Many victims of the greatest crimes are often forgotten, especially when they are of marginalized groups. A new Vice documentary called The Cleveland Strangler focuses on one of these cases, as it looks back at the gruesome crimes of Anthony Sowell, who raped, strangled and murdered 11 Black women. Authorities recovered the bodies at his house in October 2009. Currently, Sowell sits on death row at Chillicothe Correction Institution.
In the four-part series, Vice's Wilbert Cooper goes back to his hometown of Cleveland to revisit the case by interviewing his parents, who were both retired sergeants at the Cleveland police department, and other officers who were directly involved in the case. He also interviews victims and witnesses of the horrific incident.
The victims of the case were all poor, Black and had drug additions. "Because those people are in low economic situations, nobody cares," said Cooper's mother, Gayle Miller-Cooper. During the film, Sowell brings back awareness of this story and uncovers how anyone could get away with these murders for two years without anyone noticing.
View the full documentary on Vice.  
Watch Vice founder Shane Smith talks about its criminal justice documentary.

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(Photo: Cuyahoga County Jail)