CLEVELAND (AP) – A convicted sex offender was found guilty Thursday of the murder of three women whose bodies were found wrapped in garbage bags in a case that raised fears that another serial killer was hunting for victims in the Cleveland area.
The jury deliberated for about a day before convicting Michael Madison of aggravated murder and kidnapping. Starting next Thursday, the same jury will consider whether to recommend to a judge that Madison should be sentenced to death.
Madison showed no reaction as the judge read the verdicts. Defense attorney David Grant called the verdicts “expected.”
The discovery of the bodies in 2013 drew national attention to the possibility that another serial killer like Anthony Sowell had been killing women in and around Cleveland. Sowell was convicted in 2011 and sentenced to death for killing 11 women whose bodies were found at his Cleveland home. The Ohio Supreme Court is considering whether to uphold his conviction and sentence.
A judge in Madison’s trial granted a motion by defense attorneys that prevented prosecutors from comparing Madison to Sowell.