CLEVELAND — The mother of an East Cleveland serial killer convicted in 2016 of murdering three women has herself been slain, and authorities have charged her 18-year-old grandson in the case.
Jalen Latrell Plummer, of Cleveland, is also accused of stabbing his 12-year-old brother, his 10-year-old sister and a 10-year-old female cousin as they slept early Saturday morning, according to Cleveland.com. All three children survived, though two required surgery for their injuries.
Posted by Jalen Plummer on Saturday, June 15, 2019
The Associated Press reported Plummer pleaded not guilty Monday morning to multiple charges, including aggravated murder in the death of 62-year-old Diane Madison. Plummer, who is charged with felonious assault in the stabbing of the children, was ordered held in lieu of $2 million bond.
Madison was the mother of Michael Madison, who was sentenced to death in 2016 in the strangulation deaths of three women, Angela Deskins, Shetisha Sheeley and Shirellda Terry. The bodies of Deskins, 38, Sheeley, 28 and Terry, 18, were found in garbage bags between October 2012 and July 2013 near the apartment building where Michael Madison lived.
Michael Madison was arrested in July 2013 after barricading himself inside his mother's home, where Saturday's fatal stabbing took place. The AP reported at the time that Madison's crimes were discovered after a foul odor led to the discovery of one woman's body inside a garage leased to the killer.
The other two victims were found after investigators began searching nearby vacant buildings. All three bodies were found wrapped in plastic garbage bags.
Authorities said following Michael Madison’s arrest that he professed an admiration for Anthony Sowell, a Cleveland serial killer convicted in 2011 and sentenced to death in the murders of 11 women. The bodies of many of Sowell’s victims were found in and around his home.
According to News 5 in Cleveland, Michael Madison was found guilty on 14 counts, including aggravated murder, rape, kidnapping and abuse of a corpse.
He is being housed in Chillicothe Correctional Institution, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Diane Madison was found dead after two of her injured grandchildren ran to a neighbor's house around 12:15 a.m. Saturday following the attack, authorities said. While the girls ran for help, the 12-year-old boy hid inside the house, News 5 reported.
The children were taken to University Hospital's Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital for treatment. They remained hospitalized Monday, Cleveland.com reported.
Officers who responded to the Madison home found a bloody Plummer hiding in a shower, the news site said. He was jailed after being treated for injuries to his hands.
Footage from his brief court appearance Monday morning shows Plummer’s hands wrapped in bandages. Court records indicate Plummer lived with his grandmother in the home where the stabbings took place.
Michael Madison’s defense attorneys argued during his trial that his mother abused him throughout his childhood, including beating him, scalding him with hot water and forcing food down his throat until he would vomit.
According to Cleveland.com, the defense said Diane Madison's boyfriend beat her son so badly that he lost hearing in one of his ears.
No motive for the stabbings has been made public. Plummer is being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail.
Cox Media Group
