Two Castro brothers won't be charged for abduction of three Cleveland women who went missing ten years ago.
By H. Nelson Goodson
May 8, 2013
Cleveland, Ohio - On Wednesday, a prosecutor confirmed that Pedro Castro, 54, and Onil Castro, 50, 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, 52, while they all shared a house. The two brothers are being held on misdemeanor warrants for unrelated charges.
Ariel has been charged with seven felony counts in connection with the kidnapping and rape of Amanda Berry, 27, Georgina De Jesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 31. Berry has a daughter, Jocelyn, 6, and a DNA test will be conducted to determined if Ariel is the child's father. The child was born while Berry was held against her will.
City Prosecutor Victor Perez during a press conference on Wednesday announced that Ariel Castro was charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. Pedro Castro and Onil Castro were not charged in this case as no evidence was produced to the effect that the two knew off or had any involvement in the crimes.
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. 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, according Perez.
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, according Perez.
Knight had been pregnant five times by Ariel, but he punched her in the stomach to force a miscarriage each time.
