The Grim Sleeper Talking with America's Most Notorious Serial Killer, Lonnie Franklin

During the mid-1980s, a brutal killing spree began in Los Angeles as several women were murdered, having been sexually assaulted and shot in the chest with the same .25 calibre gun. The man responsible was Lonnie David Franklin Jr. However, his identity wouldn't be revealed for more than 20 years, by which time he had become one of America's most prolific serial killers. At the time, Los Angeles was a city struggling under the weight of racial inequalities and a crack epidemic that was sweeping through its most deprived areas. The victims were black women, and often addicts and sex workers. Many in the communities of South Central felt that these factors all caused a lack of interest on the part of the LAPD in investigating the murders, allowing Franklin to carry on his killing spree undetected.

Victoria Redstall is a British journalist and true crime expert, and is the author of Serial Killers: Up Close and Very Personal. She lives in Los Angeles.