Attorneys for Ariel Castro, the man accused of kidnapping and imprisoning three women and a child for periods ranging from six to eleven years, say he will plead not guilty to the kidnapping and rape charges he faces. Strangely, they also seem to admit that Castro fathered the six-year-old child found with Amanda Berry and two other women last week, telling WKYC-TV that Castro loves his child “dearly.” (Photo via The Guardian) source
The saga of [Ariel] Castro and his alleged crimes is peppered with what-ifs. During the period that he is accused of holding the young women captive, authorities appeared at his home several times but never discovered the abducted women.Washington Post reporters Manuel Roig-Franzia, Jerry Markon and Luz Lazo • In a long, in-depth piece describing the alleged crimes of Ariel Castro and the young women he abducted. There were many warning signs — including a home relatives described as creepy before the abductions took place and an ongoing domestic violence case that a grand jury refused to hear. It’s a dark story, but read this one to the end. In related news, his brothers have spoken out about the incident, saying they were unaware of what was happening.
Michelle’s grandmother, Deborah Knight, confirmed the information, telling 19 Action News: “When she was severely beaten, he had beat her so bad in the face, she has to have facial reconstruction, and she’s lost hearing in one ear.”
Records obtained by Carl Monday investigations show Michelle may have faced physical abuse before she was kidnapped. Records show David Feckley was charged and convicted in the early 2000’s of child endangerment, for breaking Michelle’s infant son’s arm. He served eight years in prison. But a rape charge was dropped when the alleged victim, Michelle, couldn’t be found. Of course, now we know where she was: on Seymour Avenue.
Michelle wasn’t seeing visitors Thursday, not even her family. Yesterday, her mom, in from Naples, Florida, met with Michelle briefly at the hospital. But a relative told us the meeting was strained, and Michelle asked her mom to leave.
Meanwhile, main suspect Ariel Castro is confirmed to be the father of Amanda Berry’s child through DNA testing, according to the state of Ohio. He may face the death penalty for the crimes; despite initial reports suggesting otherwise, police say his brothers were not involved.
The Cleveland man credited with helping free female captives from a house of horrors is a convicted felon whose rap sheet includes three separate domestic violence convictions that resulted in prison terms, court records show.
Cleveland Hero Was A Repeat Domestic Abuser | The Smoking Gun
Of course. This is America. We don’t get to have nice things.
Check out the comments. Nearly everyone has criticized The Smoking Gun for digging up dirt on the guy. One person put it best: “Once in awhile, people on the internet make me proud. I’m so thrilled that virtually all of the comments on this post point out that this was totally unnecessary.”
The search for Amanda Berry is over. For the past two days, excavating crews dug through an empty lot after receiving a tip from a convict who claimed he knew where the missing teen was buried.
Around 2:30 Friday afternoon, crews completed their search at a small lot on West 30th Street and Wade Avenue in Cleveland, but were not able to locate any remains.
Cleveland resident Pedro Castro said, “That’s a waste of money.”
Berry was found in the home of Castro’s brother Ariel, along with two other women. (via David Putney)
UPDATE: As was reported about a day after we posted this, Ariel Castro is the main suspect and his brothers were not charged as there is no evidence they were involved.
These individuals need the opportunity to heal and connect back into the world. This isn’t who they are. It is only what happened to them. The human spirit is incredibly resilient. More then ever this reaffirms we should never give up hope.Jaycee Dugard’s statement on the release of the Ohio women found last night after then went missing for a decade. The three women—Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight—were reunited with their families this morning after being released from the hospital.
The frantic, harrowing audio from the 911 call made by Amanda Berry, one of the three women rescued Monday after a decade in captivity. (via Cleveland Plain Dealer)
They don’t find people who go missing, you know. I’m at a loss for words.Cleveland resident Kayla Rogers • Expressing utter surprise that a childhood friend of hers, Gina DeJesus, was found—alive—along with two other women who went missing during the period between 2002 and 2004. DeJesus, the youngest of the three women, went missing when she was just 14. Amanda Berry was only 17 when she went missing after her shift at Burger King, and Michelle Knight, then 22, was last seen at a cousin’s home. The three women, now 23, 27 and 32, respectively, were found in the home of 52-year-old Ariel Castro, who was arrested in the wake of the discovery. Police found the women after Berry called police Monday afternoon. Too soon to know all the details, but this has some serious shades of the Jaycee Dugard story.
I’m not going to let them close her casket … They’re going to have to look at what the police did to my child.Martha Mae Williams, whose daughter was killed in Cleveland when police fired 137 shots into the vehicle she was in after the driver led police on a 25-minute car chase. Both Williams’ daughter and the driver were killed. According to Mansfield Frazier (see article at the link), records released after the incident suggest that police personnel violated numerous protocols, including department rules against involving more than two police cruisers in a chase, and ignoring direct orders to terminate pursuit of the vehicle. (via letterstomycountry)
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It was kind of like a waterslide. But like the waterslide was like very, very steep and went about 20 miles an hour.14-year-old Parma, Ohio resident Jeffrey LaPorta • Describing the trip he took through a series of drain pipes on Tuesday, as he feel into a giant puddle during a major rain storm and was sucked into the drain. He traveled over a quarter-mile and held his breath for nearly two minutes before finding a spot with breathing room where he could await rescue. ”I thought I traveled only 20 feet,” he said regarding the 1,500-foot ride.
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