Who is the suspect?
Ariel Castro
Age: 52
Occupation: Unemployed. Fired as school bus driver in November.
Arrested by police: May 6, 2013
Castro has owned the house at 2207 Seymour Ave., where the women were found, since 1992. He has nine brothers and sisters, and his deceased father owned a car lot off West 25th Street. He is the member of a large extended family that settled in Cleveland just after World War II, emigrating from Puerto Rico. The family has widespread business ties. Castro was a longtime bus driver for Cleveland Metropolitan School District, but was fired in November. Also, Castro was a part-time bass player who was known among the Cleveland music scene. The Castro family also had several connections to the family of victim Gina DeJesus, and DeJesus family members said they believe Castro was involved in the search for Gina when she disappeared in 2004. Castro was described by those that knew him as smart and funny, but also quiet and private, and he had a love for classic cars. However, court records and police reports indicate Castro was a man who struggled to control his temper. He was accused of attacking his former wife in 2005. Neighbors and others who knew Castro he was guarded about who could come in his home, and some said he only entered and exited the house through the back door. Police visited Castro's home twice, in 2000 and 2004, for unrelated incidents. Castro and his brother, Onil Castro, 50, were arrested at a McDonald's on West 33rd Street on Monday, May 6, 2013. Another brother, Pedro Castro, 54, was arrested at the Hyde Avenue home of the brothers' mother, Lillian Rodriguez. Onil, 50, and Pedro, 54, were not charged in connection with the abductions.
On Wednesday, May 8, 2013, Ariel Castro was charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. He wasarraigned the following morning in Cleveland Municipal Court and was held on $8 million bond. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty said he would pursue aggravated murder charges against Castro because of "terminated pregnancies" during the women's captivity. Asearch of a nationwide DNA database did not connect Castro to any other crimes. On May 15, the Associated Press reported that Castro intended to plead not guilty to the charges. Onil and Pedro Castro did have warrants on unrelated misdemeanor charges. Pedro was released on May 8 after pleading no contest to an open container charge filed in July 2011. He was fined $100. Onil was released on May 8 after Judge Lauren Moore dismissed charges of drug abuse and having an open container that were filed in November 2001. The brothers later told CNN they had nothing to do with what reportedly went on in Ariel Castro's home, and they would have reported him to police if they had known. Onil said he hopes Ariel "rots in that jail."
On Friday, June 7, a Cuyahoga County grand jury issued a 329-count indictment against Ariel Castro. Two counts of the indictment charge Castro with aggravated murder for "purposely and with prior calculation and design causing the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy." The indictments covered only the period from August of 2002, when the first of the three women discovered in his Seymour Avenue house disappeared, until February of 2007. Castro also was indicted on 139 counts of rape, 177 counts of kidnapping, seven counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of felonious assault and one count of possession of criminal tools.
On Wednesday, June 12, Ariel Castro pleaded not guilty to 329 charges in connection with the abductions and imprisonment of Berry, DeJesus and Knight. Castro did not speak and kept his head down during his appearance in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, and his lawyers entered his plea for him. One of his lawyers also indicated Castro would be willing to plead guilty to some of the charges if it meant he could avoid the death penalty. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty has said he will consider the death penalty in the case. The case was assigned to Judge Michael Russo. It was also revealed that Castro is being held in isolation in the Cuyahoga County Jail.
On Wednesday, June 19, Castro again appeared in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court for a pretrial hearing. Castro said little, answering "yes" and "no" to a few questions from Judge Russo and keeping his head down the entire time. Castro's attorneys, Jaye Schlachet and Craig Weintraub, concede that the evidence for some of the 329 charges against him is overwhelming. They have said Castro is willing to plead guilty to some of the charges to spare his victims from having to testify at trial. "There are definitely charges in this case we cannot dispute," Schlachet told reporters after the hearing. The thrust of his and Weintraub's work will be to prevent Castro from someday walking into the state's death chamber.
