In what might be one of the craziest stories of 2013, three Cleveland women have been rescued after being kidnapped by Ariel Castro, where they were beaten, sexually abused, and forced to live in fear for more than a decade.
Amanda Berry, Gina Dejesus and Michelle Knight were all kidnapped on the same street, however, in 2003, 2004, and 2002 respectively. On Monday, Berry attempted to make an escape with her 6-year-old daughter through the front door of her prison. That’s when bystander-turned-hero Charles Ramsey heard her cries, called the police, and helped her through the screen door.
While Ramsey has subsequently shot to internet stardom due to his charismatic personality, punchlines and, of course, heroism, the facts trickling down from the investigation are proving to be much more gripping…and gruesome.
Here are the latest updates in the bizarre case.
1. Ariel Castro Charged With Crimes
Today the Cleveland Police Department held a press conference to announce what charges would befall 52-year-old Ariel Casto after it was found that he kidnapped and held three women captive for 10 years.
The Cleveland City Prosecutor announced that Castro would be charged with four counts kidnapping, and three counts rape.
He also revealed that the three women were not kept in one room together, but did know about each other. No drugs were involved in keeping them captive, he said, and the only instance where there was an opportunity to escape was on Monday when Amanda Berry escaped through the front screen door.
At this point, there is no evidence connecting Onil and Pedro Castro with the kidnapping. It was also revealed that Ariel left a suicide note at the crime scene.
This story is developing.
2. Michelle Knight’s Photo Released
We’re getting a look at the third woman in the kidnapping case, who has been strangely absent from most news coverage, for the first time since the rescue came to light.
Michelle Knight, who was abducted in 2002, is now 32.
Details about her ordeal and her personal story are still developing. We’ll keep you updated on the latest.
3. The Women Were Chained & Forced To Walk On Leashes Like Dogs
The DailyMail is reporting that all three woman were chained by the neck and the waist and forced to spend most of the 10 years held captive in the basement, which was more of a dark dungeon. While the windows and doors in the house were boarded up, the women were allowed in the backyard, where a neighbor reportedly saw three women chained to leashes and walking on all fours like dogs. That neighbor also reported to police in 2004 that he saw a naked woman crawling on her hands and knees, and another neighbor heard pounding on the home’s doors and notices plastic bags over the windows.
Both times police showed up, but they never went inside.
Local police sources revealed last night that suspected kidnapper Ariel Castro would use a sick game to “train” the three girls not to run away by pretending to leave the house, only to beat them if they tried to run free. It was also revealed that at least one of the women was chained to the wall “like some kind of trophy,” according to CBS.
Mail Online has also obtained photographs of the fortified home; doors locked with padlocks that his family and friends were not allowed into. Check out the chilling photographs here.
4. Ohio Suspect’s Son Wrote About Kidnapping
In a weird twist to the kidnapping ordeal, the son of Ariel Castro, one of the three brothers in connection with the kidnapping, had previously written for a local paper about the incident involving Gina Dejesus (now 23).
Known as Anthony, the younger Ariel Castro was a journalism student at Bowling Green State University when he wrote a piece for the Plain Press in Cleveland about DeJesus, just weeks after she disappeared at age 14 in 2004. The Plain Press editor, Chuck Hoven, confirmed that Castro had been writing the assignment as a college assignment. “This is beyond comprehension,” Anthony Castro, now 31, told WKYC-TV in Cleveland. “I’m truly stunned right now.” DeJesus was discovered at the house where Castro lived, along with Amanda Berry, now 27 and missing since 2004, as well as Michele Knight, now 32 and missing since 2000.
It’s unclear if the younger Castro was aware of his families dark secret.
5. Was Gina Dejesus Kidnapped Because She Was Friends With Ariel’s Daughter?
Anthony Castro, son of Ariel, is spilling the beans on his father, saying that it’s conceivable that he abducted the youngest victim, Gina DeJesus, because she was a close friend of his daughter.
Anthony Castro, 31, exclusively told MailOnline that Gina DeJesus could have been abducted from a busy Cleveland street almost ten years ago because she knew him as her friend’s father. Arlene Castro, Anthony Castro’s little sister was the last person to see 14-year-old Gina her best friend, before her abduction in April 2004.
Antony said it was ‘conceivable’ that Gina got into Ariel Castro’s car instead of walking home because she recognized him as the father of her best friend.
“That’s one of the thoughts that went through my head because Gina disappeared in broad daylight on a very busy street. It’s probably the busiest street on the West side of Cleveland,” said Anthony Castro.
A year after DeJesus disappeared, Arlene Castro told America’s Most Wanted this:
“She [Gina] gave me 50 cents to call my mom — and my mom said no I can’t go over to her house. So I told her and she [Gina] said ‘ok’ and just walked. After Gina gave Arlene 50 cents to call her mom, she didn’t have enough money for bus fare and so began to walk home — but never made it.”
It was also revealed on Tuesday that Ariel Castro had attended vigils to pray for the safe return of the three missing women including his daughter’s best friend.
6. Amanda Berry’s 6-Year-Old Daughter Is Happy & Healthy
The little girl born to Amanda Berry during her time n captivity is said to be “happy and healthy,” despite her living conditions.
The girl, identified as Jocelyn, was one of the many pregnancies the women experienced over the years. Most ended in miscarriages, as the prisoners were too malnourished to carry full term. There are reports that investigators are looking for other babies, that may have been buried in the backyard.
Jocelyn’s father is believed to be one of the three suspects who were arrested on Monday. Authorities do not have a record of her birth and detectives are certain that she was born in the home in a small inflatable swimming pool. The little girl reportedly called one of the suspects “dad” and was taken out of the house occasionally to visit Ariel Castro’s mother, Lillian Rodriguez, who she called “grandmother.”
It has also emerged that Amanda Berry home-schooled her daughter — probably without the knowledge of the suspects, Ariel Castro, 52, and his two brothers Onil Castro, 50, and Pedro Castro, 54.
7. Amanda Berry’s Grandmother Speaks To Her For First Time in 10 Years
Watch the emotional video above at the three minute mark.
8. Cleveland Police Search For More Women
According to Fox News, Cleveland police are searching properties Wednesday morning near the home called a ‘house of horrors’ after they were reportedly alerted by one of the kidnap victims that there may be more women.
Details of a possible fourth victim came to light during police interviews with the oldest victim, Michelle Knight, who reportedly said there was another girl at the home about 10 years ago, but disappeared.
In 2007, Ashley Summers, a 14 year old, disappeared in the same neighborhood. Initially it was believed Summers was a runaway but a few years later, police saw a potential link with the other missing girls.
This story is developing.
