Michael Madison, 35, is charged with six counts of aggravated murder, three counts of kidnapping, three counts of gross abuse of a corpse, one count of rape and one count of having weapons under disability.
Police found the bodies of Angela Deskins, Shirellda Terry and Shetisha Sheeley in East Cleveland on July 19 and 20.
Madison is also charged in a separate case with failing to notify the county that he was living in East Cleveland. He was registered as a sex offender to an address in Cleveland.
Madison faced Judge Janet Burnside via a video link from county jail. He will be assigned two attorneys in the murder case and one in the address registry case, Burnside said. His first pretrial hearing is scheduled for Aug. 6 at 9 a.m.
In an emailed statement, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty called it "deplorable" that Madison hadn't already been assigned an attorney by the time of his arraignment.
"As a prosecutor, I want a vigorous advocate on the other side, and I want the justice system to work for everyone," the statement read. It added, "Violations of required Constitutional guarantees endanger a prosecutor’s chances to win and sustain convictions."
