Agencies
London, May 10: The man suspected of imprisoning three women for about a decade could face death penalty over aggravated murder charges, prosecutors in Ohio have said. The charges relate to alleged forced miscarriages suffered by one victim.
According to the BBC, Ariel Castro, 52, was arraigned in court earlier for kidnapping and raping Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23 and Michelle Knight, 32.
Berry escaped on Monday and was able to raise the alarm.
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty said the murder charges were based on evidence from one of the women held captive in Castro's house that he had impregnated her, then physically abused and starved her in order to induce miscarriages, the report said.
Castro is charged with four counts of kidnapping, covering the three initial abduction victims and Jocelyn, Berry's six-year-old daughter, who was apparently conceived and born in captivity.
According to source, Castro confessed to his crimes in a long, hand-written letter, apparently a suicide note that was found in the house.
Ariel Castro's two brothers, Pedro and Onil, also appeared in court on unrelated charges. They had been arrested, but police found no evidence linking them to the crime, the report added. |
