Cleveland Abductions ~ The Cruel Actions of Ariel Castro TRIAL & AFTERMATH

 

We are at the part where Ariel Castro has nowhere to run. In a weird twist to this sadistic act, Castro had left a suicide note at the house that said if anything should happen to him, or if he is caught, all his money and possessions should be given to the kidnapped women; simply calling himself a "sex addict" and "cold-blooded"!!! He knew he would be eventually caught, as he didn't think the plan through nor make an exit plan...

Ariel Castro was arrested fairly fast after the women and little girl were saved. On May 8th, he was charged with:

4 counts of kidnapping 
3 counts of rape

which carry prison sentences of 10 years to life in Ohio. Pedro and Onil Castro were also arrested, but released the following day, as it was proven they had nothing to do with the abductions.

Ariel Castro made his first court appearance at the Cleveland Municipal Court on May 9th. Bail was set at $8 million dollars ($2 mil per abduction). Prosecutors wanted the death penalty while there were several more charges pending, including aggravated murder (for the intentional induction of Michelle Knight's several miscarriages), attempted murder, assault, a charge for each instance of rape, and a kidnapping charge for every single day each woman was held in captivity. On May 14, Castro's attorneys said he would plead "not guilty" to all charges if indicted for kidnapping and rape.

On June 7th, a Cuyahoga County grand jury came back with the indictment against Castro. It contained 329 counts, including 2 counts of aggravated murder (under different sections of the Ohio criminal code) for his role in the termination of Michelle Knight's pregnancies. 

(This one was a tricky one because not many people have been charged or convicted in the killing of an unborn child aka fetus.)

The indictments covered only the period from August 2002 to February 2007; but the public was told the investigation was ongoing, and that any further findings would be presented to the grand jury. McGinty said that pursuing a death penalty specification would be considered following completion of indictment proceedings.

On June 12, Ariel Castro chose to plead not guilty. His own defense team, said that obviously some of the charged were indisputable but there were others they were hoping to avoid, as a trial would be very sensitive and emotional for the women, their families and the community. Despite all the theatrics, Ariel Castro was found competent to stand trial on July 3.

Interesting, on July 12th, the grand jury returned witha total of 977 charges.

512 counts of kidnapping
446 counts of rape
7 counts of gross sexual imposition
6 counts of felonious assault
3 counts of child endangerment
2 counts of aggravated murder
1 count of possession of criminal tools

Once again, Ariel Castro plead not guilty to the charges, even though he now faced the death penalty, death by lethal injection!!! Finally on July 26th, Ariel Castro plead guilty to 937 of the 977 charges against him; all of which was part of a plea bargain that gave him several life sentences in prison, to be served consecutively PLUS 1,000 years... all WITHOUT parole.

In the plea deal he gave up his right to ever appeal and could not profit from his crimes. His home would no longer be his; it was in fact going to be demolished. The Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Pusso was showing no mercy, AT ALL!!! Ariel Castro was told, "You will not be getting out. Is that clear?" His sentencing date was set for August 1st. 

All 3 women,"relieved by today's plea. They are satisfied by this resolution to the case, and are looking forward to having these legal proceedings draw to a final close in the near future".

At the sentencing hearing on August 1, Castro addressed the court for almost 20 minutes, citing he was "a good person" and "not a monster", that he was addicted to sex and porno. He had been masturbating from a young age. He claimed that he had never beaten or tortured the women, and insisted that "most" of the sex "was consensual". He shifted between apologizing and blaming the entire time he spoke. He unbelievably said to the women, "I hope they can find in their hearts to forgive me because we had a lot of harmony going on in that home".

Michelle Knight told Castro: "You took eleven years of my life away. I spent eleven years in hell; now your hell is just beginning. I will overcome all that has happened, but you will face hell for eternity. I will live on, you will die a little every day as you think of the eleven years of atrocities that you inflicted on us ... I can forgive you, but I will never forget." The other two women and their families spoke as well.

Michelle Knight, Amanda Marie Berry, and Gina DeJesus released a video statement on July 9, 2013, thanking the public for their support. An attorney released a statement to the public stating that the three women are still wanting their privacy; and to respect that strong desire. 

The Cleveland Courage Fund is a bank account set up to help the women in their transition to independent life which had collected approximately $1.05 million at the time of the video.Amanda Berry's grandfather had kept his word of giving her a classic Chevrolet Monte Carlo, built the year she was born. He kept the car although it was in need of restoration and several automotive shops stepped up with offers to restore if for her for free.

Michelle Knight discussed some of her ordeals in an article in People magazine prior and after her abduction. Since her rescue, she legally changed her name (I am going to respect her privacy, and not publish it here) and began to get several tattoos as her way of coping with the healing process. She also revealed that her son, Joey was adopted by his foster parents while she was in captivity. She would love to see him, but does not want to bring him into the residual of all that she endured. She got married in 2016, and hopes to adopt children, as you can guess, all the abuse she survived made it very unlikely that she could have her own biological children.

Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus received honorary diplomas from John Marshall High School in 2015. In an interview with WKYC, Gina DeJesus says that she was volunteering for the Amber Alert committee, offering comfort to families of abducted children. (It is a "full circle" kinda of deal... her father fought so hard for Amber Alert to automatically be for any missing child, and even though that hasn't changed; it's beautiful hoe Gina turned her experience into a positive like this.) She remains in touch with Amanda Berry and her family. 

In February 2017, Amanda Berry also began using her experience as a guide for her career when she joined the staff of Fox affiliate WJW in Cleveland. She hosts short recurring segments in which she reports missing person cases in order to help families reunite with missing family members. In April 2019, Berry reunited with Charles Ramsey, 6 years since her rescue, at an interview that was broadcast on WJW.

I have such a deep admiration for all three of these women and the young girl who endured such heinous acts against them. They not only rose from victims to survivor... they became warriors and are using their own pain to help others. That is truly amazing!!!

UPDATE

On August 7, 2013 Michelle Knight was present and handed out yellow balloons to spectators, which she said represents missing children. The balloons were released before Gina DeJesus's aunt began the demolition with a swing of a crane and what a glorious sight it was to see that house of horrors be left as nothing more than rubble!!!

On September 3, 2013 Ariel Castro was found hanging from a bed sheet in his cell at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio. The coward was only one month into his life sentence. He was 53 at the time of his death. Guards performed CPR on him before he was taken to the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The following day, Franklin County coroner Jan Gorniak announced that a preliminary autopsy had found the cause of his death to be suicide by hanging. He was later cremated.

May these women, loved ones and families all find peace; knowing there is one less predator in this world.