Michael Madison charged with murder of three Ohio women found in plastic bags

Police have charged Michael Madison with murder for the deaths of three young women found wrapped in plastic bags and abandoned around East Cleveland, Ohio.

Madison, 35, was charged Monday with three counts each of aggravated murder and kidnapping. He is being held on $6 million bail.

He did not enter a plea at a brief court appearance and also waived his right to a preliminary hearing, reports the Associated Press.

Madison is reportedly a registered sex offender who has spent time in prison, including for a 2002 attempted rape.

If convicted of the murder charges, he could face life imprisonment.

Police arrested Madison on Friday night at his mother's Cleveland residence after finding the first body in a carport of an East Cleveland home.

A second victim was discovered Saturday in a weedy lot about 150 feet from the carport, while a third woman was found in the basement of a vacant property adjacent to the lot.

At a news conference Monday, East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton described the slayings as a tragedy for the city.

"Three individuals who were minding their own business were killed senselessly by an individual with no regard for human life," Norton said.

"As a community we are dealing with the tragedy, we are healing and we are strong."

Norton named one of the victims as Angela Deskins, 38, of Cleveland. The other two women remain unnamed.

East Cleveland Police Chief Ralph Spotts told reporters that police are prepared to find more bodies connected to the case.

"We feel there may be more to this. This is an ongoing investigation. We're no where near done," Spotts said.

According to the Associated Press, the person responsible for the killings may have been inspired by the convicted Ohio serial killer Anthony Sowell.

"He said some things that led us to believe that in some way, shape, or form, Sowell might be an influence," the mayor told AP.

Sowell was sentenced to death in 2011 for killing 11 women and hiding their bodies around his Cleveland home.