Captured on Halloween - The Cleveland Strangler (Part 1)

In 2007, women started disappearing from the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of East Cleveland, Ohio. In the fall of 2009, the decomposing bodies and partial remains of 11 women were recovered from a home located at 12205 Imperial Avenue in Mount Pleasant.  

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Tell me a true crime story, music. There was a mountain of dirt that was found in the basement behind the stairwell, which was unusual, this dirt. I went down and I looked at it and the dirt was on top of the concrete floor. You think maybe it's another body there or whatever. Two bodies the first day. A third body in the back of the stairwell, a red bucket about maybe a foot high, was a skull. Everywhere you stepped you stepped on rat feces, the flies were hanging from the ceiling and the stench. You had decomposed substances that came from the body. You found the other body in the back, two or three feet away from another body, and then to find an additional body in the crawl space, the same type of dirt that was in the basement. Now you have one, two, three, four bodies upstairs, one and a skull in the basement.

Speaker 2: 1:21

Hey there, welcome to episode 31 of Tell Me a True Crime Story. I'm your host, holly. I want to welcome all of my new listeners and, of course, a warm welcome to those of you who have been here with me since the get go. A great big thank you to each and every one of you for being here. You all being here, showing up for each episode, supporting me in what I do, has made this podcast grow lots lately. You guys have been leaving those kind reviews too. You are helping to make the podcast more relevant and much more visible to more true crime podcast fans. Big, big hugs to all of you.

Speaker 2: 2:04

I know some people get frustrated when I talk before I get to the story, but I must say a few things in the beginning, because we're like family and I have stuff to say to y'all. I want you guys to get to know me a bit and I really wish I could be nosy and get to know you guys a bit too, since I can't really ask you guys questions. I mean really I can. In the future we can do meet and greets and stuff like other podcasts do when I get more listeners and somebody will actually show up to them. I would love to do that, because I would love to see you guys, hug you guys and get to know you guys and see your face and thank you in person. But until then, if you just want to hear the story and get to the story and you don't want to hear me talk or do any of that, just use the handy dandy fast forward button and just click it a few times. Don't leave me a stinky review or just quit me forever just because I have a few things to say to my podcast, peoples and family. Just click ahead a little bit.

Speaker 2: 3:14

So I hope that all of you out there are doing okay. Well, I hope you're doing better than okay. I hope you're doing good or great. I know that times right now are tough for a lot of people. Money wise, everybody's working so much and so hard to take care of everything and everybody, and those of you who are already like comfortable and don't have to worry too much about finances I know you guys have to work very hard to and put lots of time into whatever it is that you do that's made you successful. So everybody out there is just stressed and working hard and putting in a lot of hours, and times are just tough right now. I know that and I know that life in general can be very tough, and I'm just thankful that you guys let me be like a small sliver of your busy, busy life.

Speaker 2: 4:07

This past week was a really busy one for me. All that I wanted to do and needed to do all the time it's like I can never seem to get it all done. Even this episode is coming at you like several hours late and I'm sorry for that. I just had a couple of unexpected things happen this week that put me behind. But yeah, so in the not so distant past I wasn't releasing episodes consistently because I was just like really overwhelmed. I mean, I still am now, but then I was like, oh well, I don't have that many listeners and nobody's really going to care. But now you know, I've grown so much that it really lit a fire under my ass. It's held me accountable, so it's been a good thing. So even when I'm dead tired, I make sure that I'm working on the next episode so that I can get it out on time, because I do not want to let any of you guys down.

Speaker 2: 5:02

I'm asking for reviews and you guys are giving them to me and so many of those reviews are saying keep the episodes coming. So you guys have inspired me, so so, very much. You have made all of the long hours of research, writing, hard work in the long, long nights that stretch into the like morning when I got to get up and take my son to school and I only get like two hours of sleep. You've made all of that worth it. So please know that when I say thank you for listening and being here, I mean it from the very bottom of my heart, because what is all this for if I have nobody on my side? I have nobody on the other end listening to me. So, yeah, I've gotten more five star reviews this week and you know I'm going to read them really quick because I have to personally thank those of you who took the time to do that, to do that for me.

Speaker 2: 5:55

Fienna said love this, love the portrayals of all the different stories. Thank you so much, fienna. Big hugs to you and please keep listening. And to Shay. 1981 said the sweetest thing ever get this. This was a surprise to me. I love your voice. I just found this podcast and I love it. And about to binge when I say I just found it. I'm talking about yesterday. Your voice is so beautiful. And then she put four red heart emojis. Oh my to Shay. Never have I ever thought that my voice was good, let alone beautiful. But I will take it and accept that lovely compliment from you to Shay 1981. Thank you so much. Those were very sweet words and thank you for taking the time out to review the podcast for me. Big, big hugs and squeezes to you.

Speaker 2: 6:54

And then this very kind five star review from Dino. He says great stories. I listen as I drive all day. Dino from Pennsylvania. Dino, thank you so much for that review. That is so sweet of you. I am so thankful that you take me along with you as you drive around. Please be safe out there and watch out for the crazies on the road. Big, big hugs and squeezes to all of you guys. I hope that you and your family are happy, healthy and together forever.

Speaker 2: 7:25

And if you don't know why that's become my little saying, I explain it in the beginning of the episode that's called condemned row stories women condemned to die. That episode was from February and that's where I talk about how I got that little saying if you want to go back and listen to it. But if you do go back and listen to it, you can't make fun of me if I sound awful. I was still pretty new at this and still very, very nervous on the mic. So Now let me tell you a true crime story. Today, I'm going to tell you the story of Anthony Soul, whose nickname was the Cleveland Strangler. I did cover this story, this serial killer, in the past, but I can tell by looking at my stats that many of my listeners, especially my new listeners have not listened to those two episodes where I cover that case, and even if you did listen to those to my old ones. This one has been updated and re-recorded, so it's worth listening to again and, don't worry, I'll have a brand new case for you really soon.

Speaker 2: 8:32

There is a 2016 documentary called Unseen about this case and you can watch it for free if you have an Amazon Prime membership. And in addition to that documentary, oxygen has two episodes on this particular case. One is on there living with a serial killer series and the other one is on Snapped. So those are all pretty interesting and they cover a lot of interesting facts about this case. His name is Anthony Soul, serial killer, and he was dubbed the Cleveland Strangler. So Halloween is quickly approaching and, in sticking with that theme, the serial killer that we're going to cover was arrested on Halloween in 2009. Excuse me, this is part one and there will be a part two released ASAP. I won't wait until next week to release part two. I will put it out there as soon as I get it done, so keep an eye out for that. So let's get a feel for where our story takes place.

Speaker 2: 9:39

The crux of our story today begins in the year 2007. We're traveling to Imperial Avenue in Cleveland, ohio's District 4. District 4 is 11.3 square miles. In 2000, the population of District 4 was about 87,000. In 2000, the median household income was about $25,000, but in the poorest neighborhood of District 4, kingsman, the median household income was only $12,500. According to the City of Cleveland's Planning Commission website, district 4 was at one time or another home to many different European immigrant groups, but is now 97% African American. Imperial Avenue is on the border of two East Cleveland neighborhoods. Mount Pleasant is to the south of Imperial Avenue and Buckeye Shaker is to its north. Mount Pleasant was once a lively working class neighborhood, but the previous few decades prior to 2007 had not been kind to Mount Pleasant. The area experienced the loss of many jobs and the crack cocaine epidemic hit this area really hard. East Cleveland as a whole was one of the poorest cities in America at the time. There were thousands of abandoned homes in Cleveland and East Cleveland. Many of them were just too far gone to be rehabbed and were in need of demolition.

Speaker 2: 11:12

Anthony Edwards-Soul was born in Cleveland, ohio, in 1959. His parents divorced sometime in the 60s and he was raised by his mother, claudia. Also living in the home were his maternal grandmother, irene, and his siblings, tressa and Junior. Anthony Soul had another sister named Patricia Davis Hatcher, who died in 1969. She had seven children that her mom, claudia, took in when she passed away. So there were 12 people living in their home Anthony Soul, his brother, his sister, his mom, his grandma and seven of his nieces and nephews.

Speaker 2: 11:49

According to testimony from some of his sister's kids that had moved in with them when their mom died, which were Anthony Soul's nieces and nephews, they were subjected to regular severe abuse while living there. For instance, claudia would strip them naked. Now Claudia is Anthony Soul's mom, so she would be the grandma to those kids. Her daughter died. She took in all seven of her daughter's kids so these are her grandchildren. Claudia would strip them naked, tie them to a banister and beat them with an extension cord until she was tired. Claudia's mom, irene, would beat them with a switch or a cane. They testified that a beating could take place at any time, including even at 2 or 3 am, for something as small as leaving a dirty dish in the sink. One of the boys testified that he was subjected to beatings like that almost daily and at times severe enough to draw blood. According to Anthony Soul's sister's kids, claudia never subjected her own children, vanessa, junior or Anthony, to these types of beatings. However, her children did witness the beatings. One of the kids testified that at times Anthony Soul would just sit there and laugh as the other kids were beaten by his mother. One of the girls testified that when she was 10 years old, anthony Soul, who was about 11 years old at the time, raped her almost every day.

Speaker 2: 13:59

Anthony Soul attended Prospect Elementary School and Kirk Junior High School in East Cleveland. His teachers testified that he was an average student with a very good attendance record. They had not observed any indication that he had been physically abused. At age 19, anthony Soul enlisted in the United States Marine Corps For eight years, from 1978 to 1985, anthony Soul served active duty in South Carolina, north Carolina, california, and in Okinawa, japan. He was an above average Marine. Upon graduation from boot camp, anthony Soul was promoted to private first class, the only Marine from his 55-member platoon to receive this distinction. He was also awarded two good conduct medals reflecting three years of service without any disciplinary action, and received other awards for good performance. He was promoted to Lance Corporal, corporal and Sergeant. Anthony Soul was chosen to attend an advanced electrician school and only 30% of Marines are chosen for an advanced school. Anthony Soul was involved in two minor disciplinary matters during his Marine career. He received quote-unquote non-judicial punishment in both, rather than a court martial. His conduct marks exceeded the requirement for an honorable discharge, which he received in 1985.

Speaker 2: 15:27

Twyla Austin had begun dating Anthony Soul when she was in high school. She became pregnant with his child and their daughter was born in 1978, eight and a half months after he had joined the Marines. Twyla testified at Anthony Soul's trial that during visits to Ohio he had visited their daughter. He had come pick her up and take her over to his mother's house. Twyla said she had received a support check from the Marines every month for their daughter. Anthony Soul met and married a fellow Marine named Kim Yvette Lawson while serving in the military. Reportedly, they married in 1981, and the marriage fell apart by 1985. Kim Yvette Lawson died in 1998.

Speaker 2: 16:10

In 1989, a woman named Melvette Sockwell's car broke down and she walked to a motel near Euclid Avenue and Lee Boulevard in East Cleveland. She met Anthony Soul there and asked him if she could use his phone. He took Melvette to his home less than a half a mile away from the motel, located at 1878 Page Avenue. He took her upstairs to a room and locked the door. He had a huge butcher knife and raped her at knife point. He choked her and raped her over and over again. After raping her, he cleaned her up with a rag, then stuffed that same rag in her mouth. He bound her hands with a necktie and her feet with a belt. He told her to say her prayers because he was going to feed her then kill her. Then Anthony Sol, who had been drinking, laid down and went to sleep. Melvette rolled off the bed and went to the window. She was still bound and gagged, so she pushed the window up with her head. She escaped onto the roof of the house. She saw two older women below out by the street and made noises behind her gag to get their attention Mmm, mmm, mmm. A woman looked up and Melvette turned to let her see that her hands were tied up. The woman said oh my God, and the police were called. When the police arrived to arrest Anthony Sol, he was still sleeping. On June 24, 1990, another woman told police that Anthony Sol raped and choked her in her home located on East 71st Street in Cleveland. He was arrested but charges were not filed against him because, reportedly, the woman was not willing to testify.

Speaker 2: 17:49

In 1990, anthony Sol pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of attempted rape for the attack on Melvette Sockwell and served fifteen years in prison. He was released from prison in 2005 at the age of forty-five years old. Upon his release, he was deemed a sexually oriented offender and unlikely to reoffend. A sexually oriented offender was the least restrictive status category. He was required to report his address to the Sheriff's Office once a year for ten years. Because of a change in Ohio State law in 2008, anthony Sol was reclassified from a sexually oriented offender to a Tier 3 sex offender. He was required to go to the county's sex offender's registration office and report his address once every ninety days for the rest of his life. According to the Ohio Attorney General's Office, quote a Tier 3 sex offender is a person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a sexually oriented offence that is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year. A Tier 3 offender is subject to strict address verification. The community and victim or victims receive notification whenever such an offender relocates to a new address. End quote.

Speaker 2: 19:11

So after he left prison, anthony Sol moved into the attic area of his late father and stepmom's house at 1205 Imperial Avenue in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of East Cleveland. Anthony Sol's stepmom, sagarna Sol, was not in good health. She spent a lot of time in hospitals, which left Anthony Sol, the lone occupant in the home nearly all of the time. There were lots of houses on Imperial Avenue near the Sol residence at the time that have since been torn down. Next door to the Sol home is a small sausage factory named Ray's Sausage. It has been there since 1952. House Imperial Avenue is a small pizza shop called Best Chicken and Pizza. Across 123rd Street from Ray's Sausage was Amira Imperial Beverage, a corner convenience store.

Speaker 2: 20:05

In 2007, just two years after Anthony Sol was released from prison and moved into the house on Imperial Avenue, women in the neighborhoods of Mount Pleasant and Buckeye Shaker in East Cleveland started disappearing. Author said Anthony Sol prayed on his victims' weaknesses and vulnerabilities. They were drug-addicted and transient. Some of them were homeless. He used drugs and alcohol to lure them to his home. In fact, reportedly, when word got out that he gave out free drugs to ladies, he had so many women knocking on his door at all hours of the day and night that he ended up disconnecting his doorbell. On this time, 2007, anthony Sol was about five, eleven or six feet tall and weighed 155 to 160 pounds. He had a job at Custom Rubber, which was a rubber factory that made buckets. In February of 2007, he suffered a heart attack. He was hospitalized and received a pacemaker. He later returned to light duty at work, then was eventually released to regular duty. However, by July of that year, he was physically unable to perform his duties as an injection mold machine operator and was laid off. He began receiving unemployment.

Speaker 2: 21:24

Anthony Sol liked to sit on his front steps and drink 40-ounce King Cobra malt liquor that cost $1.50 per bottle. Sometimes a woman would be drinking there with him. He hung out around the corner convenience store and bummed change from people in the neighborhood. He would sometimes be seen pushing a shopping cart up and down the street collecting cans and scrap metal to sell for an extra buck. He had a profile on an online dating service that said he was a master looking for a submissive to train. He had barbecues in his driveway and invited people from the neighborhood. He even had a girlfriend that lived with him for a couple of years. Her name was Lori Frazier. She is a recovering addict and niece of the four-term former mayor, frank Jackson of Cleveland.

Speaker 2: 22:14

Lori Frazier and Anthony Sol met in 2005 after his 15-year prison stint was over. She was looking for beer walking down East 116th Street when she bumped into him. They'd spent that evening together drinking at a local bar. After that he invited her back to his house. She moved in with him shortly after. She said he was quiet but he treated her well. He did the cooking and cleaning and supported her, even though she had a serious crack addiction. Then Anthony Sol began smoking crack too. She said this changed his demeanor and he became real nasty, angry, mean and aggressive. He'd fly into a rage and threatened to throw her out of a window. He would periodically put her out of the house. She would come home to find that he was entertaining strangers in the house and he brought other women over when she wasn't there.

Speaker 2: 23:07

Lori's mom died in 2007 and she decided to get clean. She told him they could not be together if he continued to use, but he didn't stop and Lori and Anthony Sol broke up sometime in 2007 and she moved out of his house. But they still kept in touch and she still visited his house from time to time, she said. After their break up and she moved out, his attitude and demeanor continued to worsen. She said that when she visited his home, she saw that a sitting-room on the third floor was locked and off limits, but it had never been before. They used to use it as their bedroom. When Lori was asked if she'd noticed a bad odor when she was at Anthony Sol's home, she said she did and she'd asked him about it. He said that the smell was from his stepmother downstairs. When his stepmom left, he blamed the smell on Ray's sausage next door. Normally, lori and Anthony Sol stop seeing each other altogether, but their relationship had been very important to Anthony Sol, according to court documents.

Speaker 2: 24:10

These are quotes from Anthony Sol about Lori and their time together. Quote. Let me tell you a story about her Crackhead. But I loved her and I helped her. I used to go out on the street and look for her because I would be worried She'd leave and be gone for days and weeks. I said At least call and let me know you're all right. I said why don't you let me get you some help? I said I will be there for you, I will come visit you, I will help you. I think I called suicide prevention. I spent the whole weekend just crying. End quote.

Speaker 2: 24:43

With the benefit of hindsight, lori said that looking back, she had seen suspicious injuries on Anthony Sol, most likely evidence of his encounters with the women he victimized and murdered. Sometimes she saw a deep gash on his head and blood on the floor and walls in his home. He said that an intruder had entered his home and they'd had a fight. Another time he had flesh torn from his neck. He told Lori that a homeless person jumped on him near an abandoned building and yet in another incident he'd gotten his throat sliced so badly the wound required stitches. He told Lori that he'd gotten robbed while walking through the park at night Another time, lori came home and Anthony Sol had blood gushing from his head. He said, quote, you don't have to worry about them no more because I killed their ass, end quote. He didn't explain further and Lori didn't press the issue. She didn't really believe him anyway. She didn't think he was capable of killing anyone. Next we're going to talk about Anthony Sol's murder victims, the plain dealer. A newspaper in Cleveland profiled all of the women in 2011 and that's where I got the bulk of the information from about them.

Speaker 2: 25:55

In 2007, crystal Dozier was 35 years old and a former telemarketer. She cleaned homes and did shopping for her elderly neighbors. She was a mother of seven children and was addicted to crack cocaine. She was born in 1971 and was the second oldest of four children. When she was a kid, she liked to dress up in frilly outfits and she'd been a little mother hand to her younger siblings. She spent hours in the kitchen with her mom learning how to cook. She got pregnant at 13 and the baby's father was 17 years old. Then she got pregnant again at 14. This time, the father was 20 years old. They married in 1987 and went on to have five more children together. She became addicted to crack around. This time she was 16 years old, cuyahoga County.

Speaker 2: 26:46

Social service records indicate that she and her husband were unfit parents. One document noted that her oldest son had marks on his body from beatings. Her husband was arrested many times on various charges, such as grand theft, breaking and entering and drug charges. Crystal's two oldest children went to live with her mom, and her other five kids ended up in foster care. Crystal had a string of arrests too, for charges such as possession, theft and drug trafficking. When her mom was arrested on a drug charge, crystal's two oldest kids were ultimately put into separate foster homes. Her four youngest daughters ended up getting adopted by the same family. One of her sons died at age 11 from complications due to asthma.

Speaker 2: 27:33

She and her husband broke up in 1994 and she later remarried. She had a long period of sobriety with this man, but then Crystal fell off the wagon and ended up doing almost a year in prison in 2004 for drug trafficking. Her husband died while she was locked up. She cleaned herself up for a bit when she got out, but ended up back on drugs. She was last seen on May 17, 2007. Her oldest child, anthony Dozier, filed a missing persons report on June 11, 2007. He'd just returned from a tour in the Marines. For the next almost year and a half he'd drive around the streets of East Cleveland searching for his mom. Her body was discovered nearly a year and a half later with a ligature around her neck, buried in Anthony Sol's backyard on Imperial Avenue. Anthony Sol's next victim's life story sounds very similar to Crystal Dozier's. In fact, most of his victims' life stories sound very much the same. Tashauna Culver dropped in and out of her family's lives so often that they never reported her missing. She was 29 years old when she was last seen in June of 2008.

Speaker 2: 28:47

Tashauna Culver was born on August 31, 1978 in Cleveland. Her parents broke up before she turned one. She was a brownie scout and participated in the dance line at school. She began to write poetry. She was very good at styling hair. She earned a cosmetology license and trained to be a nursing assistant. She had her first child in the 10th grade. Her and the child's father did not stay together. Later she fell in love with a man named Marcus. They planned to marry, but sadly he was found shot in the head in 1998. Her family said she then sank into depression and started to abuse drugs. Tashauna had six children total and had given birth to several of her children.

Speaker 2: 29:31

While she was behind bars, she began an eight-year on-and-off relationship with a man named Carl who fathered three of her six children. Her mom and sister ended up taking care of her kids. Tashauna and Carl did drugs together and lived in rooms or apartments or with friends or relatives. Tashauna was sometimes a sex worker to get money for their drugs. In 2004 they got cleaned for a spell and tried to make a fresh start. They attended narcotics, anonymous meetings. They got jobs at a factory and Tashauna did hair on the side to earn extra money. They eventually returned to using and in 2005 Tashauna was arrested for domestic violence, for punching and trying to stab Carl.

Speaker 2: 30:15

Carl got clean in 2006. Tashauna never did. She gave birth to her last child in 2007. After she was released from a stay in jail, she went to her family's house on Imperial Avenue, five houses down from Anthony Sol's house. Then her mom and sister eventually made her leave to shield the kids from her drug use. They last saw her in 2008. Carl talked to Tashauna on Valentine's Day of 2008. He had moved to Akron, ohio. He and Tashauna discussed getting back together and putting their family back together. They made a plan to meet up in Cleveland and she was going to return to Akron with him Because she never showed up. At the end of October in 2009, just down the street from her mom's house, in a house on Imperial Avenue, police discovered the remains of eleven women. Her family wondered if Tashana was one of those women whose remains were found. In early November, the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office confirmed through DNA analysis that the body found concealed beneath dirt in a crawl space was that of Tashana Culver.

Speaker 2: 31:23

Lashonda Long was born in 1984 to a crack-addicted mother. Her dad wasn't around much. At six years of age, she and her five siblings were living with their aunt because of their mom's addiction. Lashonda got good grades in school and had perfect attendance. According to her relatives, she looked out for her siblings and was very motherly to them. She was bossy, strong-willed and sassy, but never got into any trouble. Her mom led a transient lifestyle and popped in and out of LaShonda's life throughout her childhood. Her aunt had two sons of her own and she and all eight children moved to Indiana for a fresh start.

Speaker 2: 32:02

Lashonda became defiant as a teenager and wanted to move back to Cleveland. Her aunt relented and allowed LaShonda to move back in with her father in Cleveland. Within a year of moving there, she got locked up in juvenile hall and became pregnant with her first child at the age of fourteen. By the age of seventeen, she had three kids she couldn't care for and a record All three of her kids had been born while she was in juvenile detention. Her father and other relatives took custody of her kids. She was arrested several times as an adult too. Her family believed she abused drugs such as cocaine. Lashonda was a very talented writer. She had dreams to clean up her life for herself and her kids. She wanted to attend college, but she never had a chance to realize those dreams. She went missing in August of 2008. In November of 2009, her skull was found in a black plastic bag in a red bucket in Anthony Sol's basement. None of LaShonda's other body parts were located. Her life was cut short at the age of twenty-four. She was the youngest of the victims found in Anthony Sol's house of horrors.

Speaker 2: 33:16

Tanya Carmichael was born in Cleveland on June 30, 1956. Her parents divorced when she was young. She and her brother were raised by their mom and grew up on the east side of Cleveland. Tanya enjoyed gardening and grew vegetables and sold them to people in the neighborhood. She dropped out of high school but did earn a high school equivalency certificate. She gave birth to her first child at the age of sixteen. Then she had another daughter. She took college courses and worked as a medical secretary and a barmaid. She earned a barber license and a real estate license. She was a loving and protective mother.

Speaker 2: 33:53

When the crack epidemic first hit Cleveland, tanya scolded drug dealers and shooed them away from her East Cleveland home because she didn't want them, or their drugs, around her kids. Later she fell into using and abusing drugs herself. She gave birth to a son in 1985. She ended up getting evicted from her home and lived here and there. She lost custody of her son when he was twelve. She spent time in prison. The last time she was seen was at a family barbecue in 2008. She was fifty-two years old when she was killed and the oldest of Anthony Sol's victims. She was the first one of Anthony Sol's victims to be identified. Her body was found by a cadaver dog. She was buried in a shallow grave near the back porch in the backyard.

Speaker 2: 34:41

Michelle Mason was born on December 22, 1963. She was one of six or seven kids. She'd attended a Job Corps program in Cleveland for a while, but she wanted to travel and left Ohio to go to New York and New Jersey. She didn't stay in close contact with her family and they didn't see her for a while. Her family later learned she'd become addicted to heroin. In 1986, authorities in New Jersey called her family to say that she'd given birth to a son she could not care for. He was brought to Cleveland where her older sister took him in. She had another son two years later and her mom took care of him. They sent Michelle's boys to private school and made sure they went to church. Michelle was ready to go back home in the early nineties, so her mom sent her a bus ticket. She was thin and sick when she returned. She'd become infected with HIV from IV drug use.

Speaker 2: 35:38

Between 1993 and 2001, michelle was arrested nine times, mostly on drug charges. At some point she got shot in the face and had to get a glass eye. Sometime in 2001, her family began to see a change in her ways. She attended drug treatment sessions and then recovery meetings. She eventually started living independently and managed her own bills and medication. She also stayed in regular contact with both of her sons, who were then in their twenties. Her son, shannon, said she was the coolest mom ever and very supportive of him and his dreams and decisions. Michelle left her mom's house on the morning of October 8th 2008, and said she'd returned later that day, but she didn't. A few days later her phone was going straight to voicemail. Her family filed a missing persons report and searched for her. Her body was recovered a year later, on November 3rd 2009, when a backhoe uncovered four corpses in Anthony Sol's backyard.

Speaker 2: 36:42

Kim Yvette Smith was born on January 20th 1965, at Huron Hospital in East Cleveland. She had a half-brother, but he didn't live with the family, so Kim was basically an only child. She liked to play with dolls, watch cartoons and play with her cousins. She loved animals. Her parents divorced before she entered high school. She started to hang out with an older crowd and became rebellious. Her dad thinks it was in her high school years when she began using drugs. She graduated from high school in 1983 and later attended community college where she studied art and dance. Two years after graduation, she got her first felony conviction for receiving stolen property property. Over the years she picked up more convictions, mostly for drug offenses.

Speaker 2: 37:30

As an adult, kim had become very close with her father. He was a marine veteran and in a wheelchair. She'd help him around the house and he never gave up on her through her drug addiction. She'd cook for him, clean and pick up his prescriptions. He paid for her to go to drug treatment programs and to psychologists. He visited her when she was locked up. He gave her a place to stay, food and spending money when she got out. Kim never married or had children. She loved art and singing. She was an active member of her church choir and sometimes worked as a backup singer for local musicians.

Speaker 2: 38:08

The last time Kim got out of prison was in 2007. She went to stay at her dad's apartment, but not long after she'd moved back in she began disappearing for days at a time Her dad knew she was using again. He last saw her on January 17, 2009, a few days before her birthday. She hugged and kissed her dad by and said she was going out for the night. He never saw her again. He began his own search for his daughter and put up a $1,000 reward for information as to her whereabouts. Friends placed flyers around the neighborhood with her picture on it when her dad learned of the bodies being recovered at the House on Imperial Avenue. He filed a missing persons report. Investigators asked family members of missing women in the area to provide DNA samples to aid in the identification of the bodies found. Kim's dad went to give his DNA and soon learned that his daughter was gone at the age of 44. Kim's body had been buried in Anthony Sol's backyard.

Speaker 2: 39:13

Nancy Cobbs was born in 1966 in Cleveland. She was an only child. She dropped out of high school when she became pregnant, but did earn a GED. She ended up having three kids. She worked in factories, fast food and housekeeping jobs. She was a devoted and loving grandmother to her grandkids.

Speaker 2: 39:33

Nancy started using drugs in the 80s. She served two years in prison in the mid-90s for drug trafficking. Her mom had custody of her kids during that time. By 2009, she had struck up a friendship with a man from the neighborhood. They'd sit on the porch at her mom's house on Griffing Avenue and drink beer together. Her family didn't know his name, just knew him by face. Then, on April 24, 2009, nancy went missing. Her daughter, audrey, filed a missing persons report. She posted flyers at corner stores and on telephone poles. During the summer of 2009, audrey formed a search group of more than 30 friends and relatives to look for her mom. They went into foreclosed and abandoned homes searching for Nancy. When Audrey learned of bodies being found in Anthony Sol's home, she and her sister went to give their DNA for testing. They learned the sad, sad news that their mom was a victim of Anthony Sol. They were shocked to learn that he was the same man that used to sit on the porch with their mom and drink beer. Nancy's body was one of seven that still had a ligature around their necks when she was recovered.

Speaker 2: 40:45

Amelda Hunter, who went by Amy, grew up on the south side of Chicago in the 70s. She was the sixth of eight children. When she was a kid she was a bookworm who loved reading the classics. When Amy became pregnant as a teen, her older sister traveled from Cleveland to pack up her siblings and their mom. Her sister thought it'd be good for the family to have them near her, but she said things only got worse. According to an article on Clevelandcom, she says it's because most everyone in the family was drinking and or using drugs. One of her older sisters said it was inevitable that Amy would get hooked because drugs and alcohol surrounded her. The older sisters in the family would sometimes take the younger underage sisters to neighborhood bars where they'd drink and mingle with older men.

Speaker 2: 41:35

Amy met a man named Bobby at a bar when she was 19. They had three children together. He was a heavy drinker but always kept a roof over their heads. He worked a steady job as a machine operator for 25 years. He said he didn't do drugs and he didn't realize that Amy had a crack habit for years, bobby said after he learned of her drug problem. They fought often and the relationship became rocky. She would take off and leave the kids by themselves Several times. Amy would go through outpatient drug treatment programs but never stayed clean. She was arrested three times and served a short stint in 2001 for drug possession. In the years before her murder, she'd started hanging out with a friend named Tony who lived at 1205 Imperial Avenue. She'd walk there or get dropped off there. In 2007, amy started attending the Word Church and it gave her some hope. There was about a six-month period where family members thought she'd gotten cleaned up, but then she just disappeared in the spring of 2009 at the age of 46. Bobby didn't report her missing because he just assumed she was up to her old habits. Amy Hunter's body was recovered from Anthony Sol's backyard with a ligature still bound tightly around her neck.

Speaker 2: 42:56

Janice Webb was the fourth of six children. She grew up on Manor Avenue in Cleveland. Her family was active in the church. Janice was a jokester. She loved to pull pranks on her family members. She graduated from John Hay High School in 1979, then worked as a waitress. She soon had a son, but didn't stay with his father.

Speaker 2: 43:18

She married a man named Michael in the early 80s. They went to visit his family in Los Angeles for six months and they introduced Janice to drugs. When they went back to Cleveland, the crack epidemic was in full swing in their neighborhood. Michael started using drugs too, and their marriage started to deteriorate. They cheated on each other and argued frequently. They eventually divorced and in 2005 Michael got clean. Although they weren't together anymore, michael still enabled Janice's drug use. He last saw her four months before she disappeared. She'd stopped by to borrow money. He knew what the money was for, but he gave it to her anyway.

Speaker 2: 43:59

Despite her run-ins with the law and her drug addiction, janice stayed in touch with her siblings on a regular basis, but she went missing in June of 2009 at the age of 48. Her family looked for her and filed a missing persons report. They posted flyers in the neighborhood. Her body was found in Anthony Sol's basement on October 30th 2009. She still had a ligature around her neck.

Speaker 2: 44:26

Tlacia Forston was put into the Cuyahoga County foster care system at the age of five or six. She was adopted at the age of nine by a divorcee named Inez Fortson. Inez had two sons and one at a daughter. Tlacia had an artistic side, like her adoptive mom. Her mom taught her to keep a clean house and to care for animals. Tlacia liked to arrange flowers and had a knack for styling hair. As a teen, inez tried her best to get Tlacia to follow her rules, but she rebelled. She ran away repeatedly and stayed at different friends' homes.

Speaker 2: 45:04

At age 17, tlacia was living at a residential treatment facility that helped abused or neglected kids or those with mental health or drug problems. She got into trouble with the law two times while she was there. She graduated from high school in 1997. In the early 2000s, she was arrested on drug charges. In April of 2003, she had a son. The baby was taken from her, though, because she'd tested positive for cocaine while she'd been pregnant. The next year. She had a baby girl on Christmas Eve of 2004, but she again tested positive for cocaine. She lost custody of her daughter too.

Speaker 2: 45:44

She became pregnant again in 2006 and went to Laura's home for help. Laura's home is a crisis center for women and children. The workers there thought she was ready to turn over a new leaf. They said she participated in the activities and was approved for a job training program. She was a stable and loving mom to her daughter, talia, who had been born in November of 2006. Tlacia moved out of Laura's home in the spring of 2007, but she relapsed a few months later and lost custody of her baby. She returned to Laura's home, but she didn't stay. She left and never went back. She got in trouble with the law in 2008 for stealing money and spent some time in prison. She was only 31 years old when she was last seen by her adoptive mom on June 3, 2009. Tlacia had stopped by her mom's house, cleaned it and fried some chicken for her. On October 29, 2009, her decomposed body was found lying on the floor of Anthony Sol's home with a ligature around her neck.

Speaker 2: 46:49

Diane Turner was born on November 4, 1970. She was the second of two children. Reportedly, she was raised by her dad in Cleveland. Her mom wasn't around much. She and her brother were physically abused as children. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much about Diane Turner in her younger years.

Speaker 2: 47:09

Between 1991 and 2001,. Diane was arrested a dozen times on drug charges. She became a sex worker to support her drug habit. By her mid-20s, diane had three kids, all of which were removed permanently by the Department of Children and Family Services. In 1994, diane gave birth to her fourth child, but she and the baby both tested positive for cocaine. Then that baby was removed from her care. Over the next few years Diane was in and out of jail. She also had a fifth baby that was taken away. In the late 90s she met a former addict named Martin. He worked as a school maintenance man. She eventually moved in with him, but he would not allow her to stay if she used drugs.

Speaker 2: 47:58

Diane went through a 12-step program and attended church. In 2001, she and Martin were pulled over on a traffic stop and Diane was arrested for an earlier probation violation. She spent six months in jail. During that time she learned that she was pregnant with her sixth child. When she was released from jail she stayed clean and went to all of her prenatal appointments, she was determined to keep her and Martin's daughter, which they planned to name Denise. Baby Denise was born in November of 2001.

Speaker 2: 48:30

By this time, diane had been cleaned for 21 months. Nevertheless, cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services came and removed her baby from her care at just four days old. In order to get her daughter back, she agreed to go to Miracle Village with her daughter, which was a residential drug treatment program. However, officials took Baby Denise in December of 2001, stating that Diane didn't properly care for the baby. They put the baby in foster care. Martin completed parenting classes and obtained shared custody of he and Diane's daughter. He shares custody with Denise's foster mom. Diane ended up leaving the program because she was convinced they'd never give her her daughter back. She didn't complete parenting classes. She soon relapsed and was arrested in 2002 for drug possession.

Speaker 2: 49:25

Diane and Martin broke up, but always stayed in contact. He was there for Diane if she needed something. He last heard from her in September of 2009. No one had seen her for a few weeks. Then women's bodies were found at the house on Imperial Avenue. Her daughter, denise, then seven years old, provided a DNA sample to compare to the last unidentified body at the coroner's office On December 4, 2009,. It was confirmed that the 11th victim of Anthony's soul was Diane Turner. Her decomposing body had been found lying on the floor in a bathroom on the third floor of Anthony's soul's house.

Speaker 2: 50:07

And that's it for part one of the Cleveland Strangler, but don't worry, you won't have to wait long for part two. In part two, we'll talk about the women that actually escaped Anthony's soul and his house of hell. Their stories are incredibly frightening and give us a great deal of insight into what his 11 known murder victims must have gone through before they were killed. We'll also discuss how Anthony's soul got caught, the discovery of 11 bodies from his house on Imperial Avenue and what ultimately happened to Anthony's soul.

Speaker 2: 50:43

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Tell Me a True Crime Story. Please follow or subscribe to the podcast and tell your friends, coworkers and family about it. Share the podcast or share an episode that you loved, and please follow the podcast on social media. Facebook, instagram and TikTok are at Tell Me a True Crime Story. Please write a review for the podcast and or give it five stars on Apple or Spotify. That helps me out so very much. This podcast is growing and it's thanks to all of you guys out there who are spreading the word. Thank you again for being here. I truly, truly appreciate each and every one of you. Please join me in episode 32 when I'll tell you another True Crime Story. Big hugs to all of you. Bye-bye.