![]() "That means that some of these victims will have no one to speak for them or about them at penalty phase, or to see that justice was done at the end of this process," Silverman writes VICE in an email. Meanwhile, the victims' families have been waiting for some sort of resolution, and some have even passed away while waiting for trial. Witnesses have retired or died, and new experts have had to be summoned to reanalyze evidence, according to Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman. Photo by David AustinĪlthough a 2011 grand jury indictment was expected to speed up the death penalty case, delays and bizarre courtroom antics have dragged on pre-trial proceedings for more than five years. Victims of the Grim Sleeper on the wall at activist Margaret Prescod's office in Los Angeles. The gruesome nickname refers to the "hiatus" police initially believed Franklin took from killing in the 1990s, though it's possible he simply hasn't been connected to murders in that era. In fact, Franklin was only arrested in 2010 after pioneering DNA technology-and a semi-secretive police task force-helped connect him to at least ten murders that stretched from 1985 to 2007, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police paint a much different picture, describing a complicated array of factors that made finding the Grim Sleeper extremely tough, including the height of the crack cocaine epidemic, a surge in violent crime, and even other active serial killers. Critics of the LAPD say they were lazy in their investigation, neglected to follow up on leads, and regarded the victims as insignificant because they were black women, and some were sex workers. The arduous road leading up to this moment has been frustrating for cops and community members alike. "He was thinking it was just another murder in South Central," she explains.Īfter more than two decades of allegedly wreaking terror on the streets of South Los Angeles, Franklin-who if convicted would be the longest-active serial killer in California history-is going on trial this month. How many of them are carried out by serial killers is unclear, but there is no evidence that that proportion has increased over the years.Her legs and knees are beginning to give out, but Ware trudges on for Barbara-and for her own late husband, who she says died before discovering his daughter was the victim of a serial killer. However, something to take into consideration is that 40 percent of all murders in the US go unsolved. We also have the opportunity to raise an alarm with the mobile phone and there are cameras everywhere," says James Alan Fox, professor of criminology at Northeastern University in the United States, in a comment to Discovery Magazine. The fact that it is more difficult to find easy victims may also contribute to the reduction of serial murders. Other possible reasons are that longer sentences mean that those who have committed murder once are in prison for so long that they do not have the opportunity to murder again. Everything from better forensics allowing the killers to be caught before they have time to kill a second time to better mental health care in the US has been put forward as possible causes. ![]() Researchers are unsure as to why the number of serial killers has dropped so much. In the 2010s, that number was down to 117. But a study shows that the number of serial killers has decreased dramatically in the last 30 years, reports Discovery Magazine.ĭuring the 1980s, there were 768 active serial killers in the United States. Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, and Jeffrey Dahmer are just some of the names that send chills down the spine. Serial killers have received a lot of attention in the media and popular culture. ![]()
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