Anthony Sowell Biography
Anthony Sowell whose birth name is Anthony Edward Sowell was born on 19 August 1959. He is an American serial killer known as the Cleveland Strangler.
He was arrested in October 2009 after the bodies of eleven women were discovered by police investigators at his home, 12205 Imperial Avenue, in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio.
Anthony Sowell Age
Anthony Sowell was born in Ohio, United States on August 19, 1959. He is currently 60 years old as of 2019.
Anthony Sowell Early Life
Anthony Edward Sowell was raised in East Cleveland, one of seven children born to single parent Claudia “Gertude” Garrison. Seven other children belonging to Sowell’s sister also lived in the household, having moved in after her death following a chronic illness. According to Sowell’s niece, Garrison subjected them to physical abuse while her own children watched from adjacent rooms. In one incident, Garrison forced Sowell’s niece to strip naked in front of the other children, then whipped her with electrical cords until she bled. Sowell himself began raping his niece on an almost daily basis for two years, starting when she was 11.
Anthony Sowell Daughter
The mother of the child of convicted serial killer Anthony Sowell’s child took center stage this afternoon in the sentencing phase of the trial at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center. Twyla Austin, who now lives in Arkansas, told a jury today that she met Sowell when she was 17 and in high school. She said she became pregnant and eventually moved into the Page Avenue home in East Cleveland where Sowell had grown up.
Part of her testimony brought a smile to Sowell’s face when she said Sowell supported his daughter and had asked her mother if he could marry her.She also testified, however, according to real time.
Sowell, 51, was convicted July 22 on 82 charges. They included multiple counts of aggravated murder, abusing a corpse and tampering with evidence in the deaths of 11 women whose remains were discovered in and around his Imperial Avenue home in 2009.He also was found guilty of attempting to kill three others who survived.
Much of the earlier testimony today focused on how Sowell himself had been abused in that Page Avenue home — or how he had also abused others in the house, including younger nieces and nephwers. But Austin testified today that Sowell never talked about being abused at the Page Avenue home when he was younger.
A nephew of Anthony Sowell, whose identity was protected, was on the stand first this afternoon, recounting for the jury that he was beat and punished as a child when he and his twin sisters lived in East Cleveland.He said he still has marks on him: “That is why I don’t wear shorts,” the man said. He said he ran away from the Page Avenue home 7 to 8 times before being removed from the home by Cuyahoga County authorities.
A few relatives of Sowell victims Tonia Carmichael and Michelle Mason were in the courtroom this afternoon and heard testimony from Sowell family members and a social worker.Social worker Gary Larkinsa also testified today, along with Deborah Lucci, a witness who works for an ex-offender group and who met Sowell when he was released from prison. She said said Sowell was a good worker when he worked at Custom Rubber as a machinist.
Two nieces of Sowell were on the stand during the morning session, each telling similar tales of abuse at the hands of Sowell and other relatives in the home.For three weeks, prosecutors presented testimony from 62 witnesses, some who described for jurors how Sowell’s victims met their ends – bound at the wrists, naked from the waist down and strangled with belts, clothing or electrical cords.
This is now the sentencing or mitigation phase of the trial and Sowell’s defense team has asked jurors to find compassion for their client.
Anthony Sowell Military Service
At the age of 19, Anthony Sowell entered the United States Marine Corps on January 24, 1978. He attended recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina, then was further trained as an electrician at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. On July 13, 1978, he was assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, also in North Carolina. In 1980, Sowell spent a year overseas with the 3rd Force Service Support Group, then returned to Cherry Point.
During his seven-year Marine Corps career, Corporal Sowell received a Good Conduct Medal with one service star, a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, a Certificate of Commendation, a Meritorious Mast, and two Letters of Appreciation.
Anthony Sowell Discovery of bodies and arrest
In September 2009, Sowell invited Latundra Billups to his home for a drink. On September 22, 2009, she reported to police that after a few drinks, he became angry, hit her, choked her and raped her as she passed out. On October 29, police arrived at his home with a warrant to arrest him for the alleged rape. He was not there, but he was located and arrested two days later.
The bodies of two women were buried in a shallow grave in the basement and four other women were found on the 3rd floor of the home, in crawl spaces in the house. After digging in the backyard, investigators found three more bodies and the remains of a fourth. Police also found a human skull in a bucket inside the house, which brought the body count to eleven.
Most of the victims were killed by manual strangulation and others were gagged or had ligatures on their bodies when they were discovered. Sowell also had at least three more rape victims that he had actually let live. All three never reported the attacks, due to their prior drug history or other personal reasons. Many victims were led to his property with an invitation to smoke crack cocaine with him. He was a known drug user throughout his neighborhood.
At the time of his arrest, Anthony Sowell was 50 years old. He had been living at that location for four years. He was held on $5 million bond. His trial was originally supposed to start on June 2, 2010 but was repeatedly delayed: first to September 7 to allow Sowell’s attorneys more time to prepare, then to February 14, 2011, then to May 2 at the request of Anthony Sowell’s defense attorneys who needed more time to comb through thousands of records and hours of surveillance video footage shot from the property next door to Anthony Sowell’s Imperial Avenue home, where the remains of 11 women were discovered in 2009 and later to June 6 at the request of the prosecution due to scheduling conflicts. The trial eventually began on June 6, 2011.
Anthony Sowell Letter
In November 2012. Anthony Sowell released a letter through the website Serial Killers Ink.The letter was to the people of Cleveland. Sowell railed against former trial judge and newly elected Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty and addressed the issue of artwork which he had recently sent to the owner of the website.
Anthony Sowell Victims
On November 5, 2009, two of the eleven victims were identified. The first to be identified was Tonia Carmichael, a 53-year-old African American woman who had disappeared more than a year earlier. Her body was found buried in his backyard. She appeared to have been strangled and was identified through the use of DNA evidence. Her mother had reported her missing in December 2008.
The second victim was identified as Telacia Fortson, a 31-year-old African American woman who had disappeared five months earlier. Although she had been missing since June, her mother did not report her missing until she heard the news coverage regarding the dead bodies discovered in Anthony Sowell’s home.
On November 8, 2009, three more bodies were identified. Crystal Dozier was a 38-year-old African American woman who went missing in May 2007. Dozier, the mother of seven children, lived in the area where her body was discovered. Her family reported her missing to the Cleveland Police Department. This was not the first time she had gone missing, and the family accused the police of failing to investigate. The family took it upon themselves to post fliers and call hospitals.
Amelda “Amy” Hunter was a 47-year-old African American woman. Hunter, a beautician and a mother of three, did not live in the area where her body was found, but she did visit frequently. A previous injury left her unable to use one of her arms. Her family did not report her missing until after police began removing bodies from Anthony Sowell’s house.
Michelle Mason was a 45-year-old African American woman who was last seen in October 2008. She lived in the area where her body was found. According to records, the police conducted a full investigation when her family reported her missing.
Records of missing persons going back to Anthony Sowell’s June 2005 release from prison were searched and DNA testing was conducted on the bodies found at Anthony Sowell’s house. Protesters holding posters of missing loved ones gathered outside his home at the time.
East Cleveland police also reopened several cold cases from the late 1980s. The murders by strangulation used a similar modus operandi and had stopped around 1989, the same time that Anthony Sowell was arrested. The FBI at the time was gathering information to see if Anthony Sowell may have been linked to unsolved cases in cities where he once lived
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