By Jueseppi B.
HOUSE OF HORRORS
Report: McKnight Delivered Berry’s Baby
about 2 hours ago May 8, 2013 8:14 PM EDT
More details emerge from their captivity and escape.
Michelle Knight was forced to deliver Amanda Berry’s baby as their alleged captor Ariel Castro stood nearby threatening to kill her if the baby died, according to a police report obtained by reporters. When the baby stopped breathing during birth, Knight put her mouth to the child’s and “breathed for her.” The report also details the moment of escape, when Castro forgot to lock the “big inside door” and Berry got the attention of neighbors. When the officers entered, Knight and Gina DeJesus threw themselves into police arms. Knight told police she was forced to abort five pregnancies.
Kidnapper Says Girls to Blame: Report
about 8 hours ago May 8, 2013 2:15 PM EDT
For getting in his car.
In a suicide note allegedly written several years ago by Ariel Castro, the suspected kidnapper of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight reveals who he thinks is responsible for their abduction: them. The 52-year-old, who is currently being held with his two brothers—Onil, 50, and Pedro, 54—says the teens are to blame for getting in his car. In the letter, first discovered by WOIO, the self-declared sex addict fails to acknowledge his own role in the crime, or even so much as mention the repeated sexual and physical abuse he had inflicted on the women.
Inside Cleveland Kidnapping Suspect Ariel Castro’s Facebook Life
about 8 hours ago by Brian Ries May 8, 2013 1:57 PM EDT
A Facebook page allegedly belonging to Cleveland kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro surfaced Wednesday morning. A look inside the page reveals a musician and loving grandfather—no sign of a monster who kept three women locked in his house as sex slaves.
Amanda Berry Returns Home
about 11 hours ago May 8, 2013 11:49 AM EDT
Police find chains and ropes in Castro house.
Amanda Berry, the 27-year-old woman who first broke free from Ariel Castro’s house and revealed that she and two other women had been held for more than a decade, returned home Wednesday. Meanwhile, new evidence indicated all three Cleveland women held in captivity for a decade were not only sexually and physically abused—they were also tied up, police announced Wednesday. “We have confirmation that they were bound, and there was chains and ropes in the home,” Chief Michael McGrath told NBC. Although their physical states were “very good,” McGrath says they were likely allowed outdoors only “once in a while.” The grisly details, initially discovered through interviews with the women, have been corroborated by evidence in the house. Ariel, Pedro, and Onil Castro—the three brothers accused of the crimes—are likely to be charged Wednesday.
They Let Him Drive a Bus?
about 12 hours ago by Steve Miller May 8, 2013 10:52 AM EDT
Ariel Castro, accused of kidnapping three Cleveland women, was a school bus driver with a long, long list of traffic infractions. Steve Miller digs up the suspect’s rap sheet.
Despite a driving record that included numerous points for moving violations and a move by the state to suspend his license, Ariel Castro drove a school bus for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District for over 20 years, before being fired in November 2012.
Records show Castro had numerous encounters with local police while driving, from illegal parking in July 1995 to failing to obey a traffic device in January 2001.
The infractions pose yet another question as to how Castro was able to carry on his life in a most average fashion, even as he allegedly held three women against their will in his modest four-bedroom, one-bath home on Cleveland’s west side.
CLEVELAND HERO
My Name Is Charles Ramsey
about 13 hours ago by Jake Heller May 8, 2013 9:47 AM EDT
See the best TV moments of Charles Ramsey.
We first met Charles Ramsey, the hero who rescued three Cleveland women from close to a decade of captivity, in this amazing interview. His plain white T-shirt counterbalanced his colorful personality, and Ramsey’s intensity and wit shone through as he described his decisive actions. But first, he mentioned his meal at McDonald’s. Delicious.
The interview made him an Internet celebrity. Before long, “Charles Ramsey” was trending on Twitter, YouTubers were paying him Auto-Tuned homage, and Antoine Dodson was welcoming him into the pantheon of hilariously expressive local TV interview subjects.
(Here’s the requisite Gregory Brothers auto-tune:)
Then, breaking news! In an interview with Cleveland’s Plain Dealer, Ramsey revealed that he had been eating a Big Mac when he heard Amanda Berry’s screams—and that he brought the Big Mac with him as he went to rescue her.
CLOSE TO HOME
What the Neighbors Saw
about 18 hours ago by Christine Pelisek May 8, 2013 4:45 AM
If three women were held hostage for 10 years on your block, would you notice? Christine Pelisek talks to shocked residents of Cleveland’s west side about the red flags they missed.
For many years, 52-year-old Ariel Castro was a neighborhood fixture on Seymour Avenue on Cleveland’s west side, greeting neighbors with a friendly, “Hello, God bless.”
“He would come home with these big ass bags of McDonald’s in his hands,” says Edwin Garcia, 19, who lives just down the street, of the former school bus driver. “We always just thought he was getting himself a big breakfast and lunch.”
What’s obvious now is that something much more sinister was going on inside the Castro home, where police say Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight were held as hostages ever since they vanished without a trace over a decade ago in their teens or early 20s.
BERRY’S DISPATCHER
When 911 Is a Jerk
a day ago by David Freedlander May 7, 2013 7:32 PM EDT
When Amanda Berry called 911 after being held captive for 10 years, the Cleveland dispatcher didn’t keep her on the line until police came—but quibbled over her address and rushed to get off the phone. David Freedlander on the blowback.
The voice was frantic, pleading, sounding even more frightened than the usual call to 911.
“Hello, police. Help me, I’m Amanda Berry. I’ve been kidnapped and I’ve been missing for 10 years, and I’m, I’m here, I’m free now.”
But one of the first people Berry reached out to after a decade in captivity didn’t comfort her, didn’t assure her that help was soon on the way, didn’t even keep her on the phone until police arrived.
(Reuters) – Cleveland resident Ariel Castro was charged on Wednesday with kidnapping and raping three women who were rescued from his house on Monday after nearly a decade in captivity.
Castro’s two brothers Pedro and Onil, originally arrested in the case, were not charged, said Cleveland city prosecutor Victor Perez at a news conference.
The charges came as police revealed that the women, who were rescued on Monday after one of them, Amanda Berry, fled with the help of a neighbor, had not seen any previous chances to escape in nearly ten years of captivity.
“The only opportunity, after interviewing the young ladies, to escape was the other day when Amanda escaped,” Cleveland Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said at the same news conference.
“They don’t believe that they’ve been outside that home for the last 10 years respectively,” he said.
“They were not in one room, but they did know each other and they did know each other was there,” he added.
Police said earlier that they found ropes and chains in the house that had been used to hold them prisoner. No human remains were found, they said.
Castro, 52, faces four counts of kidnapping relating to Berry, now 27, Gina DeJesus, 23, Michelle Knight, 32, and Berry’s 6-year-old daughter who was conceived and born during her mother’s captivity, authorities said.
A paternity test will be conducted to determine the girl’s father, Tomba said.
Castro is not a suspect in any other cases, he said.
Authorities were searching a second house in relation to the case, Tomba said.
Berry and DeJesus went to their families’ homes on Wednesday, while Knight was in a Cleveland hospital where a spokeswoman said she was in good condition.
The rape charges against Castro relate to Berry, DeJesus and Knight, the prosecutor said. He would be arraigned on Thursday morning, the prosecutor said.
Castro and his two brothers were arrested on Monday evening within hours of the women’s escape from his house.
However, there was no evidence Pedro Castro, 54, and Onil Castro, 50, were involved, the prosecutor said.
Investigators took some 200 pieces of evidence from the Castro house, which Tomba said was “in quite a bit of disarray.”
Neither Berry nor DeJesus spoke publicly as they were hustled inside their family’s homes, and relatives emerged instead to speak to the waiting crowds of spectators and media.
Berry and her daughter could be seen from an aerial television camera arriving in a convoy of vehicles at her sister’s house and going in the back door.
DeJesus was rushed into the home she had not seen in nine years, clenched in a tight embrace by her sister Mayra. DeJesus hid her face in a yellow hooded sweat-shirt but raised her hand in a thumbs-up sign to the crowd that was chanting “Gina. Gina.”
Her mother Nancy DeJesus came outside after a little while.
“I want to thank everybody that believed,” she said. “Even the ones that doubted, I still want to thank them the most because they’re the ones that made me stronger, the ones that made me feel the most that my daughter was out there.”
Before Monday evening, Berry had last been seen leaving her job at a fast-food restaurant the day before her 17th birthday in April 2003. Her disappearance as a teenager was widely publicized in the local media.
DeJesus vanished while walking home from school at age 14 in 2004, and Knight, 32, was 20 when she disappeared in 2002.
Born in Puerto Rico, Ariel Castro played bass in Latin music bands in the area. Records show he was divorced more than a decade ago and his ex-wife had since died. He is known to have at least one adult daughter and son.
(Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta, Barbara Goldberg; Writing by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Grant McCool, Toni Reinhold and Bernard Orr)
Thank you Reuters.
Beth Berry Serrano, the sister of kidnap victim Amanda Berry, speaks to the press after the arrival of Berry at her home May 8 in Cleveland. Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images
Neighbors and friends celebrate as Amanda Berry arrives at her sister’s home. Tony Dejak, AP
A police officer delivers balloons and flowers. Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images.
A poster of Amanda Berry is pinned on a tree outside the home of her sister, Beth Serrano, in Cleveland. Tony Dejak, AP.
Balloons hang on a street pole near the Burger King restaurant where Amanda Berry worked and was last seen a decade ago. Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images.
People decorate the family home of Gina DeJesus on May 7 in Cleveland. Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images.
An FBI forensic investigator removes evidence from a home owned by Ariel Castro. He and his two brothers are accused of kidnappings the three women. Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Image.
The family home of Gina DeJesus was decorated by well wishers. Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images.
People decorate the home belonging to Amanda Berry’s sister. Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images.
The front door is broken open at a home where three women who disappeared years ago were discovered alive. Bill Pugliano, Getty Image.
Sheriff’s deputies guard a house in Cleveland. Tony Dejak, AP.
Charles Ramsey, a neighbor, speaks to the media near the home on Seymour Avenue where three missing women were rescued. Ramsey helped Berry escape. Scott Shaw, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, via AP.
Latest revelations in Ohio captivity case
Robin Webb, USA TODAY8:03 p.m. EDT May 8, 2013
Cleveland homeowner Ariel Castro charged with kidnapping and rape, but two brothers not charged.
Ariel Castro, the man who owned the Cleveland home where three women escaped this week after nearly a decade of captivity, was charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape.
The kidnapping charges include the 6-year-old daughter of Amanda Berry, who was conceived and born in the house on the city’s west side. DNA tests are being conducted to determine the child’s father.
Castro will be arraigned Thursday morning.
His two brothers, Pedro and Onil, will not be charged. Cleveland prosecutor Victor Perez said there was no evidence they were involved in the crime or had any knowledge of it.
No other victims are expected from the case.
Other revelations:
• Berry and Gina DeJesus were welcomed back to their family homes. The third victim, Michelle Knight, remained hospitalized Wednesday.
• Berry was reunited with relatives at her sister’s home in Cleveland. Her sister, Beth Serrano, made a brief statement thanking the public for their support and requesting privacy so that Berry can “heal” and “recover.”
• DeJesus hid her face with a hoodie and gave a thumbs-up sign as she arrived home.
• DeJesus reportedly told investigators she was abducted when she accepted a ride home from school, according to NBC News.
• DeJesus is in “good sprits,” according to a CNN interview with a family member.
• DeJesus was a friend of Ariel Castro’s daughter as a young teen, WKYC-TV reports.
• Ariel Castro helped search for DeJesus when she went missing, and Castro was friends with the girl’s father, Khalid Samad, a friend of the DeJesus family, told the Associated Press. Samad also said Castro helped pass out missing-persons fliers.
• AP reported that Castro also comforted DeJesus’ mother at a candlelight vigil for her missing daughter.
• Victims’ family members told CNN that survivor Michelle Knight, the longest held captive, was “malnourished and weak.”
• Metro Health Hospital spokeswoman Tina Shaerban-Arundel confirmed Knight was still hospitalized Wedneday, in good condition.
• Cleveland Safety Director Martin Flask said no human remains had been found at the site where Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped. Authorities had been drawn to disturbed soil in the yard — and previously told WKYC-TV that the three women were forced to have sex with their captors, that the pregnant women were beaten and that the babies didn’t survive.
• One victim reportedly suffered up to three miscarriages because she was so malnourished, according to Cleveland’s WEWS-TV.
• One of the brothers is believed to have fathered the 6-year-old girl found at the home with Berry, now 27, according to Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba. DNA tests are being conducted to verify paternity.
• Berry give birth in an inflatable swimming pool inside the house, police told The Plain Dealer. The girl’s name is Jocelyn.
STORY: Disturbing tale of Cleveland captivity
• WKYC-TV reports Berry’s family is “excited” to meet their grandchild and is eager to “embrace Berry’s daughter as their own.”
• Police sources said the 6-year-old-girl was occasionally taken out of the house and would visit suspect Ariel Castro’s mother, Lillian Rodriguez, whom she called “grandmother.”
• The women were restrained by ropes and chains and occasionally had been allowed into the backyard, Police Chief Michael McGrath said.
• WKYC-TV spoke with Ariel Castro’s son, who said his father was “secretive” and that there were padlocks on doors to the attic, basement and garage in his father’s home. Castro’s son said he was not close to his father.
• Investigators are talking with relatives of at least one other missing woman from the neighborhood, AP reported. Ashley Summers, a 14-year-old girl, disappeared in 2007 near the house where Castro lives.
• McGrath told NBC’s Today show that the physical condition of the three women was “very good considering the circumstances” and the women were allowed in the backyard of the suspect’s home “once in a while.”
• McGrath said police did everything they could to find the women since they went missing, denying claims by neighbors that officers had been called to the house for suspicious circumstances from time to time in the past 10 years.
• Cleveland neighbor Israel Lugo said that other neighbors had seen women crawling on all fours behind Castro’s house, and that the men were controlling the women, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail Online.
• Suspect Ariel Castro speaks both English and Spanish. Brothers Pedro and Onil Castro speak only Spanish, according to WKYC-TV.
• FBI Special Agent Vicki Anderson told ABC-TV that the three woman “had a bond, that they had been through this together.”
Ariel Castro shared a status.
She gave birth to a wonderful baby boy. That makes me Gramps for the fifth time, (2boys 1girl 2boys. Luv you guys!
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Jueseppi B.
