Today is Thursday, July 22nd, 2021. On this day in 2011, Anthony Sol, also known as the Cleveland

Strangler, was convicted of the murders of 11 women.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast.

Due to the graphic nature of this case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of drug use, sexual assault, and murder that some people may find

offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Today we'll hear about the horrific

rampage of Anthony Sowell. Soll preyed on disenfranchised black women in Cleveland's Mount Pleasant

neighborhood for over two years.

Let's go back to July 22, 2011, a hot summer day in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

51-year-old Anthony Sowell sat silently through a two-hour court hearing as a parade of victims

and loved ones delivered their statements. Dorothy Pollard, the aunt of victim Diane Turner,

told Sowell he deserved to be killed for what he'd done. In the face of so much pain, Sol kept his

eyes closed. He hardly moved during the proceedings.

He didn't even flinch when the jury found him guilty of more than 80 counts, including aggravated murder.

A few weeks later, he was officially condemned to death.

When he took the stand, Sol was asked if there was anything he wanted to say to the families of the victims.

The Cleveland Strangler, looking calm and conservative,

said in a measured voice,

The only thing that I want to say is that I'm sorry. I don't know what

happened. I can't explain it. No one else could explain it either. Soyl's worsening addiction

to crack likely contributed to his depraved actions. It certainly caused him to live in squalor.

His Imperial Avenue home, which appeared charming from the street, was a nightmare on the inside.

By the time Sowell was arrested, the community had been complaining about a horrible odor in the area for three years.

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