Ohio suspect, Michael Madison, charged with murder after 3 bodies found. Bail set at $6M.

Author: By Anna Coren. Holly Yan and Emily Smith CNN
Published On: Jul 22 2013 03:00:44 AM EDT Updated On: Jul 22 2013 12:08:13 PM EDT

3 women's bodies found, Cleveland
WJW
EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) -
Michael Madison has been charged with three counts of aggravated murder and three counts of kidnapping in connection with the deaths of three women whose bodies were found late last week in East Cleveland, Ohio.

At a hearing moments ago, a judge set bail at $1 million per count, for a total of $6 million.

While authorities did not find more bodies Sunday, as was initially feared, East Cleveland police Chief Ralph Spotts said workers continue to search.

"This is an ongoing investigation. We are nowhere near done," he said.

The bodies were found within a few blocks from each other in East Cleveland over the weekend. Madison, 35, may have been inspired by a local serial killer, officials said.

Madison leased the garage where one of the bodies was found, according to authorities.

"We are dealing with a sick individual, and we have reason to believe that there might be more victims," East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton told CNN.

Spotts told CNN affiliate WEWS over the weekend that investigators received "a lot of information" from interviews with Madison and residents.

The mayor said Madison was "influenced" by serial killer Anthony Sowell, who was convicted of killing 11 women in the same Ohio county, Cuyahoga. Sowell was sentenced to death in 2011.

"Unfortunately, this is a sick individual who appears to have been influenced by another sick individual," Norton said. "If he had been out for one more hour, there's no telling what would have happened."

Who are the victims?

While the three bodies were badly decomposed, authorities were able to identify one: Angela Deskins, 38, of Cleveland.

It could take days before officials can determine their identities and causes of death, Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson said Monday.

The first victim was found Friday in the garage leased by Madison. She was naked with signs of trauma, police said.

Two other bodies were found Saturday -- one in an abandoned house, the other in a nearby field. One of those women was wearing a green hoodie, and the other was wearing a leopard-print leotard.

All three victims appear to be young black women. Their bodies were wrapped in plastic garbage bags and taped up, authorities said.

Norton, the city's mayor, believes the killings happened over a 10-day period and that the same assailant is responsible.

"One of the things that makes us believe it's the same suspect is the way that they were all wrapped ... and the same concealment of each of the victims," he said.

Who is the suspect?

The trail that led to Madison's arrest began with a foul odor coming from the garage he leased, East Cleveland police Detective Sgt. Scott Gardner said. That's where police found the first body.

Authorities obtained a search warrant for Madison's apartment Friday and found "additional evidence of decomposition" there, Gardner said.

Police later found Madison at his mother's house in nearby Cleveland. After a standoff, he was taken into custody.

When detectives returned to Madison's neighborhood to scour for evidence Saturday, they found the two bodies in the field and the abandoned house.

According to police, Madison was convicted of attempted rape in 2001 and is a registered sex offender.

CNN could not immediately reach a representative for Madison.

Shaeaun Child, a neighbor who tipped police off about the foul smell in the garage, told CNN he knows Madison. He said the two once argued over a blocked driveway.

"From what I know, he was an OK person when I first met him. And then from there, he actually, he had a lot of conflicts with different girls that he knew," Child said. "When he real upset with someone, he get real loud. You could hear him like two blocks away."

About 100 volunteers went house to house Sunday "to see if there's anything else out there that police need to know about," the mayor said. Cadaver dogs also assisted in the search.

The police chief said anything is possible.

"We're still not satisfied. There's a possibility there may be something else," Spotts told WEWS. "So we're going to exhaust everything we have to make sure that -- hopefully -- we don't find anything else."

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By Plain Dealer staff
on July 22, 2013 at 11:35 AM, updated July 22, 2013 at 12:19 PM

EAST CLEVELAND KILLINGS
Serial killings, crimes against women plague Cleveland, Ohio region
Search for bodies concludes at 3 victims
Mayor fears killings influenced by Anthony Sowell serial murders
Officials fear more victims; 3 bodies of women found wrapped in plastic
2 more bodies found in East Cleveland

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — The suspect in the deaths of three people discovered in East Cleveland will be charged with three counts of aggravated murder, officials said in a news conference this morning.Also, Mayor Gary Norton said one of the victims has been identified as Angela Deskins, 38, of Cleveland. Autopsies have been completed on all three victims, but two others remain unidentified.

"Three individuals who were minding their own business were killed senselessly by an individual with no regard for human life," Norton said. "As a community we are dealing with the tragedy, we are healing and we are strong."

A medical examiner said a cause of death has not been determined because of the decomposition of the bodies.

Deskins was identified through fingerprints. Officials said another victim has several tattoos they're hoping will help provide an ID: a tattoo of a red scar with lines coming out of it at the base of the thumb; lips on the base of the left forearm underneath the name "Gene"; another tattoo on the left thigh, also underneath the name "Gene"; and the name of the rapper Lil Wayne on the left breast.

Police Chief Ralph Spotts said the investigation is "nowhere near done."

Police on Sunday ended a weekend-long search for bodies near East 139th Street and Shaw Avenue, finding no victims besides the three discovered Friday and Saturday.

Michael Madison was arrested and is expected to be charged today in connection with the deaths. He indicated he was influenced by Anthony Sowell, captured in 2009 after killing 11 women and burying them in and around his Imperial Avenue home, said Norton.

Sowell, who is on death row, was a registered sex offender at the time of his crimes.

Madison, 35, registered as a sex offender with the Cuyahoga County sheriff after a four-year prison sentence for a 2002 attempted rape conviction. He had pleaded guilty and was given the least serious offender status, which requires yearly registration for 10 years.

Madison “said some things in questioning that led us to believe he was influenced by Sowell,” Norton told The Plain Dealer on Sunday. But Spotts disputed Norton’s account and said Madison never talked admiringly of Sowell.

“He’s not being cooperative,” Spotts said of Madison. “He’s not saying there aren’t any more bodies, but he’s not saying there are. He’s playing both sides of the fence.”

Norton said all of the women were black. All three were in advanced states of decomposition, said county Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson.

Authorities believe the women had been killed within the last 10 days.

Dozens of law enforcement officials from East Cleveland and other agencies — the FBI, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office — returned to the neighborhood Sunday. They spent the afternoon combing an area of vacant homes, overgrown lots, railroad tracks — even bushes and brush behind the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center.

Madison was arrested Friday night after a two-hour standoff at his mother’s Cleveland home.

The weekend discoveries made international news, with organizations such as CNN and the BBC devoting attention to the case. The same organizations poured into Cleveland in May when Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped a Seymour Avenue home where authorities said they had been held captive for roughly a decade.

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EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - Authorities have identified the second of three murder victims found dumped in plastic garbage bags in an East Cleveland neighborhood as 28-year-old Shetisha Sheeley, the city's mayor said on Tuesday.

East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton said the body of Sheeley, a resident of Cleveland, was discovered Saturday in a weeded lot near two other bodies. East Cleveland is a low-income city of about 27,000 people outside Cleveland.

Authorities on Monday confirmed the identity of the first victim as Angela Deskins, 38, also of Cleveland.

Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Tom Gilson said his office made a preliminary identification, based on Sheeley's multiple tattoos, which was confirmed with a fingerprint match.

The name of a third victim has not yet been released. The third woman was found after neighbors complained of a strong, pungent smell coming from a garage behind an apartment building.

The identification of the third victim as well as the cause of death of all three victims may take "a couple of days" due to the severe decomposition of the bodies, according to Gilson.

An arrest was made in the case on Friday. Michael Madison, 35, faces three counts each of kidnapping and aggravated murder, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of death. He is being held on $6 million bond. No hearings have been scheduled in the case.

According to court records, he is a registered sex offender who pleaded guilty to attempted rape in 2002.

Madison was arrested at his mother's home, hours after the first body was discovered.

The bodies, two of which were found by trained cadaver-smelling dogs, were located in a garage, the basement of a building and in a weeded lot around the building where Madison lived.

During a police interview, Madison mentioned the name of Cleveland serial killer, Anthony Sowell, who was convicted of murder in the deaths of 11 women, according to Norton. Their bodies were found wrapped in garbage bags in and around his home in 2009.

"These people that are victims have stories, they have lives and they have loved ones," Norton said.

Madison was transferred on Tuesday to the Cuyahoga County jail, where Ariel Castro, 53, is being held. Castro is charged with nearly 1,000 criminal counts, including murder, rape and kidnapping, in the disappearance and the decade-long captivity of three women.

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Angela Deskins, the first victim to be identified in the Cleveland murders, was missing since June and her family had been frantically searching for her.

Deskins was found–along with two other women in different locations–wrapped in plastic and abandoned in a Cleveland neighborhood. Extreme decomposition made it difficult for authorities to identify the bodies at first, but they eventually matched her fingerprints to some in their database. Another victim has several tattoos which investigators are hoping will aid them.

The alleged killer, 35-year old Michael Madison, was a known drug-dealer; Deskins reportedly had an arrest for possession of marijuana. She was also homeless, which made initial searches for her even more difficult when her family realized she was missing. She was last seen during the first week of June, but wasn’t reported missing until earlier this month.

Deskins’ brother, Jermaine Padgette, posted her picture as his profile photo and asked Facebook to help spread the word about her disappearance earlier this month in a heartbreaking plea.

“We tryed two look for my sister this morning as nd no luck. Keep your eyes and ears open ps fb,” he wrote this past Saturday. On Sunday, he wrote, “I miss my sister so much I’m hurt help me”.

East Cleveland police and several volunteers are going door-to-door in the neighborhood where the victims were found in the hopes of finding someone who might have information about one of the victims or–because police say they expect to find more–any other missing person in the area. One of the victims had several tattoos that might be used to identify her: a tattoo at the base of the left thumb of a red star with lines coming out of it; lips on the base of the left forearm underneath the name “Gene”; a purple and green flower tattoo on the left thigh, also underneath the name “Gene”; and the name of the rapper Lil Wayne on the left breast.

Madison–a registered sex offender–is being held on $6 million bond under charges of three counts of aggravated murder and three counts of kidnapping.

Friends and family are mourning the cruel loss of Angela, who was well-liked in her community. She attended Cuyahoga County Community College, enjoyed basketball, and had varied taste in music, from Usher and MC Lyte to country singer Reba McEntire.

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EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio - Kim Sheeley said her 28-year-old daughter, Shetisha Sheeley, called her on the phone in September.

She said she was stopping by the next day to borrow a little money, but Shetisha never showed.

Kim Sheeley said she called Cleveland police and they sent an officer to her house on East 100th Street and St. Clair Avenue. Sheeley said she asked to file a missing person's report and the officer took notes.

Then on Dec. 22, Sheeley learned the tragic news that her 25-year-old son, Don'tel Sheeley, was shot and killed on East 99th Street in Cleveland.

Kim Sheeley said when Shetisha never showed up for her brother's funeral or other siblings’ birthdays she feared the worst.

On Tuesday morning, Kim Sheeley was called to the East Cleveland Police Department. Detectives told her that fingerprints from one of the three bodies found in East Cleveland over the weekend matched those of her daughter.

Sheeley cried in the arms of a friend who held her tight outside her East Cleveland house as she struggled to deal with the news.

"I don't know why this person did what they did to my daughter. But I ask everyone to pray for me. This has been really, really hard on me,” Kim Sheeley said.

“My son was murdered seven months ago. This is all taking a toll on me," she said.

"Shetisha had a great sense of humor. She was funny and always made me laugh.”

Kim Sheeley is also battling cancer in the middle of all this overwhelming grief.

Shetisha Sheeley leaves behind a 12 year old daughter who was living with another family member prior to Sheeley's disappearance.

The family is setting up a trust fund to help pay for funeral expenses.

The suspect in the murders, 35-year-old Michael Madison, was arrested Friday after a standoff with police.

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July 29, 2013
A man accused in the deaths of three women whose bodies were found wrapped in trash bags was indicted Monday on 14 counts, including multiple charges of aggravated murder and kidnapping.

Michael Madison is being charged in connection with the deaths of Shirellda H. Terry, Angela H. Deskins and Shetisha D. Sheeley.

East Cleveland police responded to a call about a foul odor July 19 and discovered a body in a garage in a dilapidated neighborhood. Within hours, they identified Madison as a suspect and went to his mother's house, where he was arrested after a brief standoff.

Police found the additional bodies the following day after their questioning of Madison led them to renew their search. All three bodies were found in the fetal position, wrapped in several layers of trash bags.

A Cuyahoga County grand jury charged Madison with six counts of aggravated murder, two for each victim under different legal theories, plus three counts of kidnapping, three counts of gross abuse of a corpse, one count of rape and one count of having weapons under disability, the county prosecutor's office announced Monday.

The county medical examiner on Friday concluded that Terry, 18, and Deskins, 38, were strangled, while Sheeley, 28, died from "homicidal violence by unspecified means."

According to the indictment, Madison, 35, committed the offenses between September 2012 and July 2013. The prosecutor's office on Monday said Madison is expected to be arranged this week. He has been jailed and has no attorney listed in the county.

The indictment states that Madison raped Terry between July 10 and July 19. Terry's family has said she was last seen July 10, leaving a Cleveland elementary school where she had a summer job.

Madison was classified as a sex offender in 2002, when he was sentenced to four years in prison for attempted rape, according to Cuyahoga County court records. He had previous convictions in 2000 and 2001 for drug-related charges.

According to the prosecutor's office, in a separate case Madison was charged on Monday with one felony count of failure to provide notice of a change of address. As a convicted sex offender, Madison had been mandated to give his address to the county sheriff's office. Madison had registered his mother's address in Cleveland but had been in East Cleveland.

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July 31, 2013

An Ohio man accused of killing three women and wrapping their bodies in trash bags in East Cleveland pleaded not guilty in the case Wednesday, the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court said.

Michael Madison, 35, pleaded not guilty to 14 counts in the deaths of Angela Deskins, 38, Shetisha Sheeley, 28, and Shirellda Terry.

The first pretrial hearing is set for August 6. Madison is being held with bail set at $6 million.

The three bodies were found near Madison's East Cleveland apartment -- at different sites within a few blocks from one another -- on July 19 and 20, police said.

The indictment charges Madison with two counts of murder for each woman: one alleging murder and the other alleging murder while kidnapping. He's also charged with three counts of kidnapping, three counts of gross abuse of a body, one count of rape, and one count of having a firearm despite being a convicted felon.

Madison is a registered sex offender, having been convicted of attempted rape in 2002.

A grand jury indicted him on the 14 counts Tuesday. When his bail was set on July 22, Madison had been charged only with three counts of aggravated murder and three counts of kidnapping.

The bodies were discovered after someone noticed a foul odor coming from a garage he leased, police said.

One body was found in the garage; another was found in the basement of an empty home; and another was discovered in a field, police said. The decomposed bodies were wrapped similarly in plastic garbage bags and taped up, authorities said.

Madison was arrested after a standoff at his mother's Cleveland house.

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August 06, 2013

Triple-murder suspect Michael Madison appeared briefly in court today for a pretrial hearing at which prosecutors and defense attorneys discussed the looming prospect of a potential death-penalty case.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said he plans to convene his Capital Review Committee next month to decide whether the evidence warrants seeking the death penalty for Madison, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping and rape.

Court-appointed defense lawyer David Grant said he would seek to prevent that from happening.

"We will present information to dissuade them from pursuing the death penalty," Grant said at the conclusion of the 10-minute hearing.

No trial date has been set. Common Pleas Judge Nancy McDonnell scheduled a follow-up pretrial hearing for Aug. 20.

Madison, a 35-year-old registered sex offender from East Cleveland, is being held on $6 million bail. He was arrested July 19, and charged with killing Angela H. Deskins, 38, Shetisha Sheeley, 28, and Shirellda Terry, 18, whose bodies were found wrapped in plastic bags near Madison's home at the intersection of Shaw and Hayden avenues.

A medical examiner's report said two of the women were likely strangled, but the autopsy reports have not yet been completed, McGinty said.

"The bodies are in a state that we expect it will take some time," McGinty said.

Meanwhile, McGinty said he is in the process of providing documents, photographs and physical evidence to defense lawyers as part of the discovery process. The prosecutor also said he would arrange for the defense lawyers to visit the scene where the bodies were found.

"We can't evaluate any crime without first looking at the crime scene," Grant said.

Madison pleaded guilty to attempted rape in 2002 and is a registered sex offender. At the time of his arrest, he was listed as living with his mother in Cleveland but was actually living on East 139th Street in East Cleveland.

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August 20, 2013

Triple-murder suspect Michael Madison returned this morning to a Cuyahoga County courtroom where he waived his right to a speedy trial.

Madison, 35, of East Cleveland, had a legal right to stand trial within 90 days of his arrest July 19, when he was charged with killing Angela H. Deskins, 38, Shetisha Sheeley, 28, and Shirellda Terry, 18. The women's bodies were found wrapped in plastic bags near Madison's home at the intersection of Shaw and Hayden avenues.

Common Pleas Judge Nancy McDonnell postponed Madison's trial until after Feb. 28, 2014. In response to a request by defense attorneys, the judge said Madison should appear in court in street clothes -- not orange jail coveralls -- for all future hearings in the courtroom. But she specified that the defendant must continue to be restrained in shackles whenever he is brought to court.

Madison's trial date could depend on the decision of County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty's Capital Review Committee whether to seek the death penalty for the defendant. If so, the case would be reassigned to a different judge, which would likely delay the trial.

Madison's next pretrial was scheduled for Sept. 9.

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October 04, 2013

Defense attorneys for Michael Madison will meet with prosecutors Oct. 24 in an attempt to persuade them that the East Cleveland man accused of killing three women should not be charged with the death penalty.

Cuyahoga County prosecutors said Friday that they will convene the office's Capital Review Committee to decide whether the evidence warrants seeking the death penalty for Madison, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping and rape. The committee will review the case and make a recommendation on whether the death penalty is an appropriate punishment.

Court-appointed defense lawyer David Grant said after a brief hearing before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy McDonnell Friday that he plans to present evidence in favor of Madison, but the amount he offers may be less than he would like because he is still going through files of evidence and documents, a review that could take months.

Madison, 35, was indicted this summer, but prosecutors can seek a superseding indictment that could include the death-penalty specification based on the committee's recommendation.

No trial date has been set. McDonnell set a follow-up pretrial hearing for Oct. 31.

Madison is being held on $6 million bail. He was arrested July 19, and charged with killing Angela H. Deskins, 38; Shetisha Sheeley, 28; and Shirellda Terry, 18. Their bodies were found wrapped in plastic bags near Madison's home near Shaw and Hayden avenues.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys told McDonnell they are in the process of exchanging documents and information in the case. Grant also asked to have Madison's personal property that had been seized returned.

But prosecutors balked, saying that they did not want any possible evidence disturbed, especially with the possibility of a new indictment. McDonnell agreed and rejected Grant's request.

Madison pleaded guilty to attempted rape in 2002 and is a registered sex offender. At the time of his arrest, he was listed as living with his mother in Cleveland but was actually living on East 139th Street in East Cleveland.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty has created a protocol for reviewing potential death penalty cases within weeks of an indictment to determine if the punishment should be sought. The committee considers the evidence, including any mitigating factors such as the defendant's mental health and family history.

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