Ariel Castro’s two brothers, Onil and Pedro Castro, were initially apprehended because they were with brother Ariel at the time of the arrest, but have since been released, much to the chagrin of observers, after investigators believe Onil and Pedro Castro had no knowledge and no participation in this heinous crime.
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were forced to have sex with their captor, resulting in up to six pregnancies and one live birth.
WKYC-TV, a NBC affiliate in Cleveland, reports that one of those sources says that Ariel Castro would beat the pregnant girls. Both sources told the station the babies did not survive.
Another woman, currently unidentified, may have also been held with the three survivors, Fox News said, citing law enforcement sources. “Knight told police that there was another woman in the home when she got there, but one day she woke up and the woman was gone, ” the station reported. “There is writing on the wall in the basement which includes the name of a female and says, ‘Rest In Peace,’ but police do not know if that is related to the case at this time.”
The same report says that Knight and the two other adult survivors appear malnourished.
The women were all rescued Monday night, after a neighbor heard Amanda screaming from inside the home.
In addition, Berry’s 6-year-old daughter was also saved.
Berry vanished without a trace on April 21, 2003, a day before her 17th birthday. She’s now 27.
Jesus had been missing since April 2, 2004. She’s now 23.
Thirty-two-year-old Michelle Knight, who was last seen in 2002 at age 21, vanished after leaving her cousin’s house.
Police arrested Ariel Castro, 52, a former school bus driver, who owned the home at 2207 Seymour Avenue. His two brothers — Onil Castro, 50 and Pedro Castro, 54 — also were taken into custody briefly but have not been charged in this case.
