At just 18 years old, Shirellda H. Terry was a young woman with a bright and caring spirit, known for her warmth and affection. A resident of East Cleveland, Ohio, she was described by her grandmother, Rosetta Terry, as a "good girl" and a "hugger" who was so generous with her embraces that her family would playfully tease her about putting her on a "hug diet." Shirellda was a regular attendee of Bible study and kept in close contact with her mother through calls and texts.
In the summer of 2013, she was working a summer job at a local elementary school, focused on her future.
On July 10, 2013, Shirellda was seen for the last time after leaving her job at the school. Her sudden disappearance alarmed her family, who knew it was entirely out of character for her to be out of touch. For days, they held onto hope, handing out thousands of flyers and praying for a miracle, asking God to bring their child home. Their worst fears were realized nine days later, on July 19, when police, responding to a report of a foul odor, made a horrifying discovery in a garage on East 146th Street.
Inside the garage, which was leased to a 35-year-old registered sex offender named Michael Madison, authorities found a decomposing body wrapped in plastic garbage bags. The victim was soon identified as Shirellda H. Terry. The grim search of the area continued, and over the next day, two more bodies were found nearby: one in a backyard and another in the basement of a vacant house, both also wrapped in plastic bags. These women were later identified as 28-year-old Shetisha Sheeley and 38-year-old Angela Deskins.
The investigation quickly led to Michael Madison, who was arrested after a brief standoff at his mother's house. During interrogations, Madison confessed to strangling two of the women but claimed he could not remember killing the third. It was later revealed that he had lured Shirellda to his apartment after they met, misrepresenting his age and life circumstances in text messages. An autopsy confirmed she had died by strangulation. The evidence showed that Madison, who expressed admiration for another Cleveland serial killer, Anthony Sowell, had engaged in a nine-month killing spree.
In April 2016, Michael Madison's trial began. He faced 14 counts, including aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape, and gross abuse of a corpse for the deaths of Shirellda, Shetisha, and Angela. On May 5, 2016, after less than a day of deliberation, a jury found him guilty on 13 of the counts. The jury later recommended the death penalty.
On June 2, 2016, Madison was formally sentenced to death. During the sentencing hearing, as Shirellda's father, Van Terry, gave his victim impact statement, he spoke of the immense pain of losing his child. Overcome with grief and anger at Madison's smirk, Mr. Terry lunged across the courtroom table and attacked him before being restrained by deputies. The raw display of a father's anguish captured the profound devastation Madison had inflicted upon the families of his victims.
Michael Madison was convicted of three counts of aggravated murder, as well as kidnapping, rape, and gross abuse of a corpse. He was sentenced to death and remains on death row, with his execution date stayed pending the exhaustion of his appeals. For Shirellda's family, the legal conclusion brought a measure of justice, but it could never fill the void left by the loss of a loving and vibrant young woman whose life was stolen just as it was beginning.
