence of murder in black neighborhoods behind the scenes. LAPD saw a pattern between the murders from the 80s and the early 2000s, but they never shared that pattern with the families of the victims or the public. Why did they think that would compromise their investigations? No reason has ever been given. The LAPD did not just ignore these cases though.

In 2001, LAPD detectives under new chief Bernard Parks began to look into roughly 10,000 unsolved murder cases that had piled up in their records. That's fucking crazy. 10,000 unsolved murders. That's so many murders. My aunt lives in McCall, Idaho, right around 3,000 people 3000 people and driving around McCall it feels like a decent amount of people And they had over three times as many dead people as that people who have been murdered whose cases have never been solved

In LA County during the crack epidemic of the 80s and 90s in average of around 2000 people are being shot and killed every year That's over five people a day some years over 2500 killed every year. That's over five people a day. Some years, over 2500, like in 1992, when there were 2500 and 89 murders, over seven murders a day for a whole year. And other people, you know, went missing that year. And many of them were probably almost certainly murdered. So many fucking murders. There's still a lot of murders occurring in LA County, just over 2200 homicides in 2020. Chief Parks and mayor James Hahn created a cold case unit to investigate all the unsolved murders going all the way back to 1960. Parks ordered them to look at cases from the 60s to the 90s to use DNA technology to test

hair, skin, other DNA from crime scenes. Lab technicians work for years to try to get caught up on these cases. Eventually their work would help take Lonnie Franklin down, but not before the grim sleeper would wake up if the error was asleep and claim more victims. March 19th, 2002 now. Princess, Bertha Muse, body is found in an alien angle with. She's only 15. She had not been shot with a 25 or any other weapon she'd been strangled after being

violently satanized. If any cocaine was found in her system, sources do not mention it. At least not the ones I found. Men named Mike found her. When the dispatcher asked for his phone number, he hung up. Princess Egon missed him on December 21, 2001. As reported by her foster mother, she ran away from home, turned to sex work as a way to make some money. Princess's short life was a tragedy. Her mom abandoned her when she was just a toddler, left her with her father and her dad was real piece of shit. By age 3, Princess was malnourished, showed

signs of rampant physical abuse. Her dad and his girlfriend, Beater, burned her with cigarettes, tied her up, locked her in a closet for multiple days at a time. She'd bad the earth couldn't have opened up and eaten both of those motherfuckers. She'd bad Kathulu couldn't appear from the void and devour them. Too bad both jangles couldn't tie them up in a kill room and see how long it takes someone to bleed to death when you nothing but poke holes in them with toothpicks. One day, a little princess accidentally ingested poison, at least that's a, what her dad claimed that it was accidental. When the police came to the house, they removed her from her father's custody.

Please charge her father and his girlfriend with 11 counts of felony child abuse. The girlfriend spent a year in prison, dad spent four years, not enough. Princess then lived with an adopted family in a white neighborhood. She started to heal from her trauma, still suffered from night's tears. She also had a learning disability,

struggle with making friends at school. Then this poor girl, Princess's adoptive mother, who she had grown incredibly close to, dies when she's 10. She never recovers from this. She becomes depressed and angry. Adding to the ship storm of her life, her adopted dad as in poor health can't take care of her any longer.

An older adoptive sister takes her in, but this sister already had six kids, couldn't supervise Princess. By the fall of 1998, Princess was a ward of the county, and was placed in numerous foster homes, and she would run away from all of them. She was last reported missing December of 2001. Her last foster mom said that she turned to prostitution to make money. Despite no 25 auto being used in her death, Princess due to DNA evidence left in her body would be the link to the new generation of LAPD detectives the one they needed to help find the grim sleeper. A pancreatic enzyme found in human saliva spotted in the swabs taken from her vagina, genitals, a rectum, right knee, right ankle, left nipple, right nipple.

Criminalists would process the saliva for DNA evidence, uploaded to local state and federal DNA, data bank of felons. In 2003, Lonnie gets arrested again. This time he's convicted of felony possession of stolen property. He serves five months in prison, three years of supervised probation, but he won't have his DNA taken. In 2004, voters will approve Proposition 69.

And the new law will state that DNA must be collected for all people charged with the felony and required expansion of the felon DNA database. Lonnie got real lucky here. Had he been arrested a year later for stolen property, he would have gotten taken down from murder? July 11, 2003, 35-year-old Valerie McCorvey's body found on Denker Avenue between 108 and 109 streets in the Westmont area, like the previous victim, raped, and strangled. Valerie was struggling with crack addiction, had been arrested six times

for prostitution or pimple convicted felon took her under his wing. Yeah, kind of. Not much of a wing, really. I guess maybe a sweet honor. Maybe he explored it her with more compliments or something. The Valerie had two children with her pimple. She lost custody of her daughter, lived with her son for a short time. Her friend took custody of her son eventually adopted him. Valerie was described as a sweet person who wanted a better life, but her crack addiction held her back my God so much crack so much Of course can't talk about this many sex workers without resident pimpologist chicken Joe stopping by Come back by boy, boy, boy, boy The Grim sleep of what a creeper wish I could lock him in a room with the green river killing the Grim Reaper

Turning tricks for crack never good reason to end up on your back Great way for Lonnie Frank on and the real South Side Slay at Chester's turn to grab you in the text. And where was Valerie's Pimp when her body went limp? Out there hiding from the grim sleep like a weasel little wimp? And where was everybody else at? So many girls dying and missed out the South Side combat. If you don't want to switch the LAPD, deal some street justice

on these monsters Roman Freely. Too many women hiding from the cops for creeps to keep killing. Making it too easy for dark fantasies to keep fulfilling. Legalize vice and make kill us think twice about slaying. You feel me, you dig? You hear what I'm saying? I'll tell ya. Huh.

I was chicken Joe speak for, he also thinks that a vice was legalized. Women like the victims of the Grim sleep or wouldn't have to hide as much as they did and with us have a better chance of not being killed by someone like Lonnie Franklin. Well, very progressive thinking from chicken Joe. Old recurring character if you're new listener.

You used to be a pimpe, but now he's more of like a sex worker advocate. Back to the timeline now. In 2004, Detective Cliff Shepard, looking through old South LA murder cases when he finds DNA sample taken from the body of Mary Lowe, that 26 year old killed on Halloween night back in 97. DNA analysis shows similarities to samples found on Valerie McCorvey's body in Princess, birthamuse body.

This was part of the original 2001 effort to solve old murder cases, kudos to detectives like Shepherd in 2004, doing some due diligence on cases that happened before they were officers, doing some deep dive digging in the cold case files. In July 2005, Lonnie's placed on unsupervised probation again, because he's not incarcerated.

His DNA still not put in the system lucky. Fugger, it was supposed to have been, but it wasn't because probation officers were not collecting DNA from those on unsupervised probation between November, 2004 to August 2005, because they had thousands of imprisoned felons to collect from there were just behind in their work. Right? Because there was just too much crime happening. So Lonnie narrowly escapes capture again. January 2006, investigative reporter Christine Pelisick, goes to the LA corner's office to speak to assistant chief corner Ed Winter. He tells her they've been looking into female body dump cases in South Central. Winter reached out to the LAPD,

Sheriff's Department, they ignored him, no idea why, just maybe overworked, this was the beginning of an investigation that would last for several years for Christine. She later wrote in her book, when I first moved to LA in the 90s, I was stunned by the level of gun violence. The daily bloodbaths in Los Angeles and the culture of guns and gangs were alien to me. I was particularly shocked to the sheer number of black prostitutes and drug addicted women killed. These women whose bodies appear to litter the streets

seemed to be invisible in their own city. I wanted people to do something. I felt as a reporter at a local paper is my job to write about them to tell their stories to the people in their city. I wanted to make them visible. So the community had a face, or had to face this sick and twisted problem

and somehow do a better job of dealing with it. So hail Christine Pelasick. You're not as pleased with her. January 1st, 2007, another grim sleeper victim body is found. 25-year-old Janisha Peter, her body's discovered inside a trash bag near a discarded Christmas tree. The 9500 block of southwestern avenue. Going against his old MO, the grim sleeper had shot Janice in the back.

Maybe she'd almost gotten away. Randy Hernandez, a homeless man, was a dumpster, uh, was dumpster diving when he saw red fingernails poking through a hole in the bag. Newspapers would fail to report Janice's murder correctly. Papers reported she was stabbed, but she was actually shot. Janice's mother, LeVern Peters, heard a news report about a black teen found dead along Western Avenue had no idea it was her daughter until the police contact her. As a time LeVern was in Inglewood with Janice's four year old son visiting family.

She told LA Weekly her son had a Christmas present for Janice. He wrapped himself in aluminum foil and red robe. Oh my God, more sadness. Late December 2006, Janice has excitedly told had excitedly told her mother about her new place. I'm sorry, in late December back tracking here. In late December 2006, Janice had excitedly told her mom about her new about her new place. She'd been in and out of motels due to struggles with crack.

I was turning her life around. Once again, like the other victims, she had a hard life. By her late teen, some of her best friends have been murdered from gang and drug violence. Janice had gotten pregnant at age 19. Her mom promised she'd help out. Her son Justin born in 2002. Those who spoke her say that Janice was a good mom. She graduated from Inglewood Adult School

when Justin was one and rolled in computer classes at Southwest College. She was trying to earn 100 gold college so she could escape poverty. That's what it looked like. She was doing, but then crack showed the fuck up. And of course she became addicted. And then she started turning tricks to feed her habit, went to jail for prostitution

charges when she was released. She went back to sex work to make more money for more crack. Necess mom took custody of Justin. So he wouldn't fall into the system. The last thing she needs to said to her mom was just tell Justin I love him. Ah, May 2007, LAPD police commissioner Bill Bratton orders a new task force to solve the Grim reap Grim sleeper murders. Although they weren't called that quite yet led by detective Dennis Kilcoin. At that time, it looks like Lonnie is being called the 25 auto killer. Cliff

Shever was another detective on the task force. The other five detectives have chosen to remain anonymous. The task force formed after Janisha's murder was linked to nine unsolved grim sleeper murders in LA, the first occurred in 1985. Janisha's murder linked to princesses murder in 2002, Valorys murder in 2003 in the 1980s murders. It's 800 task force of seven detectives worked for months to find answers. They initially tried to keep the task force a secret to avoid tipping off the killer. The Dennis kill coin, later told the LA Times. The day those tests came in, we realized we had a serial killer on our hands who had been active for 23 years. They used the ballistic evidence, DNA evidence, and a Neatros statement to help

identify the killer. Task force was at a disadvantage because it had been so long since the original investigation that it traveled back in time to the 80s and LA. They had leads, but they all seem to dissolve into nothing. Too many people refused to and LA. They had leads, but they all seemed to dissolve into nothing. Too many people refused to snitch. They asked undercover vice officers to collect DNA samples from middle-aged black males arrested for soliciting prostitutes. That the killer might have been imprisoned during the 14-year gap. They looked through DOC records, DNA, couldn't find anyone that matched the profile.

The department was put on notice to the task force, where to be summoned to any homicide scenes that resembled the work of the serial killer. Finally, Attorney General and future California governor, Jerry Brown, would allow the controversial use of familial DNA in a California felon database to help catch the killer. Initially, there was a lot of controversy because AG, Jerry Brown had the DNA dispossession for a while before authorizing its use. Why wouldn't he release it immediately? Speculation was he had hopes to become in the next governor, which he would become and

didn't want to anger civil rights activists who thought familial DNA searches were privacy violation. Damn, if you don't, damn, if you do, with a lot of political decisions. Brown said the search would be permitted when all other leads were exhausted and he would wait until they were exhausted. August 27, 2008, the LA weekly finally gives Lonnie his serial killer tile publicly the grim sleeper This came after the police linked Janisha's murder publicly to a string of murders from the 80s Christine Pelasek author of this now famed article the one who named Lonnie the grim sleeper

Christine met with detective Jerry Steinhoff from Inglewood to interview him about princess He told her that DNA evidence on princess's body was linked to Valerie that these two cases were linked to the 80s murders. As we said, you know, the killer shot the 80s victims with the same gun left alive on their breasts. Christine broke the news of the secret task force revealed the link between Genetius murder other murders of black women going back to 85. She called out to fact that LAPD failed to alert communities about the killer waited

a long time to assemble the task force and more public outrage ensues. Early September 2008 LA officials finally announced a $500,000 reward for info leading to the killer's capture. February 25th 2009 Chief Bratton Holds or press conference for the first time about the sleeper. This is when the police, you know, first, you know, the grim sleeper announced in the press before. Now the police are staying in the grim sleeper using that moniker to the press. So now, after this Attorney General Jerry Brown approves the familial search to California's felon DNA databases.

This access to familial DNA is the precursor to detective Paul Holes using familial DNA a decade later, not from a criminal database, but from GED match, free open source website that pulls together genetic profiles uploaded by users. So you can connect research or fill in gaps in their family trees to solve the cold case of the Golden State killer. So we talked about extensively in that episode. The use of familial DNA is controversial to some because black and Latino Americans are disproportionately represented in DNA databases. Familiar, I don't like to say that word. It doesn't roll out to tongue me.

Familiar. It seems mushy. Familiar DNA targets the parents and siblings of the offenders which can bring the police right to the doorsteps of people who fear them. You can also potentially implicate family members in crimes and privacy advocates feel it's a privacy violation. But also a great way to solve cold cases. And if you, you know, haven't, for example, killed a bunch of people, it's not gonna get you

in a whole bunch of trouble, but I do understand privacy concerns and this slippery slope that can create. I discussed this, I've discussed this in previous episodes. Don't wanna bog down this one, discuss it again. Agreed to move on? Okay, good, thank you. December 2009, LAPD releases composite drawings

of three middle-aged black men. They think look like the Grimm sleeper These drawings will not lead to Lonnie Franklin, but familial DNA will in the summer of 2010 detectives linked the murders to a relative of the killer using Evidence from that DNA database Lonnie son Christopher Franklin. He's been arrested in 2009 for felony weapons possession The database allowed the police to infer a sufficient similarity to his profile and establish, you know, that family relationship between Christopher and the killer. The 800 task force works for the weekend creates a family tree for Christopher, analyze all the men on the tree, see if any of them match their criminal profile. And through this process, Lonnie

emerges as a suspect finally. God took forever. A team is sent to a tail in and get his DNA. On July 6, 2010, officers obtained DNA samples from Lonnie by following him to a birthday party at a pizza place. He's working there, obviously as a birthday clown. Again, no longer going by the name of Smacky, he's now known as Cracky. Instead of Juggling, he just offers you some crack. of singing you know he'll be like archery on some crack instead of one of the animals will just you know smoke some crack

uh... you know come on list of everybody smoke a little crack also you have and he did have one song he'd like to take a crack by by the budget crack rocks in hold your life like this and you feel you fucking lungs you smoke some fucking crack rocks in, you pass that on the floor,

and that's when I take some pics of ho-ho! Oh! God, I'm waiting for ever to hit that button. I'm done now, almost. Shout out to the Reverend Dr. Joe Pezzi for tossing that slide whistle button. After hearing me, you know, wish for one, you know, last week, very fun button that hit,

in addition to the clown honk button, which would also have, have, you know, fit here. Where's the, come on, clownie. I know, I thought I had you lined up and I did not. I know this has taken a long time, but I couldn't move on. I hit that button. I've, was slide whistle button. I'm a clown honk button.

I'm a lucky boy. Back to the actual topic now. Officers did follow Lonnie to, I feel like I haven't spoken to topic now. Officers did follow Lonnie to a, I feel like I haven't spoken to crack. Officers did follow Lonnie to a birthday party at Pizza Place. And then an officer posed as a bus boy, collected his plate, cup and pizza crust. They compared the new pizza DNA to DNA from Slava found on victims' breasts, clothing zip tie of a trash bag. And the DNA match was exact.

Lonnie is now charged with multiple murders, but can't finally July 7, 2010. He's arrested at his house without incident. His entire neighborhood gathered around to watch. They all thought Lonnie had been arrested for stealing cars again. Shocked to find out, he's arrested for, you know, the now public grim sleeper crimes. Lonnie's wife Sylvia refuses to talk to police, shows support for her husband, not known how much or how little she actually knew about it. I think she knew more than she is let on that afternoon some of the family members of victims came to the house they wanted to see where Lonnie lived what his home looked like denel or donnell Alexander told L.A. Times his neighbors looked like the people I see every day they

weren't aliens and he wasn't hiding in the community. Search Lonnie's home found 800 items of evidence including 10 guns one of which was the 25 caliber used to kill the victims. The police searches property found more horrifying evidence over 1,000 Polaroid photos of women and teenage girls over 1,000. He'd be taking so many pictures for so long. Some of them were nude, unconscious, bleeding. Others looked dead because they likely were dead.

The police found a picture of a Neetra Washington injured, slouched over in her car with one breast exposed. Right, likely after she was shot, damn, he exposed. Right. Likely after she was shot. Damn, he took a picture of her, assuming she was dead, not knowing she would, you know, make it to the hospital and live. Her picture was hidden in the wall in a wall in Lonnie's garage. They also found a picture of Janice and Lonnie's garage refrigerator, the police think the fridge and the wall photos had special significance to Lonnie because they were separate from the

others. They assume these pics were murder victims or at least, you know, women Lonnie thought he'd killed. Maybe even part of his trophy case, the pictures were taken inside his house, car or garage. Most of them show women smiling, but in some, the women are unconscious, unhappy. Appear blatantly frightened.

Three of the women in the pictures appear to be white, but the rest are black women. Some of the girls in the pics, you know, young teenagers, clearly. The police identified all the known victims but had no way to tell if the rest of the women were also victims. LA police chief Charlie Beck told the press,

we certainly don't believe we are so lucky or so good as to know all of his victims. We need the public's help. The police also found a few hundred hours worth of video footage of victims, a few hundred hours. Videos showing naked, partial naked women and a variety of sexual poses and total police identified 180 different women

between the videos and the photos. Holy shit. It would take a month to look through missing persons databases and corner records to identify many of them. They still haven't identified all of them. Now, Lonnie's arrest was a tragic reminder that although justice had finally been served, it would not bring all these women back.

However, the arrest did mark a key moment for the community and their search for justice, they finally had some answers. The police received over 100 phone calls a day they announced the arrest. Most of them were from the families of missing and murdered women hoping to see if their loved ones murder was linked to Lonnie. On July 27, 2010, Lonnie appears in court for an arrangement. Lonnie's original defense attorney, Luisa Pinsanti, she opposes the release of the photos, says it may taint the jury pool.

And the judge basically tells her to fuck off. Get out of here. Come on, get out of here, that's nonsense. After his arrest in 2010, the initial hearing it takes six years for Lonnie to go to trial. Trial takes so long because of the huge volume of evidence. Right, it requires a long, pretrial discovery period. So many murders to go over.

During the waiting period, LA Weekly discovers that Lonnie would collect a disability pension of $1,700 a month for the rest of his life, even if he were to be sentenced to death row. Oh, that's right. I fucked that up earlier. I remember I had a wrong, this is the correct one. Yeah, he's still, well, you know, she's going to get that until he dies. What a fucking crock of shit. On December 16, 2010, the LAPD presented 180 Polaroids at a press conference, 35 of the women in the pictures still unidentified. Pictures show women of all ages from teenagers to middle-aged women, some of the photos are new, some over 30 years old, police chief Charlie Beck made his statement. These people are not suspects. We don't even know if they

are victims, but we do know this. Lonnie Franklin's reign of terror in the city of Los Angeles, which span well over two decades, culminating with almost a dozen murder victims, certainly needs to be investigated further. Detective Kilcoin from the 800 task force says, as a police department, we have an obligation to account for the welfare of these women. We're trying to fill in the life and times of Lonnie Franklin over the past 30 years, talking to people is a big part of that. There are obviously women who had a conversation or two with this guy. I wouldn't be surprised if we find some of them were his victims.

The question of the day is why? What was he doing to get these women to do this sort of stuff on film? Typically people use drugs as leverage. We didn't find one Iota of evidence. He is into that. Lonnie may have never used crack. I'm surprised they said that. It doesn't mean you didn't have some on hand in order to get these women to do what you

want. Maybe he just told me it crack. A highly doubt he wasn't mentioning crack around this. Unlike most cases, the police decided not to wait until after conviction to release the photos. They knew very little about Lonnie's past. Hope the public could give them the answers they needed. It was so hard to find out as the past case was no one's way talking.

November 3rd, 2011, Reuters reported that the police considered Lonnie a suspect in six other murder cases. Two of the six murders were from his sleeping period. Two victims found in the 80s and two women reported missing 2005. The remains have never been found. They linked him to the killings because of the photos. The police decided not to charge Lonnie for these murder because they didn't want to delay the trial even further. In 2014, David Brunfield creates his documentary, Tales of the Grim sleeper. Pam got him an interview with Christopher Lonnie's son,

Chris said it took him almost three years to deal with his DNA being used to arrest his dad. People in neighborhood viewed him as a snitch just for having his DNA taken, which obviously was not his choice. He didn't give it voluntarily. But some people still thought he broke the don't snitch code. Even members of his own family said he turned on his dad and sold him out. Speak to how strong that don't snitch culture still is in some places. February 6, 2015, Lawnia Tens yet another hearing.

Families of victims express frustration with how slow the case is going. They cite Marcy's law. Victims build a right to prove by California voters in 2008 that entitled crime victims and their families to a speedy trial. But, you know, they want to make sure they get the trial right. 2015 Lonnie's defense attorneys claim that an expert they hired determined that DNA from two crime scenes linked to Lonnie were actually linked to a serial killer Chester Turner. That dude I mentioned earlier, who's convicted to killing 15 women, most of them in South Central between 1987, 1998. These additional two murders, you know, linked to here are, sorry, the judge determines the expert is not qualified to testify and they disregard this. The defense then names 12 other men who they felt may be sources of the DNA, the judge dismisses all that as well. February 16th, 2016, long awaited people

versus Lonnie Franklin Jr. trial finally begins. After a six-year wait, the trial would last three and a half months. At his trial, Lonnie never testified in his own defense, never showed any emotion throughout the entire ordeal. Deputy DA best-sellerman presents her opening arguments he describes the victims as sisters, daughters, and mothers, who suffered frailties but had hopes and dreams. She compares images of each victim smiling with their crime scene photos.

The victims, as you know, all vulnerable women. Silverman told the jury, pay close attention to his body language and his conduct during the interview process as he laughs and makes light of the photos of the dead women lying on the table in front of him. I watched that entire video she's referring to here and it is fucking disturbing. Show us how just cold-blooded this dude is. He actually laughs about some of the photos. Just like making, you know, just jokes about how he

would mess around, how he wouldn't fuck some of these women, you know, they're too fat, too ugly. Couple of times the detector's like, sorry, what do you just say? And he just repeats it like it's just normal shit to say. Zero remorse, these women were not human to him. He learned to dehumanize them long ago. Think of them as nothing but you know crackhead hookers like that label made them the equivalent of a fucking cockroach or something. Lonnie's defense attorney see more Amster now. He opens by speaking about the inferior

science of DNA and ballistic evidence. Come on. Come on, you know, you can't trust ballistics and DNA and eyewitness tests and money. Why, what do you know? Well, you're gonna trust a bunch of, you're gonna trust an eyewitness and all this DNA science and ballistics and he was at the right place at the right time and didn't have the right alabase. You're gonna trust all that?

No one's buying his bullshit. LAPD detective Dennis Kylcoin is the first witness. He testifies that Janisha's death prompted them to search for the killer because the DNA match to earlier Earlier cases and then chief Bratton orders a task force. You know starts connecting the dots May 2nd 2016 deputy DA Beth Silverman presents her closing arguments. She tells the jury The murders were so vicious. They were so calculated. They were so demeaning The way that these women ended up half of them naked, all of them in filthy alleys.

The defense then tried to appeal the jury's conscience to convince them to choose a life sentence over death. Amstere argued the death penalty would delay the healing process. Every time the families think of the approaching execution date, it'll be like opening the wounds again. Come on, don't kill him for the families sake. For the families of his victim sake. What the fuck?

Amstere closed his case by speaking about a mystery man with the mystery gun and mystery dna uh... dude's dna just mysteriously got all over a bunch of dead women almost all of them killed in exact same manner with the same gun the gun that he had owned for the duration of these killings so his argument falls flat like it should have i don't know how these fucking some of these defense attorneys

how they even fucking bring themselves to make these arguments. May 5, 2016, Lonnie Franklin age 63 is convicted of killing 10 women, Deborah Henrietta, Barbara, Bernita, Mary, LaCrica, Alicia, Princess, Valerie, Janisha. The jury deliberated for a day before they found him guilty and all 10 counts of first degree murder. Lonnie of course shows no emotion. As the clerk reads, the guilty verdicts.

June 6th, June 16th, the jury recommends a death sentence for Lonnie. Fuck yeah. During the penalty phase of the trial, the prosecution presents evidence about the other mission women they thought Lonnie had killed. The police chose not to prosecute Lonnie for these other victims,

because they worried him I lead the more delays than trial. Ayyella Marshall, age 18, disappeared in 2006. Police found her Hawthorne high school ID card in Lonnie's house. Rylenya Morris, age 31, went missing in 2005. Her driver's license found in Lonnie's house as well. Also Polaroids of her in compromising positions. Their bodies have never been found.

Nez Warren, age 28, killed in 1988, found in Grammar City Park, gunshot wound to the chest, shoes drugs, was a sex worker, sex she graphic photos of her, other unknown women found in Lonnie's garage. August 14, 1986 Lonnie may have also killed a man, Thomas Steele, a friend to one of the female victims. He was nearly charged in his murder, but detectives lacked DNA evidence, but ballistics matched. Thomas's

body found in the middle of the intersection of 71street and Halldale Avenue in Harvard Park. So maybe, I don't know, maybe Thomas saw Lonnie kill one of the victims. Georgia made Thomas another potential victim. I'd say definite grim sleeper victim killed in 2000, age 43 murdered by two gunshot wounds to the chest, body dumped in an industrial yards surrounded by garbage near other victims. Lonnie's DNA found on her body, ballistic show, she was killed by the 25 caliber handgun from Lonnie's home. Georgia's sister Vivian recalled the early times,

dropping her off, dropping off her sister to boyfriend's house. She knew Lonnie killed her sister when she saw him on TV in 2010, but they didn't want to slow down the trial. It also added her murder murder charge January, 19, four sharing dismuked age 21 shot twice in the chest dumped in a banding gas station, possibly the first grim sleeper victim, no DNA evidence found on her though. After presenting all these possible murders, the women Lawni raped Germany also flew into South Central to testify the sentencing phase of his trial.

Good for her. Her rape occurred 42 years before his sentencing trial. So 17, when it happened, now she's 59 years old. Flies around the world to help make sure this piece of shit gets put on death row. Fucking hell, Memoron. August 10, 2016, Lonnie David Franklin, Jr. sends to death, happened to be the 31st anniversary of Deborah Jackson's murder. That first homicide victim, he was charged and convicted of killing. Superior judge Kathleen Kennedy tells Lonnie, this is not a sentence of vengeance, it's justice. Amen.

And victim impact statements are read, uh, Mary Alexander, mother of Alicia Monique Alexander, 18 year old, he killed an 88, addresses Lonnie and says, I'd like for Mr. Franklin to turn around and face me. And then that cold blooded motherfucker actually does turn around with shocks to courtroom. Mary asked him, I'd like to know why. And he whispers a response. So she says, louder, why?

And he whispers again, I didn't do it. What piece of shit? Unwilling to do anything to help any victims' family member heal. Let's just do her back. Also, the hearing one victim's sister tells Lonnie she recognized him and he shouts at her, that's a ball face lie. First time he spoke during the trial, only outburst. And Neatril Washington said outside the courthouse

when it was over, it's a little bit of relief from all the pressure of being one of the living victims. There were quite a few times when I felt like not coming because of the pressure and the fear for my family. But I'm so glad somebody convinced me to go ahead and do this. LeVearned Peters, mother of probable, final grim sleeper victim, Janice Peters, told L.A. Times, the defendant took my daughter, murdered her, put her in a plastic bag, a trash bag like she was trash.

My hope is that he spends the rest of his glory days in a jail cell where he will become, which will become his trash bag. Agreed. Lonnie was in place in line, a last in line, of 750 California death row inmates. So it's known to me in killing Californians since 2006, it was predicted Lonnie would die before his execution was set, and that would happen.

March 2019, California's governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order placing a moratorium on the death penalty and granting a reprieve to everyone sentenced to death. The order also called for a repeal of lethal injection and the closing of the execution chamber at San Quentin State prison, not a fan of this decision. Uh, I get not wanting to kill the wrongly convicted. I really do. But could we at least make an exception for serial killers? When was the last time a serial killer was wrongly convicted?

When was the last time someone was falsely convicted for killing like fucking 10 people? March 28th 2020, age 67. Lonnie Franklin, Jr. dies at San Quentin State Prison. He's found unresponsive in his cell. There was no signs of trauma. He was pronounced dead at 743 PM. The California DOC released the statement said, Franklin was found unresponsive in his single cell. March 28th at about 720 PM. Medical assistance was rendered and an ambulance was summoned. Franklin was pronounced deceased at 7.43 p.m. his cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy. However, there were no signs of trauma. The results of that autopsy have not,

don't appear to have been made public. Cannot find them. Maybe they never will be released publicly. I hope that's because there were signs of trauma. Hopefully, I don't know, maybe somebody brutally killed that motherfucker. Probably not. probably not probably not but you know, I can hope let's get out of this timeline Good job soldier you made it back barely The Grim sleeper wish we knew more about why he did what he did, but he just won't talk. Never would admit, you know, why he did what he did.

Never would admit that he did what he did. Now obviously he never will. His family doesn't appear to have ever spoken with the press outside of his son Christopher's brief discussion with those two doc producers for his dad was convicted. Since his conviction, radio silence from his family, I don't blame him. No additional info, I guess, would really be satisfying. It's not like he would have a good reason for killing who he killed, doing what he did.

I would like to know what sparked it all, though. What made him attack that 14 girl in Germany? You know, he was taking picks back then. Did he and the other guys, he was with that day, all share the same dark fantasy, did they build it together? Then he never let it go. Did he want to keep her applicating the power? he felt that day? Something happened to him before that back in South Central when he was younger. Something flipped and evil switched inside his head. Was he

fantasized about doing some version of what he ended up doing, you know, in Germany long before that? Who the fuck knows? What I do know is that he couldn't have found an easier hunting ground in the mid 80s when he started in the US than the neighborhood he was born into. Holy shit. Economic devastation in the former last jobs. Sudden lack of social program funding. And out of fucking control crack epidemic, local mistrust of the LAPD and a strong never-snitch neighborhood moral code. International societal lack of empathy for young black female crack addicted sex workers.

Many in South Central and the police force in the media didn't seem to place a lot of value in their lives. Yeah, they made some terrible choices, but they also had lives that had value. They had children, families and or friends who loved them. The possibility of recovery, a brighter future. Had they not gotten to Lonnie's Pinto, so many future snuffed out. In 1988, the police connected seven different murders, all murdered with a 25 caliber gun in close proximity. I need to watch and rape almost killed by Lawnan November of 88. Reported the rape and the bullets from her body matched the murder victims,

but the police still not able to catch him. 14 years then passed when Lawnan was in a sleep or maybe just mounted better way to dispose of victims for a while. By 2002, definitely back at it. 2002, 2003, 2007, definitely struck again. Princess, you know, birth of you, Valerie McCorvey, Janice, you know, Peter's 2007, the LAPD formed a new task force and a group

of seven detectives finally solves the murders and arrested Lonnie David Franklin Jr. after using familial DNA technology to find him. The grim asleep were taken into LAPD custody July, 2010, reign a terror finally over one less monster on the streets is out central. Took six years for him to get to trial, but Lonnie was finally convicted of 10 murders, sentenced to death in 2016. And then he died in March 28th, 2020 of unknown causes

without ever telling anyone why he did what he did, bringing an end to the grim sleeper case. And that's at least some good news, always good when a serial killer dies. The crack epidemic also seems to have ended a little more good news crack Isn't gone don't get me wrong, but it's no longer being used at 1980s and 90s epidemic levels And that's good and opioid crisis has replaced that's terrible, but at least crack use has faded in the US and the UK It's becoming a problem in recent years, but no longer rampant in places like South Central a Harvard study determined that US crack usage peaked in

87 started to fall a year after year after, dropping to 60% of peak usage by 2000. And that study ended. It appears to have continued to drop since. I say it appears because it's hard to find a lot of concrete year by year crack usage or crack arrest stats. But a lot of different articles talk about usage fading strongly over the last 20 plus years. Anticdodally, when was the last time you read an article about so many people smoking crack doesn't seem too popular recently why did the war on drugs snuff it out i don't i don't think so

it basically seems uh according to a few articles i i was able to read like you just fell out of fashion it became a joke something looked down on by more and more people that does make sense to be young kids coming up in the 80s 90ss, watch crack devastate their communities. They saw what it looked like to be a quote unquote crackhead. I mean, that term was cost round tons constantly when I was a kid and it was definitely like, oh man, you don't want to smoke crack. That was like the dirtiest drug you could even possibly think of. Crack became a punchline. Stand up comedy routines. I feel like meth has taken the replace of crack that way. You know, hip hop cultured late 80s, 90s crack was the punchline. Chris Rock told a lot of crack jokes and it's landmark 1996 HBO special bring the pain.

God, that's a good special to Emmys and Grammy. Def comedy jam stand up acts in the 90s countless crackhead jokes. The huge brothers, 93 film, Menace to Society. I was a big film with teens. I love that movie when it came out. It made me crack. I look like the worst thing you could be. John Singleton's 1991 Boys in the Hood film portrays crack

is what brought South Central down. Right, the ice cube, Chris Tucker, fucking classic 1995 hit comedy Friday. God, I was huge, I was a kid. Made being a crack, I look terrible. The whole bi Felicia, that phrase comes from this movie. Felicia played someone addicted to crack. 1987 NWA song, Dope Man, talks about sucking dick for another hit of presumably crack.

It was a cultural punchline, thank god, and usage declined because of it. The clicker became really, really not cool to smoke crack. Let's hope it stays that way and it doesn't make a big comeback. You just heard all about what it can do to you. Time now for today's top five takeaways. Time, suck, top five takeaways. Number one, Lonnie Franklin, Jr., the grim sleeper born in 1952 in South Central LA would grow up to become a dude convicted of killing 10 women on May 5, 2016, may have killed

over 25. He picked up local women, most of them either part or full-time sex workers desperate for money to buy crack They were addicted to you about an end. They're already hard lives after raping them when he shot them with his 25 For the most part and took pictures of their bodies Number two so much fucking crack in this episode. Please don't smoke crack Don't say your body to get money for crack. Don't get it the same some strange dudes car for crack money That's the main takeaway from this episode. Fucking crack.

Number three, Lonnie's electronics car parts and more super store, my god. Titles of joke, but Lonnie Franks and really did sell all sorts of stolen shit out of his house because none of his neighbors had any interest in calling the police for basically any reason ever. Don't snitch. Or maybe do snitch.

When a piece of shit like Lonnie lives on your street. Number four, familial DNA technologies would finally took Lonnie down. 2010, the police received permission from the Attorney General to search felon databases for a DNA profile similar to that left to the crime scenes. And that would allow them to find Christopher Franklin, Lonnie's son in that database. And then they created a family tree, identified Lonnie as the likely killer. They followed him to a pizza party, where unfortunately he was not working in the birthday clown and he clicked his DNA

and then officially linked him to 10 murders. Number five, new info, the LA Times published a slideshow as some of the Polaroids found in Lonnie's home. As a 2021, most of these women have still not been identified. The paper released the images as another plea for public help. If you look at the pictures and recognize one of these women or think you have info, you can call the LAPD at 877-527-3247 or call crime stoppers 800-228477. You can

also text crime stoppers at 274637. I've included a link to the slide show in the episode description. Pam from the Grim sleeper documentary did manage to contact one of the unidentified women in the photos. Mikey, the woman in the first slide. She was sleeping when the photo was taken. Thankfully, Lonnie did not hurt her. Wish we could know for certain that the rest were not hurt either. Maybe you can help with that. Grim sleeper has been sucked. Most surprising part of this episode to me was that he was one of but many serial killers Roman South Central in the 80s and 90s. God, one of many black serial killers in that area. White killers, Richard Ramirez, you know, they were just getting all the press. Thank you to the Bad Magic Productions team for all the help and making time so every week.

Queen of Bad Magic Lindsey Cummins, Reverend Dr. Jill Paisley, the Scripps Keepers Act Flannery, thanks for doing all the initial digging into this week's research. Biddle Lake Surfer, continuously refined the Time Suck app, Logan the Art Warlock Keith, our creative director,

runabadmagicmerce.com and more. Thank you to Liz, the Enchantress Hernandez, for running our Cult of the Curious Facebook private page. Currently Cult of the Curious too, along with their wonderful All-Seen Eyes moderators. And she helps Logan with the socials. We're on TikTok now, so many socials. Thanks for helping curate an awesome online community.

Thanks to beefstake and the mod squad running Discord. You can link to Discord group at the time stock app. Next week on TimeSuck, the space list is decreed. Back at the end of July, that this September, we would suck that Jehovah's Witnesses. So who are these people that you may see knocking on doors in your neighborhood, walking around with sandwich boards for claiming the end of days are near? According to our website, we come from hundreds of ethnic and language backgrounds, yet we

are united by common goals. Above all, we want to honor Jehovah the God of the Bible and the Creator of all things. We do our best to imitate Jesus Christ and are proud to be called Christians. Each of us regularly spends time helping people learn the Bible, but God's kingdom, because we witness or talk about Jehovah God and His kingdom, we are known as Jehovah's Witnesses. And that's it. It's pretty straightforward. JK, Jehovah's Witnesses are members of the Christian millennialist group under the Watchtower Society,

members of the movement, probably best known for their door-to-door evangelical work. A witnessing quote unquote from House to House, offering biblical literature, recruiting, converting people to the truth. Some ways a lot of people find them a little bit cult-like. Cult, cult, cult. Although Christian-based, the group believes that the traditional Christian churches

have fucked up, they've deviated from the true teachings of the Bible. They don't work in full harmony with God to that end. They have a lot of beliefs that are just a bit outside of mainstream thinking, like how they think God doesn't want them to have blood transfusions, even in medical emergencies, or that their members can't serve in the military or hold public office. Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas or Easter because they believe that these festivals are based on or at least massively contaminated by pagan customs and religions.

They don't even celebrate birthdays. are based on or at least massively contaminated by pagan customs and religions. They don't even celebrate birthdays. Almost nothing gets God's panties bunched up like a bunch of tenured old smile and having fun and eating cupcakes and junkets, cheese. When you're done blowing out those candles, you little fox, you might as well grab a shovel and start digging your own graves. Dig your way down to hell. Also Armageddon, that's a hot topic.

And Jehovah's Witnesses' faith. The end of days are upon us for pence. Church leaders have previously provided a number of exact dates for when the world was gonna end, but now they just tell the followers it's gonna happen any day now. Because they got tired of looking real fucking stupid. When they were wrong, literally every time.

Doomsday preachers, well, they ever just shut the fuck up. Probably not. I guess it makes them feel important to think they know shit, the rest of us don't, which they literally never do. Join me for a wild ride, a lot of mockery. For the Jova's Witnesses Watchtower Society next week. Also next week marks five years of the suck. First episode came out September 19th, 2016.

Woohoo! Episode 262 drops on September 20th, 2016. What a fucking ride it has been. Hail Nimrod! Hope we can keep it going. Let's head on over to this week's Time Sucker updates. Let's kick things right off with the Robin Williams update. From a super sucker, Miranda Audet. She writes, Hey Master Sucker, I'm sitting here finishing with the Robin Williams update. From a super sucker, Miranda Audit.

She writes, Hey, master sucker, I'm sitting here finishing up the Robin Williams suck and listening to everything he accomplished and the things he has, he was troubled with has me nearly in tears. Who's cutting these onions? Anyway, Robin Williams has always been my favorite actor. I have never seen a project of his that I didn't enjoy. My parents even got my name from the mom and Mrs. Doubtfire Miranda. One of the most vivid memories of him I have is going to the movie theater with my mom

just a few months after he passed to see the third night of the museum. At the very end of the movie, Robin's final scene is supposed to be a closing to the movie series, but it's hard not to feel like it's his personal closing as well. We will never know where in his head he was at

during the filming, but the way he talks about moving on and not being afraid to do so, it left my mom and I covered with chills and tears. I still can't watch that scene without getting emotional. I've always struggled with depression and bipolar disorder. I relate so much to making everyone else around you happy while drowning on the inside, much like Robin Williams did. Besides him just being extremely talented and hilarious, knowing his mental struggles

just like everyone else is another big part of why he will always be my favorite actor not sorry for the long message can't wait to see here in Tampa later this year hail Nimrod Miranda thank you Miranda I love how much Robbins life means to yours I've not seen nine at the museum three but I did watch the scene you brought up found on YouTube and wow yeah it did feel kind of like he was saying goodbye. I mean, what a guy, what a life. I'd like to think he had more good days and bad days. These are what I choose to believe. And that's the most you can hope for in life, I guess, right?

More good than bad. I hope to curve. Heads the other way, venue stay open and I see you in Tampa this December. I think it will. He'll Nimrod to you and keep loving Romulins. Now for a crazy Mark Bitchell Twitchell update. Cool ass Canadian sucker Crystal writes,

Hey Dan, I'll cut to the chase right away. Growing up I had a best friend who lived a few doors down. Her oldest brother's best friend was Mark Twitchell. He was at her house almost every time I went over. Fucking crazy. Her and I met when I was eight and remained close until Driftian apart at probably age 13 or 14. If my memory serves, he was friends with her brother

that entire time and after listening to your podcast, I vaguely remember something about videotapes. I won't mention the real names because years after Mark and her brother will call him Brent. Stop talking, Mark actually reached out to Brent, Brent, who had by this time figured out he was a creep, never responded. Mark and Brent were just old enough that we never, who by this time figured out he was a creep, never responded. Mark and Brent were just old enough that we never went to school together, but I attended

the same elementary for sure, St. Matthews, and probably junior high and high school, St. Cecilia and Archbishop O'Leary. I know exactly where he lived. He was less than a block from that elementary, about a block from me. That's crazy. Anyways, Mark was a damn creep. I never liked him. I got a weird feeling about him.

He's the type of dude that would watch you literally from the shadows with a creepy grin on his face. I really can't say I'm surprised. I'm more surprised he got married and is an a virgin. Besides, I just want to say I love your show. I'm very picky with podcasts. Yours was the first one I ever liked and to this day is my favorite.

I was introduced to me by a cold guy, by an old coworker. Slow down to him. And I'm so sorry I forgot his name, but he used to work at the Jasper Avenue, O2's.. Slow down to him. And I'm so sorry I forgot his name. But he used to work at the Jasper Avenue O2's, so shout out to him. I think your Jeffrey Dahmer episode was the first one I ever heard.

Much love to you and the fam and the entire podcast team regards Crystal. Well Crystal thank you first off for the very kind words about Time Suck. I'm flattered and you're clearly a weirdo. That's the only way the show would remain your favorite. Also, I feel like I gotta hit that button to never say that.

Let me come on. Ah! Also, literally watching you from the shadows with a creepy grin on his face, yikes! Not surprised he was a kid who did that, still disturbing. Clearly something's very fucking wrong with that dude. How strange to have gone to the same schools. I don't think anyone from my junior high or high school

has ever done something like that. Not that I'm aware of, but I did know a lady in the neighborhood growing up, we turned out to be a murderer and that did creep me out. And she was for sure creepy. Hope life is good up north. Thanks for writing in. Now a very interesting anonymous update about another killer we previously covered in a way, a badass mom of bear meets sack rights.

Dear Suck Master Dan wanted to say, I think I had your dream job, although it was more of a side hustle. I was on the execution team for the state of Illinois. John Wayne Gacy was my first execution, holy shit. And while I'm good with my decision, and it is an open secret where I work, now retired and live, please withhold my name, done.

As there are a lot of people who do not agree with my thinking. Remember those abortion doctor killers? I don't think I've had the stereotype of an executioner. At the time, I was 33 year old, five foot, a hundred pound mother four. I was working as a correctional medical technician, think prison EMT, while state failed,

the prison where Gacy was executed had medical technicians. They preferred people who had not had contact with the condemned inmate, so they drew from a nearby prison. Thinking was that a woman, especially a physically non-threatening one, would have a more calming effect and it sort of worked.

When a male member of myself went to Gacy's holding cell to explain the IV procedure, he was eating Kentucky fried chicken at the time. He actually, of course he was. He actually said, I like her, but not him. I was asking just one question, I was asked just one question during my interview, why do you want to do this? I answered that I had three sons. Wasn't sure if they were looking for some big moral discussion, but I guess it was good enough for them. Love the podcast. My sons introduced me to it a

couple of years ago, gives us a lot of inside jokes. Your podcast also broke the ice with my granddaughter, brought her boyfriend to dinner for the first time. After some awkward moments, we found common ground. We discovered we both listened to TimeSuck, shout out to Coda, looking forward to seeing you in Columbus on September 25th with my Suck Cleanse Noah, Taylor, and Stephanie. Quality time with the kids. Sorry we missing the meet and greet, but totally get it.

By the way, just finished the Robin Williams Suck, you do have a moving on up and a slide whistle button out in the world. It's called your phone, is you dumb? Fair. Couldn't make this email any shorter, so deal with it. Sincerely, name redacted. Anonymous sucker.

Yeah, I get it. You have boys, Gacy killed boys, ruthlessly, so fuck that guy. Good for you for volunteering. Must have been a relief to know he was dead and gone, and there would be zero chance of old Pogo, the clown hurting anyone ever again. Not everyone's a fan of executions, but I appreciate what you did 100%. Fuck him, fuck all these serial killers.

Lowest of the low, true scum of the earth. I'd love it if they're all dead. I got your secret message about that sign too. Funny shit. See you soon. Now, how about a sweet Robin Williams message illustrated? How much of an impact one person can have on someone's childhood? From Rad-ass sucker russ russ writes then

first let me say thank you for the robin Williams suck much like disney robin Williams is so much woven into the fabric of who I am today so it's not surprising that just like the wall disney suck I choked up a few times during this suck when I was a young kid my neighbor had a hook on VHS and she let me borrow it one day since Peter Pan was my favorite Disney movie. Please excuse the ridiculous pun, but I was hooked. Uh, wait, hold on. You were hooked. From the very first viewing, I had to walk every single day down to her house, borrow the movie, and return it the same day after watching. My parents couldn't really afford to go buy me a my own copy. I eventually wore her tape out.

And my parents ended up having to buy her replacement copy and bought me my own copy at the same time. To this day, Hook is still my all time favorite movie. And I choke up every time Rufio tells Peter, he wishes he had a dad like him. Mrs. Dowd Fire helped my siblings and I work past my parents' divorce while we were young as well. We watched the movie so many times.

And I think it connects with the Rufio line as well. I think I always wanted a dad who would fight or do anything to be around his kids instead of the route my dad chose to take. Robin playing both of those of those roles really made him such a huge part of my life. And although I never met him and got to thank him personally for the impact his career had on my life, I feel like I lost a close friend the day he died. This suck really made me appreciate him and love the passion you had for life and entertaining people. The world could use more men like him. Thank you again so much this episode of Russ. Russ, I'm so fucking glad you liked it. And agreed. The world could use more passionate and kind people like Robin Williams. Did was walking smile creator, lit up a lot of rooms he was in with so much light. I mean, yeah, he fucked a lot of people

in the street, you know, and the police helped him with that, which is uncomfortable, but we'll overlook that since I made it up. I love your stories. And I hope you were, I hope you are now the man you wanted your dad to be. He'll fucking him run you beautiful bastard. Last one. Let's send him some comedy. Another comments law victim, a good one. They're all good, but this is, this is rough. Meat sack with a movie star named Jack Jones sounds almost like an Avenger or something. Shares his pain. Jack writes, Hello Dan, Sucky Ducky,

Quack Quack Cummins. Long time, Lister Jack Jones here. I found your show last year, mid-pandemic and have slowly been working my way through the episodes, two to three a day, while working at home sharpening knives. I love that,

I'm sure this is your job, but that's also sounds terrifying. The most recent episode I've been listening to is the one of the next, him cult. I also started online school this week to get to credit sign, edu and role in school to be an MRI tech. Earlier today, I was listening to as the one in the next him cult. I also started online school this week to get to credit sign E to enroll in school to be an MRI tech. Earlier today, I was listening to the episode

while waiting for the professor to start our Zoom session. He started it, I paused the episode, it was planned to my Bluetooth speaker. Then I mentioned I have shitty hearing, I didn't, well I do. So the Bluetooth speaker turned up loud. After pausing a class starts, we're discussing vulgarity and music and whether there should be a line

that cannot be crossed. I shit you not. The professor calls on me. I unmute my microphone as I draw my hand back from the keyboard. I accidentally bought my phone and then you loudly scream, get on all fours and suck East Dick! I immediately panic as my professor says that we dumbfounded. And I can see other people in the class laughing.

I finally get it turned off right as you whisper and suck as dick. But only if you're a woman and preferably 15 years old. God damn it Dan. I think I'm gonna have to drop this class now. Keep up the show. It's wonderful. Definitely is helping me through some tough times. Hill Nimrod, keep on sucking.

You're faithful and obedient spaces are jacked Jones. Oh man, Jack. That was beautiful. That was a rough one. One of the worst ones I've heard so far. I love it. Sorry that that happened, but was a rough one. One of the worst ones I've heard so far, love it. Sorry that that happened, but not really. Good luck facing your classmates again.

I don't know what you're gonna do. I don't have really any good advice. Maybe you'll lean into it. Maybe own it, right? Just be a fucking creep to them. Maybe wear a shirt. Next class, he just says, who loves blow jobs? This guy.

Thanks for the messages, everybody. And good luck, Jack Jones. You are gonna need it in that class. Thanks, time suckers. I need a net. We all did. Thanks again for listening to another Bad Magic Productions podcast, Meat Sex. Please do not smoke crack.

There's one thing I want you to take away from this episode, just don't smoke crack. Just keep on sucking on anything but a crack pipe Jesus Christ I know you would never finish I know I know crack break. Oh, you got some crack. Of course I have crack. Yeah, go dude Oh, crack break? Oh, you got some crack? Of course I have crack. Fuck yeah. Fucking go dude.