Will Grim Sleeper Ever Be Caught?

News stories from 1988 have come and gone. Even further back in our memories are the stories we heard from 1985. But during this three-year span, many newsworthy things were happening - including the murders committed by the Grim Sleeper.

During these three years, the serial killer went largely unnoticed. According to an MSNBC article, police task force assigned to investigate the crimes kept everything under the table, and this elusive team has since been dubbed the "800 Task Force" - a name which comes from the secret room they utilized for questioning and case discussion.
In 1988, the killings stopped, and the police never saw a reason to alert the public that a serial killer may be lurking in their midst.

Unfortunately, the peace that came in 1988 was recently broken. Princess Berthomieux was found on March 9th, 2002, strangled to death. Inglewood, California, would be the site of the Grim Sleeper's return. DNA matches confirmed that this murder was linked with the ones committed years ago. The case was re-opened and investigators were forced to see that the Grim Sleeper was not going away.

The death of Berthomieux did not give the 800 Task Force and other detectives enough information to track down a killer, and before the news story broke, two other women had been victimized. Valerie McCorvey, 35, was found strangled in 2003, followed by Janecia Peters, 25, who had been shot in the back.

In August, 2008, the public was finally made aware of the crimes committed by a man whom we only know as an unidentified serial killer. His victims include ten women and one man, and the only traces we have to the Grim Sleeper is DNA evidence - without a match to an identity.

Police have built a profile on the killer, and believe that he is an African-American male, in his 40s to 50s, living in the Southern Los Angeles area. The hunt for the killer has been vigorous by means of police investigation - they have recently released a 1987 emergency 911 call in the hopes that the killer can be identified.

The Grim Sleeper has been compared with serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy, Junior, Ted Bundy, and Robert Pickton.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26685444/