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An alleged suicide letter written by Cleveland kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro in 2004, in which he describes the crimes and admits that he is a sexual predator who “needs help”, is claimed to be in possession of a news reporter.
Ariel Castro, 52, owned the home in which three women – Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight – were held captive for about 10 years before they escaped on Monday.
His home on Seymour Avenue is now a crime scene, with investigators carrying out numerous pieces of evidence – including ropes and chains.
Among the items collected was reportedly a letter, in which Ariel Castro allegedly confesses to his crimes and writes about his desire to kill himself “and give all the money I saved to my victims”.
19 Action News reporter Scott Taylor says he received a copy of the letter, which he claims was written in 2004 and found by police inside Ariel Castro’s house.
An alleged suicide letter written by Cleveland kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro in 2004, in which he describes the crimes, was found at his home
Scott Taylor posted excerpts of the letter on his Twitter page late Wednesday night, including a confession that he was “a sexual predator” and “I need help”.
In one, Scott Taylor says that Ariel Castro didn’t know why he kept looking for another victim, because “I already had 2 in my possession”.
In another, Ariel Castro allegedly wrote that he was surprised how young his daughter’s best friend Gina DeJesus was – because he “thought she was much older”.
One other excerpt revealed by Scott Taylor even appears to blame his victims for their predicament, saying: “They are here against their will because they made a mistake of getting in a car with a total stranger.”
Ariel Castro has been charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. Two of his brothers were also arrested on Monday, but have not been charged in connection to the case.
Police announced the charges on Wednesday – two days after Ariel Castro and his two brothers Pedro and Onil were arrested.
Ariel Castro will make his first court appearance on Thursday amid tight security at Cleveland Municipal Court.
In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, police chief Ed Tomba said the women did not have any opportunity to escape and had only been outside the house twice in the last ten years.
“We were told they left the house and went into the garage in disguise. They never left the property.”
He added: “The first time they have been outside the house in ten years was when they escaped from the house.”
Ed Tomba said Ariel Castro had been cooperating fully with police and had made a detailed statement having read his rights.
Ariel Castro, the man suspected of imprisoning three women for several years in Cleveland, is due to make his first court appearance.
Ariel Castro, 52, has been charged with kidnap and rape.
The women were abducted at different times and held in a house in a suburban street for about a decade. One woman escaped on Monday and raised the alarm.
The police detained two of Ariel Castro’s brothers, but later said they appeared to have no involvement in the crime.
Ariel Castro owned the house from which Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, were rescued.
Police said the women could only remember being outside twice during their time in captivity, and were then only allowed into the garage.
Deputy police chief Ed Tomba said the women were not held in one room “but they did know each other and they did know each other was there”.
Ariel Castro, the man suspected of imprisoning three women for several years in Cleveland, is due to make his first court appearance
Amanda Berry escaped on Monday along with her six-year-old daughter Jocelyn, who was born in captivity.
According to a source close to the investigation, one of the women was forced to help Amanda Berry deliver her daughter, and was threatened with death if the child did not survive.
In a news conference late on Wednesday, authorities said Ariel Castro would be charged with four counts of kidnapping.
The charges covered the three initial abduction victims and Jocelyn.
Ariel Castro was also charged with three counts of rape, one against each woman.
Police said more than 200 pieces of evidence had been taken from the home where the three women were held captive.
They said interviews with the women had yielded enough information to charge Ariel Castro, and that further charges could be added.
Police say Ariel Castro has been co-operating with them, waiving his right to silence and agreeing to a test to establish Jocelyn’s paternity.
Michelle Knight remains in hospital, while the other two women have been released to their families.
On Wednesday hundreds of people gathered around the DeJesus family home, cheering as Gina DeJesus was brought from hospital.
Gina DeJesus, wearing a bright yellow hooded shirt, was escorted into her home by a woman with her arm around her, giving the well-wishers a brief wave.
Amanda Berry and her daughter arrived at her sister’s home shortly before midday on Wednesday.
She disappeared in 2003 aged 16, but escaped on Monday with the help of a neighbor who heard her screaming and kicking a door while her alleged captor was out of the house.
When police arrived, they also found Gina DeJesus and Amanda Knight in the house.
Gina DeJesus had gone missing aged 14 in 2004, while Michelle Knight had disappeared in 2002, aged 20.
Ariel Castro reportedly fled the neighborhood and was arrested at a nearby McDonald’s restaurant, according to local media.
Cleveland police have started searching properties near the home where three missing women were imprisoned for a decade after Michelle Knight told them there could be other girls.
Michelle Knight, who was found at the Cleveland home on Monday after being held against her will for more than 10 years, said that there was another girl at the home around 10 years ago.
But Michelle Knight, who herself was kidnapped in 2002, said the victim then disappeared.
In police interviews she added that she did not know how many other women were in the house because they were all locked in separate rooms, Fox News reported.
Along with his alleged victims, only Ariel Castro lived at the home at Seymour Avenue. His older brother Pedro Castro lived at his mother’s home, while Onil, the youngest of the three brothers, lived alone in his own home “somewhere in the lower west side”, police said.
The details could give hope to the family of Ashley Nicole Summers, who was 14 when she vanished on July 6, 2007 in the same neighborhood from where Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were taken.
Initially Ashley Summers was considered a runaway as had she lived with her great-uncle and they had argued prior to her disappearance.
But a year later the police and FBI believed Ashley Summers was an “endangered juvenile” who could be “being held again her will”. In 2009, the FBI said they suspected a link between Ashley Summers’ disappearance and those of Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus.
Ashley Summers’ physical appearance and the proximity of her home to the other disappearances lead investigators to suspect the cases were linked and that all three might have been kidnapped by the same man.
Ashley Nicole Summers was 14 when she vanished on July 6, 2007 in the same neighborhood from where Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were taken
Special Agent Vicki Anderson, of the FBI Cleveland Division told Cleveland.com on Tuesday that Ashley remains in their thoughts as they gather evidence at Ariel Castro’s Seymore Avenue home.
“We are keeping Ashley in our thoughts as we go every step of the way,” she said.
“Whether it is something we find at the house, or someone seeing the stories remembers something, we continue our search for Ashley.”
A cadaver dog, along with various law enforcement officers, searched Ariel Castro’s Cleveland home on Tuesday, said Vicki Anderson. But police revealed they had not found any human remains at the house despite fears up to five babies could be buried in the garden.
But police did confirm on Wednesday that they found ties and chains inside the home.
“We have confirmation that they were bound, and there (were) chains and ropes in the home,” Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said, adding that authorities did not miss opportunities to find them.
Prior to the disclosure of the naming of the women discovered on Monday, Ashley Summers’ family had briefly thought their daughter could be amongst those discovered.
“We’re hoping that it’s connected, and they knew where she was,” her aunt Debra Summers told CNN.
“We’re hoping for a miracle.”
The Summers family is renewing their efforts to publicize Ashley’s disappearance.
The FBI’s missing person website says Ashley Summers has a tattoo of “Gene” enclosed in a heart on her upper arm, and her birthday is June 16, 1993, making her 19 years old.
Investigators will speak to Gina DeJesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight to see if they know anything about Summers’ disappearance.
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 Amanda Berry bolted from a home on Seymour Avenue, about three miles from where they were last seen.
Amanda Berry 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, Pedro and Onil, on suspicion of kidnapping.
Cadaver dogs appeared at the home following fears babies were born inside the Cleveland house. At least five children may have born at the house, police sources told NewsChannel5.
One victim suffered up to three miscarriages because she was so malnourished, while other sources told WKYC the captors would beat the pregnant women, so that the babies would not survive.
At least two of the women held captive in Ariel Castro’s house in Cleveland for about a decade were raped by their captors, it was revealed today by an unnamed source close to the investigation.
One woman was forced to help Amanda Berry give birth and was threatened with death if the baby died, the source said as two of the women returned home.
Cleveland’s police chief has said the women were bound with ropes and chains.
Former school bus driver Ariel Castro, 52, has been arrested along with his two brothers, Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50.
Ariel Castro owns the home where the three women were found.
The source said one of the women became pregnant many times and had multiple miscarriages.
Another woman became pregnant and was so badly beaten she lost the baby, the source added.
The source also said the woman who helped Amanda Berry deliver her daughter, Jocelyn, now 6, was threatened with death if the child did not survive.
At least two of the women held captive in Ariel Castro’s house in Cleveland for about a decade were raped by their captors
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered around the DeJesus family home, cheering as 23-year-old Gina DeJesus arrived.
Gina DeJesus, wearing a bright yellow hooded shirt, was escorted into her home by a woman with her arm around her.
In a news conference outside the house, members of her family appealed to neighbors to help find a fourth missing girl, Ashley Summers, who has not been seen since 2007 when she was 14 years old.
“There are not enough words to say or express the joy that we feel for the return of our family member Gina, and now Amanda Berry, her daughter and Michelle Knight who is our family also,” said Sandra Ruiz, Gina DeJesus’ aunt.
She praised the FBI and Cleveland police for their long-time support, and asked neighbors not to retaliate against the suspects’ family.
Felix DeJesus, Gina DeJesus’ father, said people needed to watch out for children in their neighborhood, exhorting the community to “fix” the problem.
Amanda Berry, 27, arrived at her sister’s home shortly before midday on Wednesday, along with her daughter Jocelyn, apparently conceived and born in captivity.
Police Chief Michael McGrath said Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and the third victim, Michelle Knight, 32, were in good condition “considering the circumstances”, in an interview with NBC.
Chief Michael McGrath added that while in captivity, the women were sometimes allowed outside in the garden.
Meanwhile, Cleveland public safety director Martin Flask said that no human remains had been found at the home, after “a thorough search”. Police have said they are also investigating other properties.
Ariel Castro is accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing the three women; his brothers are accused of complicity in the same offences, according to arrest documents.
The police chief said investigators were interviewing the Castro brothers, and they were talking.
Charges against the three suspects may be announced later.
Chief Michael McGrath disputed claims by neighbors that police did not fully investigate reports of suspicious activity at 2207 Seymour Avenue, which is in a working-class, mostly Puerto Rican district.
Amanda Berry escaped on Monday with the help of a neighbor who heard her screaming and kicking a door while her alleged captor was out of the house.
When police arrived they also found Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight in the house. Gina DeJesus had gone missing aged 14 in 2004, while Michelle Knight had disappeared in 2002, aged 20.
Ariel Castro reportedly fled the neighborhood and was arrested at a nearby McDonald’s restaurant, according to local media.
His son, Anthony Castro, told London’s Daily Mail newspaper that his father would not let him inside on his last visit to Seymour Avenue.
“The house was always locked,” he said.
“There were places we could never go. There were locks on the basement. Locks on the attic. Locks on the garage.”
It is unclear when the other Castro brothers were detained.
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Jocelyn is the little girl born to Amanda Berry, one of three women imprisoned in a Cleveland home for a decade.
The 6-year-old girl is “happy and healthy” despite being brought up in captivity, authorities have revealed.
After kidnap victim Amanda Berry, 27, courageously escaped the home on Monday, she told her grandmother that the child is her daughter Jocelyn, who was born at Christmas six years ago.
Authorities believe that Jocelyn’s father is one of the three brothers arrested in connection with the kidnappings and they are now carrying out paternity tests to confirm their suspicions.
Jocelyn was home-schooled by her mother, possibly without the knowledge of the suspects, Ariel Castro, 52, and his two brothers Onil Castro, 50, and Pedro Castro, 54.
The girl, who escaped the home with Amanda Berry and two other missing women, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, was pictured grinning in hospital alongside her mother and her aunt Beth.
Jocelyn is the little girl born to Amanda Berry, one of three women imprisoned in a Cleveland home for a decade
Jocelyn, who authorities said enjoyed popsicles while being examined by doctors, is photographed lightly touching her mother’s arm and showing off her missing two front teeth.
“She looks great, happy, healthy and ate a popsicle last night,” Cleveland Police Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said.
“Seeing her mother smile made her smile.”
Ed Tomba added that it was “a good possibility” that one of the three suspects was her father.
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 victim suffered up to three miscarriages because she was so malnourished, while other sources told WKYC the captors would beat the pregnant women, so that the babies would not survive.
It is unknown what happened to any children who were born at the home.
FBI Special Agent Vicki Anderson told ABC TV that the three women 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,” Vicki Anderson said.
All three women were abducted between 2002 and 2004, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were in their teens at the time of their kidnappings and Michelle Knight was 20 years old.
On Monday evening, Amanda Berry began screaming from behind the locked front door of the home and was helped out by a neighbor. She fled the home and called 911.
Authorities are now investigating how the horrors inside the home went undetected for so long.
Neighbor Israel Lugo said other neighbors had seen naked women crawling on all fours behind Ariel Castro’s house. Three men were in the garden and were controlling the women, he said.
“We thought it was funny at first, and then we thought that was weird so we called the cops,” neighbor Nina Samoylicz told CNN.
“They thought we was playing, joking, they didn’t believe us.”
Neighbors waited for police for two hours but no patrol cars showed up.
Cleveland police said that the department has no records of a call for service to that home.
But the claim is one of a number of stories to have emerged from neighbors who say they reported unusual goings-on at Ariel Castro’s Seymour Avenue, Cleveland home to local police who either didn’t respond or didn’t enter the house when they did show up.
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Anthony Castro, son of Ariel Castro – one of three men held over the disappearance of three Cleveland girls – reportedly wrote an article in 2004 about one of the victims, Gina DeJesus.
Anthony Castro told WKYC news he had penned the piece for the Plain Press.
He apparently knew nothing about his father’s alleged involvement in the case when he produced the article about Gina DeJesus’ disappearance.
Gina DeJesus was rescued on Monday along with Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight.
The author of the 861-word Plain Press article describes the anxiety felt by the neighborhood in the aftermath of Gina DeJesus’ disappearance.
It outlines the concerns of parents and relatives about sex offenders in the area.
The article also features an interview with Gina DeJesus’ mother, Nancy Ruiz.
The Plain Press is a local community newspaper in Cleveland.
It is believed that Anthony Castro was a college student at the time, and wrote the article as part of a class assignment.
Anthony Castro is reported to have been “stunned” by his father’s alleged involvement in the case, describing it as “beyond comprehension”.
Gina DeJesus was rescued on Monday along with Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight
Gina DeJesus’ disappearance has changed her neighborhood
by Ariel Castro
(Plain Press, June 2004) Since April 2, 2004 , the day 14-year-old Gina DeJesus was last seen on her way home from Wilbur Wright Middle School , neighborhood residents have been taken by an overwhelming need for caution. Parents are more strictly enforcing curfews, encouraging their children to walk in groups, or driving them to and from school when they had previously walked alone.
“You can tell the difference,” DeJesus’ mother, Nancy Ruiz said. “People are watching out for each other’s kids. It’s a shame that a tragedy had to happen for me to really know my neighbors. Bless their hearts, they’ve been great.”
On Cleveland ’s west side, it is difficult to go any length of time without seeing Gina’s picture on telephone poles, in windows, or on cars along the busy streets.
“People are really looking out for my daughter,” Ruiz said.
For seven weeks, Gina’s family has been organizing searches, holding prayer vigils, posting fliers and calling press conferences. Despite the many tips and rumors that have been circulating in the neighborhood, there has been no sign of her.
One thing is for certain, however. Almost everyone feels a connection with the family, and Gina’s disappearance has the whole area talking.
“It’s traumatized a lot of people,” Bob Zak, Safety Coordinator of the Westown Community Development Corporation, said. “People are suspicious of everyone. Kids, parents, and grandparents are afraid.”
The organization serves Cleveland ’s Ward 19, which stretches from West Boulevard to West 134th Street .
Parents and relatives waiting for their children as school let out at Wilbur Wright recently expressed concern about the number of sex offenders living and working in the area.
“I really believe there needs to be more security,” Vaneetha Smith said as she waited for her niece outside Wilbur Wright Middle School at the end of the day. “We have too many kidnappings, and they should crack down on all the sex offenders in the area.”
Luis Perez echoed Smith’s concerns as he waited for his niece at the school.
“I think the neighborhood is pretty bad,” he said. “You have to be aware of some people out there.”
The Ohio Electronic Sex Offender Registration and Notification (eSORN) database lists 133 sex offenders living or working in Gina’s immediate zip code. Many residents of the area, however, cannot use the database, as they do not have access to the Internet at home.
“I have been here almost four years and I have been notified of only one sex offender,” Ruiz said. “And he lives only about 1,000 feet away from here.”
Ohio law prohibits sex offenders who are required to register from establishing their residence within 1,000 feet of school buildings.
“There is no enforcing the laws because they still live right next to the schools and the bus stops,” Ruiz said. She believes the process of registering sex offenders is essentially a waste of time.
At a Ward 19 crime watch meeting, one of ten monthly, residents describe the area as a multi-ethnic community where people work and try to keep their housing up to par. They feel the disappearance of Amanda Berry on April 21, 2003 was a wake-up call, but Gina’s case really caught everyone’s attention.
Many residents believe the schools and the city have more work to do to help out.
“There is not enough supervision at the schools and when the kids get out, they still run through the streets,” Smith said. “They say that once they leave the school premises, the school is not responsible for them. But until they reach their house, I believe they are. They should be more concerned with their safety.”
“The school is supposed to be a safe place,” Perez said. “They need more police around the schools, surrounding the area. Without that, it’s just going to keep on going and there will be more innocent people getting hurt.”
Isaac Rodriguez has seen some changes happen at Wilbur Wright.
“There are more security guards at the school now,” the father of two middle school students said. “They have been having assemblies and talking to the kids about the danger.”
“When you send your kids out to school now”, Smith said, “you don’t know if they are going to make it home or not. From West 105th to [West 110th], anything could happen. I feel the mayor should do something about that. The children should be our first priority, no matter what else is going on in the city.”
Zak, a former Cleveland police officer of 30 years, believes the community is feeling the effects of the city’s cuts in the police force.
“The first thing a city should do is protect its citizens,” he said. Although police cannot be on the scene of every crime as they occur, Zak reports that residents are getting responses to calls “one, two, and four hours later.”
Cuts in the police force are not the only budget changes that are directly affecting residents. The Cleveland Municipal School District is also mulling how it will eliminate its projected $100 million budget deficit. Among the items cut will be purchased services, employee overtime, supplemental pay, textbooks, school staff and student transportation.
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Ohio police have praised the bravery of three women – Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight – found alive on Monday evening in a house in Cleveland, after they vanished about a decade ago.
Amanda Berry, who disappeared in 2003 aged 16, escaped with a neighbor’s help while her alleged captor, later identified as Ariel Castro, was away.
Gina DeJesus, who went missing aged 14 a year later, and Michele Knight, who vanished in 2002 aged about 19, were also rescued from the property.
School bus driver Ariel Castro and his two brothers have been arrested.
The three women were taken to hospital for a check-up and to be reunited with their relatives before being discharged on Tuesday morning.
A six-year-old girl also rescued from the house was believed to be the daughter of Amanda Berry, Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba told a news conference.
FBI Special Agent Stephen Anthony said: “The nightmare is over. These three young ladies have provided us with the ultimate definition of survival and perseverance. The healing can now begin.”
“Yes, law enforcement professionals do cry,” he added.
Ed Tomba vowed prosecutors would “bring the full weight of justice” on those responsible in the “horrific case”.
Ariel Castro, 52, and his two brothers, Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50, have been taken into custody.
Amanda Berry disappeared in 2003 aged 16
Police Chief Michael McGrath said the women were believed to have been tied up at the house. Officials said they may also investigate other properties.
Amanda Berry, now 27, escaped on Monday evening when a neighbor heard her screaming and kicking a door, while her alleged captor was out of the house.
Rescuer Charles Ramsey said he had helped kick in a metal door so that Amanda Berry could climb outside and phone police.
In a recording of Monday’s emergency call, Amanda Berry says: “I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been missing for 10 years. And I’m here. I’m free now.”
Amanda Berry identifies herself to the 911 dispatcher, saying she has been on the news for the past decade, and begging for help to arrive before her captor returns.
Police Chief Michael McGrath told Tuesday’s news conference: “Thankfully, due to Amanda’s brave actions these three women are alive today.”
Neighbor Anna Tejeda said she had refused to believe the young woman at first.
“You’re not Amanda Berry. Amanda Berry is dead,” she said, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Other neighbors in the working-class district said they did not realize anybody was living at the house at 2207 Seymour Ave.
During the news conference, Public Safety Director Martin Flask said that in March 2000, Ariel Castro had called the authorities to report a fight on his street, but no arrest was made.
In January 2004, police called at Ariel Castro’s home, but no-one answered. They were alerted by children’s services after a child was left at a depot on a school bus that Ariel Castro had been driving. Authorities concluded there had been no criminal intent.
Amanda Berry had last been heard from aged 16 when she called her sister on 21 April 2003 to say she would get a lift home from her job at a Burger King restaurant.
In 2004, Gina DeJesus – who is now 23 years old – was believed to have been on her way home from school when she went missing.
Their disappearances made local headlines in Cleveland, and many assumed the girls were dead.
The case of Michele Knight, who was older than the other women when she disappeared and is now 32, was less widely publicized.
Her grandmother, Deborah Knight, was quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper on Monday as saying the authorities concluded she had run away.
The victims’ families have responded with stunned joy. Sylvia Colon, a relative of Gina DeJesus, said they had never given up hope.
But Amanda Berry’s mother, Louwana, died in March 2006, three years after her daughter went missing. A local politician said the mother had died of a “broken heart”.
In an extraordinary twist, it emerged that Ariel Castro’s son – also called Ariel, although he goes by his middle name Anthony – wrote an article about the disappearance of Gina DeJesus for his local newspaper in 2004.
Police have not commented on the case of a fourth missing girl, Ashley Summers, who disappeared in the same area in July 2007 when 14 years old.
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Anthony Castro – son of Ariel Castro, the prime suspect in the abduction of three Cleveland girls – interviewed missing Gina DeJesus’ mother for a local newspaper, with no idea she was being held captive at his father’s house.
Anthony Castro, 31, said he was absolutely stunned when he heard about what his father has been accused of, after Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michele Knight and Amanda’s six-year-old daughter were rescued from his home.
After the disappearance of Gina DeJesus in April 2004, Anthony Castro penned a piece for his local paper which included quotes from her mother.
He was a journalism student at Bowling Green State University when he wrote the article, entitled Gina DeJesus’ disappearance has changed her neighborhood, for the Plain Press in June of that year.
Gina DeJesus’ mother Nancy Ruiz told him: “You can tell the difference. People are watching out for each other’s kids. It’s a shame that a tragedy had to happen for me to really know my neighbors.
“Bless their hearts, they’ve been great. People are really looking out for my daughter.”
The aspiring journalist described the atmosphere of the area after the incident.
Anthony Castro interviewed Gina DeJesus’ mother for a local newspaper, with no idea the girl was being held captive by his father
“Since April 2, 2004 , the day 14-year-old Gina DeJesus was last seen on her way home from Wilbur Wright Middle School, neighborhood residents have been taken by an overwhelming need for caution.
“Parents are more strictly enforcing curfews, encouraging their children to walk in groups, or driving them to and from school when they had previously walked alone.
“On Cleveland’s west side, it is difficult to go any length of time without seeing Gina’s picture on telephone poles, in windows, or on cars along the busy streets.
“One thing is for certain, however. Almost everyone feels a connection with the family, and Gina’s disappearance has the whole area talking.”
Anthony Castro also mentioned Amanda Berry in his article, saying: “They feel the disappearance of Amanda Berry on April 21, 2003, was a wake-up call, but Gina’s case really caught everyone’s attention.”
He had no idea the answer to her whereabouts, and that of two other local girls, lay in his father’s house, which he said he was never allowed inside.
Anthony Castro said: “I last saw my dad two weeks ago, it was at the house, but he didn’t let me in.
“He never did. I was never invited inside. The last time was several years ago and even then it was for about 20 minutes.
“If I had known anything about this, there is no way I could have not done something about it. I wrote about it ten years ago and now it is so close to my family. It’s unbelievable.
“I can express nothing but shame for our family. It is just beyond anything that we can speak about. It’s just a nightmare. I feel unspeakably horrible for the victims.”
It also emerged today that Anthony Castro’s sister Emily was jailed for 25 years in 2008 for the attempted murder of her 11-month-old baby.
Emily Castro, 24, tried to slash her daughter Janyla’s throat in April 2007 after she broke up with the child’s father.
Court documents state that police were called to Emily Castro’s home in Fort Wayne, Indiana – where she moved after she became pregnant – when a passerby saw a woman running out to the street with a bleeding baby in her arms.
The woman was Emily Castro’s mother, Grimilda Figeroa, who told police that her daughter stabbed her own child.
When officers went to the home, they found Emily Castro covered in mud, water and blood.
Emily and Anthony’s father Ariel Castro, 52, was arrested on Monday after one of his alleged victims, Amanda Berry, escaped his home and called police.
Neighbors in the street were shocked to hear that Ariel Castro, who was a school bus driver in the Cleveland area until last year, could be capable of abducting three innocent teenagers from the street and tying them up with chains in his basement.
Ariel Castro’s Facebook page depicts a man with a passion for motorcycles and the bass guitar.
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Ohio authorities have released pictures of the three Castro brothers arrested after three missing women – Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight – were found at a Cleveland home where they had allegedly been held captive for a decade.
The mugshots of Ariel Castro, 52, who owned the property, and his brothers Onil, 50, and Pedro, 54, emerged as police sources claimed the women reportedly had multiple pregnancies at the home.
At least five babies were born at the house, while one of the victims, Amanda Berry, suffered as many as three miscarriages because she was so malnourished, police sources told NewsChannel5.
Ariel Castro and his brothers Onil and Pedro were arrested for kidnapping Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight a decade ago
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, and it is not clear whether a 6-year-old girl who was found alive there on Monday is among the number cited by sources.
The girl was found after her mother, kidnap victim Amanda Berry, 26, climbed through a screen door on Monday afternoon while her alleged captor was out and fled to a neighbor’s home to call 911.
When police arrived minutes later, they found Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michele Knight, 32, who had also been missing for a decade, along with the young girl.
At the press conference, authorities confirmed that the little girl was born to Amanda Berry while she was in captivity, but it is not known which of the three suspects – if any – is the father.
Today police praised Amanda Berry, who went missing a day before her 17th birthday in 2003, for escaping and alerting authorities to the two other women at the home.
“The real hero here is Amanda,” Cleveland Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
“She came out of that house and that started it all.”
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Charles Ramsey, the neighbor credited with saving three young women held captive in a Cleveland home for a decade, said he heard desperate screams and then kicked through a door to help one escape.
Charles Ramsey said he was eating a McDonald’s meal when he heard the cries, ran over to investigate holding a Big Mac and then came face to face with Amanda Berry, who was last seen in 2003 aged 16.
He told WEWS-TV: “I heard screaming, and I see this girl going nuts trying to get outside [of the house].
“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>>.”
Charles Ramsey said he didn’t immediately process that it was the same Amanda Berry who had disappeared from the neighborhood 10 years ago.
Charles Ramsey is the neighbor credited with saving three young women held captive in a Cleveland home for a decade
Soon afterwards, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were also found alive on inside the house.
When Charles Ramsey helped Amanda Berry out of the house, she was holding a young child, and there were other children in the home.
Charles Ramsey added: “I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway.”
Ariel Castro, 52, has been arrested and is in police custody in connection with the kidnapping case along with his two unnamed brothers, who are 50 and 54.
Charles Ramsey said: “When she told me, it didn’t register until I got the call to 911 and I’m like, <<I’m calling 911 for Amanda Berry? I thought this girl was dead>>.”
He handed Amanda Berry the phone, and she told police that she had been held captive in the home and to send help.
Also found in the home were two more women who had been reported missing at around the same time – Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. All three appeared to be in good health.
Dr. Gerald Maloney, of Cleveland MetroHealth Center, told reporters: “They’re safe… We’re in the process of evaluating medical needs. They appear to be in fair condition at the moment.”
Gina DeJesus vanished in 2004, while Michelle Knight was last seen in 2002.
There were also several children in the home.
When police arrived, officers asked Charles Ramsey if he knew who he rescued.
The revelations shocked Charles Ramsey, who said that he has known Ariel Castro and the two often spent time together.
He told NewsNet5: “I’ve been here a year. I barbeque with this dude, we eat ribs and what not and listen to salsa music. Not a clue that that girl was in that house or that anyone else was in there with.”
Charles Ramsey added: “He’s somebody you look and then you look away because he’s just doing normal stuff. You got some big testicles to pull this one off because we see this guy every day.”
Amanda Berry disappeared at age 16 on April 21, 2003, one day before her 17th anniversary, when she called her sister to say she was getting a ride home from her job at a Burger King.
Gina DeJesus went missing at age 14 on her way home from school about a year later.
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The three missing women in Cleveland who were abducted a decade ago were all last seen on the same busy block in the city.
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.
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 Amanda Berry bolted from a home on Seymour Avenue, about three miles from where they were last seen.
Amanda Berry 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 three missing women in Cleveland who were abducted a decade ago were all last seen on the same busy block in the city
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.
The story of Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus’ 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 Knight’s case was less high profile – police told her family that she had probably run away of her own accord after her son was taken away from her, so the search effort was less concentrated.
Amanda Berry’s mother Louwanna Miller died in March 2006 aged just 44 after the years of her daughter’s disappearance had taken a toll on her deteriorating health. Local news reports said that she “died of a broken heart”.
Amanda Berry’s sister has continued to keep the case in the public’s attention since their mother died, and she has worked closely with the DeJesus family.
Last year, Gina DeJesus’ 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,” Nancy Ruiz said.
Last night Ariel Castro’s neighbor Charles Ramsey described the amazing moment he became the first person to see Amanda Berry – who gave birth in captivity – since 2003.
“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,” he said.
“She comes out with a little girl and says <<Call 911, my name is Amanda Berry>>.”
Charles Ramsey continued: “When she told me, it didn’t register until I got the call to 911 and I’m like, <<I’m calling 911 for Amanda Berry? I thought this girl was dead>>.”
He handed Amanda the phone, and she told police that she had been held captive in the home and to send help.
The three women were rescued and taken to an area hospital where they were receiving treatment.
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Ariel Castro has been identified as the prime suspect in the astonishing kidnapping case of three women held captive for ten years in Cleveland and he has been taken into custody – as well as two of his own brothers.
Ariel Castro, 52, of Cleveland, Ohio was arrested on Monday after one of the alleged victims, Amanda Berry escaped his home and called police.
He was a school bus driver in the Cleveland area, according to reports.
Only Ariel Castro lived at the home. The brothers lived elsewhere, police told reporters.
Ariel Castro has been identified as the prime suspect in the astonishing kidnapping case of three women held captive for ten years in Cleveland
Ariel Castro’s Facebook page depicts a man with a passion for motorcycles and the bass guitar.
His last post to the social networking site on May 2 says: “Miracles really do happen, God is good :)”
Cleveland’s police chief said on Monday night that the victims were tied up in the house where they were found and had been there since they disappeared.
The county prosecutor joined dozens of police officers and sheriff’s deputies at the scene as they began searching the house late Monday.
Authorities say the women have been taken to a hospital to reunite with relatives and seem to be in good health.
Michelle Knight had been missing since 2002, Amanda Berry since 2003 and Gina DeJesus since 2004.
Remarkably, Ariel Castro’s son – also named Ariel who now goes by “Anthony” – penned an article for the Cleveland Plain Press about the disappearance of Gina DeJesus back in 2004.
Anthony Castro told WKYC-TV reporter Sara Shookman: “This is beyond comprehension… I’m truly stunned right now.”
Also struck by the allegations, the suspects’ uncle, Julio Castro, told CNN: “I never want to see them again.”
Police didn’t immediately provide any details of how the women were found but said they appeared to be in good health and had been taken to a hospital to be reunited with relatives and to be evaluated.
They said a 6-year-old girl also was found in the home.
On a recorded 911 call Monday, Amanda Berry declared: “I’m Amanda Berry. I’ve been on the news for the last 10 years.”
The woman said she had been taken by someone and begged for police officers to arrive at the home on Cleveland’s west side before he returned.
“I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been missing for 10 years,” Amanda Berry told the dispatcher.
“And I’m here. I’m free now.”
Amanda 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.
Gina 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 disappeared.
Police said Michelle Knight went missing in 2002 and is 32 now. They didn’t provide current ages for the other two women.
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Three women from Ohio, who were abducted more than a decade ago, have been found alive in the basement of a house in Cleveland – where they were apparently held captive in chains.
Amanda Berry, 26, and Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, escaped from the Cleveland house just a few miles from the city where they disappeared.
The extraordinary rescue came after Amanda Berry, who went missing at the age of 16, screamed for help when their captor left the house and she was found by a neighbor who helped her to call 911.
Amanda Berry disappeared aged 16 in 2003
Amanda Berry 911 call transcript
Amanda Berry: Help me, I’m Amanda Berry.
Operator: Do you need police, fire or ambulance?
Amanda Berry: I need police.
Operator: OK, and what’s going on there?
Amanda Berry: I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been missing for 10 years. And I’m here. I’m free now.
Operator: OK, and what’s your address?
(The operator tries to figure out where she is.)
Amanda Berry: I’m across the street. I’m using their phone
Operator: OK, stay there with those neighbors and talk to the police when they get there.
(The operator repeats her instructions several times.)
Amanda Berry: OK, are they on their way right now? I need them now.
Operator: We’re gonna send them as soon as we get a car open.
Amanda Berry: No, I need them now before he gets back.
Operator: All right. We’re sending them, OK?
Amanda Berry: OK. I mean, like, right now.
Operator: Who is the guy who went out?
Amanda Berry: His name is Ariel Castro.
Operator: All right. How old is he?
Amanda Berry: He’s like 52.
Operator: All right, and a…
Amanda Berry: And I’m Amanda Berry. I’ve been on the news for the last 10 years.
Operator: OK, I got that, dear… what is his name again?
Amanda Berry: Uh, Ariel Castro.
Operator: And is he white, black or Hispanic?
Amanda Berry: Uh, he’s Hispanic.
Operator: What’s he wearing?
Amanda Berry: I don’t know cause he’s not here right now. That’s how we got away.
Operator: When he left, what was he wearing?
Amanda Berry: (Indistinguishable)
Operator: The police are on the way. Talk to them when they get there.
Amanda Berry: OK.
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Three young women – Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight – who vanished in separate incidents about a decade ago in Ohio have been found alive in a house in Cleveland.
Amanda Berry disappeared aged 16 in 2003, Gina DeJesus went missing aged 14 in 2004, and Michele Knight disappeared in 2002 aged around 19.
Their discovery followed a dramatic bid for freedom by Amanda Berry on Monday, helped by a neighbor.
Three brothers have been arrested in connection with the case.
Cleveland police said the suspects are Hispanic, aged 50, 52 and 54, and one of them had lived at the house on Seymour Avenue.
One was named as Ariel Castro, who has worked as a school bus driver.
Police have said a six-year-old girl was also found at the home. They have not revealed any further details, although a relative of Amanda Berry said she told him she had a daughter.
The girls’ family reacted with shock and delight at news of their discovery, and many people gathered outside the home where they had allegedly been imprisoned.
“In all this time, 10 years, nobody never figured nothing about where she was at and this has come to an end and it’s right here on Seymour,” said Gina DeJesus’ uncle.
A doctor said the three women were in a fair condition and were being kept in hospital for observation.
“This isn’t the ending we usually hear to these stories,” said Dr. Gerald Maloney in a brief news conference outside Metro Health hospital in Cleveland.
“We’re very happy.”
Speaking amid cheers from spectators, he added the women were able to speak to hospital staff but he declined to give further details.
The disappearances of Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus had been big news in Cleveland, and many had assumed them to be dead.
Little was made of the disappearance of Michelle Knight, who was older than the other two girls.
Her grandmother, Deborah Knight, was quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper on Monday as saying that the authorities concluded she had run away.
The dramatic events unfolded after Amanda Berry attempted to flee the house when her alleged captor went out.
Amanda Berry disappeared aged 16 in 2003, Gina DeJesus went missing aged 14 in 2004
Neighbor Charles Ramsey said he heard screaming.
“I see this girl going nuts trying to get outside,” he told reporters.
He said he suggested the woman open the door and exit, but she told him it was locked.
“We had to kick open the bottom,” he said.
“Lucky on that door it was aluminium. It was cheap. She climbed out with her daughter.”
Both Charles Ramsey and Amanda Berry called 911.
In her frantic call, released to the news media, Amanda Berry told the operator: “I’m Amanda Berry. I’ve been kidnapped. I’ve been missing for 10 years. I’m free. I’m here now.”
She identified her kidnapper as Ariel Castro and said other women were in the house.
Charles Ramsey said he was stunned by the developments. He said he had shared barbeques with Ariel Castro and never suspected a thing.
“There was nothing exciting about him… well, until today,” he said.
Amanda Berry at the Cleveland Hospital alongside her sister and the daughter that she gave birth to during the 10 years she was held against her will
An uncle, Julio Castro, who has a shop nearby, confirmed his nephew had been arrested, and said Ariel Castro had worked as a school bus driver. The Cleveland school district confirmed he worked for them, but did not give specifics.
“I am thankful that Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight have been found alive,” Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said.
“We have many unanswered questions regarding this case and the investigation will be ongoing.”
Amanda Berry was last heard from when she called her sister on 21 April 2003 to say she would get a lift home from work at a Burger King restaurant.
In 2004, Gina DeJesus was said to be on her way home from school when she went missing.
Their cases were re-opened last year when a prison inmate tipped off authorities that Amanda Berry may have been buried in Cleveland. He received a four-and-a-half-year sentence in prison for the false information.
Amanda Berry’s mother, Louwana, died in March 2006, three years after her daughter’s disappearance.
Although much is still not yet known about this case, it recalled a series of recent high-profile child abduction cases.
Jaycee Lee Dugard was 11 years old when she was dragged into a car as she walked to a bus stop near her home in South Lake Tahoe, California in 1991.
She was discovered in August 2009, having spent 18 years held captive in the backyard of Phillip and Nancy Garrido in Antioch, some 170 miles from South Lake Tahoe. She had two children.
In Austria, Natascha Kampusch was abducted on her way to school at the age of 10. She was held for eight years by Wolfgang Priklopil in the windowless basement of a house in a quiet suburb of Vienna.
She managed to escape in 2006 while Wolfgang Priklopil was making a phone call. He committed suicide hours after she had fled.
Elizabeth Smart was 14 when she was taken from the bedroom of her Utah home in June 2002 and repeatedly raped during nine months of captivity.
She was rescued in March 2003 less than 20 miles from her home. Her abductor, Brian David Mitchell, was jailed for life in 2011.
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