A serial killer known as the “Grim Sleeper” should be sentenced to death for murdering nine women and a teenage girl over more than two decades in South Los Angeles, a jury decided Monday.
(FOX)- Lonnie Franklin Jr., 63, a former city trash collector and garage attendant for Los Angeles police, was convicted of 10 counts of first-degree murder last month for crimes dating back more than 30 years.
Family members of the victims cried Monday as the verdicts on punishment were read. Some rocked back and forth. One said, “Thank you.”
A prosecutor had asked jurors to show Franklin the same compassion he showed his victims and give him the “ultimate penalty.” An emotional defense lawyer asked jurors to sentence him to life without parole to hasten the healing process for the victims’ family members.
The jury called for the death penalty on all 10 murder counts and the judge set formal sentencing for Aug. 10.
Franklin said, “Yes, your honor,” in regards to the date but otherwise sat quietly and stared straight ahead the entire time. As he walked into court, family members of the victims whispered, “Dead man walking.”
Most of the slayings fit a similar pattern. Women were either fatally shot, choked — or both — and their partly clad or naked bodies were dumped in alleys and trash bins in the impoverished area where Franklin lived.