Rapist due in court as ten bodies found near his home

Published on Wednesday 4 November 2009 08:55

THE number of bodies found in and near a rapist's home rose to at least 10 when authorities unearthed four corpses from his back yard and found a skull in a bucket in the basement.

Cleveland, Ohio police were set to resume their search this morning.

They have extended their hunt to boarded-up homes in the neighbourhood where residents complained for years of a stench that one even said "smelled like a dead body".

There have been calls for a probe into why it has taken so long to trace the source.

Anthony Sowell, 50, a registered sex offender who lives in the home, was charged yesterday with five counts of aggravated murder, as well as rape, felonious assault and kidnapping.

He was set to appear in court today.

Police Chief Michael McGrath said: "It appears that this man had an insatiable appetite that he had to fill."

Police found the bodies of six women last week after a woman reported being raped at Sowell's home.

Police do not yet know whether the skull belongs to an 11th victim, and revealed that fire department crews are to search in the walls and ceiling of Sowell's home amid fears that the actual number of victims may be even higher.