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The infamous "Cleveland Strangler" Anthony Sowell is the subject of Living With a Serial Killer's latest episode, which aired on Saturday, August 27, 2022.
The official synopsis of the episode, titled Anthony Sowell, says:
"East Cleveland is shattered when the bodies of 11 murdered women are found in a house of horrors; as the crimes become public, the killer's sister faces death threats and reminders of a childhood spent with a young man turned monster."
Trigger warning: This article contains information about graphic violence.
Sowell, who recently died at the age of 61 due to a terminal disease while on death row, was found guilty of the events that transpired in his house of horrors, which was situated on Imperial Avenue in Cleveland. He was charged with murdering and s*xually assaulting 11 black women between the years 2007 and 2009.
However, this discovery came way later. His crime spree began in the late 1980s, for which he even served 15-years jail time until he was released in 2005. His crimes continued as the years passed and only grew worse.
Here are five things to know about the infamous Cleveland Strangler, Anthony Sowell, and his backstory.
Five facts about Anthony Sowell, dubbed "Cleveland Strangler"
1) Anthony Sowell allegedly grew up in an abusive household
Anthony Sowell was born on August 19, 1959, in East Cleveland. He started out as a shy, lanky boy living with nine other children in a fatherless home. His single mother allegedly beat the children while the rest watched from neighboring rooms. In one instance, she made one of the kids remove her clothes in front of the others before whipping her with electrical cables until she bled.
According to two of the now-adult children, their childhood was full of violence. The two reportedly claimed that Sowell saw an elder bind them up and assault them with a cord. He would later use the same tool to become the killer who allegedly tied up and strangled most of the victims that he lured into his Imperial Avenue home.
2) He joined the Marines as a teenager
On January 24, 1978, Sowell, then 18, enlisted in the US Marine Corps. He underwent training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina's boot camp before completing his electrician training at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He was transferred on July 13, 1978, to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, also in North Carolina, where he was placed with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Sowell traveled abroad for a year in 1980 with the 3rd Force Service Support Group before coming home to Cherry Point. On January 20, 1984, he was subsequently given an order to report to Marine Corps Base Camp Butler in Okinawa, Japan.
After a year of service, he was sent to Camp Pendleton in California, where he stayed for only three days before being discharged on January 18, 1985. Corporal Sowell earned the Good Conduct Medal with one service star throughout his seven-year Marine Corps career.
3) Sowell pleaded guilty to r*pe in 1990
A three-month pregnant woman visited Anthony Sowell's house willingly in 1989. He reportedly restrained her as she attempted to flee, before gagging her with a piece of clothing. He was accused of r*pe, attempted r*pe, and kidnapping.
The woman reportedly told authorities that,
"He choked me real hard because my body started tingling. I thought I was going to die."
Sowell ultimately entered a guilty plea to the attempted r*pe allegation, and as a result, he was sentenced to 15 years in jail in 1990 only to be released from an Ohio prison in 2005. He was then tagged as a Tier III s*x offender.
4) He had a history of substance abuse
When Sowell left the Marines in January 1985, East Cleveland was an entirely different place. He himself was a changed person, someone who became an alcoholic. A large portion of the Cleveland area was overrun by crack, a new, smokable, strong type of cocaine that swept the nation's major cities in 1985 and left the city's economy in ruins.
He reportedly admitted that he became a substance abuser and claimed that he would occasionally black out. His criminal history shows a charge of possessing hazardous substances from 1988, though it is not clear which substance was involved. Between 1986 and 1989, there were more arrests for unruly behavior, DUI, and public intoxication.
5) Anthony Sowell fathered a child with girlfriend before leaving for Marines
Twyla Austin, who is currently a resident of Arkansas, stated in her court testimony that she first met Anthony Sowell when she was 17 and a high school student at Shaw High School. She asserted that after finding out she was pregnant, she moved into Sowell's childhood home in East Cleveland. The woman reportedly gave birth to their daughter eight and a half months after Sowell joined the Marines.
According to sources, Sowell then married a woman named Kim Yvette Lawson, who was also in the Marines in September 1981. Unfortunately, Lawson passed away in 1998 when Sowell was incarcerated in an Ohio prison. According to Kim's mother, Sowell's daughter assured her that she married him out of pity and to save him from getting dishonorably discharged due to his drinking habits.
Kim's mother, Norma Lawson, reportedly said,
"She didn't want him to get a dishonorable discharge. She was trying to get him through the Marine Corps. She divorced him the day she got out."
Tune in to Living With a Serial Killer's episode on Oxygen to know more about the Cleveland Strangler.
