Summary

Footage Information

ABCNEWS VideoSource
US Investigation - WRAP Suspected serial killer in court; reax, police presser
11/05/2009
APTN
VSAP625830
NAME: US INVEST 20091105I TAPE: EF09/1038 IN_TIME: 10:04:47:19 DURATION: 00:03:54:17 SOURCES: AP TELEVISION/ABC DATELINE: Cleveland - 4 Nov 2009 RESTRICTIONS: See Shotlist SHOTLIST: ABC - NO ACCESS NORTH AMERICA/ INTERNET 1. Mid shot of suspect Anthony Sowell in Municipal Court responding to judge ABC - NO ACCESS NORTH AMERICA/ INTERNET 2. Mid of Sowell standing with police officials 3. Close-up of Sowell, pan right to Judge Ronald Adrine UPSOUND: (English): Ronald Adrine, Judge of Municipal Court: ++AUDIO STARTS ON CLOSE-UP OF SOWELL, PANS TO JUDGE AND FINISHES ON CLOSE OF SOWELL/AUDIO AS INCOMING++ "Mr. Sowell in 28 years of being on this bench this is without question the most serious set of allegations that I have ever faced. Given the nature and the gruesomeness of the allegations that have been placed against you, as well as your past criminal history, the court believes that the request of the prosecution in this matter that you be held and remanded without bond is well taken and as a result that will be the order of the court." 4. Sowell being taken away ABC - NO ACCESS NORTH AMERICA/ INTERNET 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Frank Miller, Cuyahoga County Coroner: "They are all African American women; seven died of ligature strangulation, one died of manual strangulation, two, the decomposition of the body precludes accuracy sometimes and we are diagnosing that as homicidal violence in two cases and the last case, the autopsy is ongoing, it does not appear to have a ligature, it will undoubtedly be a case of either manual strangulation or homicidal violence, so that is 11 victims. There were six inside the house and five recovered from the yard." AP TELEVISION 6. Mid of house where bodies were found ABC - NO ACCESS NORTH AMERICA / INTERNET 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael McGrath, Cleveland Police Department Chief: "Currently it's a crime scene and we are going to treat it as a crime scene. As we receive additional information, for example, or intelligence from the coroner office or outside sources that's how we'll proceed with our investigation at that particular residence." 8. Wide of McGrath 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael McGrath, Cleveland Police Department Chief: "We did not search the floor or walls in that particular structure this afternoon, that's not to say we might not go back there tomorrow." AP TELEVISION 10. Pan right of fire truck near house 11. Close of rose left on pole outside house, pull out to house 12. Close of candles left in front of house 13. SOUNDBITE (English) Zack Reed, Cleveland City Councilman: "I know that it is a tragedy that happened here, I think that is the bottom line, a tragic situation that happened in the most residential ward in the entire city of Cleveland. What has to be understood this is not some desolate area, this is not some rural area, there are homes and people that live all around here and there are businesses that are right next door." 14. Mid shot of fire truck near house were bodies were found, pan to house ABC - NO ACCESS NORTH AMERICA/ INTERNET 15. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Frank Miller, Cuyahoga County Coroner: "So far we have received only five reference samples from biological relatives, again we have already done one DNA identity, we are going to have to rely on either dental examination or DNA identification in this case because of the level of decomposition and decay in the bodies, fingerprints and visual recognition will not be possible." AP TELEVISION 16. SOUNDBITE (English) Zack Reed, Cleveland City Councilman: "At first you are astonished that... anything of this magnitude, if its just one situation... you are astonished and not happy about it, but now as you get more and more in depth, you start to get angry. Knowing that my office actually called the health department in 2007 to say that one of my residents called in and said there is a foul odour across the street and it smells like a dead body... And to know that from 2007 to this present day, that we still have this tragedy going and we are still taking bodies, it makes you angry." 17. Mid shot of house where bodies were found STORYLINE: Authorities say they have confirmed a total of at least 11 victims whose remains were found in the Cleveland home of a registered sex offender. The Cuyahoga County coroner's office said Wednesday that a skull found in a bucket in Anthony Sowell's basement belonged to a body they have not yet found. Authorities also say they have identified one of the victims as 53-year-old Tonia Carmichael, who disappeared a year ago. Police Chief Michael McGrath said her remains were buried in the backyard and had marks indicating she was strangled. Carmichael's daughter Markiesha Carmichael-Jacobs said her mother struggled with drug addiction and frequented Sowell's neighbourhood. This comes as Sowell was ordered held without bond on Wednesday. He appeared in court under tight security, wearing a blue paper jumpsuit typically used when an inmate might be a suicide risk. His wrists and ankles were manacled, and he walked into court staggering slightly. Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Brian Murphy called Sowell "an incredibly dangerous threat to the public" and said he could face the death penalty. He faces five aggravated murder counts for victims whose cause of death has been ruled strangling. In addition, he is accused of rape, felonious assault and kidnapping, relating to a September 22 attack on a woman at his home. Public defender Kathleen DeMetz told the judge that Sowell has medical problems, including a heart pacemaker and cardiac medication. He was laid off two years ago and receives unemployment compensation. Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller said six bodies were found inside the house and five were recovered from the yard. "Because of the level of decomposition and decay in the bodies, fingerprints and visual recognition will not be possible," Miller said. It could take days or weeks to identify the bodies using dental records or DNA mouth-swab samples from relatives. McGrath said on Wednesday that the Sowell's property remains a crime scene and investigations are likely to be ongoing. "We did not search the floor or walls in that particular structure this afternoon, that's not to say we might not go back there tomorrow," he said. Cleveland City Councilman Zack Reed expressed "astonishment" at the crime on Tuesday, noting that it took place "in the most residential ward in the entire city of Cleveland". Many local residents have begun to question how police could have missed the warning signs, including a gag-inducing stench that hung over the area for years. "Knowing that my office actually called the health department in 2007 to say that one of my residents called in and said there is a foul odour across the street and it smells like a dead body... And to know that from 2007 to this present day, that we still have this tragedy going and we are still taking bodies, it makes you angry," Reed said. For the past few years, Sowell's neighbours thought the foul smell enveloping their street corner had been coming from a brick building where workers churned out sausage and cheese. It got so bad that the owners of Ray's Sausage replaced their sewer line and grease traps. The case now goes before the county grand jury.
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