$500,000 reward in serial killer hunt

LOS ANGELES, June 9 (UPI) -- Officials say the reward for information leading to the conviction of a Los Angeles-area serial killer sought in 11 deaths has reached $500,000.

The so-called Grim Sleeper has killed women in Los Angeles and surrounding LA County areas since the 1980s, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

A surviving victim in 1988 described him as a black man in his 20s between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10 and weighing about 160 pounds, the Times said.

DNA and ballistic evidence has linked the killings of 10 women and one male victim from 1985 to 2007.

All of the victims were black, and most were apparently either prostitutes or drug addicts who were sexually assaulted before being killed, the Times said.