- Anthony Sowell
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Anthony Edward Sowell 
Sowell in the wanted flyer issued by the Cuyahoga County sheriff office, November 2009Background information Also known as The Imperial Avenue Murderer
The Cleveland StranglerBorn August 19, 1959 Conviction Death sentence for murder Killings Number of victims: 11 Span of killings c. May 2007–c. September 2009 Country United States State(s) Ohio Date apprehended October 31, 2009 Anthony Edward Sowell (born August 19, 1959) is an American serial killer, identified in press reports as the "Cleveland Strangler". He was arrested in October 2009 as a suspect in the murders of eleven women whose bodies were discovered at his Cleveland, Ohio, duplex at 12205 Imperial Avenue, located in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood.[1]
Sowell was charged with 85 counts of murder, rape, and kidnapping; he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but later changed his plea to simply "not guilty".[2] On July 22, 2011, he was convicted on all but two counts against him, including the murders of the eleven women whose bodies were found in his house in 2009. On August 10, jurors recommended the death penalty for Sowell.[3] On August 12, Judge Dick Ambrose upheld the jury's recommendation.[4]
Contents
Early life
Anthony Edward Sowell was raised in East Cleveland, one of three children born to single mother Claudia "Gertude" Garrison. Six other children belonging to Garrison's sister also lived in the household, having moved in after the death of their chronically ill mother. According to Sowell's niece, Garrison subjected the siblings to physical abuse while her own children watched from adjacent rooms. In one incident, Garrison forced her to strip naked in front of the other children, then whipped her with electrical cords until she bled. Sowell himself began raping his ten-year-old niece on an almost-daily basis for two years, starting at the age of eleven.[5]
Military service
At the age of 19, Sowell entered the United States Marine Corps on January 24, 1978. He attended recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina, then was further trained as an electrician at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. On July 13, 1978, he was assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, also in North Carolina. In 1980, Sowell spent a year overseas with the 3rd Force Service Support Group, then returned to Cherry Point. He was then ordered to Marine Corps Base Camp Butler in Okinawa, Japan on January 20, 1984. A year later, he transferred to Camp Pendleton in California for three days until his discharge on January 18, 1985. During his seven-year Marine Corps career, Corporal Sowell received a Good Conduct Medal with one service star, a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, a Certificate of Commendation, a Meritorious Mast, and two Letters of Appreciation.[6]
1989 attack, incarceration and release
In 1989, a woman who was three months pregnant went to Sowell’s home voluntarily. When she tried to leave, he bound her hands and feet with a tie and belt, then gagged her with a rag. The victim told police: “He choked me real hard because my body started tingling. I thought I was going to die.”[7] Sowell was charged with kidnapping, rape and attempted rape. He eventually pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted rape, and as a result he served 15 years in prison. He was released in 2005.[8]
Sowell worked in a factory until 2007 when he began collecting unemployment benefits.[7] Neighbors said he earned a living selling scrap metal.[1] They complained to the health department of a foul smell in the neighborhood.[7] He was a member of an online dating service, where he stated that he was a "master" looking for a submissive person to "train".[9]
Lori Frazier, the niece of Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson, began a relationship with Sowell shortly after his release from prison and resided in his home. She claims to have smelled the stench of decaying bodies and that she was told that the smell was coming from Sowell's stepmother and when she moved out that the smell was from Ray's Sausage Shop, located across the street from his house. There is some confusion about when Frazier stopped living in Sowell's home. In a video interview she mentions moving out in 2007, but in a published article she is said to have been living there until 2008.[10] Another article quotes a friend of Frazier's stating that Frazier stopped spending time at Sowell's home in 2008.[11]
Discovery of bodies and arrest
In September 2009[6] Sowell invited a woman he knew to his home for a drink. On September 22, 2009 she reported to police that after a few drinks, he became angry, hit her, choked her and raped her as she passed out. On October 29, police arrived at his home with a warrant to arrest him for the alleged rape. He was not there, but they found two bodies on the floor in the living room.[7] He was located and arrested two days later.[6]
The bodies of four other women were found throughout the home, buried in a shallow grave in the basement and in crawl spaces in the house.[12] After digging in the backyard, investigators found three more bodies and the remains of a fourth. Police also found a human skull in a bucket inside the house, which brought the body count to eleven.[7]
At the time of his arrest, Sowell was 50 years old. He had been living at that location for four years.[7] He was held on $6 million bond.[13] His trial was repeatedly delayed: first to February 14, 2011 at the request of Sowell's defense attorneys who requested more time to prepare,[14] and later to May 2 at the request of the prosecution due to scheduling conflicts.[15]
Victims
Anthony Sowell's victims were all poor, African-American women, many of which had histories of drug and alcohol abuse.
On November 5, 2009, the first of the eleven victims was identified as Tonia Carmichael, a 53-year-old African American woman who disappeared more than a year earlier. Her body was found buried in the backyard. She appeared to have been strangled and was identified through the use of DNA evidence. Her mother had reported her missing in December 2008.[16]
On November 5, 2009, the second victim was identified as Telacia Fortson, a 31-year-old African American woman who disappeared five months earlier. Although she had been missing since June, her mother did not report her missing until she heard the news coverage regarding the dead bodies discovered in Sowell's home.[17]
On November 8, 2009, three more bodies were identified. Crystal Dozier was a 38-year-old African American woman who went missing in May 2007. Dozier, the mother of seven children, had a criminal record and a history of drug abuse. She lived in the area where her body was discovered. Her family reported her missing to the Cleveland Police Department. This was not the first time she had gone missing, and the family accused the police of failing to investigate. The family took it upon themselves to post fliers and call hospitals.[13]
Amelda "Amy" Hunter was a 47-year-old African American woman. Hunter, a beautician and a mother of three, had a criminal record and a history of drug abuse. She did not live in the area where her body was found, but she did visit frequently. A previous injury left her unable to use one of her arms. Her family did not report her missing until after police began removing bodies from Sowell's house.[13]
Michelle Mason was a 45-year-old African American woman who was last seen in October 2008. She was a mother with a criminal record and a history of drug abuse. She lived in the area where her body was found. According to records, the police conducted a full investigation when her family reported her missing.[13]
Records of missing persons going back to Sowell's June 2005 release from prison are being searched and DNA testing is being conducted on the bodies found at Sowell's house. Protesters holding posters of missing loved ones have gathered outside his home.[1]
East Cleveland police are also reopening several cold cases from the late 1980s. The murders by strangulation used a similar modus operandi and stopped when Sowell was arrested in 1989.[18] The FBI is gathering information to see if Sowell may be linked to unsolved cases in cities where he once lived.[13][19]
Identified bodies
Name Age Date of death Crystal Dozier 38 c. May 2007 Tishana Culver 31 c. June 2008 Leshanda Long 25 c. August 2008 Michelle Mason 45 c. October 2008 Tonia Carmichael Nancy Cobbs 43 c. April 2009 Amelda Hunter 47 c. April 2009 Telacia Fortson 31 c. June 2009 Janice Webb 49 c. June 2009 Kim Yvette Smith 44 c. July 2009 Diane Turner 38 c. September 2009 References
- ^ a b c "Six bodies at US rapist's house". BBC News. October 31, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8335859.stm. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
- ^ "'House of horrors' suspect due in court". CNN. March 24, 2010. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571519,00.html. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ http://www.cleveland.com/anthony-sowell/index.ssf/2011/08/cleveland_serial_killer_anthony_sowells_sentence.html
- ^ http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/201860/33/LIVE-Judge-upholds-Sowell-death-sentence-
- ^ Serial killer Anthony Sowell began raping niece when both were children, witness testifies, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, 2 August 2011
- ^ a b c "Marine Corps says accused serial killer stationed twice at Cherry Point and once at Camp Lejeune". Havelock News. November 5, 2009. http://www.enctoday.com/news/serial-6305-havelock-killer-sowell.html. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
- ^ a b c d e f Boneand, James (November 5, 2009). "Skull in a basket as police search Anthony Sowell's home for more bodies". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6903700.ece. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
- ^ "Anthony Sowell was considered unlikely to attack again in 2005 evaluation". CBS News. 2009-11-05. http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/anthony_sowell_was_considered.html. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
- ^ Martinez, Edecio (November 4, 2009). "Anthony Sowell Cruised Sex Fetish Site While Dead Bodies Rotted in His Cleveland Home". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/02/crimesider/entry5495923.shtml. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
- ^ Smith, Ryan (November 12, 2009). "Mayor's Niece Lived With Alleged "Cleveland Strangler" Anthony Sowell and Rotting Bodies". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/11/crimesider/entry5616478.shtml.
- ^ Morris, Phillip. "Why didn't the serial killer kill her, she wonders?", Cleveland.com, 24 November 2009.
- ^ "Police discover 10 victims at Anthony Sowell's home". Cleveland Metro. November 3, 2009. http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/crews_again_digging_at_anthony.html. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Baird, Gabriel (8 November 2009). "Names put to three more victims in Anthony Sowell case". The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Live). http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/names_put_to_three_more_victim.html. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ Farkas, Karen. "Anthony Sowell, accused of killing 11 women, to go on trial Sept. 7", The Plain Dealer, 6 May 2010.
- ^ Atissi, Leila. "Trial for suspected serial-killer postponed a fourth time, now set for June", The Plain Dealer, 19 January 2010.
- ^ Kates, Brian (November 5, 2009). "Police ID first of 11 victims found decomposing in Anthony Sowell's Ohio home as Tonia Carmichael". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/05/2009-11-05_police_id_first_of_11_victims_found_decomposing_in_anthony_sowells_cleveland_hom.html. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
- ^ "2nd Victim: Cuyahoga County Coroner ID's Second Imperial Body". WIOO Action News. 5 November 2009. http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=11452010. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
- ^ "East Cleveland: Did suspected serial killer also strike in 1989?", WKYC-TV, 7 November 2009.
- ^ Roberts, Soraya (9 November 2009). "Anthony Sowell rape and murder case goes international". Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/11/09/2009-11-09_anthony_sowell_murder_case_goes_worldwide.html#ixzz0ctHtIHZ5.
External links
- Anthony Sowell's entry at Ohio's Electronic Sex Offender Registration and Notification
- Anthony Sowell – The Plain Dealer special section
Categories:- 1959 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American criminals
- African-American people
- American people convicted of murder
- American prisoners sentenced to death
- American rapists
- American serial killers
- People convicted of murder by Ohio
- People from Cleveland, Ohio
- Prisoners sentenced to death by Ohio
- United States Marines
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