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Accused serial killer served 7 years in Corps

In 1985, Anthony Sowell left the Marine Corps as a corporal after a seven-year career as an electrician that took him to Marine bases across the world.

Four years later, he sexually assaulted a pregnant woman in his apartment in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the first known violent act in what is now the suspected work of a serial killer.

Sowell, 50, was arrested Oct. 31 after police went to his home to investigate a rape allegation against him and discovered decomposing bodies inside, authorities said. He has been charged with five counts of aggravated murder, and police say they have found the remains of at least 11 bodies in and near his home since Oct. 29.

Marine officials said Sowell arrived for boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., on Jan. 24, 1978, and remained there until April 24, 1978. Afterward, he was first stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., and Camp Butler, on Okinawa.

He concluded his service with a three-day stint at Camp Pendleton, Calif., from Jan. 15 to Jan. 18, 1985.

In 1990, Sowell was convicted of attempted rape and sentenced to 15 years in prison for a July 1989 attack on a pregnant woman. With a necktie wrapped around her wrists, the woman escaped by climbing through a third-floor window and screaming for help after he fell asleep, according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Due to the serious nature of the attack, Sowell served the entire 15-year prison sentence, authorities said. He was released in 2005 and moved to the home that is now the center of the investigation.