The lawyer for the accused serial killer dubbed the Grim Sleeper asked a judge today for permission to photograph nearly 900 pieces of evidence, some of which date back more than 28 years.
Prosecutors called it a “Herculean task” to inventory and open every evidence package in the case against Lonnie David Franklin Jr., who is charged with killing 10 women. The remains of the victims were found dumped in alleys and trash bins in and near South Los Angeles between 1985 and 2007.
“There are close to 900 items that are booked,” said Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman, adding that it would take “a months’ worth of work” to review.
“We want to make sure we don’t compromise the integrity of any DNA evidence,” said Deputy District Attorney Marguerite Rizzo.
But defense attorney Seymour Amster insisted on a complete inventory and raised the possibility that some evidence was no longer in custody.
“We’re very concerned about what exists and what doesn’t exist from what was seized,” Amster said.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy asked Amster to comply with the prosecutors’ request for a detailed listing of the evidence he wants to review, victim by victim. She wants a listing for the first victim by Dec. 16.
But she expressed frustration with continued delays in the work by the defense’s DNA and ballistics experts.
“I don’t understand why this isn’t finished by now,” she said of the ballistics analysis.
Prosecutors said their expert completed his review in two weeks, but Amster said his expert wasn’t yet ready to examine the evidence, which he has had for months.
The defense attorney said things were moving as quickly as possible and that he could explain why his expert needed more time, but only in a sealed declaration to the judge.
Kennedy also asked for a timetable and final date on DNA analysis, something she has sought since March, if not before.
When Amster said he didn’t want to pressure his expert, Kennedy retorted, “That is ridiculous, Mr. Amster.”
She ordered him to return on Dec. 16 with declarations on the status of work by both experts.
Franklin, seated in court in orange prison clothes, has been jailed since his arrest on July 7, 2010. The serial killer was dubbed the “Grim Sleeper” because of an assumed 13-year gap between killing sprees. Prosecutors say some of his victims–many of whom were prostitutes—were raped before being shot to death with a small-caliber handgun.
Investigators said Franklin’s DNA matched forensic evidence from eight murders between 1985 and 1988 and another three between 2001 and 2007 and linked him to the attempted murder of a woman who survived an attack in 1988.
Detectives said he might also be connected to the disappearance or death of eight other women whose photos were found in his home near 81st Street and Harvard Boulevard.
A grand jury indicted Franklin—a former city sanitation worker who also worked in the Los Angeles Police Department motor pool—on March 23, 2011. The indictment was intended to speed the time to trial.
Outside the courtroom, members of the victims’ families quizzed prosecutors about the next steps, wondering aloud when the case would finally come to trial.
Kennedy said she hopes to preside over a final pretrial hearing in June, with trial to follow shortly thereafter.
