Detectives Identify 21 Women After Releasing Photos in "Grim Sleeper" Case

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- LAPD detectives say they have identified at least 21 women from the roughly 160 photos released in the "Grim Sleeper" serial killer case.

Last week, investigators posted 180 images recovered from the home of the prime suspect in the case, Lonnie David Franklin Jr., on www.LAPDonline.org.

Detectives have been able to remove 29 photos from the group of images that were posted online and in the news. Out of the 29 photos, eight were duplicates and one was a known victim whose family was unable to attend the identification meeting held by the department. A majority of the women depicted in the photos are alive and well; a few have died from natural causes and a few have been identified as missing persons, according to officials.


"We are grateful for the public's continued response to the release of the images. It is our fervent hope that with this response, coupled with the tireless efforts of our detectives, the women depicted in these images will be positively identified," police officials said in a press release.

Detectives say they have received 75 tips that could prove important to the Franklin case.

Meantime, Franklin's attorney is criticizing the LAPD for releasing photographs of women found at his home.

Louisa Pensanti said Saturday that the pictures include family and friends of Lonnnie Franklin, Jr. She said Franklin's relatives are upset the photos were released publicly.

Pensanti also maintains that investigators' comments at a recent news conference could jeopardize Franklin's chance for a fair trial.

"Sadly, the public officials who have the duty to uphold the Constitution have forgotten the basics in their desire for sensationalism and are jeopardizing Lonnie Franklin's chance for a fair trial," Pensanti told the Associated Press.

The LAPD has not issued any comment.

Police released the photos Thursday and posted them on the LAPD website in the hope that family or friends would recognize the images and contact authorities.

By Friday afternoon, police had received more than 1000 calls and registered more than eleven million hits to their site. Investigators say they're turning their attention to people calling in to report that someone in one of the photos is a missing person.

Anyone who recognizes a person in one of the photos is asked to call 1 (877) 527-3247.

In July, when Los Angeles police arrested Lonnie Franklin Jr., they searched his South L.A. home for incriminating evidence and found nearly 1,000 still photographs and hours of video showing women, almost all of them partly or completely nude and striking sexually graphic poses.

Detectives have spent months trying to identify the women to determine whether they are alive and to learn how they came to be photographed by a man charged with sexually assaulting and killing 10 women during a crime spree that spanned two decades.

The attempt has proved fruitless prompting the LAPD to release the images of 180 women in the hope that family or friends will identify them and contact investigators.

Back in August, 57-year-old Franklin pleaded not guilty to murder charges in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

Franklin was dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and had his hands shackled to his waist. The pleas were entered on his behalf by his attorney. Franklin only spoke to answer procedural questions.

About 30 family members and friends of some of the victims of the "Grim Sleeper" attended the emotional hearing. Some were seen crying as they left the courtroom.