DeWine, Ohio State Attorney General confirmed that a preliminary DNA test shows Ariel Castro is Jocelyn's father.
By H. Nelson Goodson
May 10, 2013
Cleveland, Ohio - On Friday, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine confirmed that a preliminary DNA test showed kidnapping suspect, Ariel Castro, 52, is the father of Jocelyn, 6. Amanda Berry, 27, gave birth to Jocelyn on December 25, 2006 after being repeatedly raped by Castro.
DeWine news release stated, "that the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) received a sample of Castro's DNA late yesterday afternoon, and forensic scientists worked throughout the night to confirm that Castro is the father of the six-year-old girl born in captivity to one of the kidnapping victims.
"Castro's DNA profile was also compared to other DNA profiles submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). Castro's DNA did not match any other Ohio cases, however national results are pending through the FBI," according to DeWine.
On Thursday, Cuyahoga County District Attorney Timothy McGinty also confirmed that Ariel Castro is facing five counts of aggravated homicide in connection with Michelle Knight's, 31, repeated pregnancies during multiple sexual assaults in a ten year period when she was held against her will. Knight was starved by Ariel up to two weeks at a time and he allegedly punched her abdomen to induce miscarriages, according to the criminal complaint. If the murder charges are filed against Ariel for inducing miscarriages of a raped kidnapping victim, the death penalty can be sought, according to state.
He also impregnated Berry and Knight helped delivered her baby in 2006 inside a plastic water pool. Knight told police, that Ariel threatened to kill her, if Jocelyn had died as a newborn. Jocelyn briefly stopped breathing when she was delivered, but Knight resuscitated her.
Ariel has been charged with four counts of kidnapping, repeated abuse and three counts of aggravated rape of the women, including Georgina De Jesus, 23, for almost a decade. Judge Lauren Moore set a $8 million dollar bond for Ariel who was currently collecting weekly unemployment benefits. He was put in isolation and on a suicide watch.
Pedro Castro, 54, pled no contest to a 2011 open-container charged and was fined $100. Judge Moore dismissed several decade old charges for drug abuse and open-container against Onil Castro, 50. Both Pedro and Onil Castro were released and won't be charged with abduction of three women, since there is no evidence that they knew that the women were kidnapped and raped by their own brother, Ariel Castro.
On Monday, three missing women were rescued after Berry managed to release herself and screamed for help as she attempted to escape from a house at 2207 Seymour Ave. A neighbor, Charles Ramsey, 43, who was in his porch eating a burger heard Berry's frantic screams and went to help Berry escape.
But another man, Angel Cordero arrived first at Castro's door to help Berry and Ramsey came over to help as well. Ramsey then made a 911 call from Wintel Tejeda's home at 2210 Seymour Ave. Both, Cordero and Tejeda speak only Spanish and were missed by the mainstream media frenzy. The three men are being hailed as heroes. A reward offered for the missing women will probably be split in three. Ramsey wants to give his share to the victims.
Berry had been missing since 2003, De Jesus since 2004 and Knight since 2002. Berry and De Jesus have been reunited with their families. Knight remains hospitalized.
