CLEVELAND—Investigators trying to identify the bodies of six women found in the home of a convicted rapist are focusing the inquiry on eight or nine missing women, the coroner said Monday.

It could take days or weeks to identify the bodies using dental records or DNA mouth-swab samples from relatives. Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller said his office has begun the “arduous” process of collecting materials from dentists and relatives.

The six women were black and five of them had been strangled, authorities said. The cause of death of the sixth hadn’t been determined.

The investigation will pay close attention to missing women who were living alone, were homeless or had drug or alcohol problems, Miller said.

The bodies were discovered last week after a woman reported being raped at the east-side home of 50-year-old Anthony Sowell.