Grim Sleeper killings: Henrietta Wright, 35, 1986

Died Aug. 12, 1986

Henrietta Wright, a 35-year old black woman, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds on Aug. 12, 1986, in an alley near the 2500 block of West Vernon Avenue in Hyde Park, authorities said.

At the time of her death, Lt. Joseph Freia, chief of detectives for the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Street Division, said he had no suspects in the killing. Wright's body was found under a discarded mattress; she may have been killed elsewhere and dumped in the alley, Freia said.

It was not until later that Los Angeles police tied Wright's death to the work of a serial killer who had first struck the previous year. She is believed to be the second of 11 victims of a serial killer known as "the Grim Sleeper."

On July 7, 2010, authorities arrested Lonnie David Franklin Jr., a 57-year old black man, at his home in South Los Angeles after police said they made DNA matches linking him to Wright's killing, as well as others dating between 1985 to 2007. 

Prosecutors said they have charged Franklin with 10 counts of murder, noting that he is eligible for the death penalty. He has not been charged in the 1986 shooting death of Thomas Steele, a 36-year old black man, although authorities believe Steele's killing is connected to the other cases.

Franklin is a former city trash collector who at one time worked as a vehicle mechanic at an LAPD station, sources said.

— Times staff reports

Map shows location of home of Lonnie David Franklin, Jr. and the locations of where the Grim Sleeper's victims were found. Click for more details.