Sowell was arrested Saturday, Oct. 31, walking down Mount Auburn Avenue, just blocks away from his house. A passer-by had seen Sowell and drove to 4th District police station and reported he had seen Sowell.

By JAMES W. WADE III

Staff Reporter

It’s been two years since Imperial Ave. became a street that became popular due to Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell. On Thursday, Oct. 29, police went to 12205 Imperial Ave., in Cleveland to arrest Sowell, a registered sex offender wanted for an attack inside the home.

11 bodies were found at the convicted sex offender’s home. All African-American women, most had been strangled. Nine of the 11 bodies have been identified so far. 

Tonia Carmichael, 52, of Warrensville Heights, was the first woman identified, on Nov. 4. Her body was one of the first six discovered in the back yard of the home.

Nov. 5, two more women were identified by the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office. Tishana Culver, 31; Telacia Fortson, 31; and Culver, who also lived on Imperial Avenue, was not reported as a missing person, police said. Culver was the mother of four children. The children live with their grandparents on Imperial Avenue. DNA was not needed to identify Culver.

Fortson was the mother of three young children and had been missing since May 31. Her family said they initially filed a missing persons report with East Cleveland police during the summer and then contacted Cleveland’s 4th District on that Sunday.

A Purple Light Anniversary Vigil for the 11 Ladies Murdered by Sowell at his home will be held today Sat., Oct 29 at 5:15 pm on Imperial Ave. next to serial killer Anthony Sowell's home.

The rally is also a rally to stop violence against women, Black women in particular. There will also be a call for real changes in the missing person protocol of all police departments and ask that all officers are trained to take missing person reports properly and completely and be more responsive to the families.

Sowell was arrested Saturday, Oct. 31, walking down Mount Auburn Avenue, just blocks away from his house. A passer-by had seen Sowell and drove to 4th District police station and reported he had seen Sowell.

After deliberating for a total of about seven hours, a jury recommended the death penalty for convicted serial killer Sowell. Judge Ambrose later established Oct. 29, 2012, as the date, pending appeals, that Anthony Sowell will die.