killer s dna from the crime scenes. was it possible it was here as well? we are on the cutting edge of this technology. reporter: jill says forensic scientists recently developed a powerful investigative weapon. computer software that can find similarities between crime scene dna and the dna of a convicted felon. if a killer s dna is not in the data base, maybe a relative s is. only convicted offenders we compare to and not arrestees in california. reporter: two years ago detectives ran the killer s dna searching for a link but no match. then a major break. last year criminalists entered the dna of a man recently convicted of a felony weapons charge. his name was christopher franklin. months later detectives ran the grim sleeper killer s dna again for the second time hoping for a match to a family member. they got it. detectives zeroed in on christopher franklin s father.
2004. police had the serial killer s dna for the crime scenes, was it possible it was here as well? we re on the cutting edge of this technology. jill sprigs who heads the lab said scientists recently developed a powerful investigative weapon, a familial dna search weapon. they can find familiar yarts between a cream scene dna and the dna of a convicted felon. it was not a convicted felon. two years ago ran the killer s dna searching for a link, but no match. then a major break, lat year criminalists entered the dna of a man recently convicted of a felony weapons charge, his name was christopher franklin. months later detectives ran the grim sleeper s dna again, for a second time, hoping to a match to a family member. they got it. detectives zeroed in on
arrestees. reporter: two years ago, detectives ran the killer s dna searching for a link. no match. then a break. they entered a dna of a man convicted of a felony weapons charge. his name was christopher franklin. months later, they ran the grim sleeper s killer s dna hoping for a match to a family member. they got it. detectives zeroed in on christopher franklin s father, 57-year-old lonnie david franklin, who lived in south los angeles within walking distance to one of the victims, 18-year-old alisha monique alexander. at one time, the man described as a polite neighbor even worked as a garage attendant for los angeles police. detectives were confident they found their man but before they could close in, they would need a sample of his dna. with franklin under surveillance, they picked up a piece of uneaten pizza crust along with some eating utensils. police sent it all to the lab. soon after, they say, they had a
was collected from the bodies of the victims killed back in the 80s. and so police had a dna profile of the killer. but they didn t have his face, they didn t have a name. and then suddenly, very recently, they were able to make a partial match. now it turns out that the suspect s son was convicted of a felony weapons charge. and his dna was in the system. and so using this familial dna search program, investigators came up with the partial match. they were able to take a closer look at the father. then they were able to collect his dna from actually picking up partially-eaten pizza out of his garbage can. they were able to run that dna and then bingo, they had their match, don. listen, tell me about this man. i understand he s a mechanic. and what i ve been reading, people said, according to reports, that he frequents sex worksers and those sorts of things. but he was the guy next door. i m sure no one thought he was a
and your kids know. this is the t.i. you see on the news. hit me. reporter: and this is the t.i., or clifford harris, that you don t know, with his son at his atlanta home. these are the moments t.i. missed while he was in prison for seven months serving on a felony weapons charge. good to see you again. appreciate it. much different circumstances this time. last time i was sitting down with you, there was a moment during that interview where your ankle monitor went off. yeah. is that you? yeah. i m actually doing an interview with cnn. as soon as i m finished, i ll change the battery. do you remember that moment? yeah, absolutely. i remember a lot of those moments. but you know, i remember that. i remember the one specifically you re talking about with you. they saw you in a different light, a lot of people did,