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Anthony Sowell

Also known as: Cleveland Strangler, Imperial Avenue killer

Active

2007–2009

Region

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

State

OH

Kind

Serial

Status

Convicted

Victims

11

Anthony Sowell killed eleven women between 2007 and 2009 and hid their remains in and around his house on Imperial Avenue on Cleveland's east side. Prosecutors said most of the women had struggled with addiction. The killings came to light in October 2009, when police went to the house on a rape complaint and found bodies; he was arrested two days later. In 2011 a Cuyahoga County jury convicted him and he was sentenced to death. He died of a terminal illness in state custody in February 2021.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

• Crystal Dozier, 38 · May 17, 2007
• Tishana Culver, 31 · June 2008
• Leshanda Long, 25 · August 2008
• Michelle Mason, 45 · October 8, 2008
• Tonia Carmichael, 53 · November 10, 2008
• Kim Yvette Smith, 44 · January 17, 2009
• Amelda Hunter, 47 · April 2009
• Nancy Cobbs, 45 · April 24, 2009
• Telacia Fortson · June 3, 2009
• Janice Webb, 48 · June 2009
• Diane Turner, 48 · September 2009

Timeline of locations

1. 2005
   Sowell's house, Imperial Avenue (Killer's residence, approximate area)

   Sowell lived in this house on Imperial Avenue after his release from prison in 2005. The remains of all eleven women were found inside the house and buried in the yard.

2. October 29, 2009
   Police search of the Imperial Avenue house (Recovery site, approximate area)

   Police came with warrants after a woman reported she had been raped there in September 2009. Sowell was not home; officers found two bodies, and over the following days searchers found the remains of eleven women in the house and yard. Sowell was arrested on October 31.

3. June 6, 2011
   Cuyahoga County Justice Center (Court / trial)

   Sowell's trial in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court began June 6, 2011. He was convicted on July 22, and Judge Dick Ambrose imposed the jury's death recommendation on August 12.

4. September 14, 2011
   Chillicothe Correctional Institution (Prison)

   Sowell was held on Ohio's death row at Chillicothe Correctional Institution.

5. January 21, 2021
   Franklin Medical Center, Columbus (Prison)

   Sowell was moved to the prison system's Franklin Medical Center for end-of-life care and died there of a terminal illness on February 8, 2021.

6. November 6, 2021
   Garden of 11 Angels (Other, approximate area)

   The house was demolished in December 2011. A memorial garden for the eleven women was dedicated on the site in November 2021.

Watch, listen, read

Sources

• Anthony Sowell (Wikipedia)
• Court Upholds Death Sentence for Man Who Murdered 11 Women (Court News Ohio, December 8, 2016)
• Anthony Sowell, Ohio man who killed 11 women, dies in prison (AP via KSAT)
• Unseen gives voice to victims of Anthony Sowell (Ideastream Public Media)

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.