At least five of the women apparently had been strangled, said Powell Caesar, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County coroner.The bodies "could have been there anywhere from weeks to months to years," Caesar said.

None of the victims has been identified, Caesar said. Two were black, but the race of the others hadn't been determined, he said.

Anthony Sowell, a 50-year-old registered sex offender, was arrested Saturday, walking down the street of his east-side neighborhood.

The gruesome discovery left some in the community concerned about women who they had not seen in a long time. Ida Garrett, 72, remembered a friend who was reported missing in April. "I think one of them is her," Garrett said.

The first bodies were found Thursday night when police went to Sowell's home to arrest him on new charges of rape and felonious assault, but he wasn't there. The woman in that alleged attack survived. She said she knew Sowell and was raped at the house.

Sowell previously spent 15 years in prison for choking and raping a 21-year-old woman who was lured to his bedroom in 1989, police said.

As a registered sex offender, Sowell was required to check in regularly at the sheriff's office, which said he complied. Officers also visited his home, most recently on Sept. 22, just hours before the woman reported being raped there.

But since Sowell wasn't on parole or probation, they didn't have the right to enter his house - until Thursday when they had warrants.

The three-story house with neat white siding sits in a crowded inner-city neighborhood of mostly older homes, some boarded up, and small corner stores.

Sowell often walked around his neighborhood asking for money and looking for scrap metal to sell, neighbors said.

He returned to the family home in 2005 after his release from prison. The house was owned by two of Sowell's relatives, including a woman - described by neighbors as either Sowell's stepmother or aunt - who kept it up.

Neighbors said the woman moved into a nursing home after Sowell was released from prison. Teresa Hicks, a neighbor, said people feared that she might be dead. Police were looking into her status.