Cleveland - UPI
Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich blamed the deaths of three women found wrapped in plastic in the Cleveland area on the poverty gripping the city. The bodies of Shirellda Helen Terry, 18, Shetisha Sheeley, 28, and Angela Deskins, 38, were found Saturday in the suburb of East Cleveland. Michael Madison, 35, of Cleveland has been charged in the three deaths. The crime has drawn attention to abandoned and semi-abandoned neighborhoods and boarded-up homes in areas of Cleveland -- including East Cleveland -- which harbor crime, The New York Times reported Wednesday. Areas with vacant homes are breeding grounds for criminals, local authorities told the newspaper. \"This is what happens when you have poverty,\" Kasich said of the deaths. \"It\'s what happens when you have individuals who are very dangerous inside the community and somehow lose track of them.\" East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton said more money needs to be funneled into tearing down abandoned houses. \"We know they\'re havens for crime,\" he said.