Photographs of 180 women who may have been murdered by 'Grim Sleeper' released in desperate search for more victims
Los Angeles police will today release photographs of 180 people who may have been the victims of the suspected 'Grim Sleeper' serial killer.
Detectives found nearly 1,000 photographs and hours of video showing naked and partly-naked women when they arrested Lonnie Franklin Jr and searched his home in July.
They have spent months trying to identify the women to determine whether they are alive and how they came to be photographed by him.
But they have been unable to track many of them down and have taken to releasing the images in the hope people come forward with information.
Franklin Jr, 57, is charged with ten murders and one attempted murder in south Los Angeles dating back to 1985. He has denied the charges.
Many of the images show women, ranging from teenagers to women in their 60s, exposing their breasts or fully nude.
Officers have asked the woman believed to be the sole survivor of the Grim Sleeper, Enietra Washington, as well as family of other victims, to view the images before they are released later today.
They were also shown some of the alleged killer's trophies - bracelets, rings, earrings, watches and necklaces discovered in Franklin Jr's home.
The photographs were taken in cars, in Franklin's motor home and in his garage.
Franklin Jr allegedly committed his crimes over a 22-year period: These pictures show the 11 people he is accused of murdering as well as an unidentified victim who escaped
Some of them show women who appear to be either asleep, unconscious or dead.
Homicide detective Dennis Kilcoyne told The Daily Beast: 'I believe we are going to have probably a few additional victims identified.
'We have no idea who the women are, what their circumstances are or if they are still alive.'
Franklin's arrest in July ended a 25-year investigation into the deaths of 11 people.
He was linked to the crime using a new forensic technique known as 'familial' DNA searching when a sample taken from his son in an unrelated case was found to bear a close resemblance to DNA found on the victims.
Detectives then used a discarded cup with his DNA on it to make the link, according to officials.
The alleged killer was dubbed the 'Grim Sleeper' after a 14-year hiatus between the murders from 1988 and 2002.
The last killing came on January 1, 2007.
A law enforcement official said the gap coincides with a time when Franklin was on disability.
All of the victims were found outdoors, usually in alleyways. They were shot, strangled, or both, usually after some kind of sexual assault.
Ten of the victims were women and several were prostitutes. The only man killed - Thomas Steele - is believed to have been shot in the head in 1987 after discovering the killer's identity.
Ms Washington told police that a man, driving an orange-coloured Pinto, picked her up in November 1988.
She said he shot her in the chest, sexually assaulted her and then photographed her using a Polaroid camera, before pushing her out of the car.
She said: 'That is what woke me up. I remember the flash.
'Some of them [are] in his car and their eyes are closed. Some of them look dead, if you ask me.'
Detective Kilcoyne added: 'Some people will be upset that we are putting their picture in the paper.
'What they need to realise is we are obligated to do this. We aren't the ones who took the picture.'
Franklin's preliminary hearing is due to take place on January 31 and could take as long as three years to complete. He has been held without bail.
DNA: Officers remove items from the home of Franklin Jr after he was arrested by a SWAT team in Los Angeles
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