WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:10.560 Between two thousand seven and two thousand nine, women began 2 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:15.199 disappearing from Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood. They were mothers, daughters, 3 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:17.800 and friends, and they were also people living in the 4 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:25.239 marchants of society, people whose absences unfortunately rarely made headlines. Then, 5 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:28.760 in October of two thousand nine, a single escape led 6 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.719 police to a house where a search quickly turned into 7 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:36.079 a nightmare, with gruesome secrets hidden throughout the home, revealing 8 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:41.159 years of violence that had unfolded behind an ordinary front door. 9 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:47.479 The man responsible, Anthony Sewell, had committed the most prolific 10 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:51.880 serial murder case in Cleveland's history, and soon he would 11 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:56.119 be known only as a deadly moniker. This is the 12 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:58.920 story of the Cleveland Strangler. 13 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:04.560 My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked and. 14 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:06.799 Grim, a true crime podcast. 15 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:07.959 Warning. 16 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:16.719 The following podcast material intended more mature audience. Listener discretion 17 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:37.519 is advised. If you've listened to our show for a 18 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:40.519 little while, you know we're hockey fans and we've been 19 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:43.319 following the Olympics. So I want to first of all 20 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:46.239 congratulate everyone for the performance in the Olympics so far 21 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.400 this year. But I primarily want to just say a 22 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:53.879 big shout out and congratulations to the Canadian women's hockey 23 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:57.280 team who got silver in the Olympics, and of course 24 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:00.560 the American team who got gold. There's a lot of 25 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:03.319 pressure on the women's Canadian team to get that gold, 26 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:04.879 so they looked a little disappointed on the. 27 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:07.719 Ice, but you should never be disappointed by getting a 28 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:12.039 silver and the frickin' Olympic exactly, I get it, exactly. 29 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:14.719 I mean, they went all that way to lose the 30 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:17.080 last round, so that is disappointing of course for them, 31 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:22.080 I understand, but they still achieved an incredible thing. So congratulations. 32 00:02:22.439 --> 00:02:26.759 As a Canadian, I'm proud of their performance. Yeah, they 33 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:27.840 did amazing. 34 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:31.560 And congratulations to the US, yes, who won the gold. 35 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:34.159 Better not be like that for the men's though, I'm 36 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:35.319 just kidding, just kidding. 37 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:39.599 Regardless, we're having fun watching hockey and actually we're recording 38 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:43.080 this right now as Canada. The men's team is playing Finland. 39 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:46.639 Finland is currently up to zero, so hopefully we make 40 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:48.319 it to the gold medal. If not, Finland will then 41 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:50.479 be going to the gold medal round. But either way, 42 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:52.759 we're on the edge of our seats. With this whole 43 00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:55.120 Olympic thing. And I'm not sure if you guys are too, 44 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:57.240 but you should definitely get into hockey. That's I recommendation. 45 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:01.240 Yeah, it is cool. I mean yeah, just watching it. 46 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:04.840 No matter how while your country does right, it's still 47 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:06.680 pretty neat and it's cool that they made it. 48 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:09.960 There supporting your athletes. Like we've been watching curling and stuff. 49 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:11.960 I've watched a little bit of figure skating, a little 50 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:14.120 bit of bob sled. I've been wanting to watch luge, 51 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:17.120 but I haven't got to that. Biathlon's another one I 52 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:19.199 saw a little bit of, but not a whole lot. 53 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:20.719 But still it's so cool to see. 54 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:23.639 Well. Yeah, and the dog that was, oh, probably my 55 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:25.759 favorite part of the Olympics so far. 56 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:28.960 Yeah. Well, there's the two highlights of the Olympics as 57 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:31.680 far as the Internet is concerned. That's the Canadian men's 58 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:35.960 team on curling poking the rock and second, the dog 59 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:40.159 crossing a finish line over a ski race. 60 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:40.479 Yeah. 61 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:43.080 The dog's name was Nasgul reportedly by the way, and. 62 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:45.919 It just looked like it was living its best life. Yeah, 63 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:47.240 and that was freaking amazing. 64 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:49.719 That's amazing. But I think we should get on with 65 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:53.120 this case. But Canada did just score against Finland, so 66 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:55.159 what's two to one right now? But anyways, I digress. 67 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:56.000 Let's get onto this. 68 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:58.000 Story, shall we, Yes, let's do it. 69 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:01.840 So. Late October has a certain rhythm to it. Of course, 70 00:04:01.879 --> 00:04:05.360 there are spooky things like pumpkins, candy, and maybe even 71 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:08.360 a scary movie or two. But the days also feel 72 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:12.560 shorter without anyone really noticing at first, Jackets begin to 73 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:15.080 come out of the closets, you know, breath hangs in 74 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:17.160 the air for a second longer than they did in 75 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:19.839 the mornings, and people move a little faster with their 76 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:23.199 hands tucked in their pockets for warmth. Most days even 77 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:28.360 pass quietly, work errands, small conversations that don't last very long. 78 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:32.480 Whatever it may be, one thing is certain. Life moves 79 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:36.560 forward in ordinary pieces, each moment small enough to forget 80 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:38.839 by the end of the day, and before you know it, 81 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:43.360 your entire surroundings have changed. You know, something like a 82 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.639 tree that was once full of leaves, and in a 83 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:48.480 blink of an eye you know it now is standing 84 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:52.279 there bare No one knows which day will matter Like this, 85 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:56.800 life simply moves on now. In this case, it was 86 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:59.959 just another week another stretch of hours where people are 87 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:02.480 focused on their own lives, trying to stay warm, but 88 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:05.639 trying to get by, and you know, not thinking too 89 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:10.920 far ahead. Somewhere nearby in the autumn air in this story, 90 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:14.240 a phone rang, someone was making a call for help, 91 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:19.519 and suddenly, just like that, an ordinary day isn't ordinary anymore. 92 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:24.839 All those small details, well, they seemed significant, and everything 93 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:29.759 seemed like it changed. It was in East Cleveland, Ohio, 94 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:33.759 in October twentieth of two thousand and nine. Someone had 95 00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:36.439 dialed nine to one pint one and reported that a 96 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:40.480 woman outside a house on Imperial Avenue was laying on 97 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:44.680 the ground. She was injured, confused, and struggling to stay conscious. 98 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:47.920 They said she'd fallen or even possibly jumped, from a 99 00:05:47.959 --> 00:05:51.720 second story window of the home. Police and paramedics were 100 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:54.759 quickly dispatched to the scene, and when they arrived, with 101 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:59.040 their flashing lights splashing across the surrounding homes, that neighborhood 102 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:04.199 quickly turned into a serious crime scene. The woman was 103 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:07.519 badly hurt, she could barely speak, and with her body 104 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:10.759 shaking from pain and shock, she tried to explain what 105 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:15.360 had just happened inside the house behind her officers moved quickly, 106 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:18.360 first focusing on her injuries, trying to understand whether this 107 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:22.319 was an accident, an assault, or something else entirely. But 108 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:25.319 the woman told them that she'd been inside the home 109 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:29.079 with a man and at some point things turned violent, 110 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:32.839 so she jumped from the window. She said it was 111 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:36.600 the only way she thought she could escape. Now, the 112 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:40.360 house in question behind her looked ordinary enough, white siding, 113 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:43.360 There's a narrow porch and a kind of aging three 114 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:46.680 story home that just blended in with the older buildings 115 00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:49.720 in the neighborhood. Others were boarded up, some lived in. 116 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:54.680 You know, they're all packed tightly close together. Now, officers 117 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:59.959 had been called to this area before. Drug activity wasn't uncommon, arguments, assaults, 118 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:02.839 people coming and going at odd hours. It was all 119 00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:05.959 the kind of place where things happened, and most people 120 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:09.519 kept moving, minding their own business. At the time, it 121 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:11.680 looked just like another disturbing call in a city that 122 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:15.680 saw way too many of these disturbing incidents. But what 123 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:19.240 police didn't know was that the house at one two 124 00:07:19.399 --> 00:07:23.920 two h five Imperial Avenue had already been holding secrets 125 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:28.920 for years. But before we dive down that rabbit hole, 126 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:31.560 we first need to take a step back and talk 127 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:36.519 about a man named Anthony Edward Sewell. Now. Anthony was 128 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:40.079 born on August nineteenth, nineteen fifty nine, and he grew 129 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:42.439 up in East Cleveland, Ohio, and he came from a 130 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:46.519 large family. The household he grew up in was crowded, chaotic, and, 131 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:51.319 according to later accounts from some relatives, was deeply troubled too. 132 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:55.399 Stories from family members described an environment filled with violence 133 00:07:55.399 --> 00:07:59.639 and abuse. As a teenager, Anthony eventually left that home 134 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:02.720 behind and he joined the United States Marine Corps. He 135 00:08:02.839 --> 00:08:06.560 enlisted in January of nineteen seventy eight at eighteen years old, 136 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:10.120 and over the next seven years he served as an electrician, 137 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:14.439 completing training at Paris Island and Camp I'm going to 138 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:17.240 get this wrong, but I'm going to try Camp led 139 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:21.079 you in before being stationed at multiple bases, including assignments 140 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:24.839 in Japan and Okinawa too. Now, his service records showed 141 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:29.279 there was steady performance, There were commendments, there were deployment ribbons, 142 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:33.000 and a discharge in January of nineteen eighty five. After 143 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:37.080 leaving the military, Anthony returned to Ohio. He worked jobs 144 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:39.320 from here and kept a low profile blending into the 145 00:08:39.320 --> 00:08:42.720 neighborhood that he lived in. But in nineteen eighty nine, 146 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:46.840 the normal life that he seemed to be living, well, 147 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:52.600 it all changed. That year, a young pregnant woman went 148 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:56.600 to Anthony's home. Now, according to court records, what began 149 00:08:56.639 --> 00:08:59.519 as a normal visit quickly turned violent when she tried 150 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:02.799 to leave because Anthony, well, he refused to let her leave. 151 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:07.440 Prosecutors later said that he restrained her, tying her hands 152 00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:10.039 and feet, gagging her so she couldn't call for help. 153 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:13.200 And now, during this assault, he choked her with enough 154 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.000 force that she later told police the feeling of her 155 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:18.399 body going numb, and she believed she was going to 156 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:20.480 die right then and there. 157 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:24.840 And this is a pregnant woman, correct, Holy frick? Why 158 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:27.440 the hell was she there? Were they friends? 159 00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:30.559 We'll get into kind of some of the why people 160 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:31.600 visit his home. 161 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:34.399 Okay, but gosh, I couldn't imagine just harming a pregnant 162 00:09:34.440 --> 00:09:36.480 woman like that. That's next level. 163 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:38.960 He's a serious predator, to say the least. Yeah, so 164 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.000 people do. I'll tell you a little bit now, but 165 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:43.279 we'll go into deeper detail. People do visit his home. 166 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:46.000 He kind of lures people in with a friendly facade 167 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:49.320 and also drugs, alcohol, that sort of thing. So it's 168 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:51.679 kind of a hangout place with perks. 169 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:54.320 O okay, I see now. 170 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:58.519 Thankfully though she survived this attack, but it did lead 171 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:02.080 to some charges of kidnapping, rape, and attempted rape on 172 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:02.919 this woman. 173 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:07.559 Like he raped her. Correct, Holy frig yeah. 174 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:10.679 As I said, he's a serious predator. Okay, he's a monster. 175 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:15.279 Yeah now. In nineteen ninety, Anthony pled guilty to attempted 176 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:17.840 rape and was sentenced to prison. As a result, he 177 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:21.559 would spend the next fifteen years behind bars, and when 178 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:24.080 he was released in two thousand and five, he returned 179 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.399 to Cleveland as a Tier three registered sex offender, the 180 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:30.919 highest tier which requires regular check ins with law enforcement. 181 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:34.919 So as a result, officers conducted periodic like knock and 182 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:37.000 talk visits to make sure that everything was good and 183 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.200 to confirm he was living where he claimed to live 184 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:41.679 so they can kind of keep track of him. But 185 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.639 because he wasn't on parole or probation, they didn't have 186 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:49.639 authority to enter his home without a warrant, so it 187 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.480 was basically just talk to the front door check ins 188 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:54.519 at the front door. They couldn't go beyond that. 189 00:10:54.600 --> 00:10:58.440 Threshold, which is really nothing like anyone could just stand 190 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:00.879 at their front door and hide shit that's going on 191 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:01.840 in their house. 192 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:04.480 For sure, But the very least they know where he is. 193 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:07.279 That's the key detail. Because if he's like, oh, I'm 194 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:09.919 living at this address, and all of a sudden they realize, 195 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:12.360 you know, he's living beside a woman's shelter over by 196 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:16.600 an elementary school with a sex offender, that's a no no. Yeah, 197 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:18.240 so they need to make sure they're at least keeping 198 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:20.679 track of him. Yeah scenario. 199 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:23.039 This case is probably going to just piss me off 200 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:25.080 because I'm just sitting here and being like, well, this 201 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:28.240 shouldn't even be an issue because we're having to like 202 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:31.519 monitor who's every freaking move or whatever. Just leave him 203 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:34.399 in jail if he's this much of like a concern 204 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:38.080 to society. But anyway, I digress, keep going. 205 00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:42.159 I feel you there, don't worry now. Anthony had moved 206 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:45.399 into a shared apartment house. It was a three story 207 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:48.559 house at one two two oh five Imperial Avenue. He 208 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:50.840 lived in the top couple floors. It was a property 209 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:54.279 that was owned by his stepmother. Neighbors later described him 210 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:57.919 as polite, outgoing and even helpful. He talked to people 211 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:00.960 on his front porch. Sometimes he hosted barques and blended 212 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:04.080 in with everyone in the neighborhood. He worked factory jobs 213 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:07.200 for a while before collecting unemployment and making money selling 214 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:10.559 scrap metal. To most people around him, he was just 215 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:13.840 another man trying to get by. But while the neighborhood 216 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:16.919 saw someone friendly and familiar, the history behind him, the 217 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:21.039 violent sex offender, the prison sentence, the assault, the all 218 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:23.799 of it. That's what was the truth. It was a 219 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:28.480 facade hiding the truth. Now. The Mount Pleasant neighborhood, where 220 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:30.919 he lived in Cleveland's East Side, wasn't a place where 221 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:33.440 people stopped to ask too many questions, which have kind 222 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:36.519 of already alluded to. By the late two thousands, the 223 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:40.720 area was struggling pretty hard. Many homes were aging or abandoned, 224 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:44.039 jobs were scarce, and drug activity was considered part of 225 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:47.559 the daily life here. Crack cocaine, or crack as it's 226 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:52.159 typically called, move through neighborhoods openly. People drifted in and out, 227 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:55.399 and friends, acquaintances, strangers were all looking for places to 228 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.120 stay or away to get high. It was a kind 229 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:02.879 of environment. Routines were per weren't exactly predictable, and disappearances 230 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.919 didn't always trigger immediate alarms. It's a place with people 231 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:10.519 living on the margins of society, and often they unfortunately 232 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:14.960 don't get the immediate attention for their disappearances that they should. Now, 233 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:17.600 some women would go missing for days or weeks and 234 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:21.440 later return, you know, back to normal. Others bounced between 235 00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:25.720 family members, homes, shelters, or the streets. Addictions made lives unstable, 236 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:29.200 and families often found themselves searching on their own when 237 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:33.039 someone stopped answering calls, so police would often assume that 238 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:36.159 this would be the case for everyone. Now, this made 239 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:40.960 police and residents not always trust each other. Families later 240 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:44.240 said that they struggled to get missing persons reports taken seriously, 241 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:47.360 especially when their loved ones were known to use drugs 242 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:50.879 or had criminal records. In many cases, officers assumed people 243 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:53.279 would come back when they were ready. That was a situation. 244 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:55.080 Oh they're not missing, they'll just come back. 245 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:57.480 Yeah. We do hear that a lot, and it is 246 00:13:57.559 --> 00:13:58.320 sad for sure. 247 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:03.120 And that atmosphere created a lot of gaps, gaps where 248 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:06.159 people could disappear quietly. And it's a story that we've 249 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:09.919 discussed many times on this show. You know, that unfortunate situation, 250 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:12.360 and it is a problem, unfortunately, that we still struggle 251 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:14.799 with today in many societies in North America. 252 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:18.559 Well, something you know sometimes is seriously wrong and then 253 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:21.039 it's just not getting the attention that it needs exactly 254 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:22.000 and then it gets worse. 255 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:24.000 Yeah. Now, I did say in North America, and I 256 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:26.559 do think this is actually a global problem. But yeah, 257 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:30.519 I digress. Now, Anthony fit comfortably into the neighborhood's rhythm. 258 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:34.840 He was known simply as Tone, you know, Anthony and 259 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:36.320 Tony Tone. 260 00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:37.159 Oh okay. 261 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:40.840 Neighbors remembered him as kind, but inside the house things 262 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:43.559 were different. The property was cluttered, it was dirty, filled 263 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:47.159 with trash, old furniture, and it was, to say the least, 264 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:50.039 it was far from clean. There was also a heavy 265 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:53.879 odor that drifted from the home to something neighbors actually 266 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:56.440 complained about repeatedly, but they never knew the source. They 267 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:59.480 never knew it was coming from his home. Now, for 268 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:04.720 the women struggling with addiction, Anthony's house offered something immediate. 269 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:08.519 There was alcohol, there was drugs, there was a place 270 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:12.120 to stay, maybe someone who even seemed friendly enough to trust, 271 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:15.440 and for some of them, that was all. It took 272 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:20.919 the conditions around him, you know, poverty, addiction, unstable housing, 273 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:24.039 and the community used to chaos. It created the perfect 274 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:28.080 cover for him. People came and went constantly, no one 275 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:31.679 kept track of who was last seen where, And it 276 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:33.960 was in May of two thousand and seven that this 277 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:38.480 setting allowed for a woman named Crystal Dozier to disappear. 278 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:42.480 Crystal was thirty eight years old and she was a 279 00:15:42.519 --> 00:15:45.399 mother of seven. Yes, that's right, she had seven kids. 280 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:49.080 She was known around the neighborhood as someone who looked 281 00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:52.720 out for others. She was described as responsible and caring, 282 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:55.000 the kind of person who tried to keep everyone together. 283 00:15:55.879 --> 00:15:58.320 But like many people in Mount Pleasant, her life had 284 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:01.840 become very complicated by a dick, especially after she had 285 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:06.120 endured some personal loss and a routine wasn't always predictable. 286 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:10.960 When she stopped showing up, her family noticed and they 287 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.879 reported her missing and started searching on their own, putting 288 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:17.320 up flyers, calling hospitals, trying to track down anyone who 289 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:20.879 might have seen her. Now, Crystal had gone missing before 290 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:24.320 and eventually resurfaced, which made it harder to convince others 291 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:28.039 that something was seriously wrong this time. Now there was 292 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:31.919 no reason to connect this to Anthony. He lived quietly 293 00:16:31.960 --> 00:16:35.440 on Imperial Avenue, socializing with neighbors, keeping a low profile, 294 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:38.759 maybe even throwing a barbecue. Women came and went from 295 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:41.639 his house regularly, sure, often for drugs or alcohol, but 296 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:46.320 that didn't stand out in the neighborhood. Investigators would later learn, though, 297 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:49.159 that this was how he approached many of his victims. 298 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:53.799 He offered a drink, a place to relax, drugs, sometimes 299 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:59.000 even just a conversation. The encounters started casually, with little 300 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:01.600 reason for anyone to feel any sort of immediate danger. 301 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:04.680 But what happened after they entered that house, well that 302 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:09.119 was another story. Now. Crystal's disappearance didn't spark a major 303 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:12.640 investigation at the time. There were no obvious signs of violence, 304 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:16.359 no witnesses stepping forward, no immediate evidence pointing to a 305 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:20.119 crime scene, without a body, without clear leads, the case 306 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:23.559 faded into just another missing person's report in a neighborhood 307 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:26.920 where people often slipped through those cracks. But inside the 308 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:31.119 house on Imperial Avenue, though Anthony had discovered he could 309 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:35.920 kill without ever being noticed. In two thousand and eight, 310 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:40.359 women in the area began vanishing one after another, each disappearance, 311 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:43.640 again slipping into the background noise of a struggling neighborhood. 312 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:48.160 Tashana Culver disappeared next. She was a mother who spent 313 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:51.160 years trying to rebuild stability in her life. She was 314 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:54.359 described as generous, someone who shared food with people who 315 00:17:54.359 --> 00:17:57.640 had less than she did. But like many others, she 316 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:00.799 struggled with drugs and sometimes drifted away from family for 317 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:04.359 stretches of time. So when she stopped coming around, people worried, 318 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:08.240 but there was no immediate sign of foul play. A 319 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:12.839 few months later, Lashonda Long vanished. She was only twenty five, 320 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:16.039 the youngest of the eventual victims. She was strong willed 321 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:19.279 and outspoken, and she was known for her attitude and energy. 322 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:24.160 Her disappearance was the same like the others, didn't immediately 323 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:26.799 raise any red flags beyond those closest to her. 324 00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:30.799 But also, there's three now in a fairly short period of. 325 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:35.440 Time, exactly. But the thing is, you have authority saying, well, 326 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:36.400 they'll just come back. 327 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:38.960 Well that's the hope, I guess that's the hope. 328 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:43.119 But they have a history of leaving for weeks on 329 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:45.680 end and coming back. They have a history of drugs, 330 00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:49.759 criminal behavior, so as far as the police are concerned, 331 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:51.200 they'll just come back. 332 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:54.319 I mean, maybe one or two I get, but when 333 00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:56.920 there is three, it's like, no, we got to look 334 00:18:56.920 --> 00:18:57.319 into this. 335 00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:00.680 In my thought, oh no, I'm with you hundred percent. 336 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:04.079 I'm just trying to paint the picture for the authorities here. Yeah, 337 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:07.039 trust me, you're right, there's a pattern. Police need to 338 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:10.519 fucking do something. But to them, it's just another person 339 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:13.680 who will be back within days. It's another person who 340 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:17.519 is just off doing drugs. They'll be back. It's not 341 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:19.319 worth tying up our time. 342 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:23.839 Basically they're off on a bender or something. And they exactly, yeah. 343 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:27.079 We know, because in hindsight, there are three people who 344 00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:30.119 are missing right now. Maybe at the time, this is 345 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:33.559 just my speculation. Maybe at the time there's another three 346 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:35.960 people who did return in a few days who are 347 00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:38.440 also missing, who were just on venders. 348 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:41.920 Well yeah, and they might not have, like you know, 349 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:44.960 tied them together to see the pattern either. 350 00:19:45.160 --> 00:19:47.640 So, and you also have to consider the fact of 351 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:50.880 were they actually reported to police. You have families who 352 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:54.000 might be concerned, but maybe the families thought they'd be 353 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:56.839 back to Maybe the families couldn't trust the police because 354 00:19:56.839 --> 00:19:59.839 of this history so there's more than just well, there's 355 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:02.359 three people missing. You to look into it. Yeah, don't 356 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:05.519 get me wrong, you're right, but there's a little more 357 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:06.039 to it than that. 358 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:08.880 Well, and it probably will very much. It comes out 359 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:11.359 clear later, you know, Like at the time it's like, 360 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:15.880 maybe not super alarming, but really after the fact, yes, 361 00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:17.000 it was exactly. 362 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.720 And now these disappearances too, they're over the course of 363 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:22.319 the next two years, so they are being spread out 364 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:25.759 a bit as well. Next came Michelle Mason. She had 365 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:28.079 spent time away from Cleveland, living in New York and 366 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:31.319 New Jersey before returning home. Her family did file a 367 00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:33.759 missing person's report when she stopped hearing when they stopped 368 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.799 hearing from her, but progress on that was unfortunately slow. 369 00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:40.039 Friends said that she had been trying to turn her 370 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:43.799 life around despite struggling with her addiction. By late two 371 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:48.200 thousand and eight, Tanya Carmichael also disappeared. She had once 372 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:52.000 worked as a medical secretary and bartender, earning a professional 373 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:56.519 license and raising children, but addiction eventually pulled her off course. 374 00:20:57.079 --> 00:20:59.559 But people knew her still, and they described her as 375 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:02.799 someone who loved life and cared deeply about her family. 376 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:05.839 But the months just continued to pass, and so did 377 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:11.039 the disappearances. Kim Yvette Smith went missing in early two 378 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:14.880 thousand and nine, just before her forty fourth birthday. She 379 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:18.720 was known as artistic and caring, especially towards her disabled father, 380 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:22.839 whom she helped support. Nancy Cobbs vanished that spring, after 381 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:25.799 her family had spent months searching for them herselves, posting 382 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:31.480 flyers and checking abandoned buildings. Amelda or Amy Hunter disappeared 383 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:34.240 soon after her. She was a beautician, a mother, and 384 00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:38.519 someone relatives described as a fighter than Janis Webb, remembered 385 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:41.359 as a family jokester. She stopped coming around, and not 386 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:45.920 long after that, Talasia Forston vanished, just as people close 387 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:48.000 to her believed she was trying to get her life 388 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:48.559 back together. 389 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:51.880 Holy shit, this is a lot of people. 390 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:55.599 The numbers piled up, and each woman had their own story, 391 00:21:55.640 --> 00:22:00.400 their own family, their own history, But investigators eventually would 392 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:04.160 later see the similarities in these disappearances. Most of them 393 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:07.319 were struggling with addiction. Many moved through the same streets 394 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:09.960 and social circles. They were women who might accept an 395 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:12.480 invitation for a drink or drugs, or even a place 396 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.359 to stay for a while, and they were all vulnerable 397 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:21.279 in ways that Anthony seemed to understand. Investigators later determined 398 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:24.960 that Anthony luring them in and gaining their trust that's 399 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:28.160 when he struck and he never allowed them to leave 400 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:33.039 his home after. So, yes, you are one hundred percent right, 401 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:36.039