Ariel Castro kidnappings

Between 2002 and 2004 Ariel Castro abducted Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus from the roads of Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and later held them captive in his home at 2207 Seymour Avenue in the city's Tremont neighborhood. All three young women were imprisoned at Castro's home until 2013, when Berry successfully escaped with her six-year-old daughter, to whom she had given birth while captive, and contacted the police. Police rescued Knight and DeJesus, and arrested Castro a few hours later.

Castro was charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. He pleaded guilty to 937 criminal counts of rape, kidnapping, and aggravated murder as part of a plea bargain. He was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 1,000 years in prison without any possibility of parole. One month into his life sentence, Castro died by suicide by hanging himself with bedsheets in his prison cell.

Kidnapper background

Ariel Castro (July 10, 1960 – September 3, 2013) was born in Duey, Yauco, Puerto Rico, to Pedro Castro and Lillian Rodriguez. His parents divorced when he was a child, and he moved to Pennsylvania with his mother and three siblings. They first lived in Reading, Pennsylvania, before settling in Cleveland, Ohio, where Castro's father and other relatives were living. He had nine siblings (both full and half). Castro was a devout Catholic.

Castro was sexually and physically abused throughout his childhood. He was molested starting at the age of five by a male neighbor in Puerto Rico and was also raped by an uncle. His mother had physically abused him by striking him with "belts, sticks and an open hand" daily and verbally abused him by "yelling negative things and cursing" at him. He was suspended in junior high for "touching a girl's breast." Castro attended Lincoln-West High School in Cleveland.