Feb. 24--For a second day, an attorney for the man accused of being the so-called Grim Sleeper killer sought to undermine DNA evidence that ties his client to the grisly slayings.
DNA evidence has been the focus of testimony this week in the trial of Lonnie Franklin Jr., who prosecutors say is responsible for a series of slayings in South Los Angeles spanning more than 20 years.
Franklin faces 10 counts of murder in the deaths of nine women and a 15-year-old girl and one count of attempted murder.
Franklin, 63, has pleaded not guilty.
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On Wednesday, jurors once again heard from Cristina Gonzalez, a criminalist with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, who testified that DNA evidence found on the body of Lachrica Jefferson, who was found dead of two gunshot wounds in L.A.'s Westmont neighborhood in 1988, matched Franklin's DNA profile
Gonzalez had testified on Tuesday that DNA evidence retrieved from the body of 15-year-old Princess Berthomieux also matched Franklin's profile. Berthomieux was found strangled and beaten to death in an Inglewood alley in 2002.
Jurors on Tuesday also heard from Supria Rosner, a criminalist with the Los Angeles Police Department, who testified that Franklin's DNA profile matched DNA evidence found on two other victims.
Franklin's defense attorney, Seymour Amster, has sought to discredit the DNA evidence, which looms as critical to the prosecution's case.
He resumed that tack while questioning Gonzalez, presenting a series of hypothetical situations suggesting that the procedures and policies used to conduct the DNA analyses could have been faulty.
As Rosner did a day earlier, Gonzalez insisted that her analyses and those of her colleagues were sound and adhered to all proper protocols.
Prosecutors have said that all the victims were connected to Franklin either by DNA, firearm evidence or both.
Testimony will continue Wednesday afternoon.
For more Los Angeles court news, follow @sjceasar
