Killer of 11 women sentenced to death

Judge Dick Ambrose imposed the sentence yesterday on 51-year-old Anthony Sowell in a court in Cleveland, Ohio.

The jury had announced its recommendation on Wednesday, and Judge Ambrose followed their wishes, saying he deserved to die after a 45-minute analysis of his crimes and background.

Sowell never looked at victims’ relatives as they spoke during the hearing but had voiced an apology on Wednesday.

“I’m sorry. It might not sound like much, but it is all I can give,” Sowell said. “I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart. This is not typical of me. I can’t explain it.”

Prosecutors say Sowell lured the women to his home with the promise of alcohol or drugs.

His two-storey home sat in a run-down neighbourhood where residents had reported a foul lingering stench which was considered to be a by-product of a nearby meat processing plant. It got so bad the owners of Ray’s Sausage replaced their sewerage pipe and grease traps.

The first bodies were found after police went to Sowell’s home to arrest him on a rape charge. His victim told police she had invited a woman in for a drink, then became angry and choked her.

When police turned up with an arrest and search warrant he was out, but they found two decomposing bodies upstairs.

Later searches revealed bodies buried in the back garden, one in the basement and two in an upstairs crawl space. There was also a skull wrapped in paper inside a bucket in his basement.

Many of his victims had struggled with addiction and had resorted to stealing and prostitution.

Their disappearances had gone largely unnoticed.

His defence attorney John Parker said Sowell had a difficult childhood, suffering both physical and sexual abuse.