Man convicted of murder in deaths of 11 women
Ohio resident lived among their rotting remains
Cleveland: A man who lived among the rotting remains of 11 women was convicted on Friday of killing all of them, bringing closure to a case that has haunted the city since the bodies were unearthed from a house that smelled like death.
Anthony Sowell, 51, was convicted of aggravated murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and abuse of a human corpse in the 11 deaths. He now faces a possible death sentence.
"We do deserve this justice," said Denise Hunter, whose sister, Amelda, was found buried in Sowell's back yard in plastic garbage bags. "I'm so glad that finally, on July the 21st, that all of our families can rest assured — and all of our loved ones can rest assured — that peace has come to our families."
Most of the victims' families slipped out a side entrance of the courtroom, preferring to avoid making any comment about the verdict. When Sowell was convicted of murdering Tonia Carmichael, who was strangled with an electrical charger, Carmichael's mother and daughter clung to each other and wept as they rocked back and forth in the front row.
Jury deliberation
The jury deliberated for just over 15 hours before announcing the verdicts.
Sowell, dressed in a grey polo shirt and dark slacks, closed his lips tightly, looked straight ahead and barely moved as the first aggravated murder verdict was read before deputies immediately handcuffed him. Then he sat down, his chest heaving as he pushed himself back in the chair.
Most jurors avoided looking at Sowell while the judge read the verdicts. Two jurors wiped away tears and others swivelled in their chairs to look at sobbing relatives of victims.
None of the attorneys commented afterward because a gag order remains in place until after Sowell is sentenced. The sentencing phase will begin August 1.
The discovery of the bodies was an embarrassment for the city's police force, which was accused by victims' families of failing to properly investigate the disappearances because most of the women were addicted to drugs and lived in an impoverished neighbourhood.
