Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

The nightmare is finally over.

The house of horrors where Ariel Castro held Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight captive for over a decade was torn down on Wednesday morning.

As spectators watched, including victim Michelle Knight, an excavator took several swipes at the Ohio home and it came crashing down. Knight arrived early Wednesday morning before the work began to make a brief statement and release yellow balloons into the air.

Family members of Gina DeJesus also attended the demolition, watching from across the street as the home where their loved one was brutally abused and raped was destroyed.

“It just felt great, knowing that it’s coming down,” DeJesus’ aunt, Peggy Arida told CBS Cleveland affiliate WOIO-TV.

Another of DeJesus’ aunts, Janice Smith, told WOIO-TV that she was “overwhelmed” from watching Wednesday morning’s events and said that the demolition was good news for DeJesus.

The house was torn down as part of a deal that spared Ariel Castro a possible death sentence. He instead received life in prison plus 1,000 years.

Here’s hoping that the demolition of Castro’s house of horrors will be the start of a new life for the victims in this heinous crime.

SOURCE: CBS