EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) — Authorities on Tuesday identified a second of three female victims whose bodies were found last week wrapped in trash bags, saying the description of her tattoos helped figure out who she is.
The body of Shetisha Sheeley, 28, of Cleveland, was found in a field on Saturday, said East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton.
The identification was made through fingerprints and information from the tattoos, which “permitted the comparison” that led to her identification, said Thomas Gilson, Cuyahoga County’s medical examiner.
Gilson said his office is actively working to identify the third victim and he hoped to release information on how the women died within a few days.
Police on Monday identified the first known victim as Angela Deskins, 38, of Cleveland, whose body was found on Saturday. Norton said in brief remarks that he realized on hearing her name that he knew her family and went to school with some of her relatives.
The Deskins’ family supported Angela and provided a place for her to live, the mayor said.
“She always had a place to rest her head, they always assured that she had money to live with,” Norton said. “And just when she trusted herself — she was a very trusting person — entrusted herself to someone who had the worst of intentions, then and only then did this fate befall her.”
Michael Madison, 35, is in custody facing preliminary charges of aggravated murder and kidnapping in the slayings. He is a registered sex offender who served four years in prison beginning in 2002 for attempted rape and attempted possession of drugs.
East Cleveland police responded to a call about a foul order on Friday and discovered a body in a garage. Within hours they identified Madison as a suspect and went to his mother’s house where he was arrested after a brief standoff.
They found the additional bodies Saturday after their questioning of Madison led them to renew a search.
Authorities searched again Sunday but called it off without finding additional bodies.
The three victims, their bodies badly decomposed, were found in a dilapidated neighborhood pitted with abandoned houses.
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Associated Press Writer Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Cleveland contributed to this report.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.