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Thursday, May 9, 2013

A decade of captivity: Cleveland kidnap victim Amanda Berry arrives at family home

 

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By Kim Palmer and Kevin Gray
CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Amanda Berry, free less than two days from a decade of captivity with two other women in a Cleveland house, arrived on Wednesday at her sister's home, where her family pleaded for privacy.
Berry, 27, had been expected to make a statement, but she did not. She and her 6-year-old daughter, who was conceived and born in captivity, could be seen from an aerial television camera returning to her sister's house in a convoy of vehicles and going in the back door.
Police released some details about the search of the house where the women were held, including the discovery of chains and ropes police said were used to tie up the victims. Police said no human remains were found.
Three brothers identified by police as the suspects were expected to be charged by the end of the day, police said.
One suspect, Ariel Castro, 52, who was fired from his school bus driving job in November for "lack of judgment," was arrested almost immediately after the women escaped on Monday.
His brothers Pedro Castro, 54, and Onil Castro, 50, were taken into custody a short time later. Police have not said what role each man is suspected of playing, but Berry named Ariel Castro in an emergency call to 911 on Monday as the man from whom she was trying to escape.
Before Monday evening, Berry had last been seen leaving her job at a fast-food restaurant the day before her 17th birthday in April 2003. Her disappearance as a teenager was widely publicized in the local media.
Her sister's two-story bungalow was festooned with dozens of colorful balloons, yellow ribbons and a huge sign reading "Welcome Home Amanda."
It is located in an ethnically mixed, working-class neighborhood about six miles from the house where Berry broke through a door with the help of a neighbor who heard her screaming and helped her call police.
Appearing on the lawn of the house, Berry's sister, Beth Serrano, was greeted with shouts and cheers from a crowd of well-wishers who had gathered along with photographers, television crews and reporters.
"At this time, our family would request privacy so my sister and niece and I can have time to recover," Serrano said, her voice quaking and appearing to choke back tears. "We appreciate all you have done for us for the past ten years. Please respect our privacy until we are ready to make our statement. And thank you."
Berry was found with Gina DeJesus, 23, who vanished at age 14 in 2004, and Michelle Knight, 32, who was 20 when she disappeared in 2002.
Berry told her grandmother in a telephone call played on local television that her daughter was born on Christmas Day.
Euphoria over the rescue of the women on Monday gave way to questions of how their imprisonment in a house on a residential street went undetected for so long.
Several neighbors said they had called police to report suspicious activity at the house in a dilapidated neighborhood on Cleveland's West Side. But police denied those calls from neighbors were made.
"We have no record of those calls coming in over the last ten years," Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said on Wednesday on NBC's "Today" show.
McGrath said he was confident police did not miss opportunities to find the missing women. "Absolutely, there's no question about it," he said.
FBI agents were searching through the house where the women were believed held since vanishing, McGrath said.
"We have confirmation that they were bound, and there (were) chains and ropes in the home," he said.
No human remains were found, Cleveland Safety Director Martin Flask said in a statement.
"A thorough search of the scene ... did not reveal human remains," he said.
McGrath said the women had been allowed outside "very rarely" during their captivity. "They were released out in the backyard once in a while," he said.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Johnson said on Tuesday that child welfare officials had paid a visit to the house in January 2004 because Castro was reported to have left a child on a school bus while he stopped for lunch at a fast-food restaurant. But no one answered the door and the ensuing inquiry found no criminal intent, officials said.
NEIGHBORS REPORT SUSPICIOUS INCIDENTS
Questions have mounted about why the women's captivity escaped notice.
"We didn't search hard enough. She was right under our nose the whole time," said Angel Arroyo, a church pastor who had handed out flyers of DeJesus in the neighborhood.
Aside from the school bus incident in 2004, city officials said a database search found no records of calls to the house or reports of anything amiss during the years in question.
"We have no indication that any of the neighbors, bystanders, witnesses or anyone else has ever called regarding any information, regarding activity that occurred at that house on Seymour Avenue," the mayor said.
Israel Lugo, a neighbor, said he called police in November 2011 after his sister saw a girl at the house holding a baby and crying for help. He said police came and banged on the door several times but left when no one answered.
About eight months ago, Lugo said, his sister saw Ariel Castro park his school bus outside and take a large bag of fast food and several drinks inside.
"My sister said something's wrong ... That's when my mom called the police," he said. Lugo said police came and warned Castro not to park the bus in front of his house.
Another neighbor said a little girl could often be seen peering from the attic window of the Castro house.
But neighbor Charles Ramsey, who helped Berry escape, said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he had lived next to the Castro house and had no inkling there was something wrong.
"Isn't that scary?" he said. "So either I'm that stupid or his kind are that good."
Born in Puerto Rico, Ariel Castro played bass in Latin music bands in the area. Records show he was divorced more than a decade ago and his ex-wife had since died. He is known to have at least one adult daughter and son.
(Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta; Writing by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Grant McCool)

Aseguran que mujeres secuestradas en Cleveland estuvieron amarradas con cadenas

Así lo señalaron los investigadores del caso, quienes continuarán hoy con los interrogatorios a las víctimas.

por AFP - 08/05/2013 - 11:23
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Los investigadores del secuestro de tres mujeres en Cleveland encontraron cadenas y cuerdas en la casa donde permanecieron cautivas durante una década, dijo hoy Michael McGrath, el jefe de policía de esa ciudad de Ohio, a la cadena NBC.
"Tenemos confirmación de que estuvieron atadas y había cadenas y cuerdas en el hall" de la casa, dijo McGrarh.
Las tres mujeres fueron liberadas la noche del lunes y tres hermanos de origen puertorriqueño fueron arrestados bajo la sospecha de haberlas tenido prisioneras.
Desde un lugar cercano a la escena del crimen, en un barrio obrero de Cleveland, McGrath dijo que las víctimas y los hermanos están siendo interrogados y probablemente éstos sean procesados durante la jornada.
"El equipo de investigadores, integrado por oficiales del FBI y de Cleveland, interrogan a las víctimas desde la tarde de ayer y continuarán hoy", afirmó.
McGrath señaló que hasta que se termine de interrogar a las tres mujeres, no será posible dar detalles de cómo fueron tratadas y no confirmó versiones de que las cautivas tuvieron múltiples embarazos.
Salían de la casa "muy esporádicamente", dijo el jefe de policía.
"Salían al jardín trasero una vez cada tanto creo. Su estado de salud es bueno, considerando las circunstancias", agregó.
"Actualmente, hoy, estamos interrogando a los sospechosos que fueron arrestados aquí antenoche. Están hablando".
McGrath insistió en que confía "absolutamente" en que la policía no perdió oportunidad en los pasados diez años para tratar de encontrar a las jóvenes o identificar a los sospechosos.
Amanda Berry, de 27 años, Gina DeJesus, de 23, y Michelle Knight, de 32, que habían desaparecido en incidentes separados en 2002, 2003 y 2004, fueron liberadas en la noche del lunes de una casa en Seymour Avenue, en el barrio West Side de Cleveland, y examinadas en un hospital local antes de regresar con sus familias, que organizaron fiestas de bienvenida.
El ocupante de la casa, Ariel Castro, un hombre de 52 años, ex chofer de autobús escolar de origen puertorriqueño, fue detenido junto a sus hermanos Pedro, de 54, y Onil, de 50.

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