An Ohio jury on Friday found Anthony Sowell guilty in connection with the aggravated murders, kidnappings and sexual assaults of 11 women in Cleveland between 2007 and 2009.
The jury took less than three days to convict Sowell, who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to 85 counts, among them, murder, abuse of a corpse, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
Sowell turned and offered his hands to a sheriff's deputy to be handcuffed as Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Dick Ambrose read the first guilty verdict for the aggravated murder of Tonia Carmichael with a sexual motivation. In the gallery, Carmichael's mother and daughter hugged each other as the verdict was read.
The judge took nearly an hour to read all the verdicts. The jurors found him guilty on 84 counts, with the sole not guilty verdict coming on an aggravated robbery charge.
Investigators discovered the remains of the 11 women – ages 25 to 52 – in Sowell's home beginning in October 2009. Since then, other women have come forward alleging that Sowell attacked them.
11 bodies, one house of horrors: Why Cleveland women were 'invisible'
Police believe the women were easy prey for Sowell, a convicted sex offender who served 15 years for the attempted rape of a woman in 1989. Most of the women had struggled with drug addiction at some point and court records showing that many resorted to stealing and prostitution to support their habits.
With the conviction, Sowell faces the death penalty. Prosecutors received a report from an expert working with the defense, claiming Sowell suffers from several mental illnesses, including obsessive compulsiveness and post traumatic stress disorder, according to CNN affiliate WOIO.
Defense rests in case of accused Ohio serial killer
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how the mind goes from the innocents of a baby to a cold blooded psychopath is beyond me. I have never understood nor will I ever understand how people can do the things they do. Question is can a being like this ever be reformed?
Good question Aj. I'd be curious to see how many of these people grew up and whether there was abuse. I know I had it rough growing up, but my family was relatively stable.. I think when you expose a person to enough negative stimulus then that just compounds and festers for years until there is no turning back. I honestly believe if everyone was raised in a sterile and loving environment then you'd see less stuff like this happening. Of course there may always be exceptions to the rule. I still say that we should sterilize these predators the first time they commit a heinous act like the violent brutalizing of someone. They are rarely "fixed" by prison alone.
@ JA.. I believe your correct about prison life being the answer to reform.
ok, im really getting peeved at the moderators
pls let me post the second half of my response
GRRRRR, I really didnt say anything wrong in my post
the out side environment is also a factor, thats is basically what I said in the second half of my response
Really the censor is messed up. You can't type swear words in any form even if its contained in a perfectly normal word like repeti tion .. You can however swear using spaces or underscores.. t I t s see? Just watch your wording. I used to think it was the Turner Youth following orders from mein furor.
swear words , ok let me see f-u-c-k
they use to call them HEADLIGHTS
OMG , I said you use to call them head lights hmmm HEAD LIGHTS , LETS SEE
Ahh it took just cant put the word HEAD LIGHTS together.. have to separate the words but you still can SEE, he he
THIS MAN WAS FRAMED! CASEY ANTHONY DID IT!!