E. Cleveland police examine unsolved cases

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Police in East Cleveland, Ohio, say they're reviewing unsolved killings for possible links to suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell of neighboring Cleveland.

Eleven dead women were found in a recent search of Sowell's home in Cleveland. At least eight of the women were strangled, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported Saturday.

Two of three women in unsolved homicide cases in East Cleveland were strangled, Detective Sgt. Ken Bolton said. Rosalind Garner, 36, was found dead in her home in 1988. The body of Mary Thomas was found near an abandoned East Cleveland building in 1989.

The third woman whose case remains unsolved, Carmella Prater, 27, lived on the same street as Sowell in East Cleveland when she was killed in 1989, Bolton said. Prater was beaten, but police were unable to determine the exact cause of death, Bolton said.

Sowell, now 49, pleaded guilty to attempted rape in 1989 and served 15 years before being released in 2005. He has been charged with five counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of five of the 11 victims found at his home.