Pedro and Onil Castro released, third brother, Ariel Castro facing the death penalty for five counts of homicide related to kidnapping victim's miscarriages.
By H. Nelson Goodson
May 9, 2013
Cleveland, Ohio - On Thursday, Cuyahoga County District Attorney Timothy McGinty confirmed that Ariel Castro, 52, is facing five counts of homicide in connection with Michelle Knight's, 31, repeated pregnancies during 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 punched her abdomen to induce miscarriages, according to the criminal complaint.
He also impregnated Amanda Berry, 27, and Knight helped delivered her baby in December 25, 2006 inside a plastic water pool. Knight told police, that Ariel threatened to kill her, if Jocelyn, 6, had died as a newborn. Jocelyn stopped breathing when delivered, but Knight resuscitated her.
Ariel was 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.
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, while they all shared a house.
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.
