Onil and Pedro Castro, the brothers of Cleveland kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro, have spoken out for the first time, saying that they would have turned him in if they knew three women were being held prisoner in his home.
Onil and Pedro Castro, who were arrested along with Ariel, say that since their release from prison, they have been faced with online death threats, a break-in at one of their homes, and vandalism.
They were released several days after their arrest due to lack of evidence linking them to the crimes.
When asked by CNN reporter Martin Savidge if the public would always suspect they had a role in the kidnappings, they answered “yes” in unison.
Onil Castro said: “The people out there who know me, they know that Onil Castro is not that person, has nothing to do with that – would never even think of something like that. I was a very liked person [before the arrest], never had any enemies.
“[There is] no reason for anybody to think that I would ever do something like that. It was a shock to all my friends. They couldn’t believe it.”
Pedro Castro added: “I couldn’t ever think of doing anything like that. If I knew that my brother was doing this, in a minute I would have called the cops; cause that isn’t right. But yeah, it’s going to haunt me down. Cause people are going to think Pedro had something to do with this and Pedro doesn’t have anything to do this.”
They said that even though Ariel Castro is their brother, they would have had no choice but to turn him in – had they known.
“If I knew, I would have reported it, brother or no brother.”
Onil and Pedro Castro spoke amid new revelations of odd behavior at Ariel Castro house in the days prior to the women’s escape.
The brothers were initially taken into custody but released Thursday after investigators said there was no evidence against them.
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