Six women whose badly decomposed bodies were found at the home of a convicted rapist were all victims of homicide, the coroner’s office said on Sunday.
At least five of the women had apparently been strangled, said Powell Caesar, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County coroner.
Decomposition made it difficult to determine how the sixth died, he said.
The bodies “could have been there anywhere from weeks to months to years,” Caesar said.
None of the victims has been identified, Caesar said. Two were black, but the race of the others hadn’t been determined, he said.
Anthony Sowell, a 50-year-old registered sex offender, was arrested on Saturday when officers spotted him walking down a street in his neighborhood. Court records and jail officials had no information about whether he had an attorney. No charges have been filed regarding the bodies.
The gruesome discovery left some in the community concerned about women whom they had not seen in a long time. Ida Garrett, 72, remembered a friend who was reported missing in April.
“I think one of them is her,” she said.
The first bodies were found Thursday night when police went to Sowell’s home to arrest him on new charges of rape and felonious assault, but he wasn’t there. The woman in that alleged attack survived.
Garrett said the neighborhood was relieved by the arrest but worried about those missing. Her missing friend, Nancy Cobbs, lived one street away from Sowell. Her family told police they fear she is among the victims.
“She seemed to be a very nice, quiet girl. I’ve known her since she was a teenager,” Garrett said.
The house where Sowell lives was owned by two relatives, including a woman described by neighbors as either his stepmother or aunt. Neighbors said the woman had moved into a nursing home, but some feared now that she might be dead. Police were looking into her status.
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