'Grim Sleeper' Lonnie Franklin Jr., responsible for series of Los Angeles murders, dies at 67

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Sunday, March 29, 2020
Lonnie David Franklin Jr., also known as the 'Grim Sleeper,' appears in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Lonnie David Franklin Jr., also known as the 'Grim Sleeper,' appears in Los Angeles Superior Court.
AP

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. -- Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said that Lonnie Franklin Jr., who was on death row for multiple murders over a 22-year span, has died at the San Quentin State Prison at 67.

Franklin Jr. was found unresponsive in his cell on March 28 just after 7 p.m. While attempts were made to resuscitate him, he ultimately died shortly before 8 p.m.

Franklin Jr. murdered nine women and one teenage girl from 1985-2007 in Los Angeles. He was also known as the "Grim Sleeper" because of an apparent 14-year gap in the murders between 1988 and 2002.

He was sentenced to death on August 10, 2016, for 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Franklin Jr. was put in death row one week later.

The victims were between the ages of 18 and 53, with the exception of one 15-year-old girl. They were strangled or shot and dumped in alleys near Franklin's home, usually after some sort of sexual contact.

Franklin Jr. was found guilty of the crimes in 2016. He was still awaiting his execution date at the time of his death.

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