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The LAPD's cold case homicide unit is tracking four unsolved serial rape-murder sprees with eleven female victims, many of them prostitutes, the Daily Journal said in a story Monday. The most recent killing came in 2003. The story's focus is on the potential of DNA testing in prisons and jails to solve old homicides. There are 9,000 unsolved murders since 1960 on the books in Los Angeles.
Also in the Journal: District Attorney Steve Cooley wants the county to defend deputy DA Steven J. Ipsen, who got in trouble with the state Supreme Court for arguing two versions of a murder before separate juries. * Wednesday Update: A follow-up story in the Daily Journal says that Cooley withdrew the request, "in a baffling about-face."