Real Horror On Halloween Cleveland Cops Arrest Rapist 6 Corpses Found in His Home

6 Bodies Found in Cleveland Home


Police have arrested convicted rapist Anthony Sowell, 50, of Cleveland, Ohio, after finding six bodies in his home. Sowell has lived in the house since his 2005 release from prison after serving a 15-year sentence.


Cleveland police search the porch of Sowell's home. Autopsies have been completed on all six bodies, but no cause of death has been announced.


Police had gone to the house Thursday to arrest Sowell on rape and assault charges, but he wasn't home. Instead, the officers found two decomposing bodies, which prompted a more thorough search. Here, official cars are parked outside the home on Friday.



(Oct. 31) -- A convicted rapist who fled before police arrived to arrest him on new rape charges was arrested Saturday in his inner-city neighborhood after police found six decomposing bodies at his home.

Police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho said Anthony Sowell was walking down the street on the east side of Cleveland when authorities spotted him and took him into custody.

Sowell initially denied he was the man authorities were looking for but admitted his identity as officers began fingerprinting him, Stacho said. Charges against him are pending.

Officers initially identified three bodies at Sowell's home, Stacho said. Powell Caesar, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County coroner's office, said additional remains were found and confirmed Saturday as three more bodies, for a total of six.

As of Saturday, autopsies had been performed on all six bodies but no cause of death or names were announced. Two autopsies were done Friday.

The first two bodies were found Thursday night when police went to Sowell's home to arrest him on charges of felonious assault and rape. Police say he had spent 15 years in prison for a 1989 rape.

Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller identified two bodies as black females and said one had died of a violent death ruled a homicide. No race or gender was determined for the others.

Police established a command post in the neighborhood to take missing-person reports and additional information on outstanding missing persons in the neighborhood.

Teresa Hicks, 48, was among the neighbors who said they were relieved about the arrest but left with a heightened fear of crime. She said she has known Sowell since high school.

"He was crazy," she said from her porch Saturday. "Sometimes he would just go off if he didn't have his way."
Darren Dunlap, 38, frequently visits the neighborhood to see his brother or friends. He said Sowell was known for borrowing money and looking for scrap metal to sell.

Hicks said she didn't think Sowell had a job but understood from conversations with him that he lived on a monthly check. She said she didn't know its source.

Police were checking crime reports to find matches for similarities to the 1989 rape or the most recent allegation against Sowell.
Minutes before the arrest was made, police Chief Michael McGrath tried to reassure parents that it was safe for their children to go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood if they followed standard precautions like avoiding strangers and staying in a group.
Hicks said her daughter would not be trick-or-treating.

Detectives with a search warrant found two bodies Thursday on the third floor of a duplex and began checking a fresh grave dug in the basement. The bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, suggesting they'd been in the home a long time.
Police were checking missing-person reports back to June 2005, when Sowell was released from prison.

As a convicted sex offender, Sowell was required to report regularly to the sheriff's office, which said he had complied.

What a little creep. May he rot in hell.

I can't help but think that this might bring closure to six families searching for their loved ones. So sad.

The crazy, creepy people that surround us....goes to show that compliance in registering......means NOTHING. Don't ever let them out, no reason to keep them alive.

Who is surprised? Another one that is a "role model" - for repeat offenders. This time did he kill them so they couldn't file charges? Guess he won't be getting out on parole any time soon. Poor victims, I hope their DNA will give them a voice and put him away for good, THIS TIME!

This is yet another story that makes my blood boil! This monster, & a complete waste of a human life deserves the Death Penalty. How could they release this piece of garbage? He doesn't deserve to take another breath. Why should we keep this heartless beast alive? His victims' families should be allowed to watch his execution.

This is yet another example of a sex offender being released from prison and then going on to commit murder. Something needs to be done about this. They never seem to get put away for good, or even the entire length of their sentence, until they kill somebody. I don't know the solution. If they are going to keep releasing them, maybe they should brand S.O. on a sex offender's forehead before they release them, and require them to wear an electronic tether device at all times.

I hope this discovery brings closure to the families.

One can never be too careful...Beware... the person you thought you knew is "out to lunch"...and the people you don't know are dangerous...Who can you trust???

Things have certainly changed. These days you just cannot even trust your neighbors. I've noticed a lot of people where I live are being "evicted" for not paying their rent. What does that say about their character, or lack of one? I do NOT open my door to anyone. Whenever I hear footsteps behind me, I always look around to see who's there. One can never be too careful.

Neighbor Says Police Knew About Rapist’s House

The police in Cleveland were notified repeatedly about violence in the house of a convicted rapist where the decomposed bodies of six women were found last week, a neighbor said Monday.

The neighbor of the man, who was arrested Saturday night after the bodies were found, said the police had done little, despite the calls.

Fawcett Bess, 57, the owner of Bess Chicken and Pizza, across the street from the house, said that about two weeks ago, he found the man, Anthony Sowell, in the bushes alongside Mr. Sowell’s house naked and standing over a woman who was bloodied, beaten and also naked. Mr. Bess called 911, he said, and an ambulance soon took the woman away. But the police showed up two hours later and never interviewed him, he said.

Read more: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20091103/ZNYT02/911033016?Title=Neighbor-Says-Police-Knew-About-Rapist-x2019-s-House

When do you think people are going to realize........ we can put all these laws in place..... but if there isn't the $ to fund the manpower hours necessary to carry them through, they are for nought? kh

How could authorities NOT investigate a complaint regarding "the smell of a dead body" coming from that home? Now, as most would have expected, there are more bodies being found in that home, and the yard!!!! What in the Hell is wrong with this picture?

I guess Mr. Sowell is infamous now, with the ever growing body count...is it 10 now ???...whatever happened to the ones that got away from him...surely they will be the nails to seal his fate...I can't believe that the PD didn't get him sooner...I've heard that Rape is a power thing, but I'd really like to know what these perps were thinking about before, during and after the act...castration is too good for these perps...Frontal lobotomy might work if paired with heavy doses of salt peter...of course God could condemn him with a highly potent STD...but that would not have a good outcome for his survivors...He's probably got syphilis already and lets hope not AIDS...I say, No DP for him...LWOP where he can while away the hours he has left of his miserable life...

I saw just a few minutes of NG last night, the story about the guy who had 10 bodies buried in/under/around his house. Some of the neighbors commented it “smelled like something died”, (reminds me of course of Cindy), some thought it was the meat factory nearby (reminds me of the “empty” pizza box theory), and what surprised me the most was some people said they didn’t smell anything, (reminded me of Cindy’s argument on Casey’s car, how she said some people said they didn’t smell anything in/on Casey’s car).

Suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell arraigned

Suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell was ordered held without bond by Cleveland Municipal Court Ronald Adrine on five counts of aggravated murder in the ongoing investigation into the discovery of at least 10 bodies in his Imperial Avenue home.

http://videos.cleveland.com/plain-dealer/2009/11/suspected_serial_killer_anthon.html

So far, they've found 11 bodies. Sadly, I believe there will be a lot more. I cannot understand why the authorities didn't do something about this monster long before now. Are they just being lazy? Or is it that they just don't care?

I have to wonder - why were none of these women ever reported missing? Or were they? It makes no sense for that many women to just disappear into thin air, in one area and families or friends don't notice?

I was completely baffled too, that the no one could pinpoint where that stench was coming from. If you remember how horrible the smell in KC's car was described, I would imagine the stench of 11 bodies over years would be a thousand fold worse.
However, I wonder if you have heard, the neighbors had blamed the smell on a sausage plant that was next to the house. Even the owner of the plant, stated, he thought it was something from his plant. That, at least made me feel a little less upset with neighbors there. Because before I heard this, I was thinking, OMG, what a neighborhood full of idiots.
Don't even get me started on the LE in the area though. I mean they knew a woman jumped out of the second floor window of this man's house and did NOTHING!

I remember hearing on either Nancy Grace, or Jane Velez Mitchell tonight that this monster told one of his victims that no one would miss her, because, she was just a "crack w****". I think he chose his victims because of their addictions to either drugs or alcohol. Apparently, he thought they wouldn't be missed. Sadly, it looks like he was right.

Second victim at Anthony Sowell's house identified

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A person found dead at suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell's home has been identified as Telacia Fortson, police sources said.

Fortson, 31, lived in East Cleveland. She was last seen in June, according to a missing person's report.

Sowell remains in jail facing charges of aggravated murder. Police have found 11 bodies at his home at Imperial Avenue.

Crews are expected to soon begin searching the house again for more bodies.

Authorities said Wednesday that all 11 victims were black women; eight of them had been strangled.

Fortson is the second person identified. Tonia Carmichael was identified Wednesday. Coroner's staff continue working to determine the identities of the other dead women.

Fortson's mother called East Cleveland police Saturday after she read about the bodies as Sowell's home. She told police she last saw her daughter in June. She told police her daughter used crack cocaine and was last seen wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/second_victim_at_anthony_sowel.html

Ohio Woman: I Got Away From Serial Killing Suspect

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.

Read more: http://www.kptv.com/news/21529706/detail.html