Judge sets trial date in 'Grim Sleeper' serial killings
By BRIAN MELLEY, Associated Press
Feb 6, 2015 12:20 PM CST
FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2010, file photo, Lonnie Franklin Jr. appears for his arraignment on multiple charges as the "Grim Sleeper" killer, in Los Angeles Superior Court. Relatives of victims will urge a Los Angeles Superior Court judge Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, to set a trial date for Franklin, who is...   (Associated Press)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has set a trial date in the "Grim Sleeper" serial killings after family members of the slain women urged her to speed up the case.

Judge Kathleen Kennedy set a June 29 trial date Friday in the case of Lonnie Franklin Jr., who has pleaded not guilty to 10 murder counts.

Anguished family members pleaded to move the case forward after years of delays. They angrily denounced the defendant and blamed his lawyer for dragging his feet.

Defense lawyer Seymour Armster agreed to a June date after prosecutors said they would be ready to argue about evidence at a March hearing.

Family members of the victims were allowed to testify under Marsy's Law, a victim's bill of rights passed by voters in 2008.

See 8 more photos