A convicted rapist in the US who fled before police arrived to arrest him on new rape charges has been arrested in his inner-city neighbourhood after police found six decomposing bodies at his home.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Thomas Stacho said Anthony Sowell was walking down the street on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, when authorities spotted him and took him into custody.
Sowell initially denied he was the man authorities were looking for but admitted his identity as officers began fingerprinting him, Lt Stacho said. Charges against him are pending.
Officers initially identified three bodies at Sowell's home, Lt Stacho said. Powell Caesar, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County coroner's office, said other remains were confirmed as three additional bodies, for a total of six.
As of Saturday post-mortem examinations had been performed on all six bodies but no cause of death or names were announced.
The first two bodies were found on Thursday night when police went to Sowell's home to arrest him on charges of felonious assault and rape. Police say he had spent 15 years in prison for a 1989 rape. Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller identified two bodies as black females and said one had died a violent death ruled a homicide. No race or gender was determined for the others.
Police established a command post in the neighbourhood to take missing-person reports and additional information on outstanding missing persons in the neighbourhood.
Teresa Hicks, 48, was among the neighbours who said they were relieved about the arrest but left with a heightened fear of crime. She said she has known Sowell since high school. "He was crazy," she said from her porch. "Sometimes he would just go off if he didn't have his way."
Darren Dunlap, 38, frequently visits the neighbourhood to see his brother or friends. He said Sowell was known for borrowing money and looking for scrap metal to sell. Ms Hicks said she didn't think Sowell had a job but understood from conversations with him that he lived on a monthly cheque. She said she didn't know its source.
Police were checking crime reports to find matches for similarities to the 1989 rape or the most recent allegation against Sowell.
