MICHELLE KNIGHT - 20 yo - (2000) - AMANDA BERRY - 17 yo - (2003) - GINA DEJESUS - 14 yo - (2004) / Convicted: Ariel Castro (suicide)- Cleveland, OH :

Three Ohio women found alive after being missing for a decade



The Cleveland Plain Dealer file


Amanda Berry (left) and Gina DeJesus (right) were found by Cleveland Police on
Monday after having been missing for nearly a decade.

By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News

Three women who went missing a decade ago were found alive Monday in a home in Cleveland, Ohio, according to police.

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight appeared to be in good health and were talking after being discovered in a home on the city's west side, Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGarth said in a statement.

A neighbor who heard screams from the house rushed to the dwelling where he found the women, and one of them used his cell phone to call emergency-911, according to police.

All three women have since been taken to a hospital, where they were reported to be in good medical condition, police said.

NBC Cleveland affiliate WKYC reported that one of the three was holding a baby.


Tony Dejak / AP


In this March 3, 2006 file photo, a memorial for Gina DeJesus, who has been missing since April 2, 2004, rests alongside her house in Cleveland.

A 52-year-old man has been placed under arrest.

The women's disappearance has been a mystery to Cleveland authorities for almost ten years.

Berry, now 27, was reported missing on April 21, 2003 after she phoned her sister to say she was getting a ride home from her job at a fast food restaurant.

About one year later, then 14-year-old DeJesus went missing when walking home from school.

Knight went missing around the year 2000, police said, but since she was 20 years old at the time, authorities assumed she may have run off on her own. Cops on Monday said all three women were held against their will.

Earlier this year a prison inmate was sentenced for admitting he gave authorities fraudulent tips about Berry's remains. Robert Wolford, who is serving time for killing a homeless man, told police the woman was buried under a Cleveland lot, which was then dug up by backhoes.

And two men arrested for questioning about DeJesus' disappearance were released in 2006 after police failed to find the woman's remains during a search of their house.

Police have scheduled a press conference for Tuesday morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report


www.wopular.com/three-ohio-women-found-alive-after-being-missing-dec...

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight were found in a home about two miles from downtown Cleveland, police said.

CLEVELAND — Three women believed to have been abducted years ago were found alive Monday at a house in Cleveland, a short distance from where at least two of them were last seen, and police said a man has been arrested in connection with their disappearance.

A neighbor in the community was alerted to their presence by screams from the house and rushed to the dwelling, where he found the women, one of whom used his cellphone to call 911, according to Cleveland police.

Doctor: 3 missing women found in Ohio are safe



56 min ago 0:39


The three women were identified by police as Gina DeJesus, 23; Amanda Berry, 27; and Michele Knight, 32. Police said in a Twitter post that the three were "alive, talking, appeared to be OK."

All three have since been taken to a hospital, where they were reported to be in good medical condition, police said.
Dr. Gerald Maloney of Metro Health Medical Center told CNN that there were four people being treated, but would not say how many were adults or children.

Cheering crowds gathered Monday night on the street near the home where police say the women were found.
Cleveland.com reported that police arrested the owner of the house, Ariel Castro, 52, a bus driver for Cleveland public schools who had lived there since 1992, at a nearby McDonald's restaurant. Records show he was arrested
for domestic violence in 1993, but a grand jury declined to indict him.

His uncle, Caesar Castro, who owns a grocery store on the same street, said his nephew owned the house where the women were found. He added that members of his family and the family of DeJesus "grew up together."

"Everyone is shocked," said the elder Castro. He said he had known his nephew to be "a good guy" and a musician who played the bass.

A neighbor identified as Charles Ramsey, who said he found the women, gave this account to kypost.com:
"I heard screaming. … And I see this girl going nuts trying to get outside. I go on the porch and she said, 'Help me get out. I've been here a long time.' I figure it was domestic violence dispute.

"She comes out with a little girl and says, 'Call 911, my name is Amanda Berry.' ... When she told me, it didn't register."

He said he made the call and gave Berry the phone. When police arrived, officers asked him if he knew who he rescued.

A witness who spoke Spanish told Scripps station WEWS that he helped break down the door. He said there was a child who was about 4 or 5 years old with Berry, as well as other children inside the house. He said he recognized Berry from posters.

There will be a media briefing Tuesday morning, kypost.com reported.


Berry disappeared at age 16 on April 21, 2003, when she called her sister to say she was getting a ride home from her job at a Burger King. DeJesus went missing at age 14 on her way home from school about a year later.

They were found just a few miles from where they had gone missing.

Police said Knight was 20 when she went missing around 2000.

Loved ones said they hadn't given up hope of seeing the women again. Among them was Kayla Rogers, a childhood friend of DeJesus.

Berry's cousin Tasheena Mitchell told the newspaper she couldn't wait to have Berry in her arms.

"I'm going to hold her, and I'm going to squeeze her and I probably won't let her go," she said.

Berry's mother, Louwana Miller, who had been hospitalized for months with pancreatitis and other ailments, died in March 2006. She had spent the previous three years looking for her daughter, whose disappearance took a toll as her health steadily deteriorated, family and friends said.

Mayor Frank Jackson expressed gratitude that the three women were found alive.

"We have many unanswered questions regarding this case, and the investigation will be ongoing," he said in a statement.

At Metro Health Medical Center, Dr. Gerald Maloney declined to go into details about the women's conditions or answer questions about whether family members were with them.

"We're assessing their needs, and the appropriate specialists are evaluating them as well," he said at a news conference, which concluded with a round of applause from a large gathering of area residents.

In January, a prison inmate was sentenced to 4 1/2 years after admitting he provided a false burial tip in Berry's disappearance. A judge in Cleveland sentenced Robert Wolford on his guilty plea to obstruction of justice, making a false report and making a false alarm.

Last summer, Wolford tipped authorities to look for Berry's remains in a Cleveland lot. He was taken to the location, which was dug up with backhoes.

Two men arrested for questioning in the disappearance of DeJesus in 2004 were released from the city jail in 2006 after officers did not find her body during a search of the men's house.

One of the men was transferred to the Cuyahoga County Jail on unrelated charges, while the other was allowed to go free, police said.

In September 2006, police acting on a tip tore up the concrete floor of the garage and used a cadaver dog to search unsuccessfully for DeJesus' body. Investigators confiscated 19 pieces of evidence during their search but declined to comment on the significance of the items then.

No Amber Alert was issued the day DeJesus failed to return home from school in April 2004 because no one witnessed her abduction. The lack of an Amber Alert angered her father, Felix DeJesus, who said in 2006 he believed the public will listen even if the alerts become routine.

"The Amber Alert should work for any missing child," Felix DeJesus said then. "It doesn't have to be an abduction. Whether it's an abduction or a runaway, a child needs to be found. We need to change this law."

Cleveland police said then that the alerts must be reserved for cases in which danger is imminent and the public can be of help in locating the suspect and child.

http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/3-women-missing-for-a-decade-found-alive-in-ohio

The public is just not interested in a missing child unless there is an Amber Alert. Perhaps we need a Red Alert for endangered children.

This story gave me chills. I pray these women can heal and live normal lives.

His house needs to be sold and the victims given the money.

Makes me sad for the women and mad at the men who done this. I was taught that you don't treat a woman like that, especially under age girls. They should be castrated. I bet that poor little six year old has never been out of the house.

Here's a link to a nice long article.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2320519/Amanda-Berry-Gina-DeJesus-Michelle-Knight-Cleveland-Girls-tied-basement-TEN-YEARS-escaping-3-brothers-arrested.html

William

3 women missing for years found; 3 brothers arrested

Yamiche Alcindor and Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY
9:38 a.m. EDT May 7, 2013

CLEVELAND -- Three middle-aged brothers have been arrested after police, summoned by a frantic 911 call, raided a house in a residential area on Monday and rescued three women who have been missing for as long as a decade.

A hospital physician said all three women -- who had apparently been tied up during their captivity -- were in fair condition. All three were released on Tuesday morning.

"Most important, the victims' physical and emotional well-being are the main concern and have to be addressed," Police Chief Michael McGrath said at a news conference.

Crowds gathered Monday night on the street near the house where police said Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were found earlier in the day.Police said a 6-year-old girl who was also at the house is believed to be Berry's daughter.

The three suspects were identified as brothers, Ariel Castro, 52, the owner of the house and a Cleveland school bus driver, Pedro Castro, 54, and O'Neal Castro, 50.

Police said the women were in "fairly good health" but that officials wanted to move slowly in questioning them about how they were abducted and what went on in the house over the past decade.

"Right now, we want to let them spend some time with ther family and take this process very, very slowly and respectful for their families and the young girls' needs," said Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba.

The three women, along with the 6-year-old girl, were rescued by a neighbor, Charles Ramsey, who heard Berry yelling for help.

"I heard screaming," he told WEWS-TV. "I'm eating my McDonald's. I come outside. I see this girl going nuts trying to get out of a house."

Ramsey said the door was only wide enough for a hand to fit through, so they kicked out the bottom and made enough space for her to escape.

Berry, who crawled out along with the 6-year-old girl, said there were other women help captive inside and insisted on calling 911. Police quickly swarmed the house and found the other young women, apparently tied up inside.

"This isn't the ending we usually hear to these stories, so we're very happy," said Gerald Maloney, an emergency room physician at the Cleveland hospital where all three were being treated.

"They are able to speak with us. Beyond that, I can't go into any further details," Maloney said.

Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said he thinks the three women were tied up in the house where they were found and had been there since they disappeared.

A recording of a 911 call made Monday was released: "I'm Amanda Berry. ... I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here. I'm free now."

She said she had been taken by someone and begged for police officers to arrive at the house on Cleveland's west side before he returned.

Each had gone missing separately. Berry disappeared at age 16 on April 21, 2003, when she called her sister to say she was getting a ride home from her job at a Burger King.

DeJesus went missing at age 14 on her way home from school about a year later. They were found just a few miles from where they had gone missing.

Police said Knight went missing in 2002. The Plain Dealer quoted Michelle Knight's grandmother, Deborah Knight, as saying her daughter believed that Michelle was last seen several years ago in a van with an older man at a shopping plaza.

Ramsey, the neighbor, said he'd had barbecue with the home's owner and never suspected anything was amiss.

"There was nothing exciting about him — well, until today," he said.

Mayor Frank Jackson expressed gratitude that the three women were found alive.

"We have many unanswered questions regarding this case, and the investigation will be ongoing," he said in a statement.

"I've been praying, never forgot about her, ever," Kayla Rogers, a childhood friend of DeJesus, toldThe Plain Dealer newspaper. "This is amazing. This is a celebration. I'm so happy. I just want to see her walk out of those doors so I can hug her."

In January, a prison inmate was sentenced to 41/2 years after admitting he provided a false burial tip in the disappearance of Berry.

Police used backhoes to dig up a lot identified by the inmate last year in search of Berry's remains but found nothing.

Berry's mother, Louwana Miller, died in March 2006. She had spent the previous three years looking for her daughter.

Councilwoman Dona Brady said she had spent many hours with Miller, who never gave up hope that her daughter was alive.

"She literally died of a broken heart," Brady said.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/07/missing-women-cleveland-brothers-arrested/2140359/

Six-year-old girl born in captivity is 'happy and healthy': Amanda reveals Jocelyn was her 'Christmas baby' and has spent years being home-schooled

Amanda Berry's daughter Jocelyn ate a popsicle while being examined

Police say little girl smiled when she saw her mother smile

Detectives believe one of the three suspects is her father

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight kidnapped in Cleveland
They all disappeared from the same block between 2002 and 2004
The woman developed a special bond while in captivity and has spent time together in hospital
Ariel Castro, 52, and his brothers arrested on suspicion of kidnapping

A little girl born to one of three women held inside a Cleveland house for 10 years was born at Christmas and is 'happy and healthy', despite being brought up in captivity.

Amanda Berry told her grandmother after her daring escape that the child is her daughter Jocelyn.

Authorities believe that Jocelyn's father is one of the three suspects who were arrested on Monday.


Reunited: Amanda Berry (center) at the Cleveland Hospital alongside her emotional sister (left) and daughter Jocelyn that she gave birth to during the 10 years she was held against her will


Found: Amanda Berry (left) and Gina DeJesus (right) were found alive in Cleveland on Monday afternoon

Amanda Berry escaped with her daughter on Monday and alerted police, who then rescued Gina DeJesus, 27, and Michelle Knight, 32, from the four-bedroom house in Seymour Avenue.

Jocelyn, who is missing two front teeth, was later pictured smiling in hospital alongside her mother and her aunt Beth.

Police said she ate popsicles while being examined by doctors.

‘She looks great, happy, healthy and ate a popsicle last night,’ said Cleveland Police Deputy Chief Ed Tomba.‘Seeing her mother smile made her smile.’

It has also emerged that Amanda Berry home-schooled her daughter - probably without the knowledge of the suspects, Ariel Castro, 52, and his two brothers Onil Castro, 50, and Pedro Castro, 54.

Police believe one of the three men is Jocelyn's father and are working to determine the girl's paternity using DNA tests.

‘It's a good possibility one of them is,’ Tomba said.


The house in Cleveland which the three women escaped from on Monday

Tomba said investigators were working to determine if the girl had ever left the house, but said she likely would have gone unnoticed by police who were not looking for a child.

Authorities do not have a record of her birth and detectives are trying to establish if she was born in the fortified home.

Police sources said Jocelyn was occasionally taken out of the house and would visit Ariel Castro's mother, Lillian Rodriguez, who she called 'grandmother'.

She was also seen out recently at a playground with Castro.

When he was asked who the young girl was he told neighbors she was his girlfriend's daughter.

Police said the women developed a special bond while being held in captivity and said DeJesus proudly showed off one of Jocelyn's drawings.

It is feared other babies were born inside the Cleveland house.

At least five children may have born at the house, police sources told NewsChannel5.

One of the victims suffered as many as three miscarriages because she was so malnourished, it has been claimed.

Other sources told WKYC that the captors would beat the women when they were pregnant, meaning that the babies would not survive.

It is unknown what happened to any children who were born at the home.


Jocelyn visited Lillian Rodriguez, centre, mother of Ariel, Oneil and Pedro Castro, according to police souces

FBI Special Agent Vicki Anderson told ABC TV that the three woman had spent time together at Metro Medical Center hospital, where they were taken after being freed.

She described them as being in very good spirits and said it was obvious that they were very close.

'You could see that they had a bond, that they had been through this together,’ she said.

All three women were abducted between 2002 and 2004, Berry and DeJesus were in their teens at the time of their kidnappings and Knight was 20 years old.

On Monday evening, Berry began screaming from behind the locked front door of the home where she and the other women were being held. Neighbors heard her and held kick open the door and then called police, ending what one FBI agent called the women's 'nightmare.'

Authorities are now investigating how the so-called house of horrors went undetected for so long.

Neighbour Israel Lugo said other neighbours had seen naked women crawling on all fours behind Castro's house.

Three men were in the garden and were controlling the women.

He said police were called and waited two hours, but no patrol cars showed up.

Lugo said he called police after his sister saw a woman and a baby standing in a window half covered by a plank.

Lugo also said his mother was puzzled when Castro would park outside the home in his yellow school bus. He would go inside clutching bags of McDonalds and sodas.


Brothers: From left, Ariel, Onil and Pedro have all been arrested in connection with the abduction of Gina DeJesus, Amanda Berry and Michele Knight almost ten years ago

On Tuesday, Cleveland Police said: 'Every single lead was followed up on no matter how small. We dug up yards, canvassed neighborhoods. [The] real hero is Amanda Berry.'

Until now the search for the missing women had been fruitless, a series of false leads and bitter disappointment for the desperate families.

Michelle Knight, who was 20 years old when she went missing in August 2002, was last seen at a cousin's house near West 106th Street and Lorain Avenue.

Three years later, in April 2003, Amanda Berry, disappeared after leaving her job at a Burger King - at West 110th Street and Lorain. It was the day before her 17th birthday.

And a year later, Gina DeJesus, then 14 years old, was last seen leaving her middle school at West 105th Street and Lorain.

All three were found safe on Monday night after Berry bolted from a home on Seymour Avenue, about three miles from where they were last seen.

She told police that she and the other girls were being held prisoner by Ariel Castro, 52, who has been arrested along with his two brothers on suspicion of kidnapping.

The exact circumstances of the abductions is currently unclear, and it is not known whether or not the kidnapper deliberately targeted the block where all three victims were taken.


This map shows the block, Lorain Avenue, in Cleveland where the three girls went missing, years apart. They were found Monday on Seymour Avenue, approximately three miles from where they were abducted

2002 - Michelle Knight - disappeared near her cousin's house

The story of Amanda and Gina's disappearance has been well known in the area for the past decade, as their relatives have continually held vigils and kept the story alive in the press.

Michelle's case was less high profile - she was 18 at the time of her disappearance on Aug. 23, 2002 and was last seen at a cousin's house near West 106th Street and Lorain Avenue.

Michelle was not officially registered as missing on the Ohio Police Missing Persons website.

Her grandmother, Deborah Knight, told the Plain Dealer that some family members had concluded, based in part on suggestions by police and social workers at the time, that she had run away after he son was removed from her custody.

But mother Barbara Knight told Cleveland.com that long after police stopped searching, she kept the hunt up for her daughter handing out fliers on Cleveland's West Side.

She told them that several years ago she believes she saw her daughter walking with an older man at a shopping plaza on West 117th Street.

She said that she shouted out her daughter's name but the woman, who was being pulled along by her companion, did not turn around.

Ms Knight, told the newspaper she never believed her daughter would have vanished without a trace on her own and that she kept searching long after police gave up looking for her.

'I'm praying that if it is her, she will come back with me, so I can help her recover from what she has been through,' the mother was quoted as saying.

'So much has happened in these 10 years. She has a younger sister she still has not met.'


Combing: Cleveland police and FBI agents search a yard. There were apparently signs that dirt had recently been moved in the backyard of the house

2003 - Amanda Berry - vanished after finishing work at Burger King

Three years later Amanda Berry disappeared on April 21, 2003, a day before her 17th birthday.

Amanda vanished shortly after she called her sister to say that she was getting a ride home from her job at Burger King.

Amanda's mother, Louwana Miller, who had been hospitalized for months with pancreatitis and other ailments, died in March 2006 aged 44.

She had spent the previous three years looking for her daughter, whose disappearance took a toll as her health steadily deteriorated, family and friends said.

Councilwoman Dona Brady said she had spent many hours with Miller, who never gave up hope that her daughter was alive.

'She literally died of a broken heart,' Ms Brady said.

In April 2004, Miller turned to a psychic on Montel Williams’ nationally syndicated television show.

The psychic, Sylvia Browne said She’s not alive, honey.'

'Your daughter’s not the kind who wouldn’t call.'

Browne said she envisioned Amanda’s jacket in a Dumpster with 'DNA on it.'

Miller went back to the West Side home where she had been keeping Amanda’s things in careful order and cleaned up.


Search: Amanda Berry disappeared on April 21, 2003, a day before her 17th birthday


This is the Burger King at West 110th Street and Lorain Avenue where Amanda Berry was last seen in April 2003. The other two girls were also last seen on the same block

She gave away her daughter’s computer and took down her pictures. 'I’m not even buying my baby a Christmas present this year,' she told local newspaper Cleveland.

In 2009, Wisconsin investigators believed there were striking similarities between Amanda and the body found by deer hunters.

But test results comparing Amanda's DNA and that of the body came back negative.

In January, a prison inmate was sentenced to four and a half years after admitting he provided a false burial tip in the disappearance of Berry.

A judge in Cleveland sentenced Robert Wolford on his guilty plea to obstruction of justice, making a false report and making a false alarm.

Last summer, Wolford tipped authorities to look for Berry's remains in a Cleveland lot. He was taken to the location, which was dug up with backhoes.

Two men arrested for questioning in the disappearance of in 2004 were released from the city jail in 2006 after officers didn't find her body during a search of the men's house.

One of the men was transferred to the Cuyahoga County Jail on unrelated charges, while the other was allowed to go free, police said.

2004 - Gina Dejesus - last seen on way home from school with friend

A year after Georgina DeJesus, then 14, disappeared on her way home from Wilbur Wright Middle School on Parkhurst Drive.

Known as Gina, the seventh-grader in special education classes, was last seen near a payphone in Cleveland in mid-afternoon on 2 April 2004 with a classmate.

The pair had called the friend's mother asking for a sleepover at the Gina's house, but when the girl's mother said no the pair parted ways.

'I gave her the $1.25 to catch the bus because it was cold outside,' said her mother, Nancy Ruiz.

But she has 'the tendency to walk home and use the money for' after-school snacks, she explained.

A bloodhound tracked her scent a block from the corner of West 105th Street and Lorain Avenue, where she was last seen, to West 104th Street, then the trail went cold.

Gina’s cousin Sylvia Colon told local press in 2004 that her father, Felix, was 'beyond desperate' to bring her home.

Ruiz’s yard and house in the 3700 block of West 71st Street become a shrine for Gina.

She lit candles on her porch on a nightly basis and prayed for the safe return of her daughter.


Missing: Gina DeJesus, aged 14, went missing on April 2, 2004, on her way home from Wilbur Wright Middle School on Parkhurst Drive


Distraught: Felix DeJesus, holding a banner showing his daughter's photograph, standing by a memorial in his living room in Cleveland (file photo)


Victim: Last year, Gina's mother Nancy Ruiz raised concerns that her daughter might have been the victim of human trafficking

Two men arrested for questioning in the disappearance of DeJesus in 2004 were released from the city jail in 2006 after officers didn't find her body during a search of the men's house.

One of the men was transferred to the Cuyahoga County Jail on unrelated charges, while the other was allowed to go free, police said.

In September 2006, police acting on a tip tore up the concrete floor of the garage and used a cadaver dog to search unsuccessfully for DeJesus' body.

Investigators confiscated 19 pieces of evidence during their search but declined to comment on the significance of the items then.

Last year, Ginas' mother Nancy Ruiz raised concerns that her daughter might have been the victim of human trafficking.

'I always said it from the beginning; she was sold to the highest bidder,' she said.

Just two months ago there was a vigil to mark the ninth anniversary of her disappearance.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2321095/Cleveland-kidnap-Amanda-Berry-reveals-Jocelyn-happy-healthy.html

The six year old is so cute. I hope she was not raped by these monsters. It disturbed me that there might be other little babies murdered by these monsters. They should get the death penalty for what they did to those women. William

William, what do you think happened to the other babies? Does someone have them? Were they murdered? Aborted? I sure hope we find out something. It was said that there were at least pregnancies while they were in captivity.

Also, they were sadists.

I think the other girl missing from the same area was murdered by one of them because she wouldn't comply.

I just can't conceive of such evil.

Personally I think the babies were miscarried due to starving and beating or were killed outright because they were boys. They probably through them away like trash. I think they only allowed the girl to live for their future sex purpose. The other missing girl was most likely killed because she would not "conform" to their needs and fought back. A very slight chance she is being kept at another friends or relative's house and still has not been found, unlikely. They could have traded her on the sex trade market as well. Hopefully the police will get to the real truth. At least these women and the girl are safe now and these monsters will never be on the street again. They should be at least castrated. William

You guys are referring to "they" or "them" - but only 1 has been charged so far, right? I keep hearing that the 2 other brothers have not been charged in this and it doesn't sound like they will be. Hard to believe just one person is responsible for holding these women for 10 years. He HAD to have an accomplice(s) at some point, don't you think? What a horrific story this is.

The brothers are associated with the captivity whether "they" raped or kidnapped the women or not. In my mind they are just as guilty. They could have stopped him but they did not. The other brothers have been arrested but charges are forthcoming.

"Those brothers also appeared in court Thursday on charges unrelated to the abductions. "

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/09/18145259-judge-sets-bond-at-8-million-for-accused-cleveland-kidnapper?lite

"Charges expected Wednesday—McGrath said charges against the three brothers suspected of kidnapping and raping their victims could come as early as Wednesday."

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51819620/t/six-new-details-cleveland-kidnapping-case/?lite&lite=obnetwork

Just wait for it. They will be charged. They are guilty in my mind. William

Ohio missing women case: Ariel Castro held on $8 million bail


Thursday, May 09, 2013



CLEVELAND (KABC) -- A judge ordered the Ohio man accused of holding three women captive for years to be held on $8 million bail at his arraignment hearing Thursday.

Ariel Castro has been charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape.

Castro, 52, looked at the ground while lawyers spoke to the judge. His bail was set at $2 million for each of the four cases, which include the three women and a 6-year-old child who was born in captivity. He did not enter a plea.

Police say Amanda Berry, 27, Michelle Knight, 32, and Gina DeJesus, 23, were held at the house in a residential area just a few miles from where they disappeared. Investigators said they were held against their will since going missing individually between 2002 and 2004.

While many questions remain about how Castro kept such tight control over the women for so long before their escape Monday, the horrors they suffered are coming to light. Police say Castro, an unemployed, former school bus driver, abducted all the women in the same way, by simply driving up to them and offering them a ride home.

Investigators say the women were chained and roped and kept in different rooms for a decade. Knight, Castro's first alleged kidnapping victim, was impregnated by Castro five times, but had a miscarriage each time after being beaten by him, reported ABC News affilliate WEWS-TV.

Also in the house was Berry's 6-year-old daughter, Jocelyn. Officials said a paternity test will be conducted to establish whether Castro fathered the child.

A law enforcement source told WEWS-TV that Knight delivered Berry's daughter in a plastic pool "so the mess was easier to clean up." Castro reportedly told her that if the baby died, so would she.

Police said the women remembered being able to go outside twice into the backyard, but they had to wear wigs and sunglasses and keep their heads down. According to ABC News, the 6-year-old was the captive with the most freedom because she occasionally got to leave the house with Castro.

The women were finally freed Monday after Berry's daring escape. According to the WEWS-TV source, Berry saw that a big inside door was left unlocked. She reportedly tried to unlatch a second door but was afraid to break it open because she thought Castro was trying to "test her," the source said.

Berry then saw people outside and screamed for help. Neighbor Charles Ramsey helped kick down the door and called 911.

Knight remained hospitalized Thursday, but Berry and DeJesus returned home on Wednesday.



Authorities say Castro is on suicide watch while in custody. For now, he is the only person being charged in the case. Police initially were questioning his two brothers as well, but investigators say they do not have evidence the brothers played a role in the kidnappings and rapes. The brothers are only facing misdemeanor charges for outstanding warrants not connected to this case.

In an ironic twist, Ariel Castro's son happened to write an article about the disappearance of DeJesus just weeks after she went missing. In 2004, Anthony Castro was a journalism student and wrote the piece for a Cleveland community newspaper. Anthony Castro said that he's had little contact with his father and that his father deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail. He said he's glad the women are OK.

The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.



(Copyright ©2013 KABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=9096083

William, he beat one of them in the stomach until she miscarried.

Michelle was beaten so badly she is deaf in one ear and parts of her face are paralyzed.

The torture chamber has a girl's name written on the wall and "rest in peace".

These are just things I've heard with no verification.

twinkletoes wrote:William, he beat one of them in the stomach until she miscarried.
Michelle was beaten so badly she is deaf in one ear and parts of her face are paralyzed.
The torture chamber has a girl's name written on the wall and "rest in peace".
These are just things I've heard with no verification.

Yea, I read up to maybe five little angels were killed by this monster. I sure hope they give this guy the death penalty. At least Ohio has it and does use it. William

CNN Exclusive: Castro brother says victims unrecognizable in photos

(CNN) -- Ariel Castro's brothers no longer refer to him as kin. Instead, they call him "a monster" who should rot in jail after being accused of kidnapping and holding three young women hostage in his home for a decade.

"I had nothing to do with this, and I don't know how my brother got away with it for so many years," Pedro Castro, 54, said when he and brother Onil Castro, 50, sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN's Martin Savidge this weekend.

When the story first broke, the world saw all three brothers as suspects after Cleveland police arrested them last Monday and released their mugshots. It was not until Thursday that Pedro and Onil Castro were freed and investigators said the brothers had no involvement in the kidnappings.

LONG ARTICLE - MORE AT THE LINK:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/13/us/ohio-castro-brothers/index.html

No involvement in the kidnappings. But what about the rape and other abuse? How could they NOT know something was going on? If they find fingerprints of them in the areas the woman were held that would say a lot. Just saying, I just don't believe their totally not involved. Time will tell. William

'It was like they were prisoners of war:' Gina DeJesus cannot move her head after being chained up with Michelle Knight in basement for years, say medics

The basement where the women were held had chains coming from the wall, and dog leashes attached to the ceiling, according to police sources
Description comes as lawyers for Castro announce that he will plead not guilty to kidnapping and rape charges

The women were restrained with them and duct tape in 'stress positions' for long periods that left them with bed sores and other injuries
Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were in worse condition than Amanda Berry with the source saying: 'There is a reason why you have only seen a picture of Amanda
Abductor would duct tape the women over all parts of their faces, even their eyes, only leaving an opening so they could breathe
Former daughter-in-law Monica Stephens says Castro always gave her 'the heebie-jeebies'

The women, especially DeJesus and Knight, were now exhibiting signs of malnutrition as Ariel Castro used food as a means to torment them

By Reuters Reporter PUBLISHED:23:22 EST, 14 May 2013

Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, two of the women imprisoned in a Cleveland house in conditions described as similar to a prisoner of war camp, have suffered from severe malnutrition.

The women will require long-term therapy for injuries such as hearing loss and joint and muscle damage, two sources with direct knowledge said.

The harrowing details come as Castro's attorneys claim he's not the 'monster' depicted in news reports - and he will plead not guilty to kidnapping and rape charges.

Survivors: Michelle Knight, left, and Gina DeJesus, right, were in worse condition then Amanda Berry when they emerged from at least nine years in captivity at the home of Ariel Castro

Freedom: Amanda Berry, right, hugs her sister Beth Serrano after being reunited in a Cleveland hospital after she was freed from captivity

Castro's lawyer, Craig Weintraub, told WKYC-TV: 'The initial portrayal by the media has been one of a 'monster' and that's not the impression that I got when I talked to him for three hours.

'I know that family members who have been interviewed by the media have expressed that as well.'

The basement where the women were held had chains coming from the wall, and dog leashes attached to the ceiling, the sources said.

The women were restrained with them and duct tape in 'stress positions' for long periods that left them with bed sores and other injuries, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation, who asked not to be identified.

Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were in worse condition than Amanda Berry when they emerged from at least nine years in captivity at the home of Ariel Castro, accused of kidnapping and raping the women.

Castro appeared to treat Berry - his 'favorite' - better than the other two, the sources said.

'There is a reason why you have only seen a picture of Amanda,' said one of the sources, referring to the condition of DeJesus and Knight.

Knight told investigators she fell pregnant five times, but lost the baby each time. She said that Castro starved and repeatedly punched her in the stomach to force her to miscarry.

Police sources told the National Enquirer that Castro had no interest in having children with Knight, because she was only 4-foot-7 and believed her to be 'mentally disabled.'

The magazine's source added that he was grooming his 6-year-old daughter with Amanda, Joselyn, as another sex slave because the other captives 'were getting to old for him.'

Berry, who broke down a door to freedom a week ago with the help of a neighbor, and then told police of the other women, was photographed smiling immediately after the dramatic rescue. Berry has a six-year-old daughter fathered by Castro in captivity.

Man of 'monster'?: A report says that Castro had no interest in having children with Michelle Knight, because she was only 4-foot-7 and believed her to be 'mentally disabled'

Horrific crimes: Ariel Castro, 52, is charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape

In contrast, DeJesus wore a hooded sweat-shirt covering her head when she first went home last week, and Knight was hospitalized for days, and has stayed out of public view.

The sources said DeJesus and Knight were gaunt and had closely cropped hair when they were freed.

One of the sources, who has been in the house, said the basement had chains coming from the walls and 'dog leashes attached to the ceiling,' Knight and DeJesus told police they spent extensive time in the basement.

A second source corroborated the details.

'One of the girls has difficulty moving her head around from being chained up,' said one of the sources. The second source identified DeJesus as the woman suffering this injury.

Scene: A 10-foot fence has been erected around Ariel Castro's now-boarded up house on Seymour Avenue

'It was like they were POWs (prisoners of war). They had bed sores from being left in positions for extended lengths of time,' a source said.

The details are the latest startling picture to emerge of Castro, whose own family has come forward to describe patterns of abuse and bizarre behavior.

Monica Stephens - who was at one point married to Castro's son, Anthony - told CNN's Piers Morgan that she once visited the home on Seymour Avenue, and was struck by how Castro would 'obsessively' keep things locked up.

She told Morgan: 'Ariel Castro always gave me the heebie-jeebies.'

All the bedroom doors in the house had padlocks on the outside and the rooms were spare with only a mattress on the floor.

Their movement through the house was very restricted, the women have told authorities.

Discomfort: Ariel Castro's ex-daughter-in-law Monica Stephens says that the jailed kidnapping suspect always gave me the heebie-jeebies'

'If he left for long periods of time he would sometimes duct tape-up the women over all parts of their faces, even their eyes, only leaving an opening so they could breathe. Then he would just rip it off pulling off skin and hair,' one of the sources said.

A police report said Knight was starved for weeks at a time and punched in the stomach to induce several miscarriages. A county prosecutor intends to file fetal homicide charges against Castro in connection with the miscarriages.

The women, especially DeJesus and Knight, were now exhibiting signs of malnutrition as Castro used food as a means to torment them, one of the sources said.

'He would bring food to one or two of the girls and made the others watch as they or he would eat in front of them,' the source said.

Knight and DeJesus would sneak food to each other, this source said.

Castro generally kept one woman upstairs and the other two - usually Knight and DeJesus - in the basement, the source said.

Wasteland: Photos show the heaping pile of random items left in Ariel Castro's backyard

Blocked off: Police boarded up the door with the new piece of plywood but the older gray planks of wood were added to block the window panes by Castro himself

Despite their ordeal, a Cleveland city council member stressed that the women are reveling in their freedom.

'They are doing well, doing very well. They are thriving and enjoying their freedom,' City Councilman Brian Cummins said on Monday.

The sources asked to be anonymous because they were not authorized to speak on the record. They were discussing some of the details of the captivity because they felt tight information control had left the impression that authorities ignored calls and reports about Castro's house that could have freed the women sooner.

Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath on Monday issued a statement defending the police department's policy of restricting information on the crimes.

'The disclosure of sensitive information and details of these horrendous crimes only further victimize three young women. The criticism of law enforcement efforts is disheartening. The dissemination of misinformation erodes the critical relationship between law enforcement and community,' McGrath said.

Little is known about the relationship among the three women. Knight, who is now 32, Berry, 27 and DeJesus, 23, have not spoken publicly.

Home: The DeJesus family celebrates the homecoming of their daughter Gina

Recovery: The family of Amanda Berry celebrates the homecoming of their daughter after her painful captivity

Psychologists say the women, who did not know each other before they were abducted, likely formed a bond that may have been strengthened by the young girl born during their captivity.

Knight delivered Berry's daughter in a plastic children's swimming pool and gave the baby mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the police report said.

'The closest parallel would be prisoners of war,' Sherry Hamby, a psychology professor at the University of South, Sewanee, said of the girl's possible relationship.

Berry and DeJesus, along with Berry's daughter, have since been reunited with their families. Knight, who is estranged from some of her family members, according to her grandmother, has gone into seclusion.

Terri Weaver, a professor of psychology at the St. Louis University, said although it remains unclear how regularly they interacted, the girls were likely helped by each other's presence.

'Having someone who has been a witness to those intimate details can really forge a powerful bond because there is a shared understanding,' she said.

It is unclear how the women's relationship may develop as they put their lives back together.

Psychologists said that as people who have suffered traumatic experiences rebuild their lives, the bond is frequently maintained.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2324731/It-like-prisoners-war-Cleveland-women-suffer-injuries-severe-malnutrition-including-hearing-loss-muscle-damage.html

Some of his family and his lawyers might not call him a monster but what he did to those women was monsterous. One of them was a minor when he kidnapped and raped her. To every decent person on the planet he is a monster. Hopefully he'll get the death penalty. William

Kidnapped Michelle Knight Suffered Tragedy Before Her Abduction But May Get Unexpected Happy Ending

May 10, 2013 at 9:15 AM

The three women who were allegedly kidnapped and held in a house of horrors in Cleveland, Ohio have gone through sheer hell for the past decade. Sources say the women suffered numerous pregnancies and miscarriages throughout their captivity -- but one woman, Amanda Berry, managed to give birth to a little girl, Jocelyn, who is now 6-years-old and rescued along with her mom and the other two women. One of the women, Michelle Knight, suffered unspeakable tragedy even before this horrific turn of events. Reports say that a year before she was kidnapped, Michelle had given birth to a little boy. And she reportedly became pregnant after being gang-raped by three boys.

According to Michelle's great-aunt, Deborah Knight, Michelle was raped by three classmates in junior high and gave birth to a son, Joey, a year before her abduction. The boy was subsequently placed in foster care and it was these events that led police to conclude that Michelle had become angry at circumstances and ran away of her own accord. As a result, she was never searched for in a way that the other two women, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, were.

If reports are correct, Michelle, who is now 32, would have been gang-raped at about 18 years old, so it's unclear how she was in junior high school at the time, as reports state.

If all of this is true, it's unbelievable the amount of trauma this one woman has been through. Not only was she gang-raped, gave birth, had that child taken away, and then was kidnapped, but she reportedly has hearing loss and facial trauma from her years of abuse allegedly at the hands of captor Ariel Castro. One horrific detail from her years of hell is that Michelle was forced to be a midwife at the birth of Amanda Berry's daughter and threatened with death by Castro if the baby didn't survive.

Michelle's brother, Freddie, has visited Michelle in the hospital and said she asked him for a hug. "She was so freaking happy. I gave her a hug, but I couldn’t give her a bear hug because of all the things that happened to her," Freddie told the New York Daily News. "She was just so happy to see me."

In yet another hint into the devastating dynamics that Michelle endured even before her capture, brother Freddie says he didn't even know that his sister had been missing since he's been estranged from his family since the age of 14. While the other victims have gone home to their families, Michelle remains in the hospital and has asked for no more visitors.

But hopefully this poor woman will have a happy ending. Freddie says she is eager to reunite with her son, who is now 13. Says Freddie: "She wants to start a new life, have the whole family there." Perhaps, in some strange, horrific way, this tragedy will mean getting to know her son in a way she wouldn't have otherwise.

It's going to take an enormous amount of strength for Michelle to overcome what life has thrown at her so far -- but this woman has strength. Look at all she's survived so far. She deserves nothing but happiness from here on.

http://www.cafemom.com/articles/other/155420/kidnapped_michelle_knight_suffered_tragedy?utm_medium=sem2&utm_campaign=prism&utm_source=outbrain&utm_content=0

I sure pray this is true; that she has her brother and may re-unite with her family. I'm sure it will be difficult for both her and the son who was taken from her if they are able to meet. What an extremely sad life she has had. God shelters her from anymore heartbreak and pain.

She has been released from the hospital subsequent to the printing of this story and they hinted that no one had visited her. I'd been worried about her being alone so am very glad to have found this article.

Cleveland man charged with murder in case of kidnapped women

Jun. 07, 2013 8:27PM PDT

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio grand jury on Friday indicted former school bus driver Ariel Castro on 329 counts, including aggravated murder, for the kidnapping, rape and imprisonment of three women in Cleveland.

Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight and Amanda Berry were freed on May 6 from Castro's house, where they had been held for about a decade.

Castro is charged with aggravated murder for assaulting one of the women and impregnating her between November 2006 and February 2007 and forcing her to miscarry, according to the indictment. He could face the death penalty.

The charges issued by a Cuyahoga County grand jury include 139 counts of rape and 177 counts of kidnapping. The indictment includes some details about how the women were restrained during their ordeals, including that Castro at one point taped the legs and mouth of one of the victims and then chained her to a pole in the basement, with a motorcycle helmet on her head.

"Today's indictments represent a first major step in the criminal justice process," said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty in a statement.

He said the investigation is continuing - the indictments issued on Friday only cover the period from August 2002, when Knight disappeared, until February 2007.

Upon hearing news of the indictments, Jim Wooley, attorney for Berry and DeJesus, and Kathy Joseph, attorney for Knight, issued this statement:

"We have a great legal system plus confidence and faith in the prosecutor's office and its decisions. Now, we need to stand back and let the judicial process unfold."

Berry, 27, was freed along with her daughter by neighbors from the Cleveland house owned by Castro.

Berry had disappeared after leaving her job at Burger King in 2003, the day before her 17th birthday. Police say her child was fathered by Castro.

Cleveland police responded to Berry's 911 call and found DeJesus, 23, and Knight, 32, in the house. DeJesus had disappeared on her way home from school in 2004, when she was 14.

The indictment said Berry was raped for the first time after she attempted to escape from the house. She and Knight were taken out of Castro's house in the fall of 2005 to a van in his backyard for sexual purposes, according to the indictment.

Castro, 52, is in jail on an $8 million bond. He will be arraigned next week on the charges.

The county prosecutor's office said it would consider whether the case is "appropriate" for pursuit of the death penalty.

Legal experts said the murder case will be complicated by a lack of physical evidence of the miscarriage and medical records. The case could hinge on whether Castro's three victims testify about Knight's treatment, experts say.

"There has not been a case tried like this in Ohio before," said Michael Benza, senior lecturer at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Benza said prosecutors may be using the possibility of the death penalty as "a bargaining chip" to avoid a trial, which might require the women to testify.

Ohio is one of 38 states to have a fetal homicide law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The law in Ohio makes it a crime to murder a person "who is or was carried in the womb of another."

The most high-profile fetal homicide trial in the United States occurred in 2004, when Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn son and sentenced to death in California.

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/nm/cleveland-man-charged-with-murder-in-case-of-kidnapped-women

Cleveland kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro charged with murder, hundreds of rape, assault counts


Cleveland Department of Public Safety


Ariel Castro, 52, was charged with 329 counts of murder, rape, assault and other counts, an indictment revealed Friday, June 7.

By M. Alex Johnson, staff writer, NBC News

Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man accused of kidnapping three girls and holding them for years in his home, has been indicted on two counts of aggravated murder and 327 other counts, including rape, kidnapping and assault, prosecutors said Friday.

A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Castro, 52, on the aggravated murder charges for allegedly causing the unlawful termination of a pregnancy involving one of the women.

Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, escaped May 6 after having been kidnapped between 2000 and 2004. The kidnapping counts include the alleged abduction of Berry's daughter, now 6, who was born in captivity.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said the indictments covered only the period from August 2002, when the first of the three women disappeared, until February 2007.

Besides the murder charge, the grand jury indicted Castro on 177 counts of kidnapping, 139 counts of kidnapping, seven counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of felonious assault and one count of possession of criminal tools.

Castro is to be arraigned next week. A decision on whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty hasn't been made, McGinty said.


FBI via Reuters/file
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, who were rescued May 6 after years in captivity.

Ohio's aggravated murder law includes the death of a fetus "with prior calculation and design."

Knight has told investigators that Castro impregnated her at least five times and that he starved her and punched her repeatedly in the stomach to force her to miscarry, according to a Cleveland police report.

"This child kidnapper operated a torture chamber and private prison in the heart of our city," McGinty said last month when he announced his intention to seek the murder charges. "The horrific brutality and torture that the victims endured for a decade is
beyond comprehension."

nbclatino.com/.../cleveland-kidnapper-ariel-castro-charged-with-murder-hu..

What about child rape charges?????
At least two of these poor women were underage when he
kidnapped them. He should be charged for that as well.

William

They need to execute this POS. Why are they having trouble making that decision?

twinkletoes wrote:They need to execute this POS. Why are they having trouble making that decision?

After he's castrated by one million paper cuts.
William

They need to execute this POS. Why are they having trouble making that decision?