Valerie Louise McCorvey, 35, was found dead July 11, 2003, on Denker Avenue between 108th and 109th streets in the Westmont area of Los Angeles. The cause of death was ligature strangulation and the death was ruled a homicide.

McCorvey was later identified as one of the victims of the serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper, Lonnie David Franklin Jr. Franklin was arrested July 7, 2010, after DNA linked him to multiple murders, including McCorvey’s. At arrest he was 57 and a former city trash collector and vehicle mechanic who had worked at an LAPD station; he was charged with ten counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Prosecutors noted he was eligible for the death penalty.

McCorvey’s killing, and the other murders attributed to Franklin, drew attention to how DNA evidence connected the cases and to broader concerns raised by investigators about the circumstances surrounding some offenders’ early releases. Does anyone have memories of McCorvey or information about her life in Los Angeles?