ARIEL CASTRO
ARIEL CASTRO
10 July 1960 - 3 September 2013
True Crime
           Ariel Castro kidnapped three young women, Michelle Knight, 21 (2002), Amanda Berry, 17, (2003) and Gina DeJesus, 14, (2004) and kept them inside his home in Cleveland, Ohio. He kidnapped them by luring them into his vehicle after offering them a lift and once inside his home he restrained them. He abused them and raped them; Berry gave birth to a daughter in 2006. Knight had a pet dog in captivity, which Castro killed after the dog tried to protect her.
           On 6 May 2013, Berry was able to escape with her daughter, aged 6. Castro left the house that day and forgot to lock one of the doors; Berry attempted to escape from one of the doors but had problems escaping from the second door. She screamed for help, neighbour Charles Ramsey approached the door and kicked out the door’s bottom panel. He called the police and when they arrived they went inside the house and found Knight and DeJesus, all three victims were taken to hospital.
           Castro was arrested at a McDonald’s parking lot not long after the women were rescued. Castro was charged on numerous charges. He pled guilty, was found guilty of his crimes, and got life inprison. In court Castro deflected the blame of his crimes on his victims and the police, he stated he was a ‘good person’ and made allegations he never harmed a woman in his life and that the sex he had with the victims was ‘consensual’. He also stated the girls weren’t virgins when he first had sex with them. He then blamed the FBI and police for failing to catch him and blamed his victims for getting inside his car. Castro, 53, took his own life inside his cell in Ohio in 2013, one month into his life sentence.
           Berry and DeJesus became close in the house, Knight was the outsider in the group. Knight said that she would like to reunite with Berry and DeJesus in the future but they all need to get their own lives back on track.
           Castro had a history of domestic violence with his ex-partner, he worked as a school bus driver until he was fired in 2012. His family members noticed how Castro had numerous rooms inside his home locked. Castro’s house was demolished in 2013. His daughter Emily attempted to take her baby’s life in 2007 and is now serving a prison sentence. Castro’s nephew Jeremi J. Alicea was arrested with child offences in 2014 and is also is spending time behind bars.
#arielcastro #michelleknight #amandaberry #ginadejesus
