OH OH - ANTHONY SOWELL, 11 bodies unearthed at his Cleveland home, 2007-09 *dies in prison 2021*

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Missed Opportunities in Sowell Case
CBS News Exclusive Investigation Reveals Critical Mistakes in Cleveland House of Horrors Serial Killer

(CBS) By CBS News Chief Investigative Correspondent Armen Keteyian and producer Laura Strickler.

It was a shocking discovery by any standard. In all, the bodies of 11 women were found at a house on Cleveland's Imperial Ave.

The stench was so intense, people had complained as far back as 2006.

Florence Bray's daughter Crystal Dozier was among the victims.

"That was my daughter dead, cause she was in the backyard, that was my daughter back then," she said.

Police believe all 11 women were raped and murdered by Anthony Sowell, a neighborhood "nice guy" with a dark, violent past. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case.

Sowell was arrested last October, on Halloween. Four months later the question still hangs over the city. What took Cleveland police so long to finally catch Anthony Sowell?

A CBS News investigation has uncovered exclusive new details revealing critical mistakes by police and prosecutors working the case - how they could have stopped a serial killer if they hadn't ignored charges of rape.

County judge Tim McGinty has been on the bench for 18 years and says he can no longer keep silent.

"There is something wrong with this picture, this would not have happened anywhere else," McGinty said.

Cleveland has more reported rapes per capita than any major city in the nation: 633 in 2008. But no one was charged in more than two-thirds of those cases.

"Do you feel the police should have known about Sowell?" Keteyian asked.

"Do I think they should have known," Bray asked? "They did know!"

Just look at Sowell's record: twice arrested for rape in 1989 and 1990. Then he served 15 years in prison, and forced to register as a sex offender upon his release in 2005. All of which evidently meant nothing on the night of Dec. 8, 2008.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/04/cbsnews_investigates/main6267476.shtml
 
Bill would close loopholes in sex offender notification law

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Anthony Sowell was re-classified two years ago from a low-level sex offender grouping and lumped into a category befitting the most serious sexual predators in Ohio, under a change in state law.

But because of that same new law, not one neighbor of the accused serial murderer and rapist was ever warned that Sowell had been deemed more dangerous in the state's eyes as a Tier III sex offender.

And even if he had moved from his Imperial Avenue home, where the decayed bodies of 11 women were found last fall, Sowell may have been able to block the county sheriff from notifying anyone of his new address even though that is required for some Tier III offenders.

State Sen. Shirley Smith, a Cleveland Democrat, is introducing a bill next week that would close both of those loopholes in Ohio's sex offender rules, which were exposed after murder charges were filed against Sowell.

"The first problem let Sowell continue living in his home without the community being notified about his Tier III sex offender status," Smith said. "The second discrepancy would have given Sowell some impunity if he had decided to move."

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/03/bill_would_close_loopholes_in.html
 
Cuyahoga County judge orders arrest of Plain Dealer reporter, wants to know source of story on murder suspect Anthony Sowell
By Mark Puente, The Plain Dealer
March 17, 2010, 6:15AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold ordered the arrest of a Plain Dealer reporter Tuesday after he failed to appear at an abruptly scheduled hearing to determine how the newspaper obtained a psychiatric evaluation of serial-killing suspect Anthony Sowell.

The hearing on Tuesday came more than four months after reporter Gabriel Baird based a Nov. 6 story on the 2005 evaluation, which concluded that Sowell was unlikely to assault women after he served 15 years in prison for attempted rape. The medical report contained details of Sowell's childhood and the years he spent in prison after being convicted of sexual assault in 1989.

Baird and newspaper lawyer Lou Colombo are scheduled to appear before Saffold at 11 a.m. today.

Saffold admonished the newspaper for failing to appear.

"I hope it's not The Plain Dealer's attempt to make a game out of this," Saffold said. "I'd like to know how he secured that information."

Sowell recently wrote a letter to Court Administrator Greg Popovich asking why the confidential report was released. Popovich gave the letter to Saffold. At 2:31 p.m. Tuesday, Saffold made an entry in the docket of the Sowell case ordering Baird to appear in her court for a hearing at 3:30. She did not issue a subpoena or serve Baird with formal notice of the hearing, instead having a court worker call the newspaper to ask for Baird.

When Baird did not appear, the judge signed a warrant for his arrest.

Sheriff's deputies showed up at the newspaper's Cleveland office to arrest Baird, but he was out on assignment. Deputies then realized they could not serve the warrant because it did not contain Baird's legal name. Later, Saffold signed an order for The Plain Dealer to release the name of the person who leaked the documents.

Plain Dealer Editor Susan Goldberg said Baird's source is protected from disclosure.

"The report evaluating Mr. Sowell was shown to our reporter after our reporter agreed to keep the source of the report confidential," Goldberg said. "That information is protected under Ohio's shield law, which protects reporters from having to reveal their sources."

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/03/cuyahoga_county_judge_orders_a.html


The report in question can be found here.
 
Judge Timothy McGinty admits sharing Sowell report; defense unsure of next move

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Plain Dealer reporter avoided a contempt-of-court jail stay Wednesday after Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Timothy J. McGinty stepped forward to disclose that he was the source who provided the reporter with a psychiatric evaluation of accused serial killer Anthony Sowell.

After McGinty came forward, Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold ended her quest to compel reporter Gabriel Baird to reveal his source. Saffold had sent deputies to the newspaper on Tuesday to arrest Baird after he did not show up for a hastily scheduled hearing.

McGinty declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.

Baird reported in a Nov. 6 story that Sowell's psychiatric evaluation concluded that he was unlikely to assault women after he served 15 years in prison for attempted rape. The evaluation - done after Sowell's release to determine whether Sowell should be classified a sexual predator -- contained information about Sowell's childhood and his years in prison. The evaluation has nothing to do with the current charges against Sowell

Saffold initially said Wednesday that McGinty, who preceded her as the judge in the Sowell case, might have been within his rights to release the report to the paper. McGinty provided the report for a reason other than to disclose Sowell's psychiatric medical background, Saffold said. She did not elaborate.

Sowell's attorneys, John Parker and Rufus Sims, asked to question McGinty, but the judge was away from the Justice Center attending a funeral.

Parker argued that McGinty's revealing of the documents impugned the integrity of every judge and will make it more difficult to find an impartial jury for Sowell's trial. He is accused of killing 11 women whose bodies were found at his house and in his yard last fall.

Parker requested that Saffold conduct a full investigation.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/03/judge_timothy_mcginty_admits_s.html
 
New charges for Cleveland murder suspect
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 2, 2010 3:07 a.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Ohio prosecutors announced new charges against accused serial killer Anthony Sowell on Thursday in connection with the rape of a 34-year-old woman in his Cleveland, Ohio, home.
.......................
The latest indictment, which includes 10 counts, brings the total number of criminal charges against him to 95. No details of the new indictment were immediately released.

Indictment .pdf

.........................
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason has said that his cold case unit is reviewing unsolved murders that occurred during the time Sowell lived in Cleveland and East Cleveland, Ohio, to see whether there are any connections. Mason said the group is working its way through 75 cases.

more here

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/02/cleveland.killings.suspect/index.html
 
Judge won't step aside in Sowell case

Posted: 4:08 PM

CLEVELAND - A judge said she won't step aside from the trial of Anthony Sowell, the man accused of killing 11 women and keeping the remains in his Imperial Avenue home.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold issued a brief written ruling Friday. She says she sees no reason to step aside as requested by lawyers representing 50-year-old Sowell. They plan to take the issue to the Ohio Supreme Court.

The lawyers said there's an appearance of bias in anonymous online criticisms of a defense attorney traced to the judge's personal e-mail. The defense also complained about a conversation between Saffold and the first judge assigned to the case.

more here

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/judge-won't-step-aside-in-serial-murder-trial
 
Anthony Sowell case transferred to Judge Dick Ambrose

By Plain Dealer staff
April 23, 2010, 9:54AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The case against Anthony Sowell, a Cleveland man accused of killing 11 women and keeping their remains at his house on Imperial Avenue, has been transferred to the docket of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Dick Ambrose.

Ambrose was chosen through a random draw conducted by Administrative Judge Nancy Fuerst. He is the third judge on the case.

The first judge, Timothy McGinty, stepped down in December.

Ohio Supreme Court Acting Chief Justice Paul E. Pfeifer on Thursday removed Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold from hearing the case.

more here

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/04/anthony_sowell_case_transferre.html
 
thanks salem. I do not understand that judge making the Ohio Supreme Court remove her instead of just stepping down. Does she really want Sowell to have more avenues for appeal? Judges are supposed to be interested in justice first and foremost. Not their own agendas. jmo Glad she is gone.
 
Defense seeks trial delay in 11 dead bodies case

June 29, 2010

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Attorneys for a man charged with killing 11 women and dumping their remains around his home are asking a judge to delay the trial until January 2011.

..................................snip......................................

Earlier this month, Judge Dick Ambrose rejected the defense's request to move the trial out of Cleveland.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<more at link>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLEVELAND_BODIES_FOUND?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
 
Cost of suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell's defense surpasses $185,000 mark
Published: Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 3:04 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The cost of suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell's legal defense, which already has set a record among expensive trials in Cuyahoga County, now has exceeded $185,000 with still three months to go before the trial.


In the past month, Common Pleas Judge Dick Ambrose, granted additional funds for forensic consultants, paralegal assistance, a neuropsychologist and for a team of researchers to comb through more than 2,000 hours of surveillance video shot from the lot next door to Sowell's Imperial Avenue home.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/11/cost_of_suspected_serial_kille.html
 
Cameras may hold clues in Anthony Sowell serial murder investigation


CLEVELAND - An exclusive 5 On Your Side investigation revealed precisely where surveillance cameras were trained next door to the home of accused serial killer Anthony Sowell.

The cameras were originally installed to deter drug dealers from a building housing Ray's Sausage Company, Inc., located next door to Sowell's home on Imperial Avenue in Cleveland.

But Sowell's defense attorney convinced a Cuyahoga County court to authorize $15,000 so they could hire personnel to review the tapes.

The recording system reveals five cameras showing crystal clear, color, multiple angles of Sowell's home and nearby areas -- including a Dumpster.

"This is the Dumpster right here and this is the fence to Sowell's backyard," said Ray Cash, who operates Ray's Sausage Co. and has access to the recording system. "The Dumpster could possibly show him throwing the body in there at night."

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/cr...in-anthony-sowell-serial-murder-investigation
 
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