CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) –
19 Action News has discovered a new push to honor the victims of the Cleveland Strangler, and it could even change the face of his old neighborhood.
Just by saying the “Imperial Avenue,” you think of serial killer Anthony Sowell.
Now, local ministers are looking at ways to change the map and honor the victims.
So far, the house of horrors on Imperial Avenue has been knocked down and Anthony Sowell is headed to death row. But that’s not enough. Local ministers are taking new steps to help ease the pain and wipe away the strain of what happened on Imperial Avenue, where Sowell killed 11 woman and attacked several others.
Reverend Jimmy Gates with the Mount Pleasant Ministerial Alliance says the group just started meeting with Cleveland City Hall. They want to change the name of Imperial Avenue and possibly put up a memorial remembering the victims. “Our main goal is to restore peace, restore hope and restore joy” says Rev. Gates.
Gladys Wade, one of Sowell’s survivors, and her husband had already been talking about what they could do at the scene. “I would like to see there a little park flowers benches that kind of thing a plaque with the names of the angels on it.”
Again, City Hall has already met with the ministers, who claim the city will help them move forward once they decide what to do with the crime scene where Anthony Sowell’s home once stood.
Article Courtesy of WOIO 19 Action News
