Anthony Edward Sowell (August 19, 1959 – February 8, 2021)[2] was an American serial killer and rapist known as The Cleveland Strangler.

Seven other children belonging to Sowell's sister also lived in the household, having moved in after her death following a chronic illness.

In one incident, Garrison forced Davis to strip naked in front of the other children, then whipped her with electrical cords until she bled.

In 1980, he spent a year overseas in Japan with the 3rd Force Service Support Group, then returned to Cherry Point.

[6] Sowell was ordered to Marine Corps Base Camp Butler in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on January 20, 1984.

[10] Lori Frazier, a niece of Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson, began a relationship with Sowell shortly after his release from prison and resided in his home.

[15] His trial was originally supposed to start on June 2, 2010,[16] but was repeatedly delayed: first to September 7 to give his attorneys more time to prepare,[16] then to February 14, 2011,[17] then to May 2 at the request of his attorneys who needed more time to examine thousands of records and hours of surveillance video footage shot from the property next door to Sowell's,[17] and later to June 6 at the request of the prosecution due to scheduling conflicts.

"[18] On July 22, 2011, he was convicted on all but two counts, including the murders of the eleven women whose bodies were found in his house in 2009.

[2] That November, Sowell's lawyers, Jeffry F. Kelleher and Thomas Rein, filed a Notice of Appeal with the Supreme Court of Ohio.

[21] In October, his new lawyers, Jeffrey M. Gamso and Erika Cunliffe of the Cuyahoga County Public Defender's office, appealed to have his conviction and death sentence overturned on 21 points,[22] with the main three being: In September 2014, the court asked both parties to address three issues.

[26] On April 5, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments from Sowell's appellant attorneys and the Cuyahoga County D.A.

They also argued that counsel had made errors, and "urged the Ohio Supreme Court to send the case back to Cuyahoga County for a retrial.

"[27] The State argued that if Sowell's Sixth Amendment right was violated via the closed pre-trial suppression hearing, it would not have affected the outcome of the trial, as the evidence was overwhelming, and that "Sowell's attorneys were the ones who asked multiple times in his presence for the jury selection to be done privately, without cameras in the courtroom.

[27] On December 8, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Sowell, affirming his aggravated murder convictions and death sentence.

[33] On February 8, 2021, Anthony Sowell died at an Ohio prison hospital of an unspecified terminal illness.

[39] The FBI at the time was gathering information to see if Sowell may have been linked to unsolved cases in cities where he once lived.

[15][40] After Sowell's conviction, in December 2011, his former residence on 12205 Imperial Avenue was demolished by order of the city's leaders.

On January 21, 2021, Sowell was transferred to The Franklin Medical Center in Columbus, so he could begin to receive end-of-life care for an unspecified terminal illness.

[46] Unseen, a documentary film about the victims and survivors of Sowell's crimes, was produced and released in 2016 by Laura Paglin.

He railed against former trial judge and newly elected Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty and addressed the issue of artwork which he had recently sent to the owner of the website.

[49][50][51] On July 16, 2021, ground was broken for the Garden of 11 Angels memorial on the former Sowell property;[52] it was dedicated November 6, 2021.

[53] On July 24, 2021, five women who survived kidnappings by Sowell told their stories on Oxygen's Snapped episode "Notorious The Cleveland Strangler".