A year ago, Cleveland's Halloween horror started with the grim answer to a lingering smell of death on Imperial Avenue when the remains of 11 women were discovered at a house on the street. Anthony Sowell was arrested and charged with multiple counts of aggravated murder.

This five-part video series returns to the events, the victims, the suspect and the fallout from a year ago when each day's headlines brought new horror to a city that might never be the same again.

To review The Plain Dealer's original coverage of the Imperial Avenue discovery and the aftermath, go to cleveland.com/anthony-sowell.

To see a timeline of the events leading up to the discovery, the investigation and the charges, check here.

Part 1: The First Call

How could a person kill 11 women, bury their bodies in his house, and nobody notice?

That was the million-dollar question, according to Plain Dealer reporter Mark Puente, and one that many people were asking in the weeks following the discoveries on Imperial Avenue.

Some recalled the stench that had permeated the neighborhood, mistakenly attributed to a nearby sausage shop or newly installed sewer line.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson formed a commission to study how the city handled missing persons reports and sexual assault cases.

Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath defended the actions of his department regarding prior reports of violence at the Sowell house, saying, "When we did have the right information, we proceeded directly to investigate it."

He also noted that the larger issues raised by the case reflect "an attitude out there that we have to adjust, and the only way we're going to do that is to do that together."

About this report

Dozens of reporters, visual journalists and editors worked on The Plain Dealer's coverage of the Imperial Avenue deaths. This report draws on three of those journalists:

Mark Puente

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Mark Puente has been a reporter at The Plain Dealer since 2005. He covered crime in the city of Cleveland for most of his tenure.

He was the primary reporter on the initial Sowell stories.

Rachel Dissell

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Rachel Dissell has been with The Plain Dealer since 2002, and covers juvenile justice and children and family issues. Before coming to The Plain Dealer, she worked at the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record in Virginia.

After police discovered the bodies of 11 women at Sowell's house, Dissell joined a team of reporters who worked to put together biographical information on the victims. In the subsequent months, she reported extensively on the city's efforts to improve the way it handles rape cases and missing-persons reports.

Joe Guillen

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Joe Guillen has been a reporter for The Plain Dealer since 2005. He has written about a variety of issues for the Metro section, including crime and county government, and is now a state government reporter based in the paper's Columbus bureau.

In the aftermath of Sowell's arrest, Guillen helped cover the city's reaction to the tragedy. He attended funerals for the victims and interviewed friends, family and acquaintances of Sowell for an in-depth profile.

Videos produced and edited by Dale Omori, The Plain Dealer.