Career
On July 19, 2013, police responding to reports of a foul odor investigated a garage leased to Madison and discovered the decomposing body laying inside. Two more bodies were found the following day – one in a backyard and the other in the basement of a vacant house. The bodies, which all belonged to young African-American women, were found 100 yards (91 m) to 200 yards (180 m) apart and were each wrapped in plastic bags.
After obtaining a search warrant, police entered Madison"s apartment and found "further evidence of decomposition." After a brief standoff with police at his mother"s house, Madison was taken into custody without incident.
Court appearance
On July 22, 2013, Madison was charged with three charges of aggravated murder. His bail was set a six million dollars and he also waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
Death penalty sought and subsequent not guilty plea
On Thursday, October 31, 2013, Madison"s attorney David Grant entered a not guilty plea to an updated indictment that included aggravated murder charges. Prosecutors had announced that they were now seeking the death penalty, a move his attorney had tried to prevent but had expected.
The case has drawn comparisons to that of the now-deceased Ariel Castro, of Cleveland, who kidnapped 3 area women (Amanda Berry, Gina Dejesus, and Michelle Knight) and held them for 10 years, and also that of death row inmate and fellow Cleveland-area serial killer Anthony Sowell, who was convicted of killing 11 area women.
The 14-count updated indictment includes 2 counts each of aggravated murder for each victim, three counts of kidnapping, three counts of gross abuse of a corpse, one count of rape, and one count of weapons possession by an ex-convict. He had originally been registered as a sex offender in 2002 after serving four years for an attempted rape conviction, having had previous drug convictions in 2000 and 2001. Madison"s trial is scheduled to begin on April 4, 2016.
The victims were identified as:
38-year-old Angela Deskins, a resident of Cleveland who was reported missing in June 2013.
28-year-old Shetisha Sheeley, who had been missing since September 2012. 18-year-old Shirellda Helen Terry, who was last seen July 10, 2013, leaving a Cleveland Elementary School where she had a summer job.
