Man held without bond after 10 bodies found
November 4, 2009 10:09 a.m. EST
Authorities have charged Anthony Sowell, 50, with five counts of aggravated murder, police said.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: A judge sets no bond for convicted rapist in Ohio
Anthony Sowell, 50, has been charged with five counts of aggravated murder
Authorities have not yet identified any of the victims
The latest on the investigation on HLN's "Nancy Grace" at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday
(CNN) -- Investigators will continue their grisly dig Wednesday after finding that the Cleveland, Ohio, home of a convicted rapist had been turned into a tomb holding at least 10 bodies.
Fire officials were scheduled to help in the search inside Anthony Sowell's house with plans to tear into walls and floors of the three-story structure for more remains.
"I like to believe there is nothing else more there, but we will not know until we finish the search," said Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath. "It appears that this man had an insatiable appetite that he had to fill."
Authorities on Tuesday charged Sowell, 50, with five counts of aggravated murder, police said. He also was charged with rape, felonious assault and kidnapping, police said. A judge set no bond for Sowell at a hearing Wednesday.
He was arrested Saturday, two days after police discovered the decomposing bodies of five females inside his home and another woman's body outside the house.
Four more bodies were discovered Tuesday buried in the yard behind the home, police said. A skull wrapped in a bag also was found in a bucket in the basement.
Authorities have not identified any of the victims yet. Because of the conditions of the bodies, authorities would have to conduct the lengthy process of DNA tests, McGrath said.
Video: Neighbors describe strange odors Video: Body count reaches 10 Video: Tip led to suspect's arrest
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Cleveland
Murder and Homicide
The first six bodies found last week were all African-American women, and five of them had been strangled, McGrath said.
"I can imagine how families feel who have reported a missing person, and the anxiety that they are going through," Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said. "And we want to assure them as soon as we know something they will be the first to know."
As investigators poured through reports of missing persons, some residents said they wondered how long the house in their neighborhood had been turned into a graveyard.
"We never known about him," neighbor Mike Edwards told CNN affiliate WKYC-TV in Cleveland. "Right there in the house. Right there, and I lived here all of my life."
Sowell was convicted for a 1989 rape and was imprisoned from 1990 to 2005, police said. Since his release from prison, he was listed as living at the Cleveland home where the bodies were found, McGrath said.
Authorities from the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office checked on Sowell regularly and last met with him September 22 to confirm his address and found no problems, McGrath said.
Police began to get suspicious of Sowell about a month ago after a woman accused him of rape and assault, said Cleveland police Lt. Thomas Stacho.
Investigators obtained the warrants that set off the search after getting the "cooperation of the victim," he said.
Stacho said Sowell makes his living as a "scrapper."
"He walks around and picks up scrap metal and takes it to junkyards to make a few pennies," he said.
