Witnesses in the trial of accused serial killer Anthony Sowell say police failed them

CLEVELAND - Witnesses in the trial of accused Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell said police failed them by not following up on complaints of alleged brutal attacks.

During the first week of the trial, Vanessa Gay testified she saw the headless body of women in Sowell's bedroom after he allegedly brutalized her.

"They failed me," said Gay of her efforts to have police investigate her complaint.

Gladys Wade described the night Sowell allegedly attacked her in December of 2008. Charges against Sowell were dropped after he claimed Wade robbed him.

"I was scared to death that they let that man go," said Wade.

But what happened inside Sowell's Imperial Avenue home on the city's east side sparked the creation of a Special Commission on Missing Persons and Sex Crimes.

Megan O'Bryan is president of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and a commission member who said the tragedy has led to changes.

"I think this community is absolutely moving in the right direction in terms of how we think about sex crimes and how we respond to victims of sex crimes," said O'Bryan.

But she admitted more work can be done, especially in the area of providing more resources to renovating the sex crime unit.

The recently issued report by the committee said it has made progress on 19 of 26 recommendations, including a missing person website for Cleveland police and a rape crisis counselor working in the sex crime unit.