Cleveland serial killer convicted on 82 counts

By Leila Atassi and Stan Donaldson

Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND

One of the most prolific serial killers in Ohio’s history — who took the lives of 11 women and discarded their remains in crawl spaces, trash bags and shallow graves — is presumed innocent no more.

A Cuyahoga County jury found Anthony Sowell, 51, guilty Friday of aggravated murder, abusing a corpse and tampering with evidence in the deaths of Tonia Carmichael, Nancy Cobbs, Tishana Culver, Crystal Dozier, Telacia Fortson, Amelda Hunter, Leshanda Long, Michelle Mason, Kim Smith, Janice Webb and Diane Turner — all of whose remains were discovered in and around his Imperial Avenue home in 2009.

He also was convicted of attempting to kill three other women, who survived.

The jury of seven women and five men spent 15 hours deliberating before announcing just after 1 p.m. that they had reached a verdict.

The same jurors will return to common pleas Judge Dick Ambrose’s courtroom Aug. 1 to embark on the trial’s next phase, during which they must determine whether Sowell deserves the death penalty for his crimes.

Family and friends of victims packed the courtroom to hear the verdict and remained quiet and composed as Ambrose took about an hour to read through a slate of guilty judgments.

Some family members comforted each other with embraces or clutched hands, while others nodded in silent agreement with the jury’s conclusions.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys declined to comment on the verdict, citing a judge’s gag order in the case.

Sowell was convicted on 82 counts against him and acquitted of only one — the aggravated robbery of surviving victim Gladys Wade.

He also was found guilty of kidnapping all of the victims except for Long, whose skull was found in a bucket in his basement.

Ambrose earlier had acquitted Sowell of two counts related to Long, ruling that because her body was never found, prosecutors lacked enough evidence to prove she had been held against her will. Most of the other victims were discovered still bound at the wrists, ankles and neck.

Long’s father, Jim Allen, said he believes justice was served, despite the judge’s decision.

“I’m not upset about the judge’s ruling because [Sowell] didn’t leave a lot of evidence with my daughter. There was no body,” Allen said. “I’m just trying to be a forgiving man and not hold this anger I have towards him inside of me.”

Joanne Moore, the oldest sister of victim Janice Webb, said she is happy the trial is over and that it will help bring her family closure.

Moore came to court with Webb’s son, Lamarr, her two sisters and two nieces. They watched from a private room for relatives on the 12th floor of the Justice Center.

“We’ve waited a long time for this,” Moore said. “It has been tough on us, but we pulled together as a family and got through it.”

Jonathan Carmichael, the youngest child of victim Tonia Carmichael, said he is ready to move on and believes Sowell’s life should be spared.

“The harder path,” Carmichael said, “would be for him to spend life in prison.”

Sowell’s attorneys, John Parker and Rufus Sims, have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on experts to build a case against executing Sowell.

In the upcoming penalty phase, jurors might hear from neuroscientists who have interviewed Sowell at length or analyzed scans of his brain for insights into his disposition. A military expert is expected to testify about Sowell’s career as an officer and electrician in the Marine Corps.