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The AP is reporting that the LAPD has arrested a man in South Los Angeles in connection with 11 serial murders, mostly of young black women, between 1985 and 2007.
Dozens of police officials closed off a block around the 81st Street house where the arrest was made in South Los Angeles.Neighbors described the man who lives there as friendly and quiet. They said he was often seen working on cars in his front yard and would sometimes stop to chat with passers-by.
"He's a very good guy. I don't believe it," said Andre Wynn, an area resident.
The "Grim Sleeper" case has dogged police even though they had the killer's DNA, a description from a survivor and offered a $500,000 reward.
LA Weekly reporter Christine Pelisek is on vacation, but otherwise would be the go-to reporter on the case. There's been no official comment yet by the LAPD.
* Updates: District Attorney Steve Cooley identified the suspect as 57-year-old Lonnie David Franklin Jr. Cooley said his arrest was the first successful use in California of a DNA investigative tool known as "familiar" searching, the LAT reported. Franklin was well known in his neighborhood and has a daughter who recently graduated from college, the LAT says.
** How they busted Franklin: What the DA (or the Times) called "familiar" DNA testing is actually "familial" testing, the LA Weekly's Pelisek explains in a story. In this case, it was DNA testing of a swab from Franklin's son, who had been arrested, that led to the suspected serial killer. The suspect Franklin had been a mechanic at the LAPD's 77th Street station, Pelisek says.
LAT catches up: The Times now agrees it is "familial" testing.
Updated post