Crimesider
Crimesider
November 9, 2009 6:30 PM

Anthony Sowell: Case Against Accused Cleveland Serial Killer Could Expand Overseas with FBI Interest

By
Ryan Smith
Topics
Daily Blotter
(AP/John Kuntz, Plain Dealer; CPD)
Image: A Cuyahoga County coroner van leaves the home of Anthony Sowell (inset) on the east side of Cleveland, Oct. 30, 2009 carrying a victim discovered in the house.

CLEVELAND (CBS/AP) In Ohio, Anthony Sowell's home and yard hid the remains of at least 11 people. Is it possible the accused serial killer, while serving in the military, was involved in cases still unsolved in Japan, California and the Carolinas?

It's a possibility the FBI is not ruling out.

FBI behavioral specialists visited the Sowell property during the weekend and will try to develop a profile of the killings that could help determine whether investigations need to be opened or reopened elsewhere, said FBI spokesman Scott Wilson.

Sowell, 50, served in the Marines from 1978 to 1985 and was stationed at various times in South Carolina, North Carolina, Okinawa, Japan and Camp Pendleton, California.

The city of East Cleveland is also reviewing three unsolved slayings in 1988 and 1989, after Sowell returned there from service in the Marines and before he went to prison for attempted rape, said Sgt. Ken Bolton, a detective for the police department in the Cleveland suburb.

(AP/The Plain Dealer, John Kuntz)
Photo: Patricia Warren of Cleveland holds up a missing persons poster of her cousin Janice Webb, missing since June of this year, outside the home of Anthony Sowell on Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 in Cleveland.

PICTURES: Anthony Sowell's Home of Horror

Sowell has been charged in Cleveland with five counts of aggravated murder in connection with the bodies found at the home.

The FBI will review its national database of unsolved crimes for any clues to possible connections to Sowell, particularly at his military service locations, Wilson said. The first step is to get a detailed timeline of his service, Wilson said.

Police in California said a woman told them that she saw Sowell's mug shot on TV and was sure he had raped her in 1979.

Officers talked with the woman but were unable to confirm her story because rape investigation records from 30 years ago have been thrown out, said Jesus Ochoa, Coronado police commander.

"She seemed credible," he said.

(Alt.com/Personal Photo)
Photo: Alt.com profile picture of Anthony Sowell.

Sowell's house remained cordoned off as a crime scene Monday under police guard, but authorities haven't indicated when they might resume searching.

PICTURES: Anthony Sowell's Home of Horror

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
November 5, 2009 - Anthony Sowell Offered Free Barbecue To Neighbors, As Corpses Rotted in His Home
November 5, 2009 - Family of Anthony Sowell Victim Tonia Carmichael: Police Said "Go Home"
November 4, 2009 - Harry Smith on Anthony Sowell and His Cleveland House of Horrors
November 4, 2009 - Skull in Bucket Found in Anthony Sowell's Home, Say Cleveland Cops
November 3, 2009 - Anthony Sowell Home "Smelled Like a Dead Body" for Years; How Did Cops Miss Victims?
November 2, 2009 - Anthony Sowell House of Horrors: Who's Buried There?
November 2, 2009 - Anthony Sowell Cruised Sex Fetish Site While Dead Bodies Rotted in His Cleveland Home
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