by Patrick H. Moore
When East Cleveland serial killer Michael Madison was arrested, he told law enforcement that he had been influenced by earlier East Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell. In a crime spree of truly grisly proportions, Sowell systematically kidnapped, raped and murdered 11 women. Known as the Cleveland Strangler, Sowell initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but later changed his plea to simply “not guilty”. On July 22, 2011, he was convicted at trial on all but two counts against him, including the murders of the eleven women whose bodies were found in his house in 2009. At the penalty phase of this trial, the jurors opted for the death penalty.
Crimesiders reports that this week “a woman who described herself as the ex-girlfriend of Michael Madison,” who is suspected in the deaths of three Ohio women, “told CBS affiliate WOIO that Madison had a fixation with Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell.”
The woman, who asked to remain unidentified, told the station that Madison would frequently watch YouTube videos about the Sowell case and cry. She says he expressed sympathy for Sowell and disdain for his female victims.
The woman also stated that Madison held a gun to her head and threatened her.
Madison was arrested last weekend and charged with kidnapping and killing three women, whose bodies were discovered in East Cleveland over the weekend. The authorities were responding to a report by a teenage girl who lived in the rundown East Cleveland neighborhood and had detected a foul odor coming from the garage where one of the victims was ultimately discovered — in a state of decomposition. Madison, it turned out, had previous drug arrests and was a registered sex offender.
The body in the garage was discovered on Friday. Two others were found Saturday – one in a backyard and the other in the basement of a vacant house.
All three bodies were found within 200 yards of each other. All of the bodies were in a state of decomposition and the authorities believe they were killed in the past six to 10 days. The police suspected there were other victims which led to the entire neighborhood banding together and conducting a thorough search with the authorities. Fortunately, to date, no other bodies have been found.
The three victims have been identified as Shirellda Terry, 18, Angela Deskins, 38, and Shetisha Sheeley, 28.
As might be suspected, when Madison’s home was searched, the police discovered deplorable conditions. East Cleveland Police Detective Scott Gardner stated that there were decomposing bodily fluids on the walls, in the closet and on the floor.
There were also reportedly maggots in the home. The investigators discovered Madison had a selection of women’s clothing there in his apartment. It is unclear — at this point — whether the clothing belonged to the victims.
Madison remains in jail on a $6 million bond.
Click here to read our previous post on Michael Madison:
Copy Cat Serial Killer Arrested for Murdering Three East Cleveland Women.