Ronald Shelton (October 1, 1961 – September 25, 2018), better known as The West Side Rapist, was an American convicted serial rapist. He was convicted of raping over 30 women in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, over a 6-year period. He may have raped up to 50 women. Shelton was caught on video using an ATM with his victims' bank cards. He was the subject of the book ''Unfinished Murder: The Pursuit of a Serial Rapist'' by James Neff.

Crimes

Shelton's ''

modus operandi A (often shortened to M.O. or MO) is an individual's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as . Term The term is often used in ...

'' was to break into victims' homes wearing something to obscure his face. He would initially tell victims he was going to rob them, but then rape them. He would insist victims not look at him and threaten them if they reported him to police. His language and pattern of sexual assaults helped link his crimes.

Trial

Timothy J. McGinty prosecuted the case in 1989. Shelton was found guilty of 220 charges, including 49 rapes of over 30 women in

. Richard McMonagle sentenced him to between 1,554 and 3,195 years in prison. He received the longest sentence in Ohio's history.

Death

On September 25, 2018, at 4:30pm Shelton, aged 56, jumped from the top of a prison building, suffering a skull fracture upon impact with the concrete below. He was pronounced dead at 8:15 pm at nearby MetroHealth Medical Center. Investigators did not immediately suspect foul play.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Ronnie 1961 births 2018 suicides 2018 deaths 20th-century American criminals American male criminals American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment American people convicted of rape Suicides by jumping in the United States American people who died in prison custody People who died by suicide in prison custody Prisoners who died in Ohio detention Suicides in Ohio