OH- Accused serial killer previously stationed at Lejeune

11-6-2009 Ohio:

An accused serial killer arrested on Halloween after Cleveland police found at least 11 dead bodies in his home spent time as a Marine at Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point.

Anthony Sowell, 50, a registered sex offender in Ohio, is being held without bond on five counts of murder.

Sowell had duty stations as an electrician at Camp Lejeune from May 1978 to July 1978 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Cherry Point from July 1978 to March 1980. After a year in California, Sowell returned to Cherry Point from April 1981 to December 1983. He was discharged in January 1985, all according to Maj. Shawn Haney, public affairs officer with Marine Manpower and Reserve Affairs at Quantico, Va.

Sowell’s awards include Good Conduct Medal, a Meritorious Mast certificate, Sea Service Deployment ribbon, Certificate of Commendation and two Letters of Appreciation.

Four years after his discharge, Sowell went to prison in Ohio for 15 years for a 1989 rape conviction. He was paroled in 2005 and moved into his family home on Imperial Avenue in Cleveland.

Ohio authorities went to Sowell’s home to serve a sexual assault arrest warrant and found two bodies in the three-story house Oct. 29. After a two-day manhunt, authorities arrested Sowell a few blocks from his home, according to Associated Press news reports.

Over the next several days investigators discovered nine more bodies, some inside, some buried in the backyard. On Tuesday, investigators found a skull in a bucket in the basement of the home, all according to police reports.

Local residents had complained of foul odors near the home for years, the Associated press reported.

Cleveland firefighters were tearing Sowell’s house apart Thursday, but police told reporters they did not know whether they would find more bodies.

Sowell could face the death penalty if convicted on the murder counts, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.



Drew Wilson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read his blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.

An accused serial killer arrested last week after Cleveland police found at least 11 dead bodies in his home spent time at Camp Lejeune in the 1970s as a Marine.

Anthony Sowell, 50, a registered sex offender in Ohio, is being held without bond on five counts of murder.

Sowell joined the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1978. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune from May to July 1978 before being transferred to California. He also spent from April 1981 to December 1983 at Cherry Point, according to his military personnel file obtained by multiple media outlets. He was honorably discharged in 1985.

Ohio authorities went to Sowell’s home to serve a sexual assault arrest warrant and found the bodies of 10 women and a skull in his basement and backyard. The women had been strangled, according to police.

Cleveland firefighters were tearing Sowell’s house apart Thursday, but police told reporters they did not know whether they would find more bodies.

Sowell was released from prison in 2005 after serving 15 years on an attempted rape conviction. He could face the death penalty if convicted of the murder counts, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Neighborhood resident Gladys Wade told WKYC-TV that Sowell attacked her and dragged her into his house last year.

“It was like the devil, eyes glowing,” she said. “He was demonic or something. You could see the demons in him.”

She said she watched in horror last week as bodies were removed from the house she said she escaped.

“I was actually in that house with all those bodies and didn’t know it,” she said. “I could have actually been one of them. I’m the one that got away.” ..Source.. by LINDELL KAY