"I Can't Explain It": The Grim Sleeper's LAPD Interview, 2010

Name: "I Can't Explain It": The Grim Sleeper's LAPD Interview, 2010
Uploaded: 2016-12-21
Duration: 36 min 55 s
Description: Confronted with photographs of the women and the DNA that linked him to them, Lonnie Franklin Jr. told detectives he did not know any of them and could not explain it.

Confronted with photographs of the women and the DNA that linked him to them, Lonnie Franklin Jr. told detectives he did not know any of them and could not explain it.

Subject: Lonnie David Franklin Jr.
Interviewer: LAPD detectives
Recorded: July 2010
Runtime: 36:55

Content warning: Detectives describe the murders of women and show photographs of the victims.

The Interview

On July 7, 2010, Los Angeles police arrested Lonnie David Franklin Jr., a 57-year-old former city garbage collector and police garage attendant, at his home in South Los Angeles. In an interview room at LAPD headquarters, Detectives Dennis Kilcoyne and Paul Coulter read him his rights and laid photographs of murdered women on the table one by one, telling him that his DNA had been found on them. Franklin said he did not know any of them. Asked how his DNA could be there, he said he had no idea.

Historical Context

Between 1985 and 2007 nine women and a 15-year-old girl were murdered in South Los Angeles, most of them young and Black, many shot or strangled and left in alleys. Because there seemed to be a gap of more than a decade between the killings of the 1980s and those of the 2000s, an LA Weekly reporter called the unknown killer the "Grim Sleeper". One woman survived being shot in 1988 and later testified at his trial. In 2010 a familial DNA search, the first to lead to an arrest under California's 2008 program, pointed to Franklin's son as a close relative of the killer. Police then collected Franklin's own DNA from a discarded slice of pizza.

Circumstances of the Interview

The interview took place the day of his arrest or soon after. Kilcoyne had led the LAPD task force on the case since 2007. The detectives show Franklin photographs of the victims, including Janecia Peters (2007), Valerie McCorvey (2003), Princess Berthomieux (2002), Alicia Alexander (1988), Lachrica Jefferson (1988), Mary Lowe (1987), Bernita Sparks (1987), Barbara Ware (1987) and Debra Jackson (1985), and tell him about the survivor. Towards the end Franklin says he wants a lawyer, and the detectives explain the charges and the search of his home.

What the Interview Covers

Franklin repeatedly denies knowing the women and says he cannot explain the DNA. He answers questions about his church, his guns and his movements on Western Avenue, and comments on some of the photographs. The detectives tell him the science has caught up with him and appeal to him to "man up" and explain, for the sake of the families. He tells them he has heard of the "Grim Sleeper" on the news.

What Makes the Recording Significant

Franklin did not testify at his trial. This is the main recording of him speaking about the accusations. Prosecutors played it to the jury to show his demeanour; in closing, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman told the jury: "They're staring up at him" ... "he's laughing in their faces." The jury convicted him of ten murders and one attempted murder in May 2016 and returned a death verdict in June 2016.

Archival Importance

The case was a landmark in the use of familial DNA searching. The recording preserves the moment the evidence was put to the suspect, and his response.

Important Caveats

Franklin's denials are his own statements; the jury rejected them. His remarks about some victims' appearance are offensive and are reproduced in the transcript as spoken. The upload is labelled "Full", but a local news report described the tape played in court as "nearly an hour" long, so this version may be shortened. Franklin died in San Quentin State Prison on March 28, 2020, while on death row.

Detective: I just want to ask you, do you know why you're here?

Franklin: No, I don't.

Detective: Do you have any idea why you're here?

Franklin: No, I don't.

Detective: Okay, well, we're working on an investigation, and there's a warrant for your arrest. We're charging a count of murder.

Franklin: Yes, sir.

Detective: So, before we get into it, I know I can see right by your expression you've got a lot of questions to ask us. We've got a couple to ask you, too. I'm sure you've seen this on TV a thousand times. I'm going to advise you, and then we'll talk about it man to man here. Is that okay? You have the right to remain silent. Do you understand that?

Franklin: Yes.

Detective: Anything you say may be used against you in court. Do you understand?

Franklin: Yes.

Detective: You have the right to the presence of an attorney before and during any questioning. Do you understand that?

Franklin: Yes.

Detective: Do you want to sit here and talk to us about that?

Franklin: Oh, you know what it's about?

Detective: Oh, okay. Okay. Well, here, I forgot. If you cannot afford an attorney, we want to be appointed for you free of charge for questioning. Do you understand that?

Franklin: Yes.

Detective: Okay. So, do you want to sit here and talk about the warrant?

Franklin: Yes.

Detective: And what the charges are against you?

Franklin: Yes.

Detective: Okay, great. We have been investigating a murder that occurred in 2007.

Franklin: Okay.

Detective: And it involves a young lady. I'm going to ask you to show you a photograph of this young lady and see if you recognize her. Have you never seen that girl before?

Franklin: No, I haven't.

Detective: [speaker attribution uncertain] Who is that?

Detective: [speaker attribution uncertain] Is that Peters?

Detective: [speaker attribution uncertain] Yes.

Detective: All right.

Franklin: I haven't.

Detective: Okay. Okay. Like I said, we've been investigating this since 2007.

Franklin: Uh-huh.

Detective: And you're not down here. We didn't just pick your name out of a hat. I mean you watch all these little police shows and CSIs and and all that stuff with modern technologies and all that.

Franklin: Right.

Detective: Okay well you've been identified to this young lady.

Franklin: Okay.

Detective: Okay do you understand that?

Franklin: Yes I do.

Detective: Okay you have any questions about that?

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] Why would you be identified?

Franklin: I don't know. I don't know. I know a lot of people but I don't know her.

Detective: Okay all right so do you know how, I'm sure you've probably heard about DNA.

Franklin: Mm-hmm.

Detective: Okay well your DNA was identified in relation to this young lady's death.

Franklin: Okay.

Detective: Okay?

Franklin: No I'm just saying that's what you're telling me so that's all I can say.

Detective: How could that happen?

Franklin: I don't know.

Detective: You have no idea?

Franklin: I have no...

Detective: You've never seen this lady before?

Franklin: No I haven't.

Detective: In your life?

Franklin: No I haven't.

Detective: Do you have anything you want to ask about her?

Franklin: No.

Detective: Okay in 2003 this young lady was found killed. Have you ever seen her?

Franklin: No I haven't.

Detective: You don't know that lady?

Franklin: No I don't.

Detective: You've never seen her?

Franklin: No I haven't.

Detective: Mr. Franklin just like the other one your DNA was found on this young lady.

Franklin: Okay.

Detective: Is there a way to explain that?

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] No it's not.

Franklin: There's no way. I don't know. [Unclear: "I don't know if they deserve it."]

Detective: That's Valerie McCorvey.

Franklin: Okay.

Detective: Think about it. Think hard. It's very very very serious. I mean you're telling me you watch these shows I mean it's I like we put your name out of a hat. Okay, 2002, this young lady was, do you recognize her?

Franklin: No.

Detective: Princess?

Franklin: No.

Detective: Never seen her before?

Franklin: No.

Detective: Mr. Franklin, we're both old guys.

Franklin: Right.

Detective: Okay, and I'm sitting here and, you know, I'm ready to answer questions of you.

Franklin: Right.

Detective: I'm being up front with you and by you telling me that you don't know these people or hadn't known any way, that your DNA got on their bodies.

Franklin: No.

Detective: You're insulting my intelligence.

Franklin: I'm sorry, I don't know. I do not know.

Detective: Okay. In 1988, this young lady, Alicia Alexander, was found. And again, it's all linked to you. Now, Mr. Franklin, I mean, you watch these shows. You tell me once, you know, maybe you met the gal and you had a little relationship with her and she turns up dead. You know, maybe a coincidence. I just showed you all these poor people. I mean, your coincidences are getting pretty slim. Wouldn't you say?

Franklin: Yes, sir.

Detective: I mean, what do you, I mean, do you have anything to say?

Franklin: No, I don't. I don't know the people. I'm sorry.

Detective: I mean, how would your DNA get there? What logical reason?

Franklin: I have no clue.

Detective: No clue.

Franklin: I mean, I don't have no clue how my DNA would get there.

Detective: This young lady, [unclear: "we appreciate you"]... [young] lady, Lachrica Jefferson.

Franklin: No.

Detective: Again. Coincidence? My DNA.

Franklin: I have no idea.

Detective: Let me ask you something. Do you know what DNA is?

Franklin: Yes, the blood, saliva, anything, any body fluids that make contact.

Detective: Okay, and it's like a fingerprint.

Franklin: Mm-hmm.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] Yeah, only one person has that DNA.

Detective: Okay, so you understand it probably better than I do.

Franklin: I understand, but I don't know these people.

Detective: So, yeah, you got five or six people here. So far, so far.

Franklin: Yeah, you know.

Detective: Are you, do you go to church?

Franklin: Yes, I do. Matter of fact, I'm supposed to be at church tonight.

Detective: What church is that?

Franklin: I go to Greater New Baptist Church.

Detective: Where?

Franklin: Greater New Baptist Church.

Detective: Where is that?

Franklin: In Los Angeles.

Detective: What, what street?

Franklin: San Pedro.

Detective: San Pedro and what?

Franklin: San Pedro and Martin Luther King.

Detective: Okay.

Franklin: Mm-hmm.

Detective: How long have you been going to that church?

Franklin: I've been going there for like three years, off and on. I'm a member of the [unclear: "Seven Line and the Hope"].

Detective: Okay. Where did you go to church before that church?

Franklin: Well, I was just, I bounced into my wife's church on the corner right there.

Detective: What church is she going to?

Franklin: Jerusalem.

Detective: Okay, and do you remember a church that used to be on Normandy, by the name of the Cosmopolitan Church? Remember that?

Franklin: Normandy, what?

Detective: 60th.

Franklin: 60th? No.

Detective: Normandy?

Franklin: No. I only go to, that's the only two churches I've been to.

Detective: Well, this is, this is going back in probably the late 1980s.

Franklin: Okay.

Detective: Well, do you remember there?

Franklin: No, I wouldn't.

Detective: Did you? Did you used to have access to drive their van?

Franklin: No, I didn't.

Detective: Did you know people that went there?

Franklin: No, I don't.

Detective: You're not that far from 60th and Normandy from where you're left?

Franklin: Yeah, it's around the corner from the park.

Detective: Yeah, okay. So, but that's not familiar to you with the Cosmopolitan Church?

Franklin: No, it's not.

Detective: Okay, okay.

Franklin: Not at all.

Detective: All right, well, just testing your memory here. I mean, you're well-versed in DNA.

Franklin: It's because I bought food right there on, right there one block before you get the gauge. Just a little mess, that's why I get food at.

Detective: Well, the church isn't there anymore, but years ago it was there, but I'm just personally, I'm very impressed at your of your knowledge of the DNA, that it's saliva and blood, and it's only connects to one person in the world, and I mean, even your kids don't have your DNA. They might have your blood type or something, but they don't have your DNA. It's just like they don't have your thumbprint. It's only Mr. Lonnie Franklin that has the DNA makeup that's found on those young ladies right there. So, how in God's name is that possible?

Franklin: I don't know.

Detective: [speaker attribution uncertain] No, no thoughts, I mean, do you?

Detective: Okay, all right. This young lady here, Mary Lowe, what's her name?

Franklin: Yeah, I don't know her.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] She looked like probably from Rialto, one of my wife's friends.

Detective: What's her name?

Franklin: Her name is, oh, I can't get it right now. Her name is, damn, she was called, she was, I can't, but I don't know her.

Detective: Okay.

Franklin: But she's her favorite, same facial.

Detective: Okay. Okay. Well, that's another one. There's some lady here. Her name was Bernita Sparks.

Franklin: Wow, she looked heavy-set.

Detective: Now you say she looked fat.

Franklin: I don't know.

Detective: Okay. You ever owned any weapons?

Franklin: Yes.

Detective: What kind of weapons?

Franklin: I have a .22 long rifle.

Detective: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. What else?

Franklin: A .38 revolver.

Detective: Okay. What else?

Franklin: Uh... I got a... Well, I had a 9mm.

Detective: 9mm?

Franklin: Mm-hmm.

Detective: Okay.

Franklin: Mm-hmm.

Detective: Any other handgun?

Franklin: Mm... .22 pistol, .22 revolver.

Detective: .22 revolver?

Franklin: Mm-hmm.

Detective: That's different than the long rifle you mentioned?

Franklin: Yes.

Detective: Did you purchase those in gun shops? Where did you get them on the street?

Franklin: I purchased a couple of them at gun shops, gun shows.

Detective: At gun shows?

Franklin: Mm-hmm.

Detective: At gun shops? Okay.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] Well, Western Surplus was down the street.

Franklin: I bought one that should be on record. I bought one there.

Detective: The .22 long rifle?

Franklin: Yeah.

Detective: Okay. And then you said the 9mm?

Franklin: Mm-hmm.

Detective: Where'd you get that?

Franklin: The 9mm... I sold it, but I got it out of Texas.

Detective: Okay. So you no longer have that gun?

Franklin: No, no.

Detective: And you mentioned the .38?

Franklin: .38 revolver.

Detective: Okay. And where'd you purchase that one?

Franklin: I think I got it from my dad.

Detective: From your dad?

Franklin: Mm-hmm.

Detective: Okay. And is that still in the house?

Franklin: It was stolen, no.

Detective: It was stolen?

Franklin: It was broke into.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] The house was broke into some years ago.

Detective: Oh, okay. And it got stolen. Do you remember when that was stolen? [captions add: "... a car in '88, but they broke into the"]

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] house in 91.

Detective: That's a 38 revolver?

Franklin: I lost two guns.

Detective: What was the other gun?

Franklin: A .22 pistol.

Detective: The .22 pistol, that's different from the long one.

Franklin: Right.

Detective: You're talking about the revolver.

Franklin: Right.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] It was a little insert right here in your pocket.

Detective: And the .22 long rifle, it's what, a semi?

Franklin: It's a Ruger. It was a Ruger.

Detective: So it's like a semi-auto?

Franklin: Yeah, I guess.

Detective: Okay, well that's why I'm just trying to make the distinction there. So that's all the handguns you own?

Franklin: That's it.

Detective: You don't own any more handguns?

Franklin: No more.

Detective: What about that .25 caliber there in your closet?

Franklin: .25 caliber?

Detective: What is it, a rifle?

Franklin: No.

Detective: .25 caliber. It's a .25 caliber. A pistol.

Franklin: Yeah, over the, that's not mine.

Detective: It's not?

Franklin: No, that's my brother-in-law's.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] [Name unclear: "Delroy Leno".]

Franklin: I have two things of his. He got evicted. We just picked up his stuff last week.

Detective: What was the other thing you got? What was the other thing that you got? You said you picked up two things?

Franklin: Oh, a little shotgun.

Detective: Where is that at now?

Franklin: That was in my closet.

Detective: Okay. You don't own any other handguns?

Franklin: No.

Detective: This young lady here, her name is Barbara Ware. Never saw her before?

Franklin: No, nothing about her.

Detective: Again, you know, it's like I told you earlier, I'm really feeling insulted here because all of these people, and it's like I told you earlier, come on, we're grown men here, not playing games with you, I'm laying my cards right here on the table, just like this. Laying my cards right here, I'm telling you. Maybe one, I'd say, okay, two, I wouldn't be going to Vegas if I were you, because your luck isn't that good, but look at all of these. Your luck is running out fast. And unless you come up with some kind of explanation, I mean, I'm not hiding anything from you, I'm telling you straight up, straight up, this young lady, her name is Henrietta Wright.

Detective: Go ahead, take a close look.

Franklin: No recollection at all.

Detective: No recollection?

Franklin: I don't know her. I don't know her.

Detective: [speaker attribution uncertain] [Unclear: "What?" / "Or you just don't [remember]?"]

Franklin: [Unclear. Machine readings: "I don't know what, but I think we had all that work" (Whisper); "I don't know. I don't know, but ugly. I don't know what, but ugly" (YouTube captions). Trial reports say Franklin called Henrietta Wright "butt ugly" during the interview; this passage is probably that remark. Check by listening.] No, no, no. I'm sorry, I don't know.

Detective: So if I told you, you were connected to the deaths of all of these ladies, who do you think Detective Kilcoyne and I would be sitting here looking at? [captions add: "this young lady, Debra Jackson"] You don't know who we'd be looking at?

Franklin: Oh okay, you're looking at me.

Detective: I mean do you agree?

Franklin: Yeah I agree with you on that, yes.

Detective: I mean all of these people that you say you don't know through scientific evidence are all pointing the finger at Lonnie David Franklin Jr. Sit there and look at their faces, all staring at you, pointing that finger at you. Don't insult my intelligence, please don't insult. I'm gray haired, I'm going bald, I'm getting close to the end here. I've done this a lot, okay, just like you. You've been around. I respect your experience, you're probably the best mechanic there is out there, you're good at what you do and we've been doing this for a long time too. You wouldn't be here if we weren't absolutely convinced that you did this to these young ladies. Give me an explanation.

Franklin: I have no explanation, I just gave you something I didn't do.

Detective: So you're just saying you just got to run a bad luck?

Franklin: No, I'm not saying I don't run bad nothing, I don't even know these people.

Detective: That you're connected to them? Look at them, they're all staring at you, pointing their fingers, well if they could point their fingers, they're looking right at you. There's my cards, there's my deck, right there, I think my hand's a lot better than yours right now, Lonnie, your bluff ain't cutting it, you a poker player?

Franklin: No, I'm a poker player.

Detective: Good, because I wouldn't be gambling with this either, if I were you. Mr. Franklin, you have a major problem today, July 7th, 2010, 25 years ago, you've had this problem for, at least that we're aware of, for 25 years, you creep out, you pick up these young ladies that are out working Western or Figueroa or whatever in the middle of the night, you have sex with them, you kill them, and then you dump their bodies in alleys throughout the city of Los Angeles, most of them near, not too far from your house, there are, you see the number of faces here, that's how many families are affected by this, families that have been suffering with this for 25 years, parents, you're a parent, you've got young children, or not young children, but you've got children, what do you think it would feel like to have your little girl murdered, dumped in an alley, and not know how that came to be for 25 years, but somebody...

Detective: somebody left their DNA signature like their thumbprint on my little girl. 25 years over a number of these, for 25 years, all the way up until recently just a couple years ago, that person continues to leave their DNA thumbprint on all these young ladies who had a life, had families, they may have been out working, they may have had some drug problems, whatever, but they still have loved ones. And that's your little girl. That's your little girl out there and some guy that's got a problem, he keeps picking them up, having his way with them, killing them, dumping them in alleys like they're trash, but he's leaving his mark. He's leaving his, it's like a dog pissing on a fire hydrant.

Detective: That's you. You're leaving your mark every single time you do this. Well now, the science has caught up with you. Mr. Franklin, your signature is on every one of these young ladies. There's no denying that. There's no getting out of it. You need to man up and start talking to us why, what in God's name caused this to happen, caused Mr. Lonnie Franklin, when he's not working on a car, when he's not with his wife and children, when he's not driving the trash truck or fixing a police car in a garage somewhere, why he's out creeping at night and he can't control himself or he just, whatever, but how did this happen? These families, just like you would want to know if something happened.

Franklin: I don't creep at night, [unclear: "by the hand"].

Detective: We'll talk about that in just a second. We know an awful lot about you. Probably much, much more than you realize. Especially since the comment you just made. That you don't creep at night.

Franklin: I have a place where I go. I have a girlfriend.

Detective: Where is that?

Franklin: I guess you know. Buckingham.

Detective: Okay.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] [Unclear: "I'm around Tom Ira."]

Detective: We also know that you cruise Western Avenue looking for whores every night. Every night.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] Well, not every night.

Detective: You were out there last night. The cops shined their light at you and you [unclear: "used to get addled on"] home. You were out there a couple of nights ago, Saturday night.

Franklin: Oh, I saw the cop when he shined his light on me. I was on 48th and West. because I pulled over to use my... If he didn't notice, I was using my cell phone.

Detective: What was it Saturday? What was it Saturday?

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] Saturday?

Detective: Out there 41st and Western.

Franklin: I was with a friend that night.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] His girlfriend.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] That was...

Detective: Okay. Let me stop you right there. Because I don't want to hear your bullshit. I'm not going to waste my time in here. Listen to bullshit about it. Talk on the phone. [captions add: "and this, that and this. How are we going to"] How are you going to explain away your one and only on earth DNA attached to all these young ladies over a 25 year period?

Franklin: I can't explain it.

Detective: You've seen the billboards up on Western Avenue with the reward and all the faces... these faces right here.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] Oh, you've seen the billboard where there's one right at 91st and Western.

Detective: I hope you haven't seen the news over the last several years. You know what the news calls you? You tell me what the news calls you. Well, damn well you know. I mean, you watch the news at night, you watch TV on cable. What do they call them?

Franklin: The reaper?

Detective: The what?

Franklin: The reaper, grand reaper, something like that. The Grim Sleeper. I know, something like that. I saw it on TV, I look at TV [in every room there].

Detective: Of course you do, of course you do. Here we are, sitting here, Paul and Dennis are sitting here having a chat with the Grim Sleeper, and that is Mr. Lonnie David Franklin Jr.

Franklin: [From captions: "It's not me, man. Sorry, it's not me."]

Detective: Okay, can you tell me how all of your DNA got on every one of these gals?

Franklin: I have no clue. I've never been with these girls. I don't know how my DNA got there.

Detective: Well, you're laughing. This was not a funny...

Franklin: No, when you tell me something like that, you know, I wasn't with them.

Detective: Okay, well then how did your DNA juice get on these bodies?

Franklin: I don't know.

Detective: Well, I mean, you've watched all these shows. I'm sure you've watched all these crime things, and about how the modern technologies and the DNAs and, I mean, how does it happen? I mean, it's not like, he said, it's not just something, we didn't pick your name out of a hat. We did not pick your name out of a hat. Just like he says, your signature, your little DNA, all your little markers comes back to all these women that are staring at you right now. And every one of them has a family, just like you've got a wife and children, and they deserve an answer as to what happened to their lives. And I kind of agree with them. I've met with the families many, many times over several years and some of these people have lived with the unknown for 25 years. And I think you deserve, they deserve an answer from you.

Detective: I mean you're not going to wiggle out of this. There is no way in hell that this is going to, you're going to wiggle out of this. Your DNA signature is on every one of these daughters here and you're going to sit here and say I don't know, I don't know and last night I pulled over to talk on the cell phone. I mean come on. Lonnie.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] I know what I did because me and my girl, I just left my girl's house and we were talking and that's when she called me.

Franklin: I already got one ticket for talking on the cell phone. So I pulled over and I was talking to her. This happened to pull over by a worker.

Detective: Whether you did or not is really pretty interesting. That's the minor thing, Lonnie.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] I saw a girl out there.

Detective: Lonnie, Lonnie.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] You could ask her.

Franklin: [speaker attribution uncertain] Did I say anything to her?

Detective: That's an issue right now. That is the minor thing. You have much bigger problems than whether or not you were going to get a ticket for talking on a cell phone in the dark. This is your problem and I guarantee you, Lonnie, we're going to do everything in our power that you never see the light of day outside of a prison again. You understand that?

Franklin: I understand that.

Detective: That means you're not going to see Crystal unless you're talking to her through plexiglass windows. [captions add, probably Franklin: "but I have nothing to do [with it]"] You're not going to see Sylvia. You're not going to see... You've worked on your last car. You know, you've instantly become a billboard celebrity off Western Avenue. Unless you start talking and tell us what... What happens to Mr. Lonnie Franklin to cause this to happen? What goes on? And I mean, are you two different people or something? I mean, is there another little side of Lonnie Franklin that we're unaware of that snaps in the middle of the night every couple of years and goes out and kills somebody?

Franklin: I haven't killed anybody, so I'm not even tripping on that.

Detective: One of these gals has survived, and she's going to have a grand time sitting in a courtroom looking down at a man that did her some terrible, terrible things years ago. You know, these girls, they can't talk, but we got one that can. Well, they talk. They talk through the evidence that points at you. Lonnie.

Franklin: Yes, sir.

Detective: You're 50, what? You'll be 58 next month, right?

Franklin: Correct.

Detective: You know, I say you're not going to be getting out. I mean, now is the time to sit there so that at least us and the twilight of our careers can go back to these family members with an explanation. Don't you think they're owed that? Wouldn't you be owed that if someone was showing a picture of Crystal?

Franklin: Yes.

Detective: That's what they deserve. You're done. The life as Lonnie Franklin knew it is over. You've gone to your last pizza party down at Buena Park. You've trolled Western Avenue for the last time. You've seen fireworks for the last time. your lady friend at Buckingham and King, you've seen her for the last time. You think once you're locked up, they're really gonna care where Lonnie is? They're gonna move on with their lives as well they should. They're gonna be tainted as being relatives of the grim sleeper. Their lives, your own family's lives are gonna be changed tremendously after today. I know you're a gentleman and I can tell by talking to you this morning and when we met you out the house earlier and I know that you have a conscience and you have a soul and you inside have a problem and that problem has caused all of these tragedies to happen, but along the way you left your mark and I'm sure that wasn't by design that you left your mark, but like I said earlier, science in 2010 has caught up with something that you did in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2002, 2003, 2007.

Detective: all these years that have gone by finally is probably a blessing to you. Science has finally stopped what Lonnie Franklin inside can't control and that's what brought us to today and I know that you're an intelligent man, that you have a conscience, that you have a soul inside and that I think you wanna tell us, you wanna tell these family members or these young ladies that can't talk anymore that you're sorry and that you just don't, you don't know how this happened, but I don't know. You got it, you got to open up and tell us. I mean, we don't have all of the answers yet, but we're working on it. So what's the deal, [Lonnie]?

Franklin: There's no... I mean, I don't know any of these people. I'm sorry.

Detective: Okay, well, okay, I'll give you that. Maybe you don't remember their faces. So if these were all the same young Black female face of your daughter, and every one of them has your DNA juice on their body that only belongs to you, how does that happen? How did that... I agree, you probably don't know their names. You probably wouldn't remember them if they came up to you the next day after you had sex with them or whatever. But, I mean, you picked up trash for a living in alleys, didn't you? But you're dumping them like they are trash. You're disposing of these young ladies in the alley or in the trash bin, and then you're piling stuff on top of them, and they're trash to you. And so, I mean, how do you get there in your brain? How does that happen, without something inside you that's causing you some terrible, terrible struggle going on inside the body of Lonnie Franklin, that's leaving all this juice everywhere? I mean, this isn't something that your neighbor did, or your son did, or your uncle or brother-in-law. This is something you did. Talk to us, Lonnie.

Franklin: I don't know these people.

Detective: And do you think that's just gonna make it go away?

Franklin: Well, I didn't say it was going to make it go away. I just had to [get an attorney], because I didn't know none of these [pictures / people], so it wasn't [as simple as] that. I had to [get an attorney]. [Whisper heard "get it out of turn"; captions read "an attorney".]

Detective: Alright.

Franklin: I don't know what else to say.

Detective: It's all going through his head right now man, he's just looking at his future, thinking of his past and what has he done. Well, he guesses he wants an attorney now, so. Okay, Lonnie, this is what's going to happen. You're going to be arrested for murder. You have ten counts of murder filed against you, along with an attempt murder on the young lady that was survived. You're going to be taken down to the court. There will be an arraignment tomorrow. And then just stand by. When they booked you this afternoon, there's a search warrant going on at your house right now. There's police, people, a lot of different people searching your home right now. Also added on the search warrant is some things from your body.

Detective: They're going to take a little blood from you, they're going to take a swab from your mouth, and that's by order of the court. So, on the booking process, that's going to take place as well. So, that's all. We respect your request to have an attorney. And that's that. So, any questions?

Franklin: No questions.

Detective: All right. We're not done yet. You told them to search warrant. I did. OK. As part of that search warrant, we're going to collect some of your saliva. [Unclear.] OK. So we're bringing over the little swabs. We'll take care of that. And then we'll have her take her over. I'm going to check on the book, the other thing going on. Am I going to take care of this?

Detective: [speaker attribution uncertain] Yeah, let me talk to you real quick. ---