Chester Turner, Was he the worst serial killer in Los Angeles’s History?

Chester Turner, a former pizza deliveryman,  has been accused of being one of the most prolific serial killers in Los Angeles’s History. On Tuesday he was ordered to stand trial for the murder of 10 women, 2 of whom were pregnant.

These slayings had gone unsolved until 2002 when a cold case homicide until started looking into the case. When Turner submitted a DNA sample in an unrelated rape case, the sample matched those found with the women who were killed back in 1987 and 1988.

Turner, 38, is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence in an unrelated rape case. Pounders set a Nov. 15 arraignment date.

Turner’s DNA was matched to sperm cell evidence from the bodies of all the victims, said Carl Matthies of the police department’s scientific investigations division. The likelihood of the genetic profile belonging to someone other than Turner was one in one-quintillion, Matthies said.

Defense attorney John Tyre said outside court that DNA does not prove murder. “If it is his DNA it indicates he had sex with these women some time prior to them dying,” Tyre said.

Deputy medical examiner Lisa Scheinin testified that all 10 women were strangled, nine had cocaine in their systems, one was 6 1/2 months pregnant and one was between four and five months pregnant.

Via the AP

Prosecutors have not said that they were going to seek the death penalty for Turner. It is very hard in California to get a death penalty conviction. However, if he is convicted of these horrible crimes, the death penalty would be fitting in this case.