“The Cleveland Strangler” Pt. 1: Anthony Sowell

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Two old women shuffled down a Cleveland street in July of 1989, beaded with sweat. Though the sun hung low in the sky, the humidity was suffocating. After a while, the women wiped their foreheads and stopped to rest. They smiled as they watched a group of kids playing in the street. Then their gazes suddenly shifted, as something moved on the roof opposite them. Squinting against the light, they could just make out a small figure precariously balanced on top of one of the homes. At first, the women shook their heads and chuckled. The kids in that house were always up to something. Running across a roof did seem dangerous, and they decided they should make sure an adult knew what was going on. They were crossing the street to knock on the door when the figure spotted the women and started hopping up and down. As the women got a closer look at the stranger, their eyes widened. It was no child on the roof, but a fully grown woman. Her hands were bound together and a gag hung around her neck. The woman on the roof tried her best to gesture for help, glancing frantically from a rooftop window to the street down below. She seemed terrified someone was going to follow her outside. As one of the old women rushed to call the police, the other gasped. It looked like a tall shadow was opening the window behind the bound woman. Hi, I'm Greg Polson. This is Serial Killers, a parkaster original. Every episode we dive into the minds and madness of Serial Killers. Today, we're going to explore the chilling crimes of Anthony Sowell, who killed 11 people between 2007 and 2009. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of Serial Killers and all other parkaster originals for free on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. To stream Serial Killers for free on Spotify, just open the app and type Serial Killers in the search bar. At ParkCast, we're grateful for you, our listeners. You allow us to do what we love, let us know how we're doing. Reach out on Facebook and Instagram @ParkCast and Twitter @ParkCastNetwork. Today, we'll cover Anthony Sowell's childhood, his first arrests, and how his crimes suddenly and violently escalated. On Thursday, we'll delve deeper into Anthony's killing spree and discuss the twisted house of horrors where he lived and buried his victims. Anthony Sowell's story began in the same place it ended, Cleveland, Ohio. He was born in August of 1959 to Claudia Garrison and Thomas Sowell. His parents were never married, and Thomas left Claudia when Anthony was very young. Thomas remained absent for much of Anthony's life, as he was in and out of jail frequently. Even so, he attempted sporadic contact with his son. He eventually got married, and his wife, Segurna, did her best to keep the families connected. Even in the absence of Thomas, Anthony was tied to his father by an extensive network of aunts, uncles, and half-siblings who visited each other often. But for the most part, Anthony was raised by his mother, Claudia. The relationship was tumultuous, and Claudia's household was chaotic. She didn't just look after her own children, but her grandchildren as well. Her first daughter Patricia had five children before the age of 18 and relied on Claudia to care for them. As such, Anthony grew up surrounded by extended family in an unstable environment. When he was seven years old, in 1965, he witnessed one of his older nephews sexually assaulting his niece. As young as he was, Anthony didn't fully comprehend the assault at the time, but it left a lasting mark on him. It was perhaps this kind of trauma that drove Anthony to search so desperately for a place that was just his own. Starting off, he shared a live-in attic with an nephew, and was intensely possessive of his own space. He spent as much time as possible hold up alone in his room. He found it easier to keep to himself because the consequences of stepping outside were harsh. Anthony later described his living situation as a war zone. His mother, Claudia, was a strict disciplinarian. When Claudia felt that one of the children had broken a rule, she would sneak into their room, sometimes as early as two or three in the morning, and yanked them out of bed. She then stripped the offending child down, tied them to the banister with an extension cord, and whipped them with another cord. The other children were made to watch the beating, so they knew what punishment awaited them if they crossed the line. Anthony Sibling's later recalled him laughing as he watched his relatives beaten. As early as ten years old, Anthony began to think of violence as righteous punishment. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. Children are often visual learners, and develop their behavior in part by mimicking the adults around them. Albert Bandura, a scientist and psychologist, used the infamous Bubba doll study to get inside into how children learn. In the study, adults hit a blow-up doll while children watched. Afterward, the children were asked to play with the doll. Many responded by punching and kicking the doll just like the adults had. Psychologist Nathan A. Heflich writes that the children in the study modeled their behavior after the adults they had seen. The same type of learning could have spurred Anthony's fascination with violence and abuse. In 1972, when he was just 13, he began to sexually assault his 11-year-old niece, Leona. Anthony cornered Leona whenever he could, and the assaults quickly became in everyday occurrence. Leona now faced both physical and sexual abuse at home, but had trouble getting any help from the outside. Through the rest of the world, the family appeared to be respectable and well-behaved. At school, Anthony was known as a polite boy, who was eager to learn. No one believed that he was capable of sexual violence. Gradually, Leona became more and more desperate to flee her abusive home. It's not known exactly when she made her escape, but one day, when Claudia was gone, Leona came up with a way to get the attention of authorities. She snuck into a room and lit a small fire with some clothes. When the fire department arrived, Leona immediately confessed to starting the blaze. The young girl was taken to Sagamore Hills Children's Psychiatric Hospital, where she remained for months. Anthony was furious when she left, as he'd been using Leona as an outlet for his confused emotions and twisted frustrations. After Leona left, Anthony started acting out in other ways. Though he'd once been an average but engaged student, his grades started to plummet when he entered high school. Meanwhile, the other students mocked him mercilessly, making fun of him for being socially awkward and reclusive. Anthony started shoplifting and breaking into neighborhood homes. To cope with his family's abuse, he also began self-medicating with alcohol. He was eventually arrested and sighted for drunk and disorderly conduct. By 1976, 17-year-old Anthony had dropped out of school. He was aimless without a job or any ambition. The one bright spot in Anthony's life came when he met his first long-term girlfriend, 14-year-old Twyla Austin. And Twyla, Anthony brightened, but still found it hard to communicate his feelings. Twyla later said he wasn't always showing what he knew or thought. Ultimately, Anthony never told Twyla about the abuse he and his siblings still endured at home. His alcohol problem increased until he was getting drunk in secret almost every night. Eventually, the abuse at home got so bad that Anthony was willing to do anything to get out of Cleveland. In 1977, he broke things off with Twyla and joined the U.S. Marines. It turned out that military life was perfect for Anthony, who enjoyed the rigid structure and was no stranger to harsh discipline. He easily finished top of his class and earned the admiration of his peers. Walter C. Bainsley and ex-Marine later noted that Anthony was immediately promoted to private first class, the only one in his troop of 55 to earn that distinction. By the spring of 1978, Anthony had earned his high school equivalency degree, and began a military career as an electrician. During his second month in training, Twyla called him and told him she was pregnant with his child. Anthony was excited by the news and said that he wanted to be involved in his child's life. Unfortunately, Anthony's deployment made that difficult. Throughout his service, he was stationed in California and Japan and wasn't present for his daughter's birth in August 1978. Limiting his time further, Anthony soon got involved in another relationship. He started seeing Kim Lawson, a fellow Marine in 1979. Their courtship was casual at first, just sex. Many even later admitted to psychologist Howard Fraadkin that he initially grew angry when Kim tried to cuddle with him and hated holding hands with her. Dr. Suzanne Doug's White, a licensed counselor and professor, says that resistance to physical contact can be the result of past experiences. She writes that when a person learns that touching is what gives other people the power, they will deny physical contact. Anthony had experienced physical abuse and was perhaps worried he would be heard again if he let people get too close. But Kim was persistent and eventually broke through Anthony's tough exterior. In 1981, when Anthony was 22, the pair married and moved into a trailer together outside of a military base. Unfortunately, the union didn't last. They were redeployed to different bases, unable to spend as much time together, Anthony and Kim grew distant. But they endured the separation for as long as they had to. Finally, in 1985, both Kim and Anthony were discharged from the military. Though they now had the freedom to live together again, it seemed Kim no longer wanted to. She divorced Anthony and moved away after her discharge. To break up crushed 25-year-old Anthony, he returned home to Cleveland once again depressed and directionless. He moved in with his half-sister Tressa and her family, who now lived in Anthony's childhood home. Once again, he was back in the attic that had sheltered him as a boy. But now that he was older, the attic couldn't protect Anthony from the harsh realities of a situation. He struggled to find a job back in Cleveland and took to spending long periods of time wandering the streets outside his home. Eventually, he started drinking heavily again and even began smoking crack in 1986. The drugs unleashed his violent temper. In 1988, he was charged for domestic violence, though it isn't clear who he assaulted. Another time, he was arrested for possession of cocaine. As Anthony's circumstances deteriorated, he felt himself losing control. He was infuriated at the state of his life, and it was only a matter of time before he took it out on someone else. In a moment, Anthony searches for an outlet for his drug-fueled rage. Now back to the story. In 1989, 29-year-old Anthony so well was adrift. After being discharged from the military, he suffered through a bitter divorce. He moved home to Cleveland to live with his half-sister Tressa, but struggled to get back at his feet. To cope with his frustrations, he'd even turned to smoking crack. But the drugs only made Anthony more depressed and prone to exploding with rage. He felt perpetually on the verge of violence and searched desperately for someone to take out his anger on. On July 22, 1989, he found his answer in the form of Melvett Sockwell. The previous night, Melvett had partied until the sun came up. She was three months pregnant and felt the need to cut loose. After hours of dancing with friends, she walked to a motel to meet her boyfriend, around 6am. As Melvett approached the motel, she noticed the police parked out front and decided to turn around. Her boyfriend dealt drugs, and she worried she'd get mixed up in legal trouble if she stuck around. As she walked back down the street, she ran into Anthony so well, who eagerly introduced himself. The pair started chatting, and Anthony invited Melvett over to his place for a drink. As he ushered Melvett through the door of his childhood home, Anthony waved to his sister Tressa and her kids in the living room. Then he took Melvett straight up to the attic. Once they were inside, Anthony slammed his door shut, and all of a sudden dropped his winning smile. In a matter of seconds, Anthony went from easy-going stranger to remorseless attacker. He grabbed a huge suitcase and barricaded the door with it. Then before Melvett could process what was going on, he reached for a knife and marched toward her menacingly. Anthony ordered Melvett to strip at knife point, then raped and beat her viciously for over 12 hours. When at last he grew tired of the torture, he tied Melvett's hands behind her back, gagged her, and laid down for a nap. Before he dozed off, he promised Melvett that he would kill her once he woke up. As that haunting message, he went to sleep. As soon as Anthony was snoring, Melvett moved quietly and looked for a way to escape. She couldn't move the suitcase without making a noise, so she crawled out of the window instead. Two older women were on a stroll, enjoying the summer evening when they noticed Melvett on the roof. After seeing she was bound and gagged, they hurried back to their houses to call the police. Authorities soon showed up to the house and pounded on the door. Tressa had no idea what was going on, but let the officers in and led them to Anthony's attic room. After they forced the door open, Anthony tried to pretend he was clueless, but apparently he wasn't a very convincing liar, he was arrested. But Anthony soon made bail and was out on the streets again. When his court date came up, he never showed up for his trial, and he went on a lamb. For some reason, he didn't have to stay in hiding for long. Despite skipping his court date, police never searched for him, and he was able to return to his life as usual relatively quickly. He'd somehow caught a lucky break, but the near miss didn't exactly scare Anthony straight. If anything, he was more tense than ever and he could only contain his violent urges for so long. Almost a year after his first sexual assault, 30-year-old Anthony struck again. On June 24, 1990, he targeted another woman he'd invited to the house for a drink. We don't know her name, but like Melvett, she was pregnant. Since the two of them were there alone, Anthony was easily able to approach her from behind and attack. Anthony raped and assaulted the woman. Just like before, he promptly fell asleep after the attack. The woman escaped after he passed out and went straight to the police. She gave them the address of the house and a description of Anthony Sowell, who was still asleep when police arrived, authorities arrested Anthony. But when they brought him back to the station, they discovered that his victim had left while they were away. The police were at a loss, the woman hadn't left her name or her address. They needed that information to press charges. But before they let him go free, officers searched previous police reports for Anthony's name. They discovered he'd skipped out on his bail the previous year and held him in jail on the original charge. When the court date came up in September of 1990, Anthony was forced to be there. The case wasn't as clear-cut as police had hoped. They never found Anthony's second victim, so their case entirely hung on Melvett. She agreed to testify, but Anthony's lawyer successfully brought the charges down to attempted rape. And so, the jury heard enough to find 31-year-old Anthony guilty. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, starting that September. Anthony was initially terrified of doing hard time, but once he entered prison, he was surprised to find the rigid structure reminded him of his happy stint in the military. Throughout his sentence, Anthony, for the most part, flew under the radar. Separated from society and the temptations of drugs, he didn't mind following the rules. But emotionally, Anthony never accepted his guilt. As part of his sentence, he was required to go to counseling and register as a sex offender. Though he signed up for the counseling, he never went to any of the sessions. In the documentary Unseen, a fellow inmate said that Anthony refused to even admit that what he did was wrong. To him, the counseling was unnecessary and a breach of his privacy. He didn't want anyone to know his business. According to Dr. Jason Whiting, a therapist and researcher, many abusers used denial as a defense mechanism. He writes that abusers get defensive after they harm others and argue their bad behavior was acceptable or the victim deserved it. Many ignored the therapeutic requirements of his sentence and spent much of his time alone with his thoughts or cooking in the prison kitchen. His semi-peaceful routine was only interrupted in 2003 when Anthony learned that his father had passed away. Though he'd never known his dad well, Anthony was crushed by his death. He worried that he was repeating a vicious cycle as his father had also spent his life in and out of prisons. He lost motivated Anthony even more to turn his life around once he got out of jail. At long last, on June 20, 2005, he was released at the age of 45. Anthony's release form stated that he was considered a low risk for re-offence. To many, it appeared he'd learned his lesson and was ready to turn over a new leaf. Anthony was shocked to find how much the world had changed in his absence. Technology had advanced and everything he once knew looked slightly different. Even so, he was determined not to fall into despair. He managed to get a job at a baseball field as a prep cook and looked like he was getting back on his feet. He even received some help from an unlikely source. After his father passed away, Anthony's stepmother, Segurna, had been renting out rooms in their house to tenants. She allowed Anthony to move in and helped him readjust to society. To the outside world, Anthony looked all but redeemed. He'd served his time, gotten a new job, and found a place to live. He became a recognizable face around Segurna's neighborhood. He was a regular customer at the convenience store across the street, as well as raise sausage next door. But underneath it all, Anthony was still nursing a malevolent rage. His dark desires had laid dormant for over a decade, but they hadn't gone away entirely. The moment he faced temptation, he folded once again. One evening, soon after moving in with Segurna, Anthony was hanging out near his bus stop. He met a woman named Laurie Frazier. Laurie was the estranged niece of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, though she was the black sheep of the family. Laurie had been arrested several times for a possession of crack, solicitation, and drug trafficking. She and Anthony hid it off at once and started dating. Within a few weeks, Anthony was back to smoking crack. He and Laurie spent hours smoking in Anthony's room at his stepmother's home. Soon, Anthony was using most of his salary to finance his drug habit. All the work he'd done to turn his life around was evaporating. Once Anthony lost control of himself, his violent thoughts returned. He sought to indulge them by joining SNM dating sites. Though he was still with Laurie at the time, he became a member of a site where he identified himself as a dominant master looking for a submissive woman. The drug benders, his online persona, and the seclusion of his room allowed Anthony to all but disconnect himself from reality. Besides Laurie, he hardly spoke to anyone in the outside world. He barely even saw his stepmother, who began to experience health problems in late 2005. She relied on 46-year-old Anthony to care for her, but he couldn't provide her with the help she needed. During this time, he even stopped paying rent, depriving her of income she needed to pay for her medical expenses. Unfortunately, by that point, Segurna didn't have the strength to make Anthony pay or move out. The more freedom he got, the more he indulged his dark side. Just like before his previous arrest, Anthony saw a stable life slipping out of his grasp. And just like before, it infuriated him. Soon, someone would have to pay for his mistakes. In a moment, Anthony claims his first murder victim. After serving 15 years in prison, it seemed like Anthony so well had gotten his life back on track, but in 2007, 47-year-old Anthony relapsed in his addiction to crack and struggled to cope with sadistic thoughts. He started isolating himself from those closest to him. His on-again, off-again girlfriend, Laurie, grew distant, and soon Anthony was consumed by a ravenous anger. It took one more tragedy to push him over the edge. One morning in 2007, while riding the bus, Anthony felt a surge of pain at his chest. He tried to walk it off, but the pain worsened until he had trouble even staying upright. As he tried to get off the bus, he suddenly collapsed in the middle of the sidewalk. He awoke hours later in the hospital, where a doctor informed him he'd suffered a heart attack. He needed a pacemaker. After undergoing a taxing surgery and a painful recovery period, Anthony went back to his job at the packaging company, but his coordination was impaired from the surgery and medication. One day after being back for four months, the company had to call an ambulance for him after he suffered from shortness of breath. After this incident, the packing company determined Anthony was no longer able to do his job and fired him. He was despondent, describing an overwhelming sense of loneliness and sadness. Even worse, he felt like he had no place to turn. His stepmother, Sigurna, was suffering from medical problems of her own. She was often hospitalized, leaving Anthony all alone. His girlfriend Laurie often disappeared for days at a time on crack benches. One night, while brooding over his situation, Anthony decided he was tired of restraining himself. He'd tried to go clean to have a normal life, but it was too difficult to fight his violent thoughts. Now he didn't even have a job to distract him. He eventually decided he'd have to unleash his sadistic urges to make them go away. This time, he struck close to home. He targeted one of Laurie's friends who also bought crack in their neighborhood, Crystal Dozier. Crystal and Laurie had a lot in common, including drugs. Like Anthony, she'd tried many times to get sober and had been in and out of jail for years, but had little success getting clean. On May 12, 2007, Crystal's son, Anthony Dozier, called to talk to his mother. She seemed relatively lucid, but he knew she hadn't given up the drugs. The next day was Mother's Day, and with a tinge of resentment, Dozier decided not to call again. Crystal called her own mother, then went out and never returned. The next day, Anthony so well came back up to his room, covered in blood and dirt. It's not known exactly how he lured Crystal to his home, but it's likely it was with the promise of drugs. Once they were alone, he strangled Crystal with an extension cord. He buried the body in the backyard, but thanks to his heart condition, he couldn't dig very deep. He got tired in the middle of digging, and in the end, left Crystal's corpse less than two feet underground. The murder relieved Anthony. It felt good to make someone else suffer. He didn't expect anyone to report Crystal missing. For a while, it looked like the perfect crime. But when her son returned from the Marines later that month, he was shocked to find that no one seemed to know where his mother had gone. Anthony Dozier went to the local police station to file a report, but when the officers saw Crystal's history with drugs, they waved him away. According to Dozier, the police told him she was an adult and had a right to go missing. Over the next few days, he took matters into his own hands. He searched for his mother every where he could think of and put up missing person's posters all over the neighborhood. Anthony so well hated the posters. He felt Crystal's eyes boring into him whenever he went to the convenience store to get lighters, or when he stopped to get a bite at Ray's sausage. He ripped them down every time he walked by. He thought killing Crystal would calm his temper, but now he was more irritated than ever. He took out his anger on Laurie, who had started coming back around again. Though she hadn't even noticed Crystal was missing, Anthony became so frustrated that he began beating her for no reason. Laurie told her friends that Anthony had grown mean and more aggressive than before. Her friends attributed the behavior to the crack, and the fact that Anthony had become almost a complete recluse. Laurie's final straw came one day when she went over to Anthony's to smoke. She found him in an odd mood, feverishly cleaning his floor on his hands and knees. He had a gaping wound on his head, and Laurie noticed blood on the carpet. When she asked him what was going on, Anthony nonchalantly said he'd been robbed and just needed to tidy up. Anthony had never been good at communicating, but now Laurie was starting to get scared of him. Over the next few weeks, she saw Anthony less and less. One day he walked into his dingy room and realized that more of Laurie's stuff was going with her each time she went home. Finally, she left for good. Though they'd broken up before, Anthony knew this time she wasn't coming back. He was distraught at the loss and directed his rage at the world and women in general. He rampaged through his stepmother's house, smashing bottles and weeping. Despite being completely at fault for the breakup, Anthony felt abandoned by Laurie. Once again, he turned to violence to sue himself. This next victim was 24-year-old Lashonda Long. Like so many others in the city, she'd fallen victim to drug addiction. But unlike Crystal Dozier, she was on the track toward recovery. Lashonda's father saw her frequently and regularly called to check in on her. At first, she resisted his advice to seek help for her addiction. But as 2008 began, she seemed more open to what he had to say. He was slowly growing optimistic about her recovery. Though she occasionally still dropped off the grid for a few days, those periods were becoming few and far between. But in May of 2008, Lashonda left her father's house and never called him again. To this day, no one knows what Anthony did to Lashonda or where he hit her body. But after he killed her, he threw her severed head down in the basement, amongst piles of trash. His stepmother had been hospitalized for a while by 2008, and Anthony's garbage had begun piling up unchecked in the basement. Soon, the flood of junk would rise to the first floor and eventually, even the second. The mess in his home allowed Anthony to hide the bodies of his victims, though he couldn't get rid of the stench of the decay. The few people Anthony still allowed inside the house were mostly therefore fix, and were able to ignore the noxious smell. But at some point, the odor would spill out onto the streets. As the number of missing people grew, eventually authorities would be forced to pay attention. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. Tune into our next episode for part two of the Cleveland Strangler. We'll cover the height of Anthony Sowell's killings pre, as well as his eventual capture and conviction. For more information on Anthony Sowell, amongst the many sources we used, we found nobody's women by Steve Miller, extremely helpful to our research. You can find more episodes of serial killers, and all other podcast originals for free on Spotify. Not only does Spotify already have all of your favorite music, but now Spotify is making it easy for you to enjoy all of your favorite podcast originals, like serial killers for free, from your phone, desktop or smart speaker. To stream serial killers on Spotify, just open the app and type "Serial Killers" in the search bar. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @Parcast. And Twitter @Parcastnetwork. We'll see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler and is a podcast studio's original executive producers include Max and Ron Cutler, sound designed by Brian Gollab, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly Madden and Aaron Larson. This episode of serial killers was written by Jordan Crawford, with writing assistance by Abigail Cannon and stars Greg Poulson and Vanessa Richardson.