Tales Of The Grim Sleeper

[Primetimer]

Nick Broomfield's L.A. serial-murder doc is in fact grim -- but accidental producer Pamela Brooks is the poo, so take a big whiff.

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[Mindymoo]

This HBO documentary aired on Monday, April 27th, 2015. It chronicled the crimes of alleged serial killer Lonnie Franklin, Jr. Nick Bloomfield did a masterful job directing this documentary. He often allowed Pam, a former crack addicted prostitute, to take over. Over three decades, Lonnie is alleged to have tortured and killed anywhere between 20 and 100 women, mostly crack addicted prostitutes. The women weren't priorities of the LAPD, because they were black, mostly prostitutes and drug addicts, and when people like that die, they consider them to be "NHI", or "No Human Involved." Even though four women were shot with the same gun, with one survivor, the police didn't announce that there was a serial killer on the loose for over twenty years, allowing Lonnie to hunt these women. From interviews with friends and neighbors, to prostitutes, they all spoke of Lennie's creepy and violent behavior towards women. Handcuffing them, violating them, photographing them and sharing his exploits with his friends. 

 

While my favorite person in the documentary was Pam, the most effective part of the documentary were the stories at the end of the "unknown" survivors of Lonnie's. Women who showed up in his photos, but were actually alive who Pam and the crew managed to track down. They told stories so terrifying and awful that I was shaking. Bloomfield, through Pam, also got an interview with Lonnie's son Chris, who pretty much got his dad arrested by accident. When he was arrested and they took his DNA, they ran it through the database and found that it was closely related to the DNA of the murders. So they were able to get Lonnie's DNA, and it was a match. Chris seemed to have no illusions about his father's guilt, but was not a likable person in the least. He said that family members have cut him off for being a "snitch", even though all he did was get arrested and have his DNA swabbed and tested.

 

All in all, it was a fascinating and disturbing documentary. Probably the best one that HBO has put out this year. I can't get it out of my mind, and I feel so much for the families of these women who were murdered. Just because some of them were prostitutes doesn't mean they didn't have families and friends who loved and valued them as human beings. And the LAPD really dropped the ball on this case big time. Lonnie has been in jail since 2010, and his attorney is doing everything possible to delay the case. It's a documentary you really have to see to believe and understand how fucked up this situation is, and how terribly these victims and their surviving loved ones were treated by the police and detectives who were supposed to be out there finding the killer.

[Kat]

I rarely rewatch crime documentaries but I'm making an exception for this one. It was SO GOOD. Pamela Brooks is my fucking hero. And Margaret Prescod is pretty great too.

[Sarah D. Bunting]

And the lawyer who was like, ohhhhh so NOW witness sketches are bogus?

[CherryMalotte]

I really like Nick Bloomfield's work and this did not disappoint.  

 

Doesn't it say something that it's so horrible that these crimes went unnoticed for so many years, and at the end you understand why.  That's so profoundly depressing.   

[Mindymoo]

Doesn't it say something that it's so horrible that these crimes went unnoticed for so many years, and at the end you understand why.  That's so profoundly depressing.   

Absolutely. I was so heartbroken for the families of these women, for the fact that we will never truly know how many women there were unless Lonnie decides to confess, and that the LAPD just couldn't be bothered. Their little press conference was such a farce. There was no tireless policework that went into this case- they found it out on a fluke! And the women didn't even know they were strolling the hunting grounds for all of these years. No one cared because, as the LAPD saw it, there was "no human involved" in their murders. And for the woman who survived to not be taken seriously because must have been a prostitute because she was black? So the fuck what if she even was? A guy shot, raped, and attempted to murder her. She gave them loads of evidence on a silver platter, and it wasn't followed up on for two decades! I just want to hug all of these women's families, that attorney, and the woman who started that coalition. Such bravery in the face of adversity there.

[Aquarius]

I didn't get to see this documentary because I don't get HBO, but I would love to.  I saw a Lifetime movie about the case, which I hadn't even heard of before that (which is strange in and of itself, given how many victims there were).  I became fascinated with it and read everything I could find online.   It makes me so sad that the LAPD still has posted about 40 pictures found in Franklin's possession, of women they can't identify.  I mean, how does that happen?  :-(

 

I would love to see this documentary.  Does anyone know of a way to access HBO stuff if you don't get HBO?  I'm on Comcast - do they offer that stuff OnDemand for a fee, does anyone know?

[Mindymoo]

Do you have a friend with HBO who could lend you their HBO GO password? The CEO of HBO is actually cool with that.

[CaughtOnTape]

I didn't get to see this documentary because I don't get HBO, but I would love to.  I saw a Lifetime movie about the case, which I hadn't even heard of before that (which is strange in and of itself, given how many victims there were).  I became fascinated with it and read everything I could find online.   It makes me so sad that the LAPD still has posted about 40 pictures found in Franklin's possession, of women they can't identify.  I mean, how does that happen?  :-(

 

I would love to see this documentary.  Does anyone know of a way to access HBO stuff if you don't get HBO?  I'm on Comcast - do they offer that stuff OnDemand for a fee, does anyone know?

 

Yes.  It's called HBO Now.  https://order.hbonow.com/?camp=NowM18 You can get it free for 30 days and then pay when you're done.  I think it's fairly cheap.

[missy jo]

Thanks so much - I'm a true-crime aficionado *and* still in withdrawal from The Jinx. I also recommend When The Levees Broke to anyone who hasn't seen it, even though I broke down into ugly, wracking, uncontrollable sobs while I watched it.

[cpcathy]

As far as I know, you need an Apple device for HBO Now.

This was quite gripping, and yes, depressing. I do believe if the victims were pretty white college girls then the story would have gotten more play over the years. I think this is one of those docs that's important to see.

[Aquarius]

Thanks, everyone.  I will look into these options.  I do want to see this.

[Patrizio]

Mindy McIndy, perfect synopsis. It was a tragic story of predators and prey. Lonnie Franklin's friends were revolting too. The women at the end-horrifying. I can't help thinking that if these were predominantly white prostitutes, and drug addicts; it might not have taken cops 20yrs to catch him.

[Morbs]

I thought it was profound when the woman said she has a list of numbers for her 19 year old to call if there is an emergency and to never ever call 911.  But at the same time, it is completely insane that the son has been cut off from family members for "snitching" on his SERIAL KILLER dad.  There seems to be a devaluing of human life on both sides.  You guys might be interested in the book "Ghettoside", that's where I first heard the No Human Life thing before.

 

I'm always standoffish with this director, because I think the "Kurt Courtney" doc he did was so trashy and irresponsible, but then I end up enjoying his work.

[CherryMalotte]

I'm still thinking about this one, it really got under my skin.    

[Ororo Monroe]

I'm still thinking about this one, it really got under my skin.    

Same. I can't bring myself to re-watch it because it was so disturbing, but even 7 months later, I still think about this documentary often. Powerful, haunting work.

[LemonSoda]

I thought it was profound when the woman said she has a list of numbers for her 19 year old to call if there is an emergency and to never ever call 911. But at the same time, it is completely insane that the son has been cut off from family members for "snitching" on his SERIAL KILLER dad. There seems to be a devaluing of human life on both sides. You guys might be interested in the book "Ghettoside", that's where I first heard the No Human Life thing before.

I'm always standoffish with this director, because I think the "Kurt Courtney" doc he did was so trashy and irresponsible, but then I end up enjoying his work.

Thank you for posting about the book, adding it to my reading list.

Nick's work has been notoriously trashy over the years (Kurt & Courtney, Heidi Fleiss, Eileen Wuornos) but I think he's really redeemed himself with this one.

[Enero]

I was horrified by this documentary. People knew that this guy had issues and nothing was done. But then who could they tell if the LAPD had no interest in that area or the crimes that were happening against the people living there.

A couple of things I wanted to know more about was Lonnie's ex-wife who was a crack addict, was she dead, alive, living on the streets or had cleaned herself up? I don't believe for one second that she was the cause of his depravity. I think he was already crazy and perhaps her addiction pushed him over the edge. I also wondered about his second wife. Sounds like they didn't have much of a marriage based on what Chris' ex- girlfriend said, but if she lived with him I find it hard to believe she knew nothing.

I liked Pam and found myself wanting to know her story i.e. how she ended on the streets and how she got clean. It was sad to see as they were investigating, more young women already on the street, likely on drugs and prostituting themselves. I agree with Pam though. This isn't over. It's only a matter of time before another sick psycho start doing the same thing, maybe already has and I'm sure it'll be the same scenario with the LAPD doing nothing.

I wonder about Chris, Lonnie's son. With all he's seen, he no doubt has issues. Hope it doesn't escalate into something sinister.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Enero

[meep.meep]

Lonnie Franklin finally went on trial for some of the murders, and one attempted murder, in February of this year.  Arrested in 2010.  Justice is so swift.

[Princess Sparkle]

Lonnie Franklin was convicted yesterday on all 10 counts of murder, and one count of attempted murder.  At least those poor families finally have some justice.

[jenrising]

Lonnie Franklin got the death penalty in the sentencing phase of his trial.