STATE : Man Gets Life Term in ’69 Murder
Calling him a “depraved and wicked man,” a judge today sentenced George Franklin Sr. to life in prison for the 1969 murder of his daughter’s playmate in a case reopened when Franklin’s daughter suddenly remembered witnessing the crime.
Franklin, 51, was brought to justice when his daughter, Eileen Franklin-Lipsker, came forward in 1989 to tell authorities that she had recalled the slaying after repressing the gruesome memory for two decades.
When asked if he wanted to make a statement before sentencing, Franklin told San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Thomas McGinn Smith, “I am innocent of that of which I have been convicted.”
But Smith gave Franklin the maximum sentence allowed by law. Franklin, convicted of murder Nov. 30, will be eligible for parole after serving seven years in prison.
He avoided a life sentence without parole or the death penalty because the crime occurred before the death penalty was reinstated in California.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
