Henrietta Wright, a 35-year-old Black woman, was found dead on August 12, 1986, in an alley near the 2500 block of West Vernon Avenue in Hyde Park, Los Angeles. Her body was discovered under a discarded mattress and had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators suspected she may have been killed elsewhere and her body dumped in the alley.

At the time of the discovery the Los Angeles Police Department had no suspects and the case remained unsolved for years. Wright’s death was later linked to the serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper, identified as Lonnie David Franklin Jr. Prosecutors charged Franklin with ten counts of murder after DNA evidence connected him to multiple killings, including Wright’s, and he was later convicted and sentenced to death.

Wright is believed to have been the second of at least eleven victims attributed to Franklin. Her case became emblematic of concerns about how violence against marginalized women in South Los Angeles was investigated and categorized.

If anyone knew Henrietta Wright or has information about her death, please share what you know with investigators.