Turned Away Twice: Tonia Carmichael

In this episode of Hunting 4 Answers: In November 2008, 49 year old Tonia Carmichael disappeared from Warrensville Heights, Ohio after telling someone she was running some errands and going out for some fun. When her family tried to report her missing, they were turned away twice. Nearly a year later, the discovery of human remains inside a house exposed a pattern of missed warnings, delayed responses, and lives that went unprotected. Tonia became the first victim identified in what came to be known as Cleveland’s House of Horrors. 

This is the story of Tonia Carmichael.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and today we're
highlighting a case that shook Cleveland, Ohio, a case that
exposed devastating gaps in how we respond when someone goes missing.

(00:25):
In November two thousand and eight, a mother in her
early fifties disappeared after telling someone she knew she was
running errands and then going out for some fun. Her
family did what any family would do. They went to police.
They asked for help, but they were turned away, not once,

(00:49):
but twice. They were told to go home and wait
to wait for her to come back. But she wasn't
coming back for weeks. Her disappearance was not treated with urgency.
This is the story of Tanya Carmichael. Tanya Carmichael was

(01:18):
a daughter, a mother, and a provider. Her mother, Barbara,
was just seventeen when she gave birth, a young woman
working in the medical field, doing everything she could to
build a stable life for her child. Barbara had grown
up surrounded by brothers and had always hoped for a daughter,

(01:43):
so when Tanya arrived, it couldn't have been more fitting
to her son, Jonathan. Tanya wasn't just mom, she was superwoman.
She worked double shifts as a medical secretary for her children,
Jonathan and Anita. She surprised them with toys, video games,

(02:07):
even a family trip to Disneyland. This was the version
of Tanya her family held onto. But as the years passed,
Tanya struggled with addiction. The woman who had once given
everything to her children began losing pieces of herself. Then,

(02:30):
in November two thousand and eight, everything stopped. November tenth,
two thousand and eight, Tanya left her home in Warrensville Heights, Ohio.
She told a man who had recently repaired her car,
that she was running some errands and going out for
quote some fun. It was the last time anyone saw

(02:55):
Tanya alive. Days passed, Tanya failed to pick up two
paychecks from a work placement center, something her family said
she would never do, so they went looking. Her dark
blue Chevy S ten pickup truck was found abandoned about

(03:17):
a mile from a house on Imperial Avenue. Within two
days of Tanya's disappearance. Her family went to police. First,
the Cleveland Police Department where they were told Tanya did
not live in that jurisdiction, then the Warrensville Heights Police Department,

(03:40):
where Tanya did live what they were told next would
stay with them. Tanya's niece, Markeisha Carmichael Jacobs said police
told them to go home and that Tanya would return
once the drugs were gone. The family left without a report.

(04:03):
Weeks later, on December two, two thousand and eight, they
returned and were able to file a missing person report.
By that time, critical time had been missed. What was
not known at the time, and what would later come

(04:24):
into focus, was that a man with the history of
violent crime lived near where Tanya's truck was found. His
name was Anthony Sowell. Sowell had previously served fifteen years
in prison for a brutal sexual assault. After his release,

(04:46):
questions would later be raised about how he was monitored
and whether warning signs were missed. The Carmichael family's attorney
would later say that timing mattered and that earlier actions
and that earlier actions could have made a difference for years.

(05:11):
Residents on Imperial Avenue reported concerns about a strong, disturbing
smell in the neighborhood in two thousand and seven, a
call was made to the city council office describing an
odor that did not seem natural. Next door, the owner

(05:33):
of a local sausage shop, tried to find a source,
replacing plumbing and sewer lines. For years, the smell was misattributed,
but it was coming from one two two zero five
Imperial Avenue. In late October two thousand and nine, after

(05:57):
a rape complaint, police obtained warrants for the home on
Imperial Avenue. When they searched the property, they discovered human remains,
not one body, but many. Some were buried in the backyard.

(06:17):
Others were found inside the home. On October thirty first,
two thousand and nine, Anthony Sowell was arrested. Eventually, eleven
women were linked to the case, all African American, many

(06:38):
struggling with addiction. All missed amid systemic gaps and protection.
On November fourth, two thousand and nine, Tanya Carmichael was
identified through DNA. She was the first victim identified after
the discoveries on Imperial Avenue. Her remains were found in

(07:02):
a shallow grave in the backyard. Forensic testimony later confirmed
she died from strangulation. During interrogations investigators said so Well
spoke about women in ways that suggested he saw them
as deserving of harm. He used the humanizing language to

(07:25):
describe them in his words and actions. These women were
treated as disposable between two thousand and seven. In two
thousand and nine, eleven women from the same part of
the city went missing, Crystal Dozier, to Shauna Colver, Lashonda Long,

(07:47):
Michelle Mason, Tanya Carmichael, Kim Yvette Smith, Nancy Cobbs, Amelda
Amy Hunter, Talaysha Fortson, Nis Web, Diane Turner. In the
wake of the discoveries and community activist Marcia McCoy joined

(08:12):
others in offering community support. Sowell's trial took place in
twenty eleven. He was convicted on eighty one counts and
sentenced to death on multiple aggravated murder charges. During sentencing,
Tanya's daughter Donita spoke during victim impact statements. She told

(08:37):
the court that her family would continue to live on
long after Soa was gone. Soa the clined to speak
at the sentencing. He died in prison in twenty twenty one,
following a terminal illness. The Carmichael family filed a federal

(08:59):
lawsuit alleging racial disparities and how missing persons cases were handled.
The case was later dismissed by the court for the family.
The legal case came to an end, but accountability did not.
In twenty twenty one, the Garden of Eleven Angels was

(09:23):
dedicated on the former Imperial Avenue property, a memorial to
the women whose lives were lost and whose names will
not be forgotten. Our thoughts and prayers are with the
family and friends of Tanya Carmichael and all eleven victims.

(09:45):
As we close out this episode, remember that sharing Tanya's
story helps make sure cases like hers don't just disappear.
Follow Hunting for Answers for updates on this case and
others like it. Subscribe on on YouTube, and follow us
on Instagram and TikTok from more true crime stories and

(10:05):
case updates. Thank you so much for joining us for
another episode. Until next time. Hunting for Answers is a

(10:29):
production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts
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