Anthony Sowell

Anthony Edward Sowell (August 19, 1959 – February 8, 2021) was an American serial killer and rapist known as The Cleveland Strangler. He was convicted in 2011 of murdering 11 women whose bodies were discovered at his Cleveland, Ohio, home in 2009. After being sentenced to death for the murders, Sowell died in prison from a terminal illness.

Early life Anthony Edward Sowell was born and raised in East Cleveland, Ohio,

Military service On January 24, 1978, at the age of 18, Sowell entered the United States Marine Corps. 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, he spent a year overseas in Japan with the 3rd Force Service Support Group, then returned to Cherry Point.

1989 attack, incarceration, and release In 1989, a woman who was three months pregnant attempted to leave Sowell's home. He bound her hands and feet with a tie and belt, then gagged her with a rag. She told police: "He choked me real hard because my body started tingling. I thought I was going to die."

Sowell worked in a factory until 2007 when he began collecting unemployment benefits. They complained to the health department of a foul smell in the neighborhood.

Lori Frazier, a niece of Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson, began a relationship with Sowell shortly after his release from prison and resided in his home. She said she smelled decaying bodies and was told the smell was coming from Sowell's stepmother, who lived downstairs, or from Ray's Sausage Shop, located next door. A friend said Frazier stopped spending time at the home in 2008.

Discovery of bodies and arrest In September 2009, After digging in the backyard, investigators found three more bodies and partial remains of a fourth. A human skull in a bucket inside the house brought the body count to 11. Most of the victims were killed by manual strangulation and others were gagged or had ligatures on their bodies when they were discovered. He was held on $5 million bond. but was repeatedly delayed: first to September 7 to give his attorneys more time to prepare, then to May 2 at the request of his attorneys who needed more time to examine thousands of records and hours of surveillance video footage shot from the property next door to Sowell's,

Conviction, sentencing, appeals, and death Sowell was charged with 11 counts of aggravated murder and 74 counts of rape, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse. He pled not guilty by reason of insanity but later changed his plea to simply "not guilty." On July 22, 2011, he was convicted on all but two counts, including the murders of the eleven women whose bodies were found in his house in 2009. On August 10, jurors recommended the death penalty. On August 12, Judge Dick Ambrose upheld the jury's recommendation. On September 14, he was placed on death row and imprisoned at Chillicothe Correctional Institution. In October, his new lawyers, Jeffrey M. Gamso and Erika Cunliffe of the Cuyahoga County Public Defender's office, appealed to have his conviction and death sentence overturned on 21 points, with the main three being:

that he did not receive a fair trial because of the extensive media coverage. The "media attention was overwhelming, generating thousands of news stories, and…local coverage was 'both frenzied and sustained.'" that the courtroom had been closed to the public "during an evidentiary hearing and while a jury was picked." and that he had received "lousy legal representation." "Sowell's trial attorneys should have had their client plead guilty to killing the women and then focus their efforts on preventing Sowell from getting the death penalty."

On April 5, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments from Sowell's appellant attorneys and the Cuyahoga County assistant Prosecutor representing the State of Ohio regarding the merits of the closed pre-trial Suppression Hearing prior to trial, and the defendant's right to a fair and public trial. His lawyers argued that his Sixth Amendment right was violated by closing the Suppression Hearing to the press, and that the Court should commute his death sentence to life imprisonment as a remedy to the structural error that resulted in the violation. They also argued that counsel had made errors, and "urged the Ohio Supreme Court to send the case back to Cuyahoga County for a retrial. 'Frankly we blew it,' attorney Jeffrey Gamso told the Ohio Supreme Court."

The State argued that if Sowell's Sixth Amendment right was violated via the closed pre-trial suppression hearing, it would not have affected the outcome of the trial, as the evidence was overwhelming, and that "Sowell's attorneys were the ones who asked multiple times in his presence for the jury selection to be done privately, without cameras in the courtroom." In May 2017, he appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In October, it chose to not hear him. In February 2018, the Ohio Supreme Court denied his request to reopen his appeal. In May 2020, the State of Ohio's 8th District Appellate court denied his appeal.

On February 8, 2021, Anthony Sowell died at an Ohio prison hospital of an unspecified terminal illness.

Victims On November 5, 2009, two of the eleven victims were identified. All of Sowell's known victims were African-American women of an either slender or morbidly obese build, 10 of the 11 women were mothers. Of these victims, seven of them were between the age of 44 to 53, three in their 30's and the third was 25. The first two were in their 30s.

Kim Yvette Smith, a 44-year-old, was the first victim tied to Sowell to be reported missing in 2009. She was reported missing by her family. Her body was discovered in Sowell's backyard.

Leshanda Long (25) - went missing in August 2008, she was the youngest out of Sowells victims. Her skull was found wrapped inside a bucket in Sowells basement.

Tonia Carmichael, 53, had disappeared more than a year earlier. Her body was found buried in his 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.

Telacia Fortson, 31, had 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.

On November 8, 2009, three more bodies were identified. Crystal Dozier was a 38-year-old who went missing in May 2007. The mother of seven children, 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.

Amelda "Amy" Hunter, 47; A beautician and mother of three. Amy did not live in the area where her body was found, but did visit frequently. Her family did not report her missing until after police began removing bodies from Sowell's house. The FBI at the time was gathering information to see if Sowell may have been linked to unsolved cases in cities where he once lived.

List

Victim Name Age Disappearance 1 Crystal Dozier 38 May 17, 2007 2 Tishana Culver 31 June 2008 3 Leshanda Long 25 August 2008 4 Michelle Mason 45 October 8, 2008 5 Tonia Carmichael 53 November 10, 2008 6 Kim Yvette Smith 44 January 17, 2009 7 Amelda Hunter 47 April 2009 8 Nancy Cobbs 45 April 24, 2009 9 Telacia Fortson 33 June 3, 2009 10 Janice Webb 48 June 2009 11 Diane Turner 48 Late September 2009

Aftermath After Sowell's conviction, in December 2011, his former residence on 12205 Imperial Avenue was demolished by order of the city's leaders. He was incarcerated in the Chillicothe Correctional Institution. On January 21, 2021, Sowell was transferred to The Franklin Medical Center in Columbus, so he could begin to receive end-of-life care for an unspecified terminal illness. Sowell remained in The Franklin Medical Center until his death on February 8, 2021.

The case was profiled on the series premiere of the Investigation Discovery show Killer Instinct.

Unseen, a documentary film about the victims and survivors of Sowell's crimes, was produced and released in 2016 by Laura Paglin.

In November 2012, Sowell released a letter through the website Serial Killers Ink. The letter was to the people of Cleveland. He railed against former trial judge and newly elected Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty and addressed the issue of artwork which he had recently sent to the owner of the website.

On July 16, 2021, ground was broken for the Garden of 11 Angels memorial on the former Sowell property; it was dedicated November 6, 2021.

On July 24, 2021, five women who survived kidnappings by Sowell told their stories on Oxygen's Snapped episode "Notorious The Cleveland Strangler".