Alleged serial killer nabbed in L.A.

Police in Los Angeles have arrested a suspect in the so-called Grim Sleeper serial killings after decades of frustrated investigations into at least 11 slayings dating back 25 years.

Lonnie Franklin Jr. will be charged with 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and special circumstance allegations that could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley.

Franklin's age is unclear. Officials have said he is 51, while others have said he is 57.

"Today is a good day," Donnell Alexander, the brother of victim Monique Alexander, said as he watched police activity outside the South Los Angeles house where Franklin was arrested.

Detectives have spent years investigating the slayings, which occurredbetween 1985 and 2007 and targeted young black women and one man.

The killer was dubbed the Grim Sleeper because he apparently took a 14-year hiatus between some of the crimes.

Neighbours react

Dozens of police officials closed off a block around the distinctive green house where the arrest was made. A mobile command post was parked out front, and a line of police tents sheltered tables in the front yard.

Neighbours said the man who lived there was friendly and quiet, was often seen working on cars in his front yard and would sometimes stop to chat with passersby.

Neighbour Brenda Locker, a retired city employee, said the man used to work for the city as a mechanic at the 77th Street police station and had retired.

Other neighbours were in disbelief.

"He's a very good guy," nearby resident Andre Wynn said. "I don't believe it."

Police lacked clues

The Grim Sleeper case has dogged police even though they had the killer's DNA, a description from a survivor and had offered a $500,000 US reward.

Cooley said investigators used a tool known as familial searching, which allows them to look for close DNA matches through relatives. Critics have said the approach violates the privacy of family members and can place them under lifetime surveillance.

Cooley believes the Grim Sleeper case was the first time the method has been used successfully in California.

The victims were shot, strangled or both, usually after some kind of sexual contact. Ten victims were women and several were prostitutes.

Police have said it's possible the male victim, Thomas Steele, who was shot in 1987, was a friend of another victim or discovered the killer's identity.

All the bodies were found outdoors, often in alleys a few miles south of downtown Los Angeles. The most recent known Grim Sleeper killing happened in June 2007, when Janecia Peters, 25, was shot and her body was found in a trash bin.

Police had only one description of the killer, given by a woman who was sexually assaulted and shot but survived. She said a man with chiselled features and a black polo shirt offered her a ride in an orange Ford Pinto to her sister's house.

She said they exchanged banter and shortly after getting into the car, she was attacked and pushed from the car.