Serial Murderer in Cleveland OH?

[SaraSidle]

http://www.woio.com/global/story.asp?s=11412465

[beemer]

Thanks for the link Sara. My gawd the laws just have to get up to speed. I wish they were locked up for life-their natural life. Think how many lives would be spared to date if never freed

[SaraSidle]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/30/...ies/index.html

6 bodies found buried.

[Kittilicious]

Lets hope they don't find anymore...

It doesn't really say (unless I missed it) but I wonder what type of neighborhood the house is at... you would think if it was in the city, 2 bodies upstairs would have drawn some attention from neighbors.

[BeastofBears]

Why are the Powers that Be so in love with "rehabilitation"? Once a Sick Freak, always a Sick Freak, imo. Too bad so many people die to prove it over and over again

[Kittilicious]

I am a firm believer that when they are in prison, the only rehabilitation they get is from other inmates - learning stuff they didn't know before they went in.

[SaraSidle]

I too was wondering about the odor. I guess he did not have guests over.
I too am in a city and my neighbors would notice. Their dogs would notice.
IMO

[BeastofBears]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

I too was wondering about the odor. I guess he did not have guests over.
I too am in a city and my neighbors would notice. Their dogs would notice.
IMO

I'll look for the link, but I read this morning that there is some kind of pig farm/factory in the neighborhood, so they are used to stank, one neighbor said...

eta: here you go, comment #8 http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-bodies-...,3291855.story

NEWS! THEY CAUGHT HIM! http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-bodies-...,3291855.story

[SaraSidle]

You were on top of that one BoB. good deal

[SaraSidle]

http://www.fox8.com/

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

You were on top of that one BoB. good deal

http://www.fox8.com/


update

[samanthajane13]

Officers had visited Ohio home where bodies found
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press Writer Thomas J. Sheeran, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 2 mins ago

CLEVELAND – As a registered sex offender, Anthony Sowell checked in regularly with law-enforcement authorities, who also monitored him by making home visits.

But since Sowell wasn't on parole or probation, they didn't have the right to enter — until Thursday when they had search and arrest warrants after a woman said he had raped her there. That's when they discovered badly decomposed bodies in the house.

By Sunday, authorities had determined there were six bodies, all of them women, and each was the victim of a homicide.

Officers had last visited Sowell at home as part of his sex-offender monitoring on Sept. 22, just hours before the woman reported being raped there.

The three-story house with neat white siding is in a crowded inner-city neighborhood of mostly older houses, some boarded up, and small corner stores. The windows on the third floor, where the first two bodies were found, were wide open Sunday as a slight breeze blew. Some neighbors said a bad smell came from the house several months ago, but they thought then that it might be natural gas.

At least five of the women apparently had been strangled, said Powell Caesar, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County coroner. Decomposition made it difficult to determine how the sixth died, he said.

The bodies "could have been there anywhere from weeks to months to years," Caesar said.

None of the victims has been identified. Two were black, but the race of the others hadn't been determined, Caesar said.

Sowell, 50, previously spent 15 years in prison for choking and raping a 21-year-old woman who was lured to his bedroom in 1989, police said. He was arrested Saturday when officers spotted him walking down the street in his neighborhood.

The first bodies were found Thursday night when police went to arrest Sowell on new charges of rape and felonious assault, but he wasn't home. The woman in that alleged attack said she knew Sowell, and he raped her at the house.

Court records and jail officials had no information about whether Sowell had an attorney. No charges have been filed regarding the bodies.

The gruesome discovery left some in the community concerned about women who hadn't been seen in a long time. Ida Garrett, 72, who walked to church Sunday just one block from Sowell's house, said she was worried that a friend who went missing six months ago might be among the dead.

The friend, 43-year-old Nancy Cobbs, lived one street away from Sowell. She was reported missing in April, and her family told police they fear she is among the victims.

"She seemed to be a very nice, quiet girl," Garrett said. "I've known her since she was a teenager."

Clovice Ramsey, minister at All Nations Deliverance Ministries in nearby Maple Heights, held a "PEACE" sign on a corner within sight of the Sowell house and said the discovery of the bodies had damaged people's trust in law enforcement.

"They don't see the system working for them," Ramsey said. "They are not keeping a watch on him."

Sowell often walked around his neighborhood asking for money and looking for scrap metal to sell, neighbors said.

He returned to the family home in 2005 after his release from prison. The house was owned by two of Sowell's relatives, including a woman — described by neighbors as either Sowell's stepmother or aunt — who maintained it.

Neighbors said the woman moved into a nursing home after Sowell was released from prison. Teresa Hicks, a neighbor, said people feared that she might be dead. Police were looking into her status.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091102/...ZpY2Vyc2hhZHY-

[samanthajane13]

Inquiry of 6 bodies in Ohio focuses on 8-9 women
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press Writer Thomas J. Sheeran, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 41 mins ago

CLEVELAND – Investigators trying to identify the bodies of six women found in the home of a convicted rapist are focusing the inquiry on eight or nine missing women, the coroner said Monday.

It could take days or weeks to identify the bodies using dental records or DNA mouth-swab samples from relatives. Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller said his office has begun the "arduous" process of collecting materials from dentists and relatives.

The six women were black and five of them had been strangled, authorities said. The cause of death of the sixth hadn't been determined.

The investigation will pay close attention to missing women who were living alone, were homeless or had drug or alcohol problems, Miller said.

The bodies were discovered last week after a woman reported being raped at the east-side home of 50-year-old Anthony Sowell.

Armed with search and arrest warrants, police went to the home Thursday to arrest Sowell on a rape and felonious assault warrant. He wasn't there, but police found two bodies. Police found the other remains on Friday and arrested Sowell on Saturday.

Sowell hasn't been charged in the rape investigation or in connection with the bodies. Court records and jail officials had no information about whether he had an attorney. Police typically have 72 hours — in this case it would be until Tuesday — to charge or release a suspect.

Detectives will seek a warrant to take a DNA sample from Sowell in connection with the homicide investigation, police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho said Monday. Investigators also will track his residence history back four years to the time of his release from serving a sentence for rape.

Police will look at unsolved homicides with similarities to see if there are connections to the case, Stacho said.

Police don't believe the Sowell property has more bodies, but Stacho said investigators would send a cadaver dog to the house.

Sowell served 15 years in prison for choking and raping a 21-year-old woman in 1989.

He was a registered sex offender and, after his release from prison, was required to check in regularly at the sheriff's office, which said he complied. Officers also visited his home, most recently on Sept. 22, just hours before the woman reported being raped there.

The three-story house sits in a crowded inner-city neighborhood of mostly older homes, some of them boarded up. Some neighbors said a bad smell came from the house several months ago, but they thought it might just be natural gas.

Sowell often asked for money and scoured the neighborhood for scrap metal to sell, neighbors said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091103/..._s_home_bodies

[Kittilicious]

The neighbors thought the smell was natural gas? Nobody reported a possible gas leak?

[SaraSidle]

I still think there are more. IMO

[SaraSidle]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/03/...ies/index.html

7th victim found

[BeastofBears]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/03/...ies/index.html

7th victim found

ahhhhhh! Now there are a total of 4 more! http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571519,00.html

So many women disappearing, so little concern, apparently

[beemer]

Oh my gawd-sara you were right

[BeastofBears]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

I still think there are more. IMO

I wonder if there are more stashed places other than his house, too?

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by BeastofBears

I wonder if there are more stashed places other than his house, too?

probably outside somewhere. He took the bus a lot. going for insanity I bet

[Jadedblueeyes]

Originally Posted by BeastofBears

ahhhhhh! Now there are a total of 4 more! http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571519,00.html

So many women disappearing, so little concern, apparently

And one skull found in a paper bag in a bucket.

So this monster is also mutilating their bodies too. No telling how many he has cut up and hauled off somewhere besides the ones he has in his home.

Those poor neighbors. They thought the awful odor was a gas leak yet no one even called the gas department when they thought that, I guess.

I hope some families get a resolution and if their loved ones are there then at least they can bring them home for a decent burial.

[Kittilicious]

It's amazing that the body count can be that high and nobody suspected anything.. in the middle of a neighborhood!

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by Kittilicious

It's amazing that the body count can be that high and nobody suspected anything.. in the middle of a neighborhood!

well maybe since so many were in the backyard buried it did not smell that bad. but you are right. it is amazing that no one saw him bury them even.
Probably never had anyone over.....

[samanthajane13]

Detectives set to tear down walls of rapist's home
By JOHN SEEWER and THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press Writers John Seewer And Thomas J. Sheeran, Associated Press Writers – 56 mins ago

CLEVELAND – A convicted rapist who lived among 10 corpses was ordered held without bond Wednesday as investigators prepared to begin tearing apart walls inside the house in search of more evidence or bodies.

Anthony Sowell appeared in court under tight security, wearing a blue paper jumpsuit typically used when an inmate might be a suicide risk. His wrists and ankles were manacled, and he walked into court staggering slightly.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Brian Murphy called Sowell "an incredibly dangerous threat to the public" and said he could face the death penalty if convicted of the charges — five aggravated murder counts for the victims whose cause of death has been ruled strangling. In addition, he faces charges of rape, felonious assault and kidnapping for a Sept. 22 attack on a woman at his home.

Public defender Kathleen DeMetz told the judge that Sowell has medical problems, including a heart pacemaker and cardiac medication. He was laid off two years ago and receives unemployment compensation.

The case now goes before the county grand jury.

Police discovered the first six bodies Thursday and Friday after a woman reported being raped at Sowell's home. Investigators said they found one body in a shallow grave in the backyard. The rest were inside the house — one in the basement, two in the third-floor living room and two in an upstairs crawl space.

They found four more bodies Tuesday in Sowell's backyard, as well as a skull wrapped in paper inside a bucket in his basement.

After Sowell's court appearance, Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said investigators have finished digging through the backyard and will begin tearing apart walls inside the house Wednesday in search of more evidence or bodies.

"We're going to go bit by bit, piece by piece," he said.

The Cuyahoga County coroner hasn't identified any of the bodies but is trying to do so through DNA and dental records. The six found last week were black, and five of them were strangled.

Sowell served 15 years in prison for a 1989 rape. On Tuesday, Police Chief Michael Grath said: "It appears that this man had an insatiable appetite that he had to fill."

A crowd of around 100 people milled about and chatted near the home Tuesday evening. A short while later, around 50 people joined hands and put their arms around one another in the middle of the street and prayed aloud.

One of those in the crowd, Antoinnette Dudley, 29, lives a few houses away. She said she could smell a terrible odor like something was dead all summer. She said she saw Sowell only a few times, mainly drinking beer while he sat on his porch.

"I didn't think he was that sick," she said.

As a registered sex offender, Sowell was required to check in regularly at the sheriff's office. Officers didn't have the right to enter his house, but they would stop by to make sure he was there. Their most recent visit was Sept. 22, just hours before the woman reported being raped.

For the past few years, Sowell's neighbors thought the foul smell enveloping their street corner had been coming from a brick building where workers churned out sausage and head cheese. It got so bad that the owners of Ray's Sausage replaced their sewer line and grease traps.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/..._s_home_bodies

[samanthajane13]

Authorities: At least 11 victims at Cleveland home

CLEVELAND – Authorities say they have confirmed a total of at least 11 victims whose remains were found in the Cleveland home of a sex offender.

The Cuyahoga County coroner's office said Wednesday that a skull found in a bucket in Anthony Sowell's basement belonged to a body they have not yet found.

Authorities also say they have identified one of the victims as 52-year-old Tonia Carmichael, who disappeared a year ago.

Police Chief Michael McGrath says her remains were buried in the back yard and had marks indicating she was strangled.

Carmichael's daughter Markiesha Carmichael-Jacobs says her mother struggled with drug addiction and frequented Sowell's neighborhood.

(This version CORRECTS the victim's age to 52, instead of 53.)


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/...d_bodies_found

[samanthajane13]

Nightmare hid in Cleveland block short on dreams
By VICKI SMITH and MEGHAN BARR, Associated Press Writers Vicki Smith And Meghan Barr, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 29 mins ago

CLEVELAND — The run-down Cleveland neighborhood where 50-year-old Anthony Sowell quietly carved out an existence is the type of place where women can disappear almost in plain sight.

Where crack users sneak into vacant houses to do drugs, have sex, then steal copper pipes and wiring to make a few bucks.

Where no one asks a lot of questions, even about the smell of rotting meat that came when the wind blew a certain way. Some likened it to the smell of death, and it seemed to follow Sowell around.

No one is sure how long Sowell, a registered sex offender who would offer free barbecue to the neighbors, had been living in his three-story house with corpses lying around, many of them black women who had been strangled. Police have now recovered 11 bodies from the home on Imperial Avenue, in the living room, crawl spaces and backyard graves. There was even a skull in the basement.

But if Sowell's street is seedy, it's far from abandoned. Occupied homes are sandwiched between vacant, boarded-up houses and scattered small businesses with a steady stream of customers.

"We're not talking about some desolate area, some abandoned barn," said Councilman Zach Reed, whose mother lives a block away. "How did somebody get away with this in a residential neighborhood?"

Even residents seemed unfazed by the disappearances: They say many of the women were known prostitutes or drug users. But relatives of presumed victims charge that police ignored their missing person reports.

"They told us to go home, and as soon as the drugs are gone, she'll show up," said Markiesha Carmichael-Jacobs, whose 53-year-old mother Tonia, a drug addict, vanished Nov. 10, 2008. Police identified her Wednesday as one of the victims, saying her body was found buried in the backyard with marks indicating strangulation.

"It's hard to imagine," Carmichael-Jacobs said as she stood shivering on a street corner across from Sowell's home Wednesday, "but that's what they told us to our face: 'She'll turn up.'"

Some wonder whether police just didn't look for the women because they were from the city. Or because they were black.

"There's this fear that the neighborhood has been forgotten," said the Rev. Rodney Maiden of Providence Baptist Church.

Cleveland police don't take missing-persons cases seriously if they involve people clinging to the lower rungs of society, said Judy Martin, a leading local anti-crime advocate.

Reed, the councilman, is demanding an investigation into how crime reports in the neighborhood have been handled.

Mayor Frank Jackson refused to second-guess officers or their handling of missing-person reports, but said he expected the police chief would evaluate the situation and make adjustments if necessary.

"There is still a lot of work that needs to be done and a lot of unanswered questions that need to be addressed," Jackson said. "Until the family of the victims get the closure they seek and ultimately the justice they deserve, this case will continue to be our focus."

Police Chief Michael McGrath said the city takes about 10 missing-person reports a day but typically clears at least 90 percent within 48 hours.

Chuck Cole, a landlord with rental homes in the area, said most of the women who disappeared went by nicknames, so he doesn't know who they really were. He said he sometimes saw them buying beer at the corner convenience store, or lounging on Sowell's front porch.

"He reeled them in like that with the money and, you know, promises," Cole said of Sowell.

After a while, though, the women stopped coming around.

Residents said that in retrospect the smell alone should have raised questions. It wafted down the street, sometimes forcing the sausage-shop employees who worked near to his home to abandon the store on hot summer days.

It smelled like a dead dog, they say. Like sewage. Like rotting meat.

"It was smelling so bad, horrible, putrid," said Kenneth Broader, a postal carrier who delivers mail to Imperial Avenue.

Sewage lines were replaced. Equipment was scrubbed. City utility officials even came to investigate, on more than one occasion. But the stench lingered.

Sowell was ordered held without bond after appearing in court under tight security Wednesday, wearing a blue paper jumpsuit that typically identifies inmates at risk of suicide. Although authorities initially described Sowell as a convicted rapist, they said Wednesday the conviction was only for attempted rape.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Brian Murphy called him "an incredibly dangerous threat to the public" and said he could face the death penalty if convicted of five aggravated murder counts. He also faces charges of rape, felonious assault and kidnapping after a Sept. 22 attack on a woman at his home.

After Sowell's court appearance, Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said investigators have finished digging through the backyard and would begin tearing apart walls inside the house in search of more evidence or bodies.

The house is separated by no more than 15 feet on either side from narrow, dilapidated homes, all near small but busy local shops.

Bess Fawcett, a owner of Bess Chicken & Pizza across the street from Sowell's house, said no one in the neighborhood could imagine the crimes Sowell might have been committing behind his walls.

He was respectful and polite, always sitting on his front steps and visiting, once holding a driveway cookout and offering free food to the neighbors.

He walked the streets with different women all the time, Fawcett said, but none appeared to be with him against their will.

That changed about three weeks ago, when Fawcett spotted Sowell, naked and on top of a woman in the bushes next to his house.

"He was laying over her and I said, 'Tony, what are you doing?' He said, 'It's cool, Mr. Bess. It's cool.'"

Bess says he reported it. By the time an ambulance arrived, Sowell had gotten the woman back in his house, and he ultimately left with her in the ambulance. Police, Bess said, didn't show up until hours later. When they returned the next morning, Sowell was gone.

___

Associated Press writers Tom Sheeran and John Seewer contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/...d_bodies_found

[samanthajane13]

Memorial appears near Ohio home where bodies found



CLEVELAND – A makeshift memorial that includes a stuffed animals and sign stenciled with the word MISSING has appeared in a Cleveland neighborhood where investigators found 11 bodies in one house.

Police had said they would begin tearing apart interior walls in search of more evidence or bodies, but there were no signs Thursday morning that the work had begun.

Several pastors and a city councilman are holding a prayer rally at a local Baptist church. They say they want to console the families of the missing.

Someone has hung the sign on a chain link fence near the home of 50-year-old Anthony Sowell. The sign is decorated with five stuffed animals and a rose and holds fliers showing 13 missing women and men.

Sowell served 15 years in prison for attempted rape and is being held without bond on five counts of aggravated murder.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The discovery of 11 bodies in one home in a run-down neighborhood here has relatives of the presumed victims wondering how such a gruesome scene could have gone unnoticed for perhaps years, and they charge that police ignored their missing person reports.

The man who lives in the home, 50-year-old Anthony Sowell, was ordered held without bond Wednesday on five counts of aggravated murder.

No one is sure how long Sowell, a registered sex offender who would offer free barbecue to the neighbors, had been living in his three-story house with corpses lying around, many of them black women who had been strangled. Police have recovered bodies in the living room, crawl spaces and backyard graves from the home on Imperial Avenue. There was even a skull in the basement.

"They told us to go home, and as soon as the drugs are gone, she'll show up," said Markiesha Carmichael-Jacobs, whose 53-year-old mother, Tonia, a drug addict, vanished Nov. 10, 2008. Police identified her Wednesday as one of the victims, saying her body was found buried in the backyard with marks indicating strangulation.

"It's hard to imagine," Carmichael-Jacobs said as she stood shivering on a street corner across from Sowell's home Wednesday, "but that's what they told us to our face: 'She'll turn up.'"

Even neighbors seemed unfazed by the disappearances: They say many of the women were known prostitutes or drug users.

But some wonder whether police just didn't look for the women because they were from the city. Or because they were black.

"There's this fear that the neighborhood has been forgotten," said the Rev. Rodney Maiden of Providence Baptist Church.

Cleveland police don't take missing-persons cases seriously if they involve people clinging to the lower rungs of society, said Judy Martin, a leading local anti-crime advocate.

Councilman Zach Reed is demanding an investigation into how crime reports in the neighborhood have been handled.

Mayor Frank Jackson refused to second-guess officers but said he expected the police chief would evaluate the situation and make adjustments if necessary.

Police Chief Michael McGrath said the city takes about 10 missing-person reports a day but typically clears at least 90 percent within 48 hours.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Brian Murphy called Sowell "an incredibly dangerous threat to the public" and said he could face the death penalty if convicted of five aggravated murder counts. Sowell also faces charges of rape, felonious assault and kidnapping after a Sept. 22 attack on a woman at his home.

Chuck Cole, a landlord with rental homes in the area, said most of the women who disappeared went by nicknames. He said he sometimes saw them buying beer at the corner convenience store, or lounging on Sowell's front porch.

"He reeled them in like that with the money and, you know, promises," Cole said of Sowell.

After a while, though, the women stopped coming around.

Residents said that in retrospect the smell alone should have raised questions. It wafted down the street, sometimes forcing employees at the sausage shop near his home to abandon the store on hot summer days.

Sowell's street is lined with occupied homes sandwiched between vacant, boarded-up houses and scattered small businesses with a steady stream of customers.

"We're not talking about some desolate area, some abandoned barn," said Reed, whose mother lives a block away. "How did somebody get away with this in a residential neighborhood?"

It smelled like a dead dog, neighbors say. Like sewage. Like rotting meat.

"It was smelling so bad, horrible, putrid," said Kenneth Broader, a postal carrier who delivers mail to Imperial Avenue.

Sewage lines were replaced. Equipment was scrubbed. City utility officials even came to investigate, on more than one occasion.

But the stench lingered.

___

Associated Press writers Thomas J. Sheeran and John Seewer in Cleveland contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091105/...d_bodies_found

[BeastofBears]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

well maybe since so many were in the backyard buried it did not smell that bad. but you are right. it is amazing that no one saw him bury them even.
Probably never had anyone over.....

Apparently the "pig-related business" that neighbors had blamed for the smell was a sausage company. They had to change out their equipment several times because of the smell they did not make Inspectors should have followed their noses across the street...

[beemer]

Oh gawd i cant get this nagging thought out of my head. He fed his neighbors BBQ

[Kittilicious]

Originally Posted by beemer

Oh gawd i cant get this nagging thought out of my head. He fed his neighbors BBQ

you too, huh?

I didn't want to say it...

[beemer]

Originally Posted by Kittilicious

you too, huh?

I didn't want to say it...

I know-it felt better to get it out There was an episode of Criminal Minds where that happened. Perp was volunteering at the food line for searchers. Little did the searchers know they were eating who they were looking for That twist was a mindbender.

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by beemer

I know-it felt better to get it out There was an episode of Criminal Minds where that happened. Perp was volunteering at the food line for searchers. Little did the searchers know they were eating who they were looking for That twist was a mindbender.

that is my favorite show....

if that is true wouldn't you know it was not animal meat? I mean it was a stew on CM. please say yes!!!

[beemer]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

that is my favorite show....

if that is true wouldn't you know it was not animal meat? I mean it was a stew on CM. please say yes!!!

Luv that show too sara-especially Reed the brainiac. K-for the sake of our sanity YES!!!!!!! I guess the good part is as i allowed my thought process's to take me a step further. If it did happen-those folks will never know for sure. That eppy of criminal minds stayed with me for days. Writer's are so good.

[SaraSidle]

Originally Posted by beemer

Luv that show too sara-especially Reed the brainiac. K-for the sake of our sanity YES!!!!!!! I guess the good part is as i allowed my thought process's to take me a step further. If it did happen-those folks will never know for sure. That eppy of criminal minds stayed with me for days. Writer's are so good.

yeah that was a very good show. I have seen that episode twice and both times I get nauseous in the end for just a minute. I like hutch,reid and garcia. I would love her job and computers.

Anyways this is so gross. I cannot believe no one knew. I have no idea what a meat and head cheese shop smells like but I cannot believe it is the same. IMO

[One2Snoop]

Originally Posted by beemer

I know-it felt better to get it out There was an episode of Criminal Minds where that happened. Perp was volunteering at the food line for searchers. Little did the searchers know they were eating who they were looking for That twist was a mindbender.

Ohhhh gawd I think I'm going to be sick. I watch that show too but must of missed that episode. Did you watch the one last night with the eyeballs? Where do they come up with this stuff?

[samanthajane13]

Correction: Rapist's Home-Bodies story

CLEVELAND – In stories Oct. 30-Nov. 4 about the discovery of corpses in the home of a sex offender, The Associated Press, relying on information from the Cleveland police department, erroneously reported the criminal background of Anthony Sowell. He was convicted of attempted rape, not rape, according to the Ohio prison system and Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court documents.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091105/...JlY3Rpb25yYQ--


God knows we don't want any WRONG stuff going out about this POS...

[samanthajane13]

Neighbors of alleged US serial killer 'smelt bodies'
by Sarah Hollander Sarah Hollander – Wed Nov 4, 10:17 pm ET

CLEVELAND (AFP) – Neighbors of alleged US serial killer Anthony Sowell had apparently complained about a foul smell for years, but many believed it was coming from a sausage factory next door.

The 50-year-old convicted rapist was arraigned Wednesday on a string of murder charges as investigators examined the gruesome remains of up to 11 bodies unearthed at his home in Cleveland, Ohio.

Local councilman Zack Reed said he would push for an independent investigation into why complaints about the smell didn't lead to an earlier discovery.

"Residents are mad and they have every right to be mad," he told AFP.

Reed said his office called the public health department about two and a half years ago after a neighbor reported the smell. He wondered whether an earlier detection could have prevented some of the murders.

"I know darned well that our health department should have been able to tell the difference between the smell of a dead body and the smell of dead meat," he told AFP.

At the arraignment hearing, defense lawyers argued unsuccessfully that Sowell should be granted bail as he had a heart condition that required him to wear a pacemaker and had other undisclosed medical problems.

Prosecutors were adamant the alleged serial killer, who has already served a 15-year stint behind bars for a 1989 rape, should continue to be kept under lock and key.

"The state believes he is an incredibly dangerous threat to the public," assistant county prosecutor Brian Murphy told the hearing.

A frail looking Sowell stared straight ahead at judge Ronald Adrine as he was ordered to remain in jail pending trial on five charges of aggravated murder. Police said they expected further charges to follow.

"After 26 years on the bench, this is without question the most serious set of allegations I've ever faced," said Adrine, refusing bail due to the "gruesome nature" of the crimes and the defendant's criminal history.

The horrific murders came to light last Thursday when police went to Sowell's house to arrest him on unrelated rape and assault charges for a September attack on a woman who survived.

Sowell was not in but instead police discovered the decomposing bodies of six women over two days in the house and yard.

Four were reportedly found rotting in the back garden with other remains inside the house. Investigators unearthed four more bodies and a skull at the property on Tuesday, bringing the total number of victims to a possible 11.

"We have located 10 bodies and a singular skull," Cleveland police spokesman Thomas Stacho told AFP. "It is not known yet if the skull is an 11th victim."

The first six bodies have all been identified as African-American women and coroners are working on the sex and race of the rest with the help of an anthropologist from a local museum. At least five of the women were strangled.

None of the victims have yet been formally identified and earlier in the week worried family members clasped photos of missing loved-ones outside the Sowell house, fearing the worst.

Local ministers met with the city's police chief Wednesday to offer their support for families and friends of victims once they have been identified.

Sowell was arrested on Saturday after a local resident recognized him walking down the street and notified police. He did not try to resist arrest.

Neighbors said his family had lived for many years at the relatively well-kept house in Imperial Avenue, where he had returned in 2005 after being released from prison.

On unemployment benefits after being laid off from his job about two years ago, Sowell lived on the third floor and liked to sit on the concrete front steps at the front of the house.

He was often spotted rolling a shopping cart down the street collecting cans and scrap, said residents in the poor Cleveland neighborhood, which is dotted with vacant and boarded-up buildings.

"It's a hard pill to swallow," said Wanda Thomas, who has lived in the neighborhood for decades. "People used to look out for each other. Now people are scared," she told AFP.

Police said they planned to search vacant buildings within a half-mile radius of Sowell's home, looking for additional bodies.

Sowell's case will now be forwarded to a grand jury. He faces a possible death penalty if found guilty.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091105...lnaGJvcnNvZmE-

[samanthajane13]

Ohio woman: I got away from serial killing suspect
By VICKI SMITH and MEGHAN BARR, Associated Press Writers Vicki Smith And Meghan Barr, Associated Press Writers – 11 mins ago

CLEVELAND – A Cleveland woman said Thursday that she was choked and threatened this year by the man now charged with murder after the remains of several people were found on his property — and that she is racked with guilt for not speaking up earlier.

Tanja Doss told The Associated Press that if she had quickly gone to authorities, her best friend, Nancy Cobbs, might not be missing. She believes Cobbs might be among the 11 victims whose remains were found at Sowell's home.

Police have recovered 10 bodies and a skull from the home and yard of 50-year-old Anthony Sowell, a registered sex offender who moved back to his family's house in 2005 after serving 15 years in prison for attempted rape. He is being held without bond on five counts of aggravated murder.

Of the bodies found at Sowell's home, only two victims have been identified so far — 52-year-old Tonia Carmichael of Warrensville Heights and 31-year-old Telacia Fortson of Cleveland.

As a cold, steady rain fell Thursday afternoon, investigators re-entered the house to look for and review evidence to help them decide whether they need to dismantle walls, open floors or look elsewhere.

"Right now there's no indication that there are more bodies in the house," Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said — noting that's also what he thought Tuesday, before four more were recovered.

Area pastors urged the families of missing people to provide DNA samples that could help the coroner's office identify the remains, claiming that nearly two dozen others are still missing in the community. The coroner's office, meanwhile, tried to calm concerns by promising DNA samples would not be shared with law enforcement.

Doss, 43, said she met Sowell in 2005, right after he was released from prison. He didn't tell her why he had done time.

In April this year, she said, he invited her over for a beer. They went to the third floor of his house and were talking.

"And then he just clicked," Doss said. "I'm sitting on the corner of the bed and he just leaped up and came over and started choking me."

Shocked, she said she lay back and tried not to struggle.

"He said, 'If you want to live, knock three times on the floor.' And I knocked on the floor," she said.

Still holding her throat, she said, he told her using profanities that she could be "dead in the street" and no one would care.

He made her strip off her clothes and lay on the bed but did not try to rape her, Doss said. She said she curled up in a ball and tried to talk him down, saying things like, "Why you gotta act like that?"

Then she prayed.

Sowell wouldn't let her leave, Doss said, so she fell asleep and awoke to him acting as if nothing had happened.

"He said, 'Hi, how you doing? You want something from the store?'" Doss said.

She picked up her cell phone and pretended to call her daughter.

"I said, 'Oh, wow, my granddaughter is sick. She's got the flu,'" she said. "He asked if I wanted to go to the store with him, but I told him I had to go home. He went to the store, and I went in the other direction."

Doss didn't immediately report the confrontation to police because she had done jail time on a drug charge and assumed they wouldn't take her seriously.

"Now, I feel bad about it, because my best friend might be one of the bodies," she said.

Doss last saw Nancy Cobbs on April 20, when they celebrated Cobbs' 44th birthday with a cake. The women grew up together, and Cobbs lived in the same neighborhood as Sowell.

When Cobbs vanished, Doss and Cobbs' daughters searched abandoned buildings. They posted fliers in stores and taverns, hoping someone had seen her, and filed a missing-person report April 24.

At the time, Doss said, she didn't think about what had happened with Sowell. She assumed he had just lost his mind for a few minutes. And Cobbs, she said, didn't know Sowell.

Now, it's all she can think about.

"It goes through my mind all the time," she said. "Every time I think about it, I start shaking. I can't get it out of my mind."

Doss said she finally reported the attack to police on Monday, three days after news surfaced of the discovery of bodies.

Police did not return calls seeking to confirm Doss' report.

About two dozen clergy members rallied Thursday at Providence Baptist Church, declaring the justice system broken and saying 22 other missing people, men and women, have yet to be found.

"There have been 11 bodies found on Imperial Avenue, but where are the other victims?" said the Rev. Eugene Ward.

City Councilman Zach Reed also said he wants people to stop stereotyping the victims.

"I want us to stop this conversation that they were crack heads, they were this and that," he said. "They were people."

After the rally, Police Chief Michael McGrath said police searched their missing-persons database a few days ago and found 14 missing black women between ages 25 and 60 in that neighborhood.

Investigators are cross-referencing those missing women with the remains at coroner's office, he said. Some of the cases date back several years.

The police chief said he had no idea whether investigators would find more bodies.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Brian Murphy has said Sowell could face the death penalty if convicted of the aggravated murder counts. Sowell also faces charges of rape, felonious assault and kidnapping after a Sept. 22 attack on a woman at his home.

A message left with the county public defender's office was not returned Thursday.

___

Associated Press writers John Seewer and Thomas J. Sheeran contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091105/...90aGVyc2F5c21v

[samanthajane13]

Mistrust hinders ID of Cleveland slaying victims
By VICKI SMITH and MEGHAN BARR, Associated Press Writers Vicki Smith And Meghan Barr, Associated Press Writers – 10 mins ago

CLEVELAND – Police say there's only one way for the families of missing women to know for sure if their loved ones are among the victims found in suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell's house: Give DNA samples. But relatives with checkered pasts in the hardscrabble neighborhood seem reluctant to come forward.

Area pastors are urging families to provide DNA samples that could help the coroner's office identify the remains of eight black women, saying that nearly two dozen others are still missing in southeast Cleveland. The coroner's office, meanwhile, tried to calm concerns by promising the samples would not be shared with police.

"The only way we are going to get closure is to find out who these victims are," said City Councilman Zach Reed.

Police and a cadaver dog re-entered the house Thursday where Sowell apparently lived among the reeking, rotting corpses of 10 women and the paper-wrapped skull of another that authorities found in a bucket. The ex-Marine, who served 15 years in prison for attempted rape, is being held without bail on five aggravated murder charges.

In response to messages asking how the investigation would proceed on Friday, a police spokesman e-mailed a brief note stating only that a news release would be issued late in the morning.

So far only three victims have been identified: Tonia Carmichael, 52, of Warrensville Heights; Telacia Fortson, 31, of Cleveland; and Tishana Culver, 31, also of Cleveland.

If people are hesitant to reach out directly to police or the coroner's office, Reed said they should contact him or a pastor.

Stanley Miller, executive director of the NAACP in Cleveland, said people concerned about turning over their DNA to authorities might be reassured by the coroner's offer to use the DNA only for the purpose of identifying victims.

"People are very reluctant because they don't trust the establishment," he said. "They don't trust the police, and they are not very apt to give up something like DNA that can match you to anyone, anytime forever. That's an issue."

Powell Caesar, a coroner's office spokesman, said nobody should be alarmed about providing DNA, a painless process that involves swabbing the inside of a person's cheek. The program is voluntary, and samples from a mother or a child of a missing person are most helpful in matching genetic markers.

For those who still don't want to provide samples, he recommends they supply dental records, which are just as helpful. Relatives of missing women, in particular, can provide the coroner's office with the names of dentists who may have treated their loved ones, he said.

Meanwhile, a court document based on a 2005 interview with Sowell said the chances of him sexually assaulting another woman were supposed to be low, a newspaper reported Thursday night.

The interview was done for Cuyahoga County Common Pleas court to determine whether Sowell was a sexual predator, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland said. It's standard procedure for sex offenders just released from prison.

The evaluation said that of 100 offenders with criminal histories similar to Sowell's, six would commit another sex crime within five years of being released. But the report cautioned that the estimates do not directly correspond to the individual but to the person's risk group.

Sowell said during the court interview that a woman gave birth to his daughter in 1978. He also said got married in 1981 and divorced in 1985.

Near Sowell's home, a plywood memorial hangs from a chain link fence, the word MISSING stenciled in black. Five stuffed animals and an artificial rose adorn the sign, which holds fliers showing 13 missing women and three men.

The fliers reflect not just fears that their bodies might be on Sowell's property, but also community members' frustrations with how they say police treat missing-persons reports from their downtrodden neighborhood.

Some of the missing are women who lived on society's fringe. Some were active or recovering drug users. Some had gone to jail, producing criminal records their families believe are the reason police didn't take their disappearances seriously.

Gloria Walker was 43 when she disappeared May 20, 2007. She was an alcoholic and dabbled in drugs, said her aunt, Sandy Drain.

"I think police looked at it as, 'Oh, just another drug addict gone," said Drain, who now cares for Walker's two sons, 16 and 26.

Janice Webb was on her way to a Father's Day gathering with her family when she disappeared, said fiancee Ronnie Bowie of Lakewood. Her grandmother lives in Sowell's neighborhood.

Webb, the 47-year-old mother of a grown son, was a drug user, but had a good heart and would "give you the world," Bowie said.

"She did things I wasn't proud of," he said. "That still don't give nobody the right to kill."

Though Bowie disapproved, Sowell's neighborhood was one of the areas Webb frequented. Bowie says he went to police in Lakewood to report his fiancee missing, but they refused to take it because she was an adult.

"They said, 'I'm sorry about your loss. But she's a grown woman.'"

Later, he went back with her sister, but they still wouldn't listen.

"If I was rich," he said, "they'd have been looking for her."

___

Associated Press writers John Seewer and Tom Sheeran contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091106/...d_bodies_found

[samanthajane13]

Neighbors: Suspected serial killer seemed harmless
By MEGHAN BARR and JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press Writers Meghan Barr And John Seewer, Associated Press Writers – Fri Nov 6, 4:26 pm ET

CLEVELAND – The man who lived in the house of rotting corpses never gave people a reason to wonder what he was really doing behind closed doors.

Anthony Sowell was the guy who liked to sit on his front steps drinking King Cobra Malt Liquor for $1.50 a bottle, sometimes in the company of a woman. He was the guy who hung around the corner convenience store bumming change off his neighbors. He was the guy who scrounged around sidewalks and backyards for empty cans and scrap metal to sell.

The suspected serial killer seemed so harmless that when he invited neighbors over for a barbecue in his driveway, they came. So benign that when he beckoned women inside his house that smelled of death, they apparently went willingly.

"If it's up to the people in the neighborhood, he probably never would have got caught," said 52-year-old LaBaron Simpson. "Because he didn't cause no problems around here."

The house where the authorities say 50-year-old Sowell lived among the reeking corpses of 10 women and the paper-wrapped skull of another was silent on Friday, and investigators say they have no plans to resume searching for additional remains. The ex-Marine, who served 15 years in prison for attempted rape, is being held without bail on five aggravated murder charges.

So far only four victims have been identified, including 43-year-old Nancy Cobbs, of Cleveland, whose name was released Friday. Others already identified are Tonia Carmichael, 52, of Warrensville Heights; Telacia Fortson, 31, of Cleveland; and Tishana Culver, 31, also of Cleveland. The city coroner's office is combing through DNA samples from the families of missing women to identify more remains.

Unbeknownst to most neighbors, Sowell was a registered sex offender who checked in with authorities from time to time and fooled people into believing he was just another guy trying to scrape out a living.

The only distinguishing physical characteristic about Sowell, who is about 5-foot-11 and weighed 160 pounds, is a scar under his left eye.

He smelled pretty bad, but then a lot of hard-up folks in this rough Cleveland neighborhood smell less than clean, people say. And even when a terrible, rotting stench wafted down the street and past his house, people didn't think Sowell was the source. Instead, they pointed fingers at the sausage shop next door.

"Nobody could imagine that this man was capable of doing what he was doing," said Fawcett Bess, owner of Bess Chicken & Pizza, a restaurant across the street from Sowell's house. "He always showed respect to you — 'good morning' and 'good evening' and that kind of thing."

The portrait of Sowell's early years is hazy, and no record of his birth could be found.

Court papers show he claims he fathered a child in 1978 with a woman who was not identified. He also said he was married in 1981 and divorced in 1985, but did not name his ex-wife.

In January 1978, when he was 19, Sowell joined the Marines, where he became a rifle sharpshooter and won two good conduct medals during stints in Cherry Point, N.C., Okinawa, Japan, and Camp Pendleton, Calif. In 1985, having risen to the rank of corporal, Sowell left the service.

A few years later, back home in Cleveland, he committed his first known attack.

Records of that 1989 assault show Sowell took a 21-year-old woman to his Page Avenue home, pushed her down on the bed and started to choke her. When she tried to scream, he said: "You can scream all you want, nobody is home."

He sexually assaulted the woman twice, gagged her, threatened to kill her and tied her up with a necktie, the report said.

Because of the viciousness of the crime, the parole board repeatedly denied him early release. In a parole hearing, he owned up to a drinking problem and said he'd been drinking the day of the assault.

The prison system gave Sowell excellent grades, however, for his attitude, initiative and dependability at his kitchen job. "Works well w/all staff & where ever needed," according to a July 22, 2003, inmate evaluation report sent to the parole board.

Upon his release in 2005, Sowell moved into the Imperial Avenue home owned by his father Thomas — who had died two years earlier — and Thomas' wife, Segerna.

Neighbors say Segerna Sowell was often sick, and some believe she moved into a nursing home. Though others had wondered if she was among the dead, police Lt. Tom Stacho confirmed Friday that Segerna Sowell "is alive and well in Cleveland."

Despite Sowell's quiet presence in the neighborhood, he was known to behave strangely at times.

We'd catch him talking to himself," said Martin Lloyd, who hired Sowell off the street to help rehabilitate houses, but fired him six months later for stealing tools. "Sometimes he'd just yell out loud."

The city's public defender says Sowell was laid off two years ago, but it was unclear what kind of work he had been doing. For a while, he was collecting unemployment checks.

Sometimes, neighbors say, they saw Sowell dragging garbage bags down the street.

Although his home was in a crowded neighborhood, his backyard — a burial site for five victims — was obscured by trees and a fence. Alongside the fence stood a trash bin that would start to smell about once a month, said neighbor Robby Adams.

"It would get really, really bad," he says, "and it would go away after they emptied the Dumpster."

___

Associated Press writers Vicki Smith and Tom Sheeran contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091106/...lnaGJvcnNzdXM-

[BeastofBears]

Originally Posted by SaraSidle

that is my favorite show....

if that is true wouldn't you know it was not animal meat? I mean it was a stew on CM. please say yes!!!

Humans apparently taste just like pork because we are both omnivores. Well, this would be beyond sick.