CLEVELAND — A witness called by attorneys trying to spare the life of a man who strangled most of his 11 murder victims testified Wednesday that the defendant's Marine Corps background gave him training in how to kill by choking.
Nolan Coleman, a 52-year-old mail carrier and Marine veteran who didn't know defendant Anthony Sowell, testified at the sentencing phase. The jury must decide whether to recommend death or life in prison without parole for the 51-year-old Sowell.
Coleman, of Cleveland, testified to highlight Sowell's military service for jurors when they decide whether to spare his life.
Under cross-examination, assistant Prosecutor Pinkey Carr pressed Coleman on Marine training and its purpose, including killing by hand, using pressure points, choking and administering a choke hold.
Coleman said he was familiar with a choke hold from his Marine training.
"What's the purpose of a choke hold?" Carr asked.
"To kill someone," the witness responded.
"You're actually taught to choke somebody to kill them?" Carr asked.
"Yes," Coleman said.
A woman who was raped by Sowell and survived to testify against him said he got her in a choke hold and took her to a bedroom and attacked her.
Sowell got a promotion during boot camp, and Coleman testified that there was competition for such an achievement. Under cross-examination, Coleman agreed that it would show a recruit was smart, buttressing the prosecution argument that Sowell was crafty in the way he killed.
The defense also called to the stand a sixth-grade teacher who testified about Sowell's good attendance and a jail guard who said Sowell has been well-behaved.
Investigators said Sowell lured victims to his home with the promise of alcohol or drugs. Police discovered the first two bodies and a freshly dug grave in late 2009 after officers went to investigate a woman's report that she had been raped there.
Many of the women found in Sowell's home had been missing for weeks or months, and some had criminal records. They were disposed of in garbage bags and plastic sheets, then dumped in various parts of the house and yard.