Woman found on Interstate 90 was beaten and strangled; patrol officers fail to find her for 2 hours

By Donna J. Miller, Plain Dealer reporter
April 06, 2010, 1:40PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The woman found dead along Interstate 90 west Monday morning died of strangulation and blunt-force trauma.

The Cuyahoga County Coroner's office said Angel Bradley-Crockett had been beaten on her head, trunk and extremities and was strangled with a ligature.

Her body, with the fatal injuries, was left on the highway berm near West 44th Street, where four motorists saw her and called police. The first call was made about 4:30 a.m.

Patrol officers did not find the body until after the fourth call was made at 6:10 a.m.

Public Safety Director Martin Flask said in a news release today that the officers neglected their duties and failed to "fulfill their most basic responsibilities to the citizens and visitors of the city of Cleveland."

"That neglect delayed an investigation into the causative factors that led to the victim's death," Flask said.

He also said he is "confident that Chief Michael McGrath will fully investigate and take the appropriate corrective action."

The first caller said the body was near Lorain Avenue, and it "scared the crap out of me." The second caller, at 5:34 a.m., said the body was between West 41st and West 47th and would "start freaking people out." The third caller said the body was near West 44th.

And the fourth caller, an ODOT worker, said the body was under the West 41st Street overpass. The dispatcher told him the area was already checked and the body is a deer.

"It don't look like a deer to me," he said. He then walks back to the body to answer the dispatcher's questions. "Can you see the clothing description on her?"

"She's naked," he said.

Police closed the right lane of the highway 20 minutes later.

From: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/04/the_woman_found_on_interstate.html