CLEVELAND, Ohio (AFP) – Relatives of 11 murdered women wept in court as Ohio jurors found a man guilty of killing them and burying their bodies in his house.
Jim Allen, the father of Leshanda Long, whose skull was recovered from a bucket found in the Cleveland home of Anthony Sowell, said he was glad justice had been served.
"The pain will never be completely gone, but this is a good day for my family," Allen said.
Sowell, 51, was on Friday found guilty on 82 counts after 15 hours of deliberations over three days by the jury. He was only found not guilty on one count of aggravated robbery against Gladys Wade, who had testified he attacked her in 2009.
Prosecutors for the case said Sowell was sexually motivated and acted alone when he killed the women, whose decomposed remains were found in his backyard and inside his home after his arrest in October 2009.
Sowell had blamed the smell emanating from his house on a nearby sausage factory.
He did not show any emotion as Judge Dick Ambrose read out each verdict, but as he left the courtroom, he hoisted his handcuffed hands in the air, looking directly at the cameramen and photographers.
Sowell could now face the death penalty, and Ambrose scheduled the trial to resume on August 1, when jurors will have to decide whether to recommend the death penalty.
Donnita Carmichael, daughter of Tonia Carmichael, the first victim identified by the medical examiner's office, said she was relieved this part of the trial had ended.
She hugged her grandmother and Tonia's mother Barbara in the courtroom as the verdict was read. They both wept.
"I'm excited for my family and now we can try to move on from this," Carmichael said. "We have been through a lot."
The gruesome case that unraveled on October 29, 2009 had officials scrambling to explain why the crimes weren't discovered sooner.
The women allegedly killed by Anthony Sowell were exclusively poor, black and hampered by lifestyles that took them on and off the streets.
Because of their socioeconomic situation, they were not always reported as missing immediately.
Testimony in the trial lasted for three weeks, and the defense and prosecution refused to comment after the verdicts were returned, saying the case is under a gag order.
The deceased victims are: Tonia Carmichael, Leshanda Long, Amelda Hunter, Crystal Dozier, Kim Smith, Diane Turner, Telacia Fortson, Janice Webb, Nancy Cobbs, Tishana Culver and Michelle Mason.
