Defense says ‘mystery man’ is ‘Grim Sleeper’ serial killer
LOS ANGELES — A lawyer for the man accused in the “Grim Sleeper” serial killings in Los Angeles told jurors Tuesday that a “mystery man” was the real killer.
Defense attorney Seymour Amster said in his closing argument that the case against Lonnie Franklin Jr. collapses on the testimony of the sole known survivor of attacks that spanned more than two decades.
Franklin, 63, a former garbage collector who also worked as a mechanic for the Los Angeles Police Department, could face the death penalty if convicted of the slayings of a 15-year-old girl and nine young women.
Franklin was arrested in 2010 after a police officer posing as a busboy at a pizza parlor birthday party collected DNA samples from a pizza crust and napkin that connected him to the victims.