Neighbours 'smelled bodies'

2009-11-04 22:07

Cleveland - Neighbours of alleged US serial killer Anthony Sowell had apparently complained about a foul smell for years, but many believed it was coming from a sausage shop next door.

The 50-year-old convicted rapist was arraigned on Wednesday on a string of murder charges as investigators examined the gruesome remains of up to 11 bodies unearthed at his home in Cleveland, Ohio.

Local councillor Zack Reed said he would push for an independent investigation into why complaints about the smell didn't lead to an earlier discovery.

"Residents are mad and they have every right to be mad," he told AFP.

Reed said his office called the public health department about two and a half years ago after a neighbour reported the smell. He wondered whether an earlier detection could have prevented some of the murders.

"I know darned well that our health department should have been able to tell the difference between the smell of a dead body and the smell of dead meat," he told AFP.

Bail appeal

At the arraignment hearing, defence lawyers argued unsuccessfully that Sowell should be granted bail as he had a heart condition that required him to wear a pacemaker and had other undisclosed medical problems.

Prosecutors were adamant the alleged serial killer, who has already served a 15-year stint behind bars for a 1989 rape, should be kept under lock and key.

"The state believes he is an incredibly dangerous threat to the public," assistant county prosecutor Brian Murphy told the hearing.

A frail looking Sowell stared straight ahead at Judge Ronald Adrine as he was ordered to remain in jail pending trial on charges of "aggravated murder", rape, kidnap and assault related to five victims, all of whom were strangled.

"After 26 years on the bench, this is without question the most serious set of allegations I've ever faced," said Adrine, refusing bail due to the macabre nature of the crimes and Sowell's past criminal history.

Sowell, in handcuffs and surrounded by bailiffs and police officers, quietly waived his right to an examination hearing.

Decomposing bodies

Police discovered on Thursday the first of the decomposing bodies of five women inside Sowell's home and another woman's body outside the house.

Investigators unearthed four more bodies and a skull at Sowell's home on Tuesday, bringing the total number of victims to a possible 11.

"We have located 10 bodies and a singular skull," Cleveland police spokesperson Thomas Stacho told AFP. "It is not known yet if the skull is an 11th victim."

The first six bodies have all been identified as African-American women and coroners are working on the sex and race of the rest with the help of an anthropologist from a local museum.

Sowell did not try to resist as he was arrested walking through his Cleveland neighbourhood after a local resident recognised him and notified police on Saturday.

Neighbourhood

Neighbours said Sowell's family lived for many years at his well-kept house in Imperial Avenue, where he had returned in 2005 after being released from prison.

On unemployment benefit after being laid off from his job about two years ago, Sowell lived on the third floor and liked to sit on the concrete front steps at the front of the house.

He was often spotted rolling a shopping cart down the street collecting cans and scrap, said residents in the poor Cleveland neighbourhood, which is dotted with vacant and boarded-up buildings.

"It's a hard pill to swallow," said Wanda Thomas, who has lived in the neighbourhood for decades. "People used to look out for each other. Now people are scared," she told AFP.

Cleveland deputy police chief Ed Tomba said investigators had finished digging up and raking through Sowell's backyard late on Tuesday, but were continuing to search his house for more evidence.

Members of the community who may have loved ones missing have been asked to come forward with photographs of the relatives in a bid to help the identification process.

Police said they planned to search vacant buildings within a half-mile radius of Sowell's home, looking for additional bodies.

Sowell's case will now be forwarded to a grand jury. He could face the death penalty if found guilty.

- AFP