Cleveland Police Arrest Anthony Sowell After Officers Serving a Rape Warrant Find Women's Bodies in His Home
Six bodies had been found at the house on Imperial Avenue by the time of his arrest. The count later rose to 11, and he was indicted for 11 murders.
Published
Police serving a rape warrant at Anthony Sowell's Cleveland home found the bodies of two women, but Sowell was not there. On October 31, 2009, he was arrested.
An officer investigating a rape complaint had obtained warrants on October 28 to arrest Sowell and search his house at 12205 Imperial Avenue. When officers carried out the search the next evening, they found the two bodies in a third-floor room. The following day, with staff from the county coroner's office and a cadaver dog, they found four more in and behind the house. On October 31, a member of the public who recognized Sowell from news broadcasts saw him on Mount Auburn Avenue and alerted police, who arrested him. He at first denied his identity, then acknowledged it as officers checked his fingerprints, a police spokesman said. Sowell had served 15 years in prison for a 1989 rape and was released in 2005.
On November 3, police searched the property again and found four more bodies and a woman's skull, bringing the total to 11. DNA analysis identified the women as Diane Turner, Telacia Fortson, Janice Webb, Nancy Cobbs, Tishana Culver, Tonia Carmichael, Michelle Mason, Kim Smith, Amelda Hunter, Crystal Dozier and Leshanda Long. On December 1, a grand jury returned an 85-count indictment charging Sowell with murder in the deaths of all 11 women. He was later convicted of 11 counts of aggravated murder and sentenced to death, and the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences in 2016.
The Associated Press reported that police officers spotted Sowell walking on a street and arrested him, while the Ohio Supreme Court said he was seen by a member of the public who alerted police.
Sources
- State v. Sowell, 148 Ohio St.3d 554, 2016-Ohio-8025, Supreme Court of Ohio
- Arrestan a violador convicto tras hallar cadáveres en su casa, El Universo (AP)
- Man indicted in rotting corpses case, NBC News (AP)
Related News
- August 12, 2011: Judge Sentences Anthony Sowell to Death 11 Times for the Murders of Women Found at His Cleveland Home
- December 8, 2016: Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Anthony Sowell's 11 Death Sentences
- February 9, 2021: Anthony Sowell, Condemned for the Murders of 11 Cleveland Women, Dies in Prison Before His Execution