RSO Anthony Sowell, ARRESTED ~Cleveland,OH PD found 11 decomposed bodies /10 Id'd

[Lizziebeth]

this is just nuts! Rest In Peace

[Roamer]

• • AP – Anthony Sowell, right, stands behind public defender Kathleen DeMetz during his court appearance Wednesday, …

• Slideshow:Bodies found in home of Ohio man
• Play Video Video:Raw Video: No bond set for Ohio rapist AP
• Play Video Video:Ohio coroner: 6 bodies were homicide victims AP

By VICKI SMITH and MEGHAN BARR, Associated Press Writers Vicki Smith And Meghan Barr, Associated Press Writers – 26 mins ago

CLEVELAND – 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

[LiveLaughLuv]

First victim identified in Cleveland sex offender's home
November 5, 2009 3:20 a.m. EST

Tonia Carmichael, whose remains were found at Anthony Sowell's home, went missing in November 2008.

Tonia Carmichael identified as one of 11 found slain at Cleveland home

Judge denies bond for Anthony Sowell who faces aggravated murder charges

Residents complained of "foul smell" in neighborhood for years

Cleveland, Ohio (CNN) -- Authorities have identified the first of 11 bodies found at a Cleveland, Ohio, home as a 52-year-old woman who had been missing for about a year.

Tonia Carmichael's remains were found at the home of Anthony Sowell, but the news was no surprise to Carmichael's family members.

"This is what I've been saying since Monday, when, you know, we were called to the coroner's office and since this story broke, we automatically knew that this was going to be here," said Danita Carmichael, the victim's daughter.

Tonia Carmichael was last seen on November 10, 2008, police said in a statement Wednesday. She disappeared from Warrensville Heights, a Cleveland suburb near Sowell's home, and her vehicle was found in Cleveland.

more at the link:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/05/...ef=igoogle_cnn

Rest in Peace Tonia

[RayStar]

This is unreal.

I can't understand why LE did not investigate the source of the stench.
Are there no medical field workers living on this street?
Was there never personnel from a mortuary around? I say this because I have been told decomposing bodies have a never forgetting distinctive odor.
What was LE thinking after at least the fourth or fifth victim went missing?

Roamer thanks for your early morning post. It does answer some of my very puzzling thoughts. It just seems LE judged these woman by their lifestyles and determined they were unworthy of performing a search of their whereabouts.

It just seems to me some of these women could have been saved from this murderer if LE had investigate the source of the odor.

Sorry I know I am rambling.

[LiveLaughLuv]

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.

My goodness. Imagine eating at that home, with that stench! This reminds me of Gacy and Dahmer with finding corpses all through the home. How was this missed?

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.

Ya' Think? This man has been a threat for God only knows how long. Who knows when this started? When the assault was reported in September, someone should have investigated further. Why didn't they have a warrant to search this man's home? How did they just walk away without an arrest for rape of this woman? Missed opportunities...

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.

I dont' understand how it got that far? Why didn't the Health department come out and check? If the stench was that bad, why no other residents went further? How do you just accept you live in a neighborhood that stinks? Another missed opportunity.

[Trailblazer]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33684638...-cleveland_oh/

2nd Victim Identified From Imperial Ave. Home

The Cuyahoga County Coroner's office identified a second victim from the remains of 11 bodies found at a home on Cleveland's east side.

Telacia Fortson, 31, of East Cleveland was last seen in June.

Her family told NewsChannel5 that they were notified Thursday that her body was found in the back yard of Anthony Sowell's home on Imperial Avenue.

Coroner Dr. Frank Miller said the remains were identified through DNA.

Her body was second of the first six discovered in the back yard of the Imperial Avenue home. Tonia Carmichael's body was identified Wednesday.

All 11 of the victims are African American women.

Miller said that seven of the women, all of whom died from strangulation, still had what was used to strangle them attached to their necks. He said one of the victims was killed manually, and two others died from "homicidal violence."

Miller said the slayings have likely been going on since Sowell was released from prison in 2005, meaning some of the victims could have been in the home for years.

A Cleveland police officer will be assigned to the Coroner's Office to work with investigators to determine the identity of remaining victims.

Miller is asking relatives of any missing individuals in the area to submit DNA samples to the coroner's officer so they can use their DNA database to help identify other victims.

Police said they will get DNA from Sowell to be entered into the national CODIS database.

Sowell's DNA will be compared against known suspect DNA profiles to determine whether he is a suspect in any other criminal matter.

Sowell, 50, was charged with five counts of aggravated murder as well as rape, felonious assault and kidnapping. He was not granted bond during a court arraignment Wednesday morning.

[Trailblazer]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33684638...-cleveland_oh/

3rd Imperial Avenue Victim Identified

Cleveland police said a third victim has been identified among the 11 bodies found at an Imperial Avenue home.

Police said Tishana Culver, 31, was identified Thursday by the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office. Culver, who also lived on Imperial Avenue, was not reported as a missing person, police said.

Culver's family said they hadn't talked to her in more than a year, saying they thoughy she was staying with her boyfriend in Akron.

Culver was the mother to four children.

Earlier on Thursday a second victim was identified. Telacia Fortson, 31, of East Cleveland, was the mother of three young children and had been missing since May 31.

Her family said they initially filed a missing persons report with East Cleveland police during the summer and then contacted Cleveland's 4th District on Sunday.

Her family said Fortson's body was one of two bodies found on the upper floor of Anthony Sowell's Imperial Avenue home.

NewsChannel5's Joe Pagonakis was with Fortson's family earlier on Thursday as they went to the coroner's office to give a DNA sample from Fortson's 6-year-old son.

Police said thus far only six families with missing loved ones have given DNA samples to help identify the bodies.

Police said families can also bring in dental records if they don't want to give DNA samples, but stressed that any DNA taken will not be shared with other police agencies and will be kept with the coroner's office only.

All 11 of the victims are African American women. The first victim to be identified was 52-year-old Tonia Carmichael, of Warrensville Heights.

Coroner Dr. Frank Miller said that seven of the women, all of whom died from strangulation, still had what was used to strangle them attached to their necks. He said one of the victims was killed manually, and two others died from "homicidal violence."

Miller said the slayings have likely been going on since Sowell was released from prison in 2005, meaning some of the victims could have been in the home for years.

A Cleveland police officer will be assigned to the Coroner's Office to work with investigators to determine the identity of remaining victims.

Miller is asking relatives of any missing individuals in the area to submit DNA samples to the coroner's officer so they can use their DNA database to help identify other victims.

Police said they will get DNA from Sowell to be entered into the national CODIS database.

Sowell's DNA will be compared against known suspect DNA profiles to determine whether he is a suspect in any other criminal matter.

Sowell, 50, was charged with five counts of aggravated murder as well as rape, felonious assault and kidnapping. He was not granted bond during a court arraignment Wednesday morning.

[Jute]

Originally Posted by Trailblazer

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33684638...-cleveland_oh/

2nd Victim Identified From Imperial Ave. Home

<snipped>

Police said they will get DNA from Sowell to be entered into the national CODIS database.

Sowell's DNA will be compared against known suspect DNA profiles to determine whether he is a suspect in any other criminal matter.

Sowell, 50, was charged with five counts of aggravated murder as well as rape, felonious assault and kidnapping. He was not granted bond during a court arraignment Wednesday morning.

Why isn't Sowell's DNA already in CODIS? Michigan uses the system.

Michigan authorized creation of its DNA database in 1990 with enactment of the DNA Identification Profiling System Act.5 This act required the Department of State Police (DSP) to retain DNA samples from individuals convicted of criminal sexual conduct (CSC) violations or attempted violations, as well as from individuals convicted of intent to commit
CSC. Such individuals, as well as individuals released from prison after serving sentences for such offenses, were required, by companion legislation, to submit DNA samples. The DNA Identification Profiling System Act and one
of its two companion bills did not, however, become immediately effective due to an explicit requirement in the legislation that funding be appropriated to carry out the new provisions. This requirement was repealed in 1994, and collection of DNA samples began that year.

Legislation enacted in 1996 expanded statutory provisions to require DNA samples in cases involving attempted murder, first- and second-degree murder, and kidnaping. Provisions were also expanded to require submission of DNA samples by juveniles convicted of or found responsible for one of the
offenses under the act (either upon a new conviction/finding of responsibility or upon release from a youth facility).6

From 1995 through 2000, the DSP received 2,400 to 3,300 DNA samples per year from criminal offenders for profiling and entry into the database. No offender samples were processed during this time, resulting in the accumulation of a 16,601-sample backlog at the end of calendar year 2000. The Department was awarded a $719,000 U.S. Department of Justice
grant in June 2000 to eliminate this backlog. A contract was awarded to a private laboratory to process the backlogged samples for entry into the
database, and the backlog was eliminated by the end of calendar year 2001.

<snipped>

Initiated as a pilot project in 1990, a national DNA database system—the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS)—became fully operational in 1998. This
system consists of databases at three levels: local, state, and federal. Local databases feed into state databases, and state databases feed into the national database.2 A recent report indicates that the national
database contains more than 210,000 DNA profiles from 24 states (including Michigan) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.3

Two indexes of DNA profiles are maintained within CODIS:
! The Forensic Index contains DNA profiles
obtained from crime scene evidence.
! The Offender Index contains DNA profiles of
individuals convicted of criminal offenses, as
determined by state statutes.

When a DNA sample is received by a forensic laboratory, it is processed to create a profile that reflects certain specific characteristics of the DNA,
which can then be entered into a database. As profiles are entered into CODIS, they are compared to profiles already included in the database to identify matches.

http://house.michigan.gov/hfa/PDFs/dna.pdf

Much more at link.

[annalyzer]

Families in Cleveland wait for IDs of victims

Updated 2h 11m ago


Franklin Williams, 23, says his family is anxiously waiting to see if his mother, Michelle Mason, is identified as one of 11 women whose bodies were found in the home of a registered sex offender on Cleveland's east side. Mason has been missing since October, 2008.

CLEVELAND — Every day has been an exercise in fear and uncertainty for the families of the 14 women who have disappeared from this city's east side.
Now the answers they've been looking for may lie in the three-story home of an alleged serial killer, where police say he strangled his female victims and lived with their decomposed bodies.

"You stress out so much just from worrying and not knowing," said Franklin Williams, 23, whose mother, Michelle Mason, was 44 when she disappeared in October of last year. "If it turns out my mom is one of these ladies … we'll be able to put this to rest and give her a proper burial."

At least it will end the anxiety, he said, if she is identified as one of the 11 women whose remains have been removed by police from the home and backyard of registered sex offender Anthony Sowell, 50. He is being held without bond on five counts of aggravated murder.

Police continue to search his home for more bodies and have expanded the search to vacant houses in the area.

The Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office has identified three victims: Tonia Carmichael, 52; Telacia Fortson, 31; and Tishana Culver, 31. Culver lived on Imperial Avenue, the same street as Sowell.

All the victims are black women, according to coroner Frank Miller. He said his office is using DNA and dental records to identify victims. Technicians take swabs from the mouths of relatives of missing women to see if the DNA matches a victim.

The women vanished from a drug-torn neighborhood where blacks settled in the middle of the last century. Today, many of the once-stately houses are run-down or boarded-up.

Some of the women have a history of arrests and problems with drugs and alcohol, their families acknowledge. Some relatives say that because of their troubled pasts, police did not take their disappearances seriously and did not actively search for them. Relatives were left to find loved ones on their own, said Tonia Carmichael's daughter, Donnita.

"She was African American, she fit a certain profile, she had a problem with drugs and she went missing in a certain area," Donnita Carmichael said. "But it doesn't matter what kind of life you lived, you are still worthy of being looked for."

Tonia Carmichael, who was working as a secretary when she disappeared in November 2008, had an arrest record going back to 1978 for drugs and theft.

Police Chief Michael McGrath sympathized with the families at a news conference Wednesday but denied that his department neglected their cases. He said he does not tolerate discrimination.

"I'm always concerned when someone is reported missing in the city of Cleveland," he said. "We consider them all very important."

About 10 people are reported missing every day in the city and at least 90% are found or return home within 48 hours, said police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho.

City Councilman Zack Reed, who represents the neighborhood and grew up there, is calling for an investigation into how police handled the missing-persons cases, as well as how city agencies responded to complaints by residents of foul odors at Sowell's home.

Michelle Mason, a recovering drug addict, normally spoke to her family several times a day, said her mother, Adlean Atterberry, 67. When Mason didn't answer her cellphone for several days, her family suspected she might never return.

The family reported her missing on Oct. 13, 2008. Since then, relatives and friends have posted more than 2,000 fliers with Mason's photos across the city and as far away as Chicago. They held rallies on the street where she was last seen, about seven blocks from Sowell's home. As recently as two weeks ago, they were searching for her in neighborhood parks.

Now every minute feels like an hour as the family waits anxiously to find out if Mason is one of the 11 victims, said Williams, the older of her two sons.

"It's been hell," Atterberry said.

Since the news broke about Sowell, Sandy Drain and her family have monitored the Internet and TV for updates, sharing every tidbit with one another as they wait to hear if her niece, Gloria Walker, is among the victims.

Walker, a mother of two, was 46 when she disappeared on May 20, 2007. Drain said when she heard on TV about the bodies at Sowell's house, she dropped the book she was reading and thought, "My God, this is it."

Walker's sons, she said, cling to the hope that their mother is alive. She said it would be a relief if Walker is identified as one of the victims.

"Then we would know," she said. "I can stop watching my family knocking their heads against a brick wall. … They still expect her to walk through the door any day."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...-victims_N.htm

[Jute]

"She was African American, she fit a certain profile, she had a problem with drugs and she went missing in a certain area," Donnita Carmichael said. "But it doesn't matter what kind of life you lived, you are still worthy of being looked for." ~ Tonia Carmichael's daughter, Donnita.


Yes they are.