Porter Alexander spent more than 20 years wondering if his daughter’s killer would ever be caught. He’s spent the last four years hoping he’ll live to see the man brought to justice.
Alexander, 74, planned to urge a judge Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court to set a trial date for Lonnie Franklin Jr., who is charged with 10 counts of murder in what have been dubbed the “Grim Sleeper” serial killings that spanned two decades.
Prosecutors are citing Marsy’s Law, a voter-approved victims’ bill of rights that extends the right to a speedy trial — guaranteed for defendants — to family members of victims. It also allows victims to address the court, and Alexander planned to vent his frustration with the system that has allowed the case to languish in court.
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A firearms expert who tested guns retired last year, so the testing needed to be done again. Medical examiners and a supervising criminalist at the coroner’s office have retired and will need to be replaced. And the mother of victim Mary Lowe died more than two years ago, depriving her of the chance Alexander and other victims’ families will have to address the court.
“It’s a waiting game,” said Alexander, whose 18-year-old daughter, Monique, was killed in 1988. “I need to keep up my strength. I hope I’m here for the ending.”
