"Grim Sleeper" Photos: LAPD Decision to Release Pictures Agonizing, Says Report
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) Los Angeles Police Department detectives described the decision to release 180 photos taken from the home of "Grim Sleeper" suspect Lonnie Franklin Jr. as agonizing, according to a report.
PICTURES: "Grim Sleeper" Serial Killer Suspect's Private Photos
The LAPD released the photos of the unknown women Thursday.
"We are just trying to do what is right and decent," said Det. Dennis Kilcoyne, according to the Los Angeles Times. "We are very cognizant of not causing embarrassment or anguish to the people depicted in the photographs."
Investigators had attempted to identify the women in the 1000s of photographs and hundreds of hours of home video. When they couldn't identify them, the detectives felt their best option was to go public with the images, in the hopes that someone will recognize them and contact the authorities
"Now that we know who he is and what type of activity he is involved in with women," Kilcoyne said, "we are very concerned for everyone in these photographs."
The women appear to be willing participants in what police said were sexually explicit images, another concern of detectives.
The stills are closely cropped to show little more than the women's faces.
Responding to the notion that some might be upset with the LAPD for the release, Kilcoyne said according to the Times, "We are not the ones who took it and kept it. We can thank Mr. Franklin for that."
Nearly all the women in the photos are black, except for two or three white women and one Latina. Some of the women appear to be sleeping.
Clear Channel Outdoor has agreed to provide billboard space across Los Angeles to display the photos.
Franklin is accused of killing women from 1985 to 1988 and from 2002 to 2007. The 14-year pause led to the nickname "Grim Sleeper." He has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault and murder in the deaths of 10 women in the Los Angeles area.
Anyone with information about the women in the photographs is asked to call 1-877-LAPD-24-7.
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF GRIM SLEEPER CASE
