Amanda Berry, missing since 4/21/2003 Cleveland, OH(Found Safe!)

[cookie]

I would be worried if Castro got out of jail that he old try to harm the 3 women that he kept captive! Or other women. I see no reason at all for this idiot to be on the streets ever again!

[MuffyBee]

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/Ohio-man-s-ex-relatives-describe-abusive-behavior-4503644.php
Ohio man's ex-relatives describe abusive behavior
May 9, 2013

CLEVELAND (AP) — A man accused of keeping three women captive in his run-down home for about a decade and raping them repeatedly had terrorized the mother of his children years earlier, beating her and locking her indoors, her relatives said Thursday.

In interviews with The Associated Press, relatives of Grimilda Figueroa, who left Ariel Castro years ago and died last year after a long illness, described Castro as a "monster" who abused her.
 
Among many beatings over the years, Castro shoved Figueroa down a flight of stairs, broke her nose several times and dislocated her shoulder, Caraballo said.

Castro kept her imprisoned inside her own home, locking the doors from the inside, Caraballo said. He forbade her from using the telephone and, after warning her not to leave, tested her to see if she obeyed, Caraballo said.

"He would go creeping downstairs, not telling her that he's home, spying on her," Caraballo said. "See who she's calling. Next thing you know, he'll pop upstairs."

Castro, to frighten his wife, kept a mannequin wearing a dark wig propped up against a wall, and once when she was returning home with her arms full of groceries he jumped into the doorway with it, frightening her so badly she fell and hit her head, Caraballo said.

In 1996, Castro hit Figueroa for the last time, family members said. Figueroa ran outside with one of her sons, crying out to neighbors, just as the captive women did on Monday, Caraballo said.

"The neighbors went across the street to get her," Caraballo said. "And that was the last time she ever stepped in the house.
 

[tupelohoney]

http://www.19actionnews.com/story/22211114/michelle-knight-recover-continues-in-the-hospital?fb_action_ids=525364080833963&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%22525364080833963%22%3A371456686308445%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22525364080833963%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D#.UYw8pU9V2xI.facebook

Michelle Knight: Recovery continues in the hospital
Posted: May 09, 2013 6:14 PM EDT
Updated: May 09, 2013 10:41 PM EDT

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -
19 Action News Chief Investigator Carl Monday has new and disturbing information about one of the women rescued on Seymour Avenue.

Michelle Knight is still being treated for anxiety at Metro Health Medical Center. But Carl Monday reports that Michelle is hospitalized, for possible reconstructive surgery, to heal injuries suffered at the hands of her attacker during her decade in captivity.

Michelle's grandmother, Deborah Knight, confirmed the information, telling 19 Action News:  "When she was severely beaten, he had beat her so bad in the face, she has to have facial reconstruction, and she's lost hearing in one ear."
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.19actionnews.com/story/22211114/michelle-knight-recover-continues-in-the-hospital?fb_action_ids=525364080833963&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%22525364080833963%22%3A371456686308445%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22525364080833963%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D#.UYw8pU9V2xI.facebook

Michelle Knight: Recovery continues in the hospital
Posted: May 09, 2013 6:14 PM EDT
Updated: May 09, 2013 10:41 PM EDT

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -
19 Action News Chief Investigator Carl Monday has new and disturbing information about one of the women rescued on Seymour Avenue.

Michelle Knight is still being treated for anxiety at Metro Health Medical Center. But Carl Monday reports that Michelle is hospitalized, for possible reconstructive surgery, to heal injuries suffered at the hands of her attacker during her decade in captivity.

Michelle's grandmother, Deborah Knight, confirmed the information, telling 19 Action News:  "When she was severely beaten, he had beat her so bad in the face, she has to have facial reconstruction, and she's lost hearing in one ear."
 

It appears Michelle Knight will have many challenges ahead in her life for healing to take place, both physically and mentally.  It's not only the years of living she's lost while held captive and the physical and mental abuse she endured, but the  lasting effects she may face the rest of her life.  I hope with time, care and help, she can regain her life and know happiness. 

[grace-land]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57583896/accused-cleveland-kidnapper-ariel-castro-father-of-captive-girl/

May 10, 2013, 11:22 AM 
Accused Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro father of captive girl
Updated at 11:40 a.m. ET

CLEVELAND The Ohio attorney general says tests have confirmed that alleged kidnapper Ariel Castro is the father of a 6-year-old girl rescued from his house with three women this week.

Attorney General Mike DeWine's office confirmed Castro's paternity in a news release Friday. DeWine says a sample of Castro's DNA was taken Thursday and forensic scientists worked through the night on the case.

The girl is the daughter of Amanda Berry, who authorities say was held for about a decade in Castro's house in Cleveland along with Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.
 

[grace-land]

So, he had "no exit plan" in how to deal with the kidnapping of the victims and expected to be caught.  It seems that the suicide letter was a way of excusing his evil deeds--that might be his exit plan for not taking responsibility for his actions. 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/10/ariel-castro-cleveland-abduction-cold-blood-kidnap/2149831/

Ariel Castro to cops: 'I'm coldblooded'
12 p.m. EDT May 10, 2013

CLEVELAND -- During interrogation with police, Ariel Castro, the man charged with kidnapping and raping three women over roughly 10 years, referred to himself as "coldblooded," addicted to sex and unable to control his impulses WKYC Channel 3 News has learned.

With exacting detail, Castro recalled the abductions of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, explaining how he met each victim and even what he was wearing that day, according to sources.
 
Meanwhile, in a suicide note discovered in his house by police, Castro blamed the girls for their abductions, writing that they were the ones who got into his car in the first place, the sources said. Castro did write that he wanted to give his money and possessions to the women if he was caught, the sources said.

The note appears to have been written in 2004, about the time police were investigating him on an apparently unrelated matter involving a child left on his school bus. In the note, he also mentioned his sex addiction, as well as having previously endured physical abuse as a child.

None of the abductions seemed planned, the sources said. Rather, they appeared to be crimes of opportunity.

Castro believed he would eventually be caught because he did not have "an exit plan" on how to deal with the three women and the girl he held captive in his Seymour Avenue home, the sources said. He just did not think it would be so soon.

In fact, Castro told police they had a chance to arrest him at one point but missed him, the sources said. It is unclear when that occurred.

In 2004, Cleveland Police knocked on Castro's door to investigate the case involving his school bus. A year later, a Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Deputy went to the home three times in an attempt to deliver a court summons.

Berry and DeJesus have returned home, while Knight remains hospitalized.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57583940/fbi-no-human-remains-found-in-cleveland-kidnap-suspects-house/
FBI: No human remains found in Cleveland kidnap suspect's house
May 10, 2013

CLEVELAND The FBI says it did not recover human remains in its search of a Cleveland house where a man is accused of holding three women captive for a decade.
FBI spokeswoman Vicki Anderson says investigators have for now concluded their search at the house where the women were found earlier this week.

Anderson said Friday that agents took more than 200 items from the house, though she wouldn't discuss what was found.

Prosecutors said Thursday they may seek the death penalty against suspect Ariel Castro. Police say he impregnated one of his captives at least five times and made her miscarry by starving her and beating her.

DeWine's office confirmed Castro's paternity in a news release Friday. DeWine said a sample of Castro's DNA was taken Thursday and forensic scientists worked through the night on the case.

Officials also were entering the DNA profile into a national database to see if it links him to other crimes. The profile didn't match any other Ohio cases, but national results were pending as of Friday morning, DeWine said.

The girl is the daughter of Amanda Berry, who authorities say was held for about a decade in Castro's house in Cleveland along with Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-ohio-kidnapping-michelle-knight-released-hospital-20130510,0,1721154.story
Ohio kidnapping victim Michelle Knight released from hospital
May 10, 2013

Michelle Knight, one of the three Cleveland women kidnapped and held captive for about a decade, has been discharged from the hospital where she had been receiving care.

In a statement emailed to reporters Friday, MetroHealth Medical Center said Knight had left the hospital and was asking for privacy.

“Michelle Knight is in good spirits and would like the community to know that she is extremely grateful for the outpouring of flowers and gifts. She is especially thankful for the Cleveland Courage Fund. She asks that everyone please continue to respect her privacy at this time,” the hospital said.
 
Video at Link

[Green Eyes]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-ohio-kidnapping-michelle-knight-released-hospital-20130510,0,1721154.story
Ohio kidnapping victim Michelle Knight released from hospital
May 10, 2013

Michelle Knight, one of the three Cleveland women kidnapped and held captive for about a decade, has been discharged from the hospital where she had been receiving care.

In a statement emailed to reporters Friday, MetroHealth Medical Center said Knight had left the hospital and was asking for privacy.

“Michelle Knight is in good spirits and would like the community to know that she is extremely grateful for the outpouring of flowers and gifts. She is especially thankful for the Cleveland Courage Fund. She asks that everyone please continue to respect her privacy at this time,” the hospital said.
 
Video at Link

I have read so many different stories on Michelle. Prayers that she is getting support. It sounds like the SOB used her for a punching bag.

[crazybabyborg]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-ohio-kidnapping-michelle-knight-released-hospital-20130510,0,1721154.story
Ohio kidnapping victim Michelle Knight released from hospital
May 10, 2013

Michelle Knight, one of the three Cleveland women kidnapped and held captive for about a decade, has been discharged from the hospital where she had been receiving care.

In a statement emailed to reporters Friday, MetroHealth Medical Center said Knight had left the hospital and was asking for privacy.

“Michelle Knight is in good spirits and would like the community to know that she is extremely grateful for the outpouring of flowers and gifts. She is especially thankful for the Cleveland Courage Fund. She asks that everyone please continue to respect her privacy at this time,” the hospital said.
 
Video at Link

I have read so many different stories on Michelle. Prayers that she is getting support. It sounds like the SOB used her for a punching bag.

I've read a lot about Michelle too, Green Eyes, and it's so sad. I wonder where she will go now that she is released from the hospital? 

[cookie]

Just read an article that Michelle is going to live with Gina. She wants nothing to do with her mother. She does want to see her 13 yr old son who was taken away from her as an infant.
She has led a sad life.
Not to be nasty about her mother but it seems that she did not do much to find Michelle. She went on to have another daughter Who is  10 yrs old. She moved and her neighbors and acquaintances never knew that she had a daughter who was missing! WTF!
Also, Michele's twin (?) brother was kicked out of the mothers house when he was 14. He did not know that his sister went missing until he heard it on the news. He has seen his sister.
I think that this mother senses that there could be a windfall for Michelle and this mom wants a piece of it...there is a reason why Michelle does not want to see this woman.all just my opinion.

[crazybabyborg]

Yeah, Cookie, there's a history there that's really sad. I don't know why her son was removed, but apparently the kidnapping took place shortly after that and apparently her Mother assumed she had run away. I can't help but think of the vigils held for the other 2 girls and how he made them watch them, and can't imagine how hard it was for Michelle to be aware there was no sign of anyone even looking for her. There were the big homecoming celebrations for the other two, and at first, nothing for Michelle.

Just sad all the way around.

[crazybabyborg]

I was listening to reporting on CNN earlier today and there's going to be a couple of interesting legal issues around this case. Castro's punishment has the potential to include the death penalty, if he's charged with, and convicted of, murder for the miscarriages he caused. However, that gets into pretty controversial territory. Some of the points discussed were:

If he is charged with murder for being responsible for miscarriage of a fetus, is there any implication there for abortion? Apparently Ohio has provision to charge murder for intentionally causing miscarriage against a pregnant woman, but there is a broader issue.

Can he be charged with kidnapping of the 6 year old, even though he is the Father? Does a rapist have parental rights?

[tupelohoney]

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/05/discovery_of_amanda_berry_gina_1.html

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight in Cleveland: Frequently asked questions

on May 09, 2013 at 12:45 PM, updated May 10, 2013 at 8:51 PM



Boy, everyone sure dropped the ball where Michelle was concerned.   

[grace-land]

http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/27348/20130510/mother-ariel-castro-apologizes-apology-flee.htm

Mother Of Ariel Castro Apologizes For Son's Kidnapping And Rapes Of Three Women; Says "I'm In A Lot Of Pain" As She Flees Country[VIDEO]
May 10, 2013 7:43 PM EDT

Lillian Rodriguez, the mother of Ariel Castro, spoke to reporters from the window of her car as she left her home. Her bags were packed and she was ready to flee the country.

"I am a mother in a lot of pain,' she said in Spanish. 'I am sorry for what my son has done."

She added that she is sorry for the mothers of the three women whom her son held hostage. Amanda Berry, 26, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32 were kidnapped by Castro allegedly raping and beating them for a decade.
 
Lillian Rodriguez shares her home with her other son Pedro, who was also arrested in connection with the kidnappings but who has not been formally charged.

Lillian sadly said, "We will get through this, our greatest concern is for those three girls,' she said. From one family to another, we feel your pain. I feel horrible that their families for their daughters for so many years. Those families always believe."

With tears in her eyes, she added that she never suspected Ariel's dark secret, calling him a loving cousin, father and son.

Another family member, Castro's daughter Arlene, also feels much sorrow for what her father did. She begs for forgiveness from Gina DeJesus, kidnapping victim and former her best friend.
 
 

[grace-land]

Video at the link

http://fox5sandiego.com/2013/05/10/he-is-dead-to-me-daughter-of-ohio-suspect-says/#axzz2T2fNTsw8

‘He is dead to me,’ daughter of Ohio suspect says
May 10, 2013

CLEVELAND (CNN) — Seldom does a daughter use such harsh words to describe her own father.

Ariel Castro’s daughter called him “the most evil, vile, demonic criminal” she ever heard of during a CNN exclusive interview Thursday.

“He is dead to me,” Angie Gregg said of the father police say kidnapped, held captive, raped and beat three young women in Cleveland for about a decade.

She had known her “daddy” as a “friendly, caring, doting man.”

Now shocked and in disbelief, Gregg says she never wants to see him again.

“There will be no visits; there will be no phone calls,” she said. “He can never be daddy again. I have no sympathy for the man.”

As she mulled the accusations against him, she asked, “How could you?”

“I wonder this whole time, how he could be so good to us, but he (allegedly) took young women, little girls, someone else’s babies, away from these families and over the years never felt enough guilt to just give up and let them free.”

Gregg did not think anything out of the ordinary was going on in her childhood home.

All that changed Monday when Amanda Berry broke loose. Police freed her fellow captives Georgina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, divulging the secret locked up inside the house at 2207 Seymour Ave.

When she first heard the news about their captivity, Gregg said, she “just wanted to die.”

She had known Berry and DeJesus from her school days.

Peculiarities she noticed about her father over the years started falling into place in a new, grim light, and they are making her feel “horrified,” she said.

“This was going on right under my nose.”

An odd place to visit
When she came calling, “he would take forever to come to the door,” she said. He always had the house locked up tight.

Standing at a window, Castro would often give her a hand signal indicating to her to wait. Then he’d wave her around to the back door, not letting her in through the front of the house.

Once inside, visits were fun and cordial. Gregg, her husband and Castro “ate, looked at photos and listened to music,” she said. “He appeared to be happy to see us and never rushed for us to leave.”

At times, he would disappear from dinner and give no explanation for his absence.

The music was usually turned up loud, but Gregg thought this to be fitting since Castro was a musician.

Once she asked if she could go upstairs to see her childhood bedroom. Castro coaxed her out of the idea, telling her, “Oh, honey, there’s so much junk up there. You don’t want to go up there,” she said.

Again, she thought nothing of it, “besides him being a pack rat.”

The basement was always locked.

Clinging to the house
The list of oddities continued.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2013/0511/Cleveland-kidnappings-Was-Ariel-Castro-record-of-abuse-a-red-flag

Cleveland kidnappings: Was Ariel Castro record of abuse a red flag?
May 11, 2013

 
Here’s the timeline for the Figueroa-Castro relationship, as recounted by Reuters:

In 1989, Castro pleaded no contest and was given a year of probation after Figueroa made a domestic violence complaint against him.

On Dec. 26, 1993, Castro was arrested after he came home drunk and began beating Figueroa, police said. Police gathered a detailed report, but when a grand jury considered the incident, Figueroa said she could not remember the abuse.

By 1997, Figueroa had been granted full custody of her and Castro's four children. And by then, she was in a new relationship with another man.

In 2005, Figueroa sought an order of protection against Castro, saying he had threatened to kill her and her children during the previous year and had "abducted" the children.

But that happened about the same time that two of her daughters accused her new partner of sexual abuse. The charges may have come about at the prompting of Castro, some sources say, but they resulted in a sentence of supervision for her partner.

Figueroa decided not to proceed with the request for a protection order, and decided to move to Indiana with her children.

She died last year, with a coroner saying the death was caused by an accidental overdose of painkiller.

[grace-land]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/11/could-ariel-castro-be-linked-to-the-1981-murder-of-tammy-seals.html

Could Ariel Castro Be Linked to the 1981 Murder of Tammy Seals?
May 11, 2013 4:45 AM EDT

 
Could more be on the way? The FBI and Cleveland police announced Friday that they will take a closer look at two cold cases in light of this week’s events: the disappearances of 18-year-old Christina Adkins in 1995 and 14-year-old Ashley Summers in 2007. When Summers vanished, authorities believed she might be linked to Knight and Castro’s two other known victims, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus.

To be sure, officials cautioned that no new information about either woman has emerged—rather, news of the Castro case has spiked interest in other similar disappearances.

But another group is making a more explicit connection between Castro and a heinous unsolved crime, this one a murder. The Ohio State Public Defender’s Wrongful Conviction Project, a state program charged with absolving wrongfully convicted felons, has opened a probe into the former schoolbus driver. The organization is looking into whether 52-year-old Castro may have been involved in the 1981 kidnapping, rape, and murder of 14-year-old Tammy Seals, who was found dead near the same neighborhood where Castro, then in his early 20s, was living at the time. Orlando “Chico” Morales was convicted of the crime 32 years ago, but the organization strongly believes he is innocent.
 
 

[Samantha]

I was listening to reporting on CNN earlier today and there's going to be a couple of interesting legal issues around this case. Castro's punishment has the potential to include the death penalty, if he's charged with, and convicted of, murder for the miscarriages he caused. However, that gets into pretty controversial territory. Some of the points discussed were:

If he is charged with murder for being responsible for miscarriage of a fetus, is there any implication there for abortion? Apparently Ohio has provision to charge murder for intentionally causing miscarriage against a pregnant woman, but there is a broader issue.

Can he be charged with kidnapping of the 6 year old, even though he is the Father? Does a rapist have parental rights?

On a news report on either HLN or CNN they discussed that issue.. They said that only some states have specific laws about a rapists rights to a child born from the rape. Ohio isn't one of those (or so they said)

They then discussed how they could use the fact that a rapist can't benefit from their crime but that they would probably more likely drop that charge of kidnapping (for the 6 year old) since they have so many other charges that will be coming and it will be a reach in relation to Ohio's current laws.

[klaasend]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/11/michelle-knight-facial-reconstruction_n_3260696.html

Michelle Knight May Need Facial Reconstruction Surgery, Grandmother Says

Posted: 05/11/2013 6:50 pm EDT

Michelle Knight, one of the 3 women held captive in a Cleveland home for a decade, was released from the hospital Friday.

But Knight has suffered such severe injuries that she may need facial reconstruction surgery, her grandmother, Deborah Knight, told CBS news.

"When she was severely beaten, he beat her so badly in the face that she has to have facial reconstruction and she's lost hearing in one ear," she told CBS.

Knight told police that her alleged captor, Ariel Castro, repeatedly raped her and caused her to miscarry at least 5 times over the years she spent trapped in his home by starving her and punching her in the abdomen, Reuters reported.

"Michelle Knight is in good spirits and would like the community to know that she is extremely grateful for the outpouring of flowers and gifts," the Metro Health hospital wrote on its Facebook page earlier Friday, along with an appeal to respect Knight's privacy.