House of Horrors for Victims and Families in Cleveland Ohio

Anthony Sowell Case: How Lazy Police Let a Serial Killer Run Free By Pete Kotz in Corruption, Police bungling, Sex crimes, assault, cold cases, homicide, serial killers Thursday, Nov. 5 2009 Police found 11 decaying bodies in Anthony Sowell's indoor graveyard Fawcett Bess owns Bess Chicken and Pizza, across the street from the home of Anthony Sowell. This is where police found the bodies of 11 women -- left in the attic, stuffed in crawl spaces, and buried in his backyard. This is also where Cleveland police were called to at least five times in the weeks and months leading up to the discovery. But they did almost no investigation. Bess recalls an incident two weeks before police discovered the bodies. He found a naked Sowell standing in the bushes next to his house. On the ground was a naked woman bloodied and beaten. Bess called 911 and an ambulance took the woman away. But police didn't arrive until two hours later -- and never bothered to interview him... It may be a shocking case of investigative ineptitude to the rest of the country, but to the people of Cleveland it's absolutely routine. If New York is the city that never sleeps, Cleveland is the city that never works. This is a town that's barely functioned since presidential wannabe Dennis Kucinich ran it into bankruptcy during his brief term as mayor 30 years ago. The FBI is currently in the midst of a massive corruption sweep that's netted everyone from judges to school board members, and promises to take down the county's Democratic boss, Jimmy Dimora. Public theft and corruption is so pervasive that, just this week, voters elected Jeffrey Johnson to the city council -- even though he was convicted as a state senator for extorting $17,000 from grocers. Sowell was reported to police no less than five times in the year before he was arrested, but they did nothing The police chief's job has long been a revolving patronage post, granted to whomever will do the mayor's bidding -- and never, ever investigate thieving Democratic officials. So if Cleveland's leaders don't care, you can image the approach rank-and-file officers take. Call the cops in this city, and it's a 50-50 proposition they'll even bother to show up. A month before cops discovered all the bodies, Fawcett Bess says he was approached by another woman. She was bloody with bruises on her neck. She said she'd been attacked by Sowell, yet police showed little interest in investigating. On October 20, yet another naked woman was seen by neighbors jumping from a second-floor window at Sowell's home. Sowell told firemen who arrived that they'd been doing coke and smoking pot all day, and that the woman had fallen out of the window. When police interviewed her at the hospital, she refused to talk. Corruption is so pervasive in Cleveland, voters elected Jeffrey Johnson this week, though he'd been convicted for extortion as a state senator Then there was the complaint last December, when still another woman filed a report saying Sowell stopped her in front of his house, forced her to the back, then punched and choked her while trying to rape her. After four complaints, a normal police department might assume it has a problem with one Anthony Sowell, especially seeing how he already did 15 years in prison for -- you guessed it -- choking and raping a woman. He was also a registered sex offender. But when police were called about yet another accusation on September 22, it took them more than a month to investigate. A woman claimed she'd been drinking with Sowell at his home when he punched her, choked her with an extension cord, then raped her as she passed out. But despite this being the fifth claim against Sowell -- each involving a violent attack, followed by rape -- police took a month to execute a search warrant. They say the woman was difficult to locate. But as you can see from their previous record, they weren't trying too hard either. So after five complaints going back nearly a year, the bodies weren't found till last week. Mayor Frank Jackson is defending his department, as mayors are prone to do. Unfortunately, the department's record on responding to rape cases shows a stunning history of laziness long before a serial killer showed up. Corruption and incompetence are allowed to thrive because even the relatively honest politicians, like Congressman Dennis Kucinich, prefer to turn their heads When Village Voice owned the Cleveland Scene, it devoted much of its resources to covering the comedy of errors and corruption that was city government. (Disclosure: I was the editor of that paper.) In 2006, Reporter Lisa Rab wrote a scathing indictment of the police's unwillingness to pursue rape cases with anything nearing vigor. Her story, Screams in the Dark, showed a department with little interest in solving crimes against women, save for the work of a few dedicated officers. And it wasn't just the sex crimes squad that was lazy. Last year, Gus Garcia-Roberts reported on how little police were interested in investigating auto thefts. His story, The Opening of Car-Theft Season in Cleveland's Trendiest Neighborhood, showed a department that couldn't be bothered to handle even the most basic aspects of its job. Like most people, Markiesha Carmichael-Jacobs understands what it's like to deal with Cleveland police. Her mom is one of two people identified among the 11 bodies found in Sowell's home. 52-year-old Tonia Carmichael, who had a history of drug problems, vanished a year ago. But when her daughter reported her missing to police, "They told us to go home, and as soon as the drugs are gone, she'll show up," Markiesha told the Associated Press. "It's hard to imagine, but that's what they told us to our face: 'She'll turn up.'" In a twisted way, police were right: Tonia did show up this week, strangled and buried in a shallow grave behind Anthony Sowell's house. http://www.truecrimereport.com

How Anthony Sowell Got Away With Being A Serial Killer When he arrived back in Cleveland in 2005, fresh from a 15-year prison bit for raping a choking a 24-year-old woman, Anthony Sowell found the perfect conditions to launch a second career as a serial killer. He moved in with his stepmother into a home owned by his father. Sowell made spare money scrapping for metal to sell. And since he refused to pay stepmom rent because his dad owned the house, he could use his meager earnings to drink and do dope. Neighbors say he often invited them in to party -- especially the women. Once he got them in the house, they were on his killing grounds. His stepmom was too frail to climb stairs, so she didn't know what Anthony was doing on the third floor. But according to police, that's where he raped and killed at least six women, then strangled them before burying them in the house... Two bodies were found decomposing in the attic. Others were buried in the basement and back yard. At least one of those may have be his stepmom. Allen Sowell, Anthony's brother, says he lost track of the serial killer after he want to prison. But when he'd occasionally talked to their stepmother, she'd say she wanted Anthony out of the house. He wouldn't pay rent and she didn't approve of his drug use. She was planning to file court papers last spring to boot him from the home. Now Allen Sowell wants to know where his stepmom is. Neighbors say she was sent to live at a nursing home, but he's not buying. "She would be calling me," he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "That's not happening, and that worries me." Anthony Sowell first came to police attention again in September, the same day they'd conducted a routine check on the sex offender. Eight hours later, a woman says she was drinking with Sowell at the home when he punched her, choked her with an electrical cord, and raped her. But the woman wasn't altogether cooperative. And the Cleveland Police Department -- not exactly a top-notch crime fighting unit -- has been known to let rape cases pile up with little investigation. It took them an entire month to get a search warrant for Sowell's home. That's when they found the bodies. Five of the women had been strangled. The death of the sixth still has to be determined. They still don't know how long the bodies have been there. Sowell was arrested walking down a street in the city's sprawling East Side ghettos, not far from his home. Detectives are now combing missing person reports since Sowell was released from prison. At least four families have come forth with information on loved ones who disappeared in the area. Police say Sowell's method was to meet women on the street and invite them to his house. Janice Webb, 49, was last seen in the neighborhood on June 3. Family members say she struggled with drug abuse, and they provided detectives with a photograph. http://ww.treucrimereport.com

Neighbors Nervous Over Dead Bodies Found In Sowell's House CLEVELAND-- - People who live near Sowell's home are anxiously wondering whether more bodies will be found inside. For nearly a week, neighbors and relatives of missing women have come to the home wondering whether more bodies are inside. "Their concerns that their mom, aunt, cousin might be here...they really want closure,"said Loretta Ferguson, member of a group called Mothers Coming Together. "It's just scary to me, it's scary because I walk to the store every morning and to know that people were dead in the house, it's just scary," said resident Tabitha Shearer. "About three years ago, the smell was there and it's real horrendous in the summertime, well we knew it wasn't us, Ray's Sausage, because we're under state inspection everything and then we're federally inspected," said Renee Cash, part owner of Ray's Sausage. One of the owners of the business next door says for years, they were being blamed for the foul odor in the neighborhood. "We didn't know if it was animals that were dead, we thought it was the sewers, I've had my sewers fixed and had grease traps and all this, and still the smell was there and I'm wondering why," said Cash. "He's a steady customer, he comes over here once a day, sometimes twice a day to buy beer, this kind of cigarette," said Eli Tayeh, owner of a convenience store two doors down from Sowell's home. Tayeh says last week Sowell bought at least four boxes of garbage bags, which the owner did not think much of at the time. "I thought maybe he bought it for the leaves, or something else, how do I know...I don't even know sometimes I used to take our garbage to our dumpster, I use to see a big heavy garbage bag, a heavy duty one, but I never paid attention," said Tayeh. Cleveland City Councilman Zach Reed is calling for an independent investigation into why the bodies were not found sooner. "We know that there were red flags, we know that the councilman made a phone call to the health department, we know that the sheriff came to this house, we know that there were rape victims out here, so you're absolutely right, so what red flags came up that should've alerted us that we may have a problem," said Reed. There was very little activity in or around the Imperial Avenue home Wednesday. Cleveland police say they still may enter the home to begin searching for more bodies this week. http://www.chicagotribune.com

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. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer, via Associated Press Patricia Warren, whose cousin has been missing since June, outside a home where the bodies of six women were found. Anthony Sowell 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. “Nobody did anything because she is a girl walking around the streets,” Mr. Bess said. He said he did not know what had happened to the woman, or if the police had followed up on the matter. Mr. Bess said that a month earlier, he had been approached by another woman who showed him bruises and blood on her neck that she claimed were from an attack by Mr. Sowell. The woman told Mr. Bess that the police had taken a report but appeared to do little investigating, he said. “If people had come to tell us about this guy’s history, then maybe we would have paid more attention,” he said. The claims were supported by police records that indicate Mr. Sowell was accused by one woman of choking and raping her in his house on Sept. 22. It was after this accusation that the police decided to conduct the search in which they found the decaying bodies. Police records indicate it took several weeks to obtain a search warrant. Police records also show that on Dec. 8, 2008, another woman filed a report accusing Mr. Sowell of stopping her in front of his house and forcing her to the back door, where he punched, choked and tried to rape her. “There were several incidents at the house that we were aware of, and we have investigated everything we had heard about,” Lt. Thomas Stacho, a spokesman for the Cleveland Police Department, said. “We are doing everything we can.” Detectives were struggling Monday to identify the six bodies. They brought in cadaver dogs to search for more bodies, and met with the families of missing local women to gather information. The discovery of the bodies led some crime experts to question whether the methods of tracking convicted sex offenders were sufficient. “It’s not clear what the answer is,” said Kristen Anderson, who oversees the sex offender tracking team at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Ms. Anderson said the Sowell case raised questions that were also raised in the case of Jaycee Dugard, the young California girl who was kidnapped and held for 18 years. The man charged with kidnapping her, Phillip Garrido, was also a convicted sex offender. The police visited him regularly to confirm his whereabouts. “As a society, we’re still debating where the acceptable line is between an offender’s rights and privacy versus public safety,” Ms. Anderson said. Like Mr. Garrido, Mr. Sowell seemed to have followed all the reporting requirements. After serving 15 years in state prison for choking and raping a woman, Mr. Sowell, 50, registered with the state as a sex offender when he moved into the neighborhood in 2005, and he began checking in regularly with law enforcement authorities, as required by state law. The area in the east side of Cleveland where Mr. Sowell lives is predominantly black and very poor. Judy Martin, who lives in a Cleveland suburb and is the director of Survivors/Victims of Tragedy, said there was a question about whether missing-person reports, especially those involving members of minority groups or people who live in poor neighborhoods, were taken seriously enough by the police. “We have a lot of women of color who disappeared and who police just never even bothered to look for,” Ms. Martin said. Meanwhile, the police, who have yet to file charges against Mr. Sowell relating to the six bodies, are trying to gather evidence. “We can believe that this guy killed them,” Lieutenant Stacho said. “But we have to prove it.” The police plan to tear down walls to be sure there are no more bodies in the house. Some of the bodies already found were so decomposed that an expert from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History was called in to help narrow down when the victims were killed. Over the weekend, the police set up a command post near Mr. Sowell’s house and urged people to come forward with information on missing relatives or friends. Only four people have provided information, the police said. Christopher Maag contributed reporting from Cleveland. This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: November 6, 2009 An article on Tuesday about the response by the police to reports of violence in a house in Cleveland where decomposed bodies were found described inaccurately the authorities’ response to a rape accusation made on Sept. 22. The police assigned an investigator to that case within three days; it did not take several weeks. (It took them several weeks to get a search warrant.) http://www.nytimes.com

After Gruesome Find, Anger at Cleveland Police Published: Friday, November 6, 2009 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Friday, November 6, 2009 at 5:09 a.m. CLEVELAND — After the third police station in a row refused to take a missing-person report about her niece two years ago, Sandy Drain took matters into her own hands. Sandy Drain, whose niece has been missing for two years, said the police in Cleveland initially refused to investigate the case. She organized search parties to comb abandoned houses. She got neighborhood children to help post fliers on light poles. She recruited a national advocacy group for missing persons to host a rally. She even hired a psychic to look for clues in her niece’s apartment. “It was pretty obvious the police weren’t going to help us,” said Ms. Drain, 65, who added that the police began seriously investigating the case of her niece, Gloria Walker, only after Ms. Drain’s initial efforts prompted the news media to begin asking questions. “If you’re from this neighborhood, you come to expect that,” Ms. Drain said. Her desperation and anger have grown here on Cleveland’s gritty east side since the police last week arrested Anthony Sowell, a convicted sex offender who has been charged with multiple counts of murder after 11 decomposing bodies were discovered in his house and backyard. Despite being accustomed to drugs and violence, residents said they were shocked by the case’s gruesomeness and appalled that a man convicted of attempted rape had apparently been able to hide such heinous crimes, even as the authorities were regularly checking up on him. Community activists added that in recent years they had received dozens of reports from residents in this largely poor and black neighborhood who told of encountering similar frustrations in getting the police to investigate cases of missing adults. “They belittled it and made jokes,” said Barbara Carmichael about her repeated and failed efforts to file a missing-person report about her daughter Tonia, whose body was the first of the 11 found in Mr. Sowell’s house to be identified this week. “They told me to wait a while because she would return once all the drugs were gone.” Law enforcement officials insist, however, that they had done everything they could. “We take these cases seriously,” said Lt. Thomas Stacho, a spokesman for the Cleveland Police Department, who added that Ms. Carmichael’s case had occurred out of Cleveland’s jurisdiction. In the case of Ms. Drain’s niece, “certainly our records show that we spent a significant amount of time investigating the disappearance,” Lieutenant Stacho said, including checking leads, looking up license plates and obtaining Ms. Walker’s dental records. Experts on crime also point out that unlike cases involving missing children, where the police typically react quickly, cases involving missing adults are more complicated. With adults, the police tend to investigate only when there is clear evidence of foul play, rather than just signs of a family feud or the disappearance of a drug addict who, perhaps, has chosen to remain out of touch while on a binge. Many of the women from the neighborhood who were reported missing were known drug users, according to neighbors and the police. But as a crowd gathered to stare at the cream-colored duplex where Mr. Sowell lived — one of the better-maintained homes in a neighborhood filled with abandoned houses — many people said it should not matter whether a person was a drug user for the police to investigate. Many also wondered aloud whether they knew anyone among the dead. “She has been missing since April,” Fawcett Bess, owner of the pizza shop across the street from Mr. Sowell’s house, said of a former girlfriend of Mr. Sowell. “But nobody really paid any attention because she was into the dope. It’s crazy.” “I just feel sad,” Mr. Bess added. “All these girls missing, and nobody did anything.” In 2005, Mr. Sowell moved back into this neighborhood of crumbling streets and vacant two-story walk-ups interspersed with a few tidy homes. He had spent the previous 15 years in state prison for luring a 21-year-old woman into his home, then choking and raping her, according to the county prosecutor’s office. Mr. Sowell pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted rape. (Earlier reports on the county court’s Web site that he had been convicted of rape were incorrect.) On the corner of Imperial Avenue and East 123rd Street, just feet from Mr. Sowell’s house, many people said Thursday that the only thing they remembered about the place was the stench. “People thought the stink was me,” said Ray Cash, the owner of Ray’s Sausage, a meat-processing plant next to Mr. Sowell’s house. To eliminate the smell, Mr. Cash said he had the plant’s gutters cleaned, drain pipes flushed and sewage drain cleaned with bleach. It made no difference. The smell was so bad, Mr. Cash said, that his workers preferred the pungent air inside the meat factory to the foul odor outside, so much so that they kept the windows shut, even in the summer heat. Last Thursday, the police finally discovered the cause of the smell. While serving a search warrant on Mr. Sowell’s house in response to an accusation of rape, the police found two bodies. By Wednesday, the count had risen to 11. Councilman Zack Reed, who represents the neighborhood, said the smell should have been the first clue to the authorities that something was awry. “Clearly, something could have been done differently,” Mr. Reed said, adding that he did not understand why the police and sheriff’s officers who had visited Mr. Sowell’s home weeks ago did not investigate the smell further. On Sept. 22, two county sheriff’s deputies appeared at Mr. Sowell’s door to make sure he was obeying the reporting requirements imposed on sex offenders. Hours later, according to a police report, Mr. Sowell tried to drag a woman into his house to rape her. Experts say that while local law enforcement is required to track sex offenders when they are released from prison, the authorities are usually given limited legal leeway or extra resources to do this. “The system that we have to do monitoring and supervision follow-up once they return to the community is just overwhelmed,” said Ernie Allen of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Mary Mason rejected the notion that the police had done all they could to find her sister, Michelle Mason, after she disappeared on Oct. 8, 2008. Mr. Sowell was not caught sooner, she said, because the police ignored complaints from residents about missing persons, much as they ignored the stench from Mr. Sowell’s house. “The police are still in the mindset that some people don’t matter,” said Ms. Mason, adding that while her sister had a police record involving drug use, she had stopped using drugs 10 years ago. “Shouldn’t the police have noticed that we had so many black women missing before this?” Police logs show that officers worked virtually every day for months trying to find Michelle Mason, Lieutenant Stacho said. Similar steps were taken in other missing-persons cases, he said. The reason it took 36 days from the time the police received a rape complaint against Mr. Sowell to the day they finally obtained a search warrant, Lieutenant Stacho added, was that the victim avoided repeated efforts by the police to interview her. But Ms. Drain, who still does not know what happened to her niece, said she was tired of waiting for answers. “I’m looking at 10 bodies and a skull, and I’m hoping one of them is Gloria,” Ms. Drain said, “because it would be closure for my family.” http://www.nytimes.com

Families in Cleveland wait for IDs of victims 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.courierspost.com

Mistrust hinders identification of Cleveland slaying victims By Vicki Smith and Meghan Barr Associated Press POSTED: 08:02 a.m. EST, Nov 06, 2009 CLEVELAND: Police say there's only one way for the families of missing women to know for sure if their loved ones are among the victims found in suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell's house: Give DNA samples. But relatives with checkered pasts in the hardscrabble neighborhood seem reluctant to come forward. Area pastors are urging families to provide DNA samples that could help the coroner's office identify the remains of eight black women, saying that nearly two dozen others are still missing in southeast Cleveland. The coroner's office, meanwhile, tried to calm concerns by promising the samples would not be shared with police. ''The only way we are going to get closure is to find out who these victims are,'' said City Councilman Zach Reed. Police and a cadaver dog re-entered the house Thursday where Sowell apparently lived among the reeking, rotting corpses of 10 women and the paper-wrapped skull of another that authorities found in a bucket. The ex-Marine, who served 15 years in prison for attempted rape, is being held without bail on five aggravated murder charges. In response to messages asking how the investigation would proceed today, a police spokesman e-mailed a brief note stating only that a news release would be issued late in the morning. So far only three victims have been identified: Tonia Carmichael, 52, of Warrensville Heights; Telacia Fortson, 31, of Cleveland; and Tishana Culver, 31, also of Cleveland. If people are hesitant to reach out directly to police or the coroner's office, Reed said they should contact him or a pastor. Stanley Miller, executive director of the NAACP in Cleveland, said people concerned about turning over their DNA to authorities might be reassured by the coroner's offer to use the DNA only for the purpose of identifying victims. ''People are very reluctant because they don't trust the establishment,'' he said. ''They don't trust the police, and they are not very apt to give up something like DNA that can match you to anyone, anytime forever. That's an issue.'' Powell Caesar, a coroner's office spokesman, said nobody should be alarmed about providing DNA, a painless process that involves swabbing the inside of a person's cheek. The program is voluntary, and samples from a mother or a child of a missing person are most helpful in matching genetic markers. For those who still don't want to provide samples, he recommends they supply dental records, which are just as helpful. Relatives of missing women, in particular, can provide the coroner's office with the names of dentists who may have treated their loved ones, he said. Near Sowell's home, a plywood memorial hangs from a chain link fence, the word MISSING stenciled in black. Five stuffed animals and an artificial rose adorn the sign, which holds fliers showing 13 missing women and three men. The fliers reflects not just fears that their bodies might be on Sowell's property, but also community members' frustrations with how they say police treat missing-persons reports from their downtrodden neighborhood. Some of the missing are women who lived on society's fringe. Some were active or recovering drug users. Some had gone to jail, producing criminal records their families believe are the reason police didn't take their disappearances seriously. Gloria Walker was 43 when she disappeared May 20, 2007. She was an alcoholic and dabbled in drugs, said her aunt, Sandy Drain. ''I think police looked at it as, 'Oh, just another drug addict gone,'' said Drain, who now cares for Walker's two sons, 16 and 26. Janice Webb was on her way to a Father's Day gathering with her family when she disappeared, said fiancee Ronnie Bowie of Lakewood. Her grandmother lives in Sowell's neighborhood. Webb, the 47-year-old mother of a grown son, was a drug user, but had a good heart and would ''give you the world,'' Bowie said. ''She did things I wasn't proud of,'' he said. ''That still don't give nobody the right to kill.'' Though Bowie disapproved, Sowell's neighborhood was one of the areas Webb frequented. Bowie says he went to police in Lakewood to report his fiancee missing, but they refused to take it because she was an adult. ''They said, 'I'm sorry about your loss. But she's a grown woman.''' Later, he went back with her sister, but they still wouldn't listen. ''If I was rich,'' he said, ''they'd have been looking for her.'' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press writers John Seewer and Tom Sheeran contributed to this report. CLEVELAND: Police say there's only one way for the families of missing women to know for sure if their loved ones are among the victims found in suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell's house: Give DNA samples. But relatives with checkered pasts in the hardscrabble neighborhood seem reluctant to come forward. Area pastors are urging families to provide DNA samples that could help the coroner's office identify the remains of eight black women, saying that nearly two dozen others are still missing in southeast Cleveland. The coroner's office, meanwhile, tried to calm concerns by promising the samples would not be shared with police. ''The only way we are going to get closure is to find out who these victims are,'' said City Councilman Zach Reed. Police and a cadaver dog re-entered the house Thursday where Sowell apparently lived among the reeking, rotting corpses of 10 women and the paper-wrapped skull of another that authorities found in a bucket. The ex-Marine, who served 15 years in prison for attempted rape, is being held without bail on five aggravated murder charges. In response to messages asking how the investigation would proceed today, a police spokesman e-mailed a brief note stating only that a news release would be issued late in the morning. So far only three victims have been identified: Tonia Carmichael, 52, of Warrensville Heights; Telacia Fortson, 31, of Cleveland; and Tishana Culver, 31, also of Cleveland. If people are hesitant to reach out directly to police or the coroner's office, Reed said they should contact him or a pastor. Stanley Miller, executive director of the NAACP in Cleveland, said people concerned about turning over their DNA to authorities might be reassured by the coroner's offer to use the DNA only for the purpose of identifying victims. ''People are very reluctant because they don't trust the establishment,'' he said. ''They don't trust the police, and they are not very apt to give up something like DNA that can match you to anyone, anytime forever. That's an issue.'' Powell Caesar, a coroner's office spokesman, said nobody should be alarmed about providing DNA, a painless process that involves swabbing the inside of a person's cheek. The program is voluntary, and samples from a mother or a child of a missing person are most helpful in matching genetic markers. For those who still don't want to provide samples, he recommends they supply dental records, which are just as helpful. Relatives of missing women, in particular, can provide the coroner's office with the names of dentists who may have treated their loved ones, he said. Near Sowell's home, a plywood memorial hangs from a chain link fence, the word MISSING stenciled in black. Five stuffed animals and an artificial rose adorn the sign, which holds fliers showing 13 missing women and three men. The fliers reflects not just fears that their bodies might be on Sowell's property, but also community members' frustrations with how they say police treat missing-persons reports from their downtrodden neighborhood. Some of the missing are women who lived on society's fringe. Some were active or recovering drug users. Some had gone to jail, producing criminal records their families believe are the reason police didn't take their disappearances seriously. Gloria Walker was 43 when she disappeared May 20, 2007. She was an alcoholic and dabbled in drugs, said her aunt, Sandy Drain. ''I think police looked at it as, 'Oh, just another drug addict gone,'' said Drain, who now cares for Walker's two sons, 16 and 26. Janice Webb was on her way to a Father's Day gathering with her family when she disappeared, said fiancee Ronnie Bowie of Lakewood. Her grandmother lives in Sowell's neighborhood. Webb, the 47-year-old mother of a grown son, was a drug user, but had a good heart and would ''give you the world,'' Bowie said. ''She did things I wasn't proud of,'' he said. ''That still don't give nobody the right to kill.'' Though Bowie disapproved, Sowell's neighborhood was one of the areas Webb frequented. Bowie says he went to police in Lakewood to report his fiancee missing, but they refused to take it because she was an adult. ''They said, 'I'm sorry about your loss. But she's a grown woman.''' Later, he went back with her sister, but they still wouldn't listen. ''If I was rich,'' he said, ''they'd have been looking for her.'' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press writers John Seewer and Tom Sheeran contributed to this report. http://www.ohio.com

As the victims are identified please put their names in our search at the top and see if we had them posted as missing. Thanks :)

My Blog responce to the Columbus Dispatch article on Sowell. By: L. Wilson To Sowell's neighbors he was nice and respectful. He had barbeques some attended, and was always seen with women around him on his porch sharing a beer or smoke. If the body of number 11 was not found after the head, it only leaves one to wonder what really was in the barbeque Sowell served up? Its not just in Cleveland, Ohio that Officials fail to look into these cases for women on the as they consider it being from the wrong side of the tracks. In 2005-2007 the same actions took place in Zanesville, Ohio where females were reported to be missing by family to officials. A mother of the community reported her daughter with a criminal record in July of 07 missing and she got no help from officials. The effort put forth was to speak with those she worked the street with and dismissed her as being with a john becuase that's what a working girl told them. They never spoke to her personally to confirm she was okay and not missing. She contacted a group about her daughter Santana Ivey after months of no help and they formed a search party for this female until her body was recovered never calling off the search. It wasn't until then did officials take the family serious this girl was actually missing and attempted to help. The case ended with skeletal remains being found 8 miles from where another set of girl's gone missing had been found under the Prine Bridge in October 07. Another case there in Zanesville was the Patricia Moody case. Rather than talking to her personally as was the same case with the previous one written about above they talked to others and wrote it off as being with a trick or new found boyfriend. They to often have turned these families away due to drug use being or known as prostitutes, siting the same old response the girls would show up eventually. In the end this young woman washed out of a culvert in another part of Ohio murdered. In the Sowell case now that it is public I feel the officials making laws on sentence guidlines need to redress this issue. Legislation and Senators like Senator Tim Schaffer and Senator Grendell along with others in our State House need to do more with getting rid of the old laws allowing for Plea Bargains as I call them Flea Bargains and work on forming better laws to be on the books for sexual offenses. They also need to write a piece of legislation that would designate special parole officers section for sex offenders here in Ohio. And while doing so they need to contend with special training rather than passing the buck to our already to demanded on parole officers whom handle 400 more cases than they should. Thus leaving the gap open to often for these type of criminals to get away with their actions longer here in Ohio before getting caught. Senator Grendell once challenged me on my comment at a Senate Hearing on SB 183. The challenge was because I stated Bill O'Rielly was right when he wrote Ohio to be among the worst states for children to be raised in after the Andrew Selva case, if the SB did not pass. Now it appears it is the worst state for the poor to live in as well when seeking assistance for a loved one missing from the wrong side of tracks being sought for by families and found by officials dead in mass numbers. Especially if those officials are trained and know the smell of human remains rotting and do not recognize it when in the presence of it while doing a routine check or answering a call. So I now challenge Legislators in Federal and State along with Senator Grendell to fix the problem immediately. Everyone whose passed the BUCK in official capacity so far for this Anthony Sowell case, is RESPONSIBLE for how far this tragedy went with Sowell and his victim's. Not one official is to blame alone, but they all own a piece of the pie for those who became victims in this case after months of complaints about foul decaying smell's coming from Sowells direction. The RESPONSIBLITY of this tragedy is owned by you the Neighbors, the 4th District Police Department, the Sheriff Department, the Health Department, the Paramedics. the Parole Department, the Postal Worker who failed to report or acknowledge the smell to officials while delivering Sowell's check and walking onto the porch over the dead bodies underneath his feet, and the City Councilman Zach Reed who took the call's and failed to act or follow through with the complaint's as an elected official. I understand the fear the povertized feel in that area about knowing the truth of their loved one's. They are feeling distrust for officials after they sought help from them for their loved ones ,when being asked for DNA. I also know that DNA is going to possibly be the only way to help resolve these womens identity, and that someone should be explaining to the families of missing females that once the DNA is obtained for I.D, it is disposed of not kept for further use by advocates who are there with them. The difference between Zanesville's women murdered and these women is this though, we know who killed possibly more than 11 women, where as the cases prior to Sowell's mentioned case are still unresolved. And we checked after the Sowell case came to light for Ohioans on the name for property owned in the girls mentioned for Zanesville. The Sowell name appeared on property owned within Zanesville. We know his first victim had a car and it was close to his residence reported by her family. It should also be noted her family requested Sowell to be looked into as maybe part of her missing and it went unnoticed with not having been checked into. It also leaves the door open for the ? could he have used that car to travel into Zanesville during 05? How far does his spree really reach for Ohioans? And now that we as a society know about Sowell, whose case for being monitored by officials appears to resemble the Garrido case where Jessica Duggard managed to survive, what will the change be for observation of our SEX OFFENDERS once Released into society after offending only to reoffend again in this manner, how will it be changed on how they are now handled for sentences within our systems realm for serious crimes of sexual violations? John Walsh has stated we need to stop focusing on minor infractions and start focusing on the major infractions of sex offender requirements. I for one am not so light hearted on how they should be treated. I believe once they offend it will continue to escalate for other victims to be made. I also believe to many children are labled as an offender are unfairly done so, and that this area of law needs changed for our youth's in Ohio. I state this because I know of several unfairly charged after being forced by the offender to victimize after being victimized themselves, when all along the actions being done resulted with the offender present holding threats over them of the end result if they (the victim/victims) fail to preform on their demand. No-one who studies the cases of sexual offenders giving our court's their evaluation reports has gotten it right either where tier levels are placed on them, because had they their paper work would have sited Sowell would re-offend if in society as opposed to siting he was less likely to re-offend. He was denied sex offender treatment even after he rquested it. Our systems reasoning was because he failed to admit being an offender. But obviously he admitted it when asking to be admitted into the treatment program within our sytem. In closing we need to focus on the real facts and issues of preventing more Anthony Sowell's, not what these women were doing while alive, because reality is they now are victims of murder at the hands of an alleged serial killer convicted rapist named Sowell. We should focus on changing it so Ohio has no more Anthony Sowell's keeping dead bodies under porches, in basements, shallow graves, or heads in bucket's. We should have less victim children classified as an offender when the offender forces offenses to occur through their victim as well towards another only to gain control for gratification of their demented desires to violate or live out their fantasy through these children now on our registries. Maybe then we can get somewhere on how offenders should be treated or handled before another or more Sowell's pop up from out of no where in Ohio. My deepest sympathy goes out to those in this case whom have lost a loved one. My prayers are constant for these families to obtain closure for their loved ones unanswered for and peace of mind should remains be one of theirs. May God have mercy on them as they suffer the loss and may he give them serenity and comfort while healing from their loss, disbelief, and unrest of what will be next for their families within the courtrooms once testimony begins in this case before the judicial system. comment can be found at http://www.columbusdispatch.com

Fourth body identified from house of suspected serial killer as Nancy Cobbs By Gabriel Baird, The Plain Dealer November 06, 2009, 3:40PM CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland police have released the identify of a fourth woman found dead in the house of suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell. Nancy Cobbs, 43, was reported missing to Cuyahoga Metropolitan Authority Police in April. After police began removing bodies from Sowell's house on Imperial Avenue in Cleveland, Kyana Hunt reported Cobbs missing to Cleveland police. Sowell remains in jail facing charges of aggravated murder. Police have found 11 bodies at his home at Imperial Avenue. Police and Cuyahoga County Coroner's officials are still working to identify the other seven victims. http://www.cleveland.com

East Cleveland police look at three cases for links to Anthony Sowell By Rachel Dissell, The Plain Dealer November 06, 2009, 4:37PM EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio -- East Cleveland detectives are looking into three unsolved murders from 20 years ago to see if they might be linked to suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell, who lived in the city at the time. As Cleveland police wrapped up the search of Sowells Imperial Avenue home where the found 11 dead women, most of them strangled, detectives in the neighboring city began pouring over files from 1988 and 1989. They identified three homicides that had some similarities to the 11 women found decomposing in Sowell's home, Detective Sgt. Ken Bolton said. He said they would review more recent homicides and any rape cases with similarities. A nursing assistant who lived down the street from Sowell when she was killed in 1989. Carmella Karen Prater, 27, was found in an abandoned home on First Avenue. She was severely beaten and her body was frozen but the coroner's office could not pinpoint the exact injury that caused her death. There was also evidence she had been using drugs. Mary Thomas was found the following month, also on First Avenue near an abandoned building. Thomas, 27, was pregnant when she was found and had been strangled with a red ribbon, according to the coroner's report. Some sperm was collected from the bodies of both women, according to the coroner's report. One year before those women were killed, Rosalind Garner was found beaten and strangled in her home on Hayden Avenue. Garner, 36, lived alone and had worked at the Navy Finance Center. Her family told police at the time that they thought she might know her killer because she was cautious with who she let into her home. Police were alerted to both Prater and Garners deaths by anonymous phone calls. A gas company worker found Thomas' body. http://www.cleveland.com

Imperial murders: Fourth victim identified, 2 more ID's expected this weekend CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Police Department confirmed that the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office positively identified a fourth victim discovered in Anthony Sowell's house at 12205 Imperial Avenue as Nancy Cobbs, 43, of Griffing Avenue, in Cleveland. Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said during Friday's community meeting at Mt. Olivet Church that police are expecting the coroner's office to identify two more victims sometime over the weekend. So far, only four of the 11 victims have been identified. The first was Tonia Carmichael, 52, of Warrensville Heights. The second was Telacia Fortson, 31, of East Cleveland. The third was Tishana Culver, 31, of the 12300 block of Imperial Avenue. Police said that Cobbs' family reported that she had not been seen since April 24, 2009, although no missing persons report was made with the Cleveland Police until Nov. 2, 2009. Cleveland Police did learn today that Cobbs' family reported her missing to the CMHA Police on June 11, 2009. http://www.WKYC.com

Public Records of Anthony Edward Sowells's First Rape Case Case Number CR-89-244471-ZA STATE OF OHIO vs. ANTHONY SOWELL AlternaTIFF Proceeding Date Filing Date Side Type Description Image 11/10/2005 11/14/2005 N/A JE IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY, ESQ., HERETOFORE ASSIGNED AS COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENDANT IN THIS CAUSE, BE ALLOWED $675.00 FOR SERVICES SO RENDERED. IT IS ORDERED THAT THE COURT CERTIFY SAID AMOUNT TO THE COUNTY AUDITOR AND THE COMMISSIONERS FOR ALLOWANCE AND PAYMENT. AC 0510438 11/10/2005 CPMKE 11/10/2005 08:47:35 11/07/2005 11/07/2005 D RE ATTORNEY FEE BILL SUBMITTED MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY 11/02/2005 11/02/2005 N/A CS COURT REPORTER FEE 11/01/2005 11/02/2005 N/A JE DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS H.B.180 PROCEEDINGS- EX POST FACTO/ RETROACTIVE LAW IS DENIED. 11/01/2005 CPMO1 11/01/2005 13:09:25 11/01/2005 11/02/2005 N/A JE CAPIAS RECALLED. 11/01/2005 CPMO1 11/01/2005 13:08:12 11/01/2005 11/02/2005 N/A JE DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO APPLY RULES OF EVIDENCE TO H.B.180 HEARING IS DENIED. 11/01/2005 CPMO1 11/01/2005 10:23:52 10/28/2005 11/02/2005 N/A JE DEFENDANT IN COURT WITH ATTORNEY MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY. PROSECUTOR(S) KEVIN FILIATRAUT PRESENT. COURT REPORTER PRESENT. STATE AND DEFENDANT PRESENT. HEARING HELD 10/28/05 ON HOUSE BILL 180 CLASSIFICATION. DEFENDANT FOUND TO BE SEXUALLY ORIENTED OFFENDER. 10/28/2005 CPDXM 10/31/2005 12:55:40 10/05/2005 10/05/2005 N/A CL CAPIAS PRINTED AND SENT TO SHERIFF 10/04/2005 10/05/2005 N/A JE NUNC PRO TUNC ENTRY AS OF AND FOR 09/27/2005. ENTRY OF 9/27 WAS CREATED IN ERROR. DEFENSE COUNSEL MIKE SHAUGHNESSEY PRESENT. PROSECUTOR(S) COLLEEN REALI PRESENT. CASE CALLED FOR HEARING PURSUANT TO HOUSEBILL 180. DEFENDANT FAILED TO APPEAR. STATE PREPARED TO GO FORWARD. CAPIAS TO ISSUE FOR DEFENDANT, ANTHONY SOWELL. CAPIAS TO ISSUE FOR DEFENDANT, ANTHONY SOWELL. 10/04/2005 CPMO1 10/04/2005 09:28:45 10/03/2005 10/03/2005 N/A CL CAPIAS PRINTED AND SENT TO SHERIFF 09/28/2005 09/28/2005 N/A CS COURT REPORTER FEE 09/27/2005 10/03/2005 N/A JE DEFENDANT IN COURT WITH ATTORNEY MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY. PROSECUTOR(S) COLLEEN REALI PRESENT. COURT REPORTER BERNICE KING PRESENT. CASE CALLED FOR HEARING PURSUANT TO HOUSEBILL 180. DEFENDANT FAILED TO APPEAR. STATE PREPARED TO GO FORWARD. CAPIAS TO ISSUE FOR DEFENDANT, ANTHONY SOWELL. 09/27/2005 CPDMB 09/28/2005 08:13:42 09/21/2005 09/27/2005 N/A JE DEFENDANT IN COURT WITH ATTORNEY MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY. COURT REPORTER MARLENE EBNER PRESENT. HOUSE BILL 180 HEARING CONTINUED TO 09/27/2005 AT 09:00 AM. 09/21/2005 CPJEB 09/26/2005 08:59:05 08/02/2005 08/05/2005 N/A JE PRETRIAL HELD 08/02/2005. PRETRIAL CONTINUED TO 09/21/2005 AT 09:00 AM. AT THE REQUEST OF DEFENDANT. 08/02/2005 CPMO1 08/02/2005 16:16:49 08/02/2005 08/05/2005 N/A JE DEFENDANT IN COURT WITH ATTORNEY MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY. DEFENDANT IS REFERRED TO COURT PSYCHIATRIC CLINIC. DIRECTOR, PSYCHIATRIC CLINIC: IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROVISIONS OF THE OHIO REVISED CODE, 2950.09 HB180 SEXUAL PREDATOR CLASSIFICATION YOU ARE DIRECTED TO EXAMINE ANTHONY SOWELL. 08/02/2005 CP1TT 08/03/2005 11:32:43 07/21/2005 07/22/2005 N/A JE PRETRIAL HELD 07/21/2005. PRETRIAL CONTINUED TO 08/02/2005 AT 09:00 AM. AT THE REQUEST OF DEFENDANT. 07/21/2005 CPMO1 07/21/2005 14:18:34 07/19/2005 07/19/2005 D MO MOTION FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL/PSYCHIATRIC EXPERT, FILED. 07/19/2005 07/19/2005 D MO MOTION TO APPLY RULES OF EVIDENCE TO H.B. 180 HEARING, FILED. 07/19/2005 07/19/2005 D MO MOTION TO DISMISS H.B. 180 PROCEEDINGS - EX POST FACTO/RETROACTIVE LAW, FILED. 07/11/2005 07/18/2005 N/A JE HEARING NOT HELD. HEARING CONTINUED TO 07/21/2005 AT 01:30 PM. AT THE REQUEST OF COURT. REASON FOR CONTINUANCE: COURT AWAITING REPORT FROM GRAFTON. 07/11/2005 CPMO1 07/11/2005 16:00:10 07/11/2005 07/13/2005 N/A JE THE WARDEN OF THE GRAFTON CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION IS ORDERED TO SEND AN H. B. 180 PACKET TO JUDGE NANCY R MCDONNELL (324) THE JUSTICE CENTER, 17TH FLOOR--COURTROOM B, 1200 ONTARIO STREET, CLEVELAND, OHIO 44113, FORTHWITH ON THIS DEFENDANT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE FRONT OF HIS MASTER FILE, HIS DISCIPLINARY RECORD AND INSTITUTIONAL SUMMARY REPORT, HIS JOB AND LOCK ASSIGNMENTS, ALL CERTIFICATES, HIS SECURITY CLASSIFICATION INSTRUMENT, ALL PRESENTENCE AND POSTSENTENCE REPORTS, AND ALL PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS AND REPORTS. THE DEFENDANT IS A BLACK/MALE; DOB 8-19-59; SSN 384-66-6969; INMATE #A223-836. IF A HEARING IS SCHEDULED, THE STATE IS ORDERED TO PROVIDE THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY WITH A COPY OF THESE RECORDS. THE CLERK IS ORDERED TO SEND A CERTIFIED COPY OF THIS ORDER TO THE WARDEN. IT IS SO ORDERED. 07/11/2005 CPBXM 07/11/2005 14:18:34 07/08/2005 07/13/2005 N/A JE DEFENDANT INDIGENT; ATTORNEY MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY ASSIGNED COURT ORDERS HOUSE BILL180 PACKET FROM GRAFTON INSTITUTION. PLEASE FAX TO (216) 348-4037 FOR HEARING ON 07/11/05 AT 9:00 A.M. 07/08/2005 CPDXM 07/11/2005 10:43:38 06/29/2005 07/06/2005 N/A JE DEFENDANT INDIGENT; ATTORNEY MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY ASSIGNED SEXUAL PREDATOR ADJUDICATION HEARING SET FOR 07/11/2005 AT 09:00 AM. PROSECUTOR RENEE SNOW NOTIFIED OF DATE AND TIME. 06/29/2005 CP1TT 06/30/2005 11:38:36 06/22/2005 06/22/2005 P MO MOTION FILED FOR STATE'S REQUEST FOR SCHEDULING OF SEXUAL PREDATOR ADJUDICATION HEARING, FILED. 04/13/1999 D LETTER SENT TO ADULT PAROLE AUTHORITY IN RESPONSE TO NOTICE OF HEARING ..DXE 04/13/99 14:05 03/12/1996 D LETTER SENT TO ADULT PAROLE AUTHORITY IN RESPONSE TO NOTICE OF HEARING IN APRIL OF 1996. ..DXE 03/12/96 16:02 09/15/1993 D LETTER SENT TO ADULT PAROLE AUTHORITY IN RESPONSE TO NOTICE OF HEARING - MM ..TXI 09/15/93 15:00 10/12/1990 D IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT JAMES MCDONNELL, ESQ., HERETOFORE ASSIGNED AS COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENDANT IN THIS CAUSE, BE ALLOWED SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS ($750.00) FOR SERVICES SO RENDERED. IT IS ORDERED THAT THE COURT CERTIFY SAID AMOUNT TO THE COUNTY AUDITOR AND THE COMMISSIONERS FOR ALLOWANCE AND PAYMENT. ..LT 10/12/90 10:32 09/28/1990 D FEE BILL SUBMITTED BY JAMES J. MCDONNELL, ESQ. ..ME 09/28/90 11:05 09/12/1990 D THE DEFENDANT HEREIN HAVING, ON A FORMER DAY OF COURT ENTERED A PLEA OF GUILTY TO AMENDED COUNT TWO AND THREE ATTEMPTED RAPE 2923.02/2907.02 AGG FEL-2, WAS THIS DAY IN OPEN COURT WITH HIS/HER COUNSEL PRESENT. THEREUPON, THE COURT INQUIRED OF THE SAID DEFENDANT IF HE/SHE HAD ANYTHING TO SAY WHY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT BE PRONOUNCED AGAINST HIM/HER; AND HAVING NOTHING BUT WHAT HE/SHE HAD ALREADY SAID AND SHOWING NO GOOD AND SUFFICIENT CAUSE WHY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT BE PRONOUNCED. IT IS THEREFORE, ORDERED AND ADJUDGED BY THE COURT THAT SAID DEFENDANT, ANTHONY SOWELL, IS SENTENCED TO THE LORAIN CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION FOR A TERM OF FIVE (5) YEARS TO FIFTEEN (15) YEARS ON BOTH OF COUNTS TWO AND THREE, CONCURRENTLY WITH EACH OTHER, MINIMUM TERMS ARE TERMS OF ACTUAL INCARCERATION. DEFENDANT TO PAY COSTS. ..MB 09/17/90 09:23 08/08/1990 D NOW COMES THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY ON BEHALF OF THE STATE OF OHIO AND THE DEFENDANT, ANTHONY SOWELL, IN OPEN COURT WITH HIS/HER COUNSEL PRESENT AND WAS FULLY ADVISED OF HIS/HER CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. ON RECOMMENDATION OF THE PROSECUTOR COUNTS TWO AND THREE OF THE INDICTMENT ARE AMENDED BY THE ADDITION OF THE "ATTEMPT" STATUTE. THEREUPON, SAID DEFENDANT RETRACTS HIS/HER FORMER PLEA OF NOT GUILTY HERETOFORE ENTERED, AND FOR PLEA TO SAID INDICTMENT SAYS HE/SHE IS GUILTY OF ATTEMPTED RAPE ORC 2923.02/2907.02 AS AMENDED IN COUNTS TWO AND THREE OF THE INDICTMENT, WHICH PLEA/PLEAS, ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY IS/ARE ACCEPTED BY THE COURT. ON RECOMMENDATION OF THE PROSECUTOR COUNT ONE IS NOLLED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT SAID DEFENDANT BE REFERRED TO THE PROBATION DEPARTMENT FOR PRE-SENTENCE INVESTIGATION AND REPORT. ..MB 08/09/90 09:56 07/25/1990 D MOTION TO COMPEL WRITTEN RESPONSE TO DEFENDANTS MOTION FOR DISCOVERY,MTD HAS FILE,7 26 90 SAID MOTION GIVEN TO GRAYS - JS 8 2 90 MFD/BOP MAILED TO JAMES MC DONNELL AND FILED - JS ..JC5808/03/90 08:52 07/13/1990 D MOTION FOR DISCOVERY; MOTION FOR BILL OF PARTICULARS; MTD HAS FILE 7 18 90 SAID MOTION GIVEN TO GRAYS - JS 8 2 90 MFD/BOP MAILED TO JAMES MC DONNELL AND FILED - JS ..JC5808/03/90 08:50 07/11/1990 D JIM MCDONNELL APPOINTED AS ATTORNEY FOR INDIGENT DEFENDANT. TERRY GILBERT'S MOTION TO WITHDRAW AS COUNSEL IS GRANTED. ..EB 09/25/90 11:48 06/27/1990 D NOW COMES THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY ON BEHALF OF THE STATE OF OHIO AND THE DEFENDANT IN OPEN COURT WAS FULLY ADVISED OF HIS/HER CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING HIS/HER RIGHT TO COUNSEL. THE DEFENDANT, ANTHONY SOWELL, ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HE/SHE RECEIVED A COPY OF THE INDICTMENT FROM THE SHERIFF OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY. TWENTY-FOUR HOURS HAVING ELAPSED SINCE SERVICE OF THE INDICTMENT, DEFENDANT IN OPEN COURT WAIVED READING OF THE INDICTMENT. THEREUPON, THE SAID DEFENDANT IN OPEN COURT ENTERS A PLEA OF NOT GUILTY. JUDGE JAMES P. KILBANE ASSIGNED. BOND SET AT $5,000.00. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT IF SAID DEFENDANT POSTS BAIL IN THIS CAUSE, AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT SHALL BE ADDED TO THE AMOUNT OF BAIL AS SET FORTH IN O. R. C. 2743.70 AND O. R. C. 2949.091. DEFENDANT INDIGENT, COUNSEL TO BE ASSIGNED. ..FM 06/27/90 11:36 06/27/1990 D AND NOW THE DEFENDANT, IN OPEN COURT HAVING STATED THAT HE/SHE IS INDIGENT, AND IT APPEARING THAT HE/SHE IS IN INDIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES, AND UNABLE TO EMPLOY COUNSEL, THE COURT APPOINTS TERRY GILBERT, ESQ., AS COUNSEL FOR HIS/HER DEFENSE. ..FM 06/29/90 08:48 12/08/1989 D CAPIAS TO ISSUE FOR DEFENDANT, ANTHONY SOWELL. ..FM 12/08/89 12:50 http://cpdocket.cp.cuyahogacounty.us/p_CR_Docket.aspx

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