Unidentified serial killer

In the 1980s, authorities identified the culprit in a string of brutal homicides in South Los Angeles as the "Southside Slayer."

The deaths of at least 10 prostitutes in 1985 were tied to this unidentified killer. Their bodies, most strangled and stabbed, were found dumped in alleys and on streets in the Los Angeles area.

"There's enough similarity in what we're finding to link them together," Lt. Ed Henderson, acting commanding officer of the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division, said at the time.

Although police have since identified five men they believe are responsible for multiple killings in the area, DNA evidence indicates at least two unidentified male serial killers also were operating in the area. Explore the map below to learn more about victims believed by police to have been slain by a serial killer.

Since the early 1980s, at least five serial killers, and possibly more, were active in the South Los Angeles area. These killers targeted mostly young African American women, dumping their bodies in alleys, vacant buildings or parks.

Click here to see a map of where authorities found the bodies of 53 victims of serial killers between 1984 and 2007.