Cleveland kidnapping: police hint at what three women's lives were like (+video)

Cleveland law enforcement officials charged Ariel Castro with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape Wednesday and offered tiny glimpses into the captives' lives.

By Allison Terry,?Correspondent / May 8, 2013

Gina DeJesus gives a thumbs-up as she is escorted toward her home Wednesday in Cleveland. She returned home after allegedly being held in captivity for 10 years.

Tony Dejak/AP

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Cleveland prosecutors charged Ariel Castro with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape Wednesday while clearing his brothers, Pedro and Onil Castro, of any involvement in holding captive three women and one young girl for years.

Skip to next paragraph Allison Terry

Correspondent

Allison Terry works on national news desk for the Christian Science Monitor. She also contributes to the culture section and Global News blog.

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Three kidnapped women escaped earlier this week in Cleveland. Two of them are now home, including Amanda Berry.

The charges against Mr. Castro are all first degree felonies, and the suspect will be arraigned in court Thursday morning.

In a press conference Wednesday, city officials legal proceedings prevented them from discussing in detail many of the most pressing questions about the three women, such as how they were captured and what their lives were like in the house owned by Castro. But they did offer some new facts that begin to fill out the picture of a 10-year ordeal.

First, Cleveland Police Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said there was no evidence suggesting that Pedro and Onil Castro were involved. The three brothers were found together when police arrested Ariel Castro, and there was enough probable cause to take all three into custody Monday night, Mr. Tomba said. But neither will be charged in connection with the case. They remain in custody, but on outstanding warrants for misdemeanor crimes.

Tomba also said Monday night was the first opportunity in 10 years that the women had a chance to escape. In the house, the victims were kept in separate rooms, but they knew each other. They never left the property and went outside the house only twice during their captivity.

"We were told they left the house and went into the garage in disguise," he said.

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight disappeared between 2002 and 2004. Ms. Berry escaped from the house Monday evening with the help of neighbors who heard her yelling and kicking the door, and called 911.

An FBI evidence recovery team removed more than 200 items from the house. Tomba said the agents described the house as being in ?disarray.?

While Tomba and would not go into details about what happened to the victims while they were held captive due to the ongoing criminal prosecution, other officials confirmed details early Wednesday.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/1Xp4COI4WeQ/Cleveland-kidnapping-police-hint-at-what-three-women-s-lives-were-like-video

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