Convicted Cleveland Serial Killer Anthony Sowell Dies In Prison

CLEVELAND, OH — Anthony Sowell, a convicted serial killer sentenced to death for the deaths of 11 women in Cleveland more than a decade ago, has died while in prison. Sowell died from a terminal illness at age 61 on Monday, WJW was among the first to report. He had been receiving end-of-life care at the Franklin Medical Center in Columbus, according to The Associated Press.

Sowell had appeals pending and no execution date after a judge gave him the death penalty in 2011. He was already found guilty in the deaths of the 11 women whose bodies were found in or around Sowell's home on Imperial Avenue two years earlier.

Sowell was a former Marine who had a brutal childhood and struggled with his mental health, John Parker, one of his defense attorneys, told the AP on Tuesday.

“He was not a monster and not evil,” Parker said. “He was damaged by childhood abuse and serious mental health problems. May he rest in peace.”

Sowell's victims were all reported missing in the Cleveland area between 2007 and 2009. He was charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in 2009 after police found bodies inside his home while investigating a rape case.

Most of the victims had struggled with addiction and died of strangulation, prosecutors said during Sowell's trial. Some had been decapitated, and the bodies of others were decomposed to such an extent that coroners couldn’t be sure how they died.

In interviews with police, Sowell said he targeted women who reminded him of his ex-girlfriend, who had been addicted to cocaine and left him shortly before the killings began.