CLEVELAND -- A mental health expert says a serial killer who hid the remains of 11 women in his home and yard suffers from sexual compulsions and "mimicked sex" with a toy doll when he was a little boy.
Dr. George Woods testified Thursday that 51-year-old Anthony Sowell suffers from several mental illnesses, including obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder from abuse sustained during childhood. Woods was hired by Sowell's defense attorneys.
Woods says Sowell told him that, when he was 3 or 4 years old, he mimicked having sex with a doll and spread feces on the doll.
Woods says Sowell recalls biting the head of someone who was sexually assaulting him when he was younger than 5 years old but doesn't recall the specifics.
Sowell was convicted last month of killing the 11 women. A jury will recommend the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
By MEGHAN BARR and THOMAS J. SHEERAN Associated Press
The Associated Press