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US POLICE CONTINUED to interrogate three brothers today as grim details began to emerge about how three young Ohio women were kidnapped and held captive for 10 years in an unremarkable city home.
Cleveland police chief Michael McGrath said he expected the trio, a group of men in their fifties, to be charged later in the day, after a crime that left many wondering how it could have gone undetected for so long.
“We have confirmation they were bound and there were chains and ropes in the hall,” McGrath told NBC television’s Today Show, near the home in a working class district of Cleveland from which the women were rescued on Monday.
He said that until interviews with the victims are complete it will not be possible to describe in detail how they were treated, and said he could not confirm reports that the captives had had multiple pregnancies.
McGrath said the captives had been allowed outside “very rarely.”
Onil Castro, Ariel Castro and Pedro Castro (Photo: AP Photo/Cleveland Police Department)
“They were released out in the backyard once in a while I believe,” he said. “Their physical wellbeing was very good considering the circumstances.”
Currently, today, we are interviewing the suspects that were arrested here the night before last. They are talking.
Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, were freed from a home on Cleveland’s Seymour Avenue on Monday, around ten years after they had each disappeared in separate incidents.
Berry has a six-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, born while she was in captivity.
The occupant of the home in which the missing women were found, a 52-year-old former school bus driver of Puerto Rican origin called Ariel Castro, has been detained along with his brothers Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50.
Family reunion
Berry arrived at her sister’s home on Wednesday in an SUV with a police motorcycle escort to be welcomed by a verandah bedecked with balloons and messages of support and by a huge phalanx of news reporters
Her sister Beth Serrano emerged to make a brief statement.
Beth Serrano, Amanda Berry’s sister, speaks to the media today after Berry arrived home. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
“I want to thank the public and media for their support and courage over the years. At this time our family would request privacy so my sister and niece and I can have time to recover,” she told a thicket of microphones and lenses.
“We appreciate all you have done for us throughout the past ten years. Please respect our privacy until we are ready to make our statements. And thank you,” she added, before breaking down in tears.
The crowd broke into applause when Serrano walked out and one woman gasped “Oh, that poor girl” as she was surrounded by cameras.
“It was overwhelming,” said 30-year-old Kim Szypulski as she rocked a stroller holding her 18-month-old son, adding that she lives in the neighborhood and often drives past the family’s “missing” poster.
Neighbours and friends wait for Amanda Berry’s arrival at her sister’s home today (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Neighbors have expressed shock that the young women — long feared dead — could have been held for so many years in an unassuming home belonging to a man who never raised any suspicions in the working class neighborhood.
The three were rescued after Berry managed to alert a neighbor, who broke down the door to free her and her daughter.
“I’m glad to be back”
Police responding to her desperate 911 emergency call found two more women in the detached home, a white-sided two-story detached property with American and Puerto Rican flags on the porch.
Berry’s grandmother Fern Gentry spoke to the once-missing teen by phone from Tennessee in a call broadcast by a local ABC News affiliate.
“I’m glad to have you back,” Gentry said.
“I’m glad to be back,” Berry said, in the first publicly released recording of her voice since the panicked 911 call after her escape.
“I thought you were gone,” the grandmother said.
“Nope, I’m here.”
Undated photographs of Amanda Berry (left) and Gina DeJesus (AP Photo/FBI)
Berry was last seen on April 21, 2003, when she left work at a fast food restaurant just a few blocks from her home.
DeJesus was 14 when she vanished while walking home from school on April 2, 2004. Knight, who was 20 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen at a cousin’s house on August 23, 2002.
Some reports have questioned how the police could have missed signs of the kidnapping for so long, but McGrath insisted that he was absolutely confident that his officers had not missed a chance for an earlier rescue.
Cleveland Police chief Michael McGrath answers questions about the case (AP Photo/Jason Miller)
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Doesn’t matter the figures……had to be spent, a no brainer
@Kevvy kerrr: Yep, quite happy with whatever was spent, considering what money the government waste on rubbish
Poor souls. Sounds like an awful death. They’re such smart and peaceful creatures too.
I was probably in the anti-zoo camp in my teens. But like so many things you understand the complexity and nuance of these things as you get older. The ethical zoos with good intentions (not the vulgar Pokémon collections of rare species) do amazing work. It’s all so relative. Ideally they live peacefully in the wild. But humans have an appalling record when it comes to mistreating animals. So captivity in safety, out of the way of trophy hunters and other rancid members of our species isn’t the worst scenario. We’re all hemmed in in some fashion no matter how much we rattle our cages.
Our own knuckle draggers are in the news this week. I do my best to keep the rage in check but I truly hate these people and wish nothing but the worst on them. Low lives you’d love to see stripped of their citizenship so that’s one less thing we are forced to have in common with them. Lowest of the low.
@SerotoninWars: very deep & thought provoking
@Kevvy kerrr: Thanks Kevvy :)
And in Ireland, we now accept halal, I do not hear any Irish animal welfare charities condemning such an atrocious and sickening practice. Of course not, in modern, diverse and tolerant Ireland, we must not offend, must be all equal, must conform, must stay quiet, must be criticised if you ask questions.
@Fintan Pox: says the FF fan boy
@Mick O’K: So you disagree?
@Fintan Pox: I agree Halal especially with the no-stun aspect is absolutely barbaric. You can throw Kosher in the mix too. I’ve read about and watched some harrowing scenes from the slaughter floors of both. When I was younger to be precise. I can’t stomach it anymore. That doesn’t give ‘our’ methods a pass at all with some of the most upsetting cruelty imaginable happening in these slaughterhouses.
I’m not saying for a second that this covers all Muslim’s (it’s the Guardian!) but it’s a bit of context to the wider debate. I’ve given up on us making many advances in my lifetime. You get worn down and reduced to the most marginal of gains. But for crying out loud, at least stun them! If your god requires this level of suffering, maybe it’s time to ask some questions. That goes for all of them.
The main thing for me is why on earth we are still at a stage where we feel the need to slit ANY creature’s throat and watch it bleed out, never mind with this additional level of cruelty in the mix.
The meat industry does its best to give its products cute fun names, especially in the fast food industry. It’s deliberate, of course. Just like so many things where severing the end product from the reality of how it got there, is paramount. There are a lot of people who would choose to eat something else if their colourful box of meat meant doing the slitting, chopping, beheading and bleeding out themselves. Only the most brutal horror flicks get anywhere near the shocking reality of the meat industry.
@SerotoninWars: don’t eat meat.
@offside again: I don’t! :)
@SerotoninWars: I’d never have guessed.
Animals like sheep would prefer halal to wolves I’m sure. I’m not defending it. I’m sure it’s painful but it’s relatively quick in the scheme of things.
You’re right about the ‘meat industry’. That doesn’t mean eating meat is wrong though. But it should actually be a luxury rather than an everyday thing.
@offside again: There’s actually some middle ground here for once! :)
I get that it’s a hugely complex area (like nearly everything!) but there is a world of difference between the type of old-school farm-to-table setup and the industrialised conveyor belt we’ve ended up with. Capitalism demands faster and more without thinking about anything outside of accumulating more paper and coins.
Even if people don’t particularly care about animals, some of the conditions human beings have to work in are harrowing. The USA is of course amongst the worst offenders. The level of accidents, lifelong injuries and appalling treatment of the workers is off the chart. All to keep a conveyor belt of animals heading into the mouths of people who expect meat at every single meal.
They often use cheap immigrant labour and when things go wrong there is practically nothing in the way of compensation. In comes the next poor and desperate person to replace them. All to keep the main conveyor belt of profit going. If they don’t care about humans, you can imagine how much they care about the animals.
@SerotoninWars: my brother in law kept sheep and I bought one. First of all we had to catch one. Then his system was to tie it up in his workshop, sit down and drink a couple of beers until the animal relaxed. And without warning then hit it with a lump hammer, before proceeding to kill it.
Butchering an animal yourself is not easy.
Anybody who has a bit of land can keep a pig.
@offside again: I can imagine. None of it is pretty in the end. I’m not overly romanticising that aspect even if I’d like to think there are nicer ways of doing it! But if it has to happen, and enough humans make sure it will, then something that equates to fewer animals, better lives and living conditions up to the point of death, and less recklessness when it comes to the environment, seems more desirable.
The money in the industry is enormous. Huge amounts are spent on lobbying and what is hard to describe as anything other than propaganda. I go back to my point that even if people don’t care about animals they need to wake up to the fact that so much of the denier stuff being pumped into media and social media, is by people with a vested interest in making people apathetic and cynical about any moves to curtail consumption. That might mean less profit shock horror.
The industrial meat industry is a disaster for humans as much as animals.
@offside again: hey bff, so the story goes { allegedly} something like this……. Choose the victim, catch the victim, relax with a few duffs…you know… Just chilling, chewing the fat….& Then when everyone’s got a decent buzz going….. Whip out a lump hammer & whack the poor guy…… Gotta ask…… You been watching reruns of the sopranos??
@SerotoninWars: full belly cheap = big profit. I believe a certain Austrian said : ‘it’s good for leaders that men do not think’.
@Kevvy kerrr: your talent is wasted here !
@Kevvy kerrr: Hey Joey Sheeps! Don’t wurry it’s not a nursing home! It’s a retirement community!
Money well spent Good on zoo
For once money we’ll spent.
Elephant in the room no doubt
@Phillip Smyth: ah Phillip c’mon, that was 2/10 at best….. Larry Betts standard
@Kevvy kerrr: I know couldn’t resist.
They should not be on view, zoos are a thing of the past animals should allowed to run free, that’s the elephant in the room, poor creatures bobbing back and forth in tiny spaces, they are brought to a strange land to here, away form their natural habitat, basically to just die in a tiny area totally alien to them.
@Phillip Smyth: now Kevvy K the elephant in the tiny room.
@Phillip Smyth: 100% right. Zoos are totally inappropriate for these huge majestic creatures. At the very least, they need the space of a national park, for roaming and for privacy away from their most deadly enemy, us.
Give a lump sum from the TV licence
the budget …..vanished from your articles .
Good job you understood we had enough
There is a beautiful tribute in an article on here to the late, great and stunningly beautiful Mary O’Rourke, by Mary Hanafin, whose dad Des was a great man too, opposed, divorce, opposed gay marriage, opposed abortion., all values in Fianna Fail we hold dearly.
There should never be elephants in captivity In such small spaces. These majestic animals can travel hundreds of kilometers per day in the wild. At the very least, they need the size of a national park to roam. No matter what you do in Dublin Zoo, it’s a 28 hectare site. Calling it the African Plains doesn’t make it so. Some animals do ok in captivity, but these huge beautiful beasts need space and privacy. Gorillas, Tigers, Lions, bears and Rhino should only ever be kept in captivity to prevent extinction, and then only in huge national park-size enclosures. If you want to see Elephants, there is about a million hours of footage on YouTube thanks to David Attenborough et al.
Just isolate the elephants who are sick you absolute clowns.
@Buster Lawless: Out of curiosity, how long did you study to be a vet?
@Jack Jack: this is basic science, isolate the spread. These cockatiels are murdering the elephants.
@Jack Jack: study? Buster Lawless? Funniest comment of the day!
@Buster Lawless: the ilness doesnt show until v sick by which time all may have caught it. I got that by reading about it at the tome . You’re the clown
@damien leen: your trolling knows no bounds. Show some respect here punk, elephants are dying.
@uXGdMXx5: tome? Did you learn that in the circus while abusing the donkey? Sicko.
@Buster Lawless: Please join Fianna Fail.
@Fintan Pox: they must remove usc it is essential
@Buster Lawless: No party going to do that, shur jaysus, we had to bring it in when we bankrupted the country, and you gonna vote for us if we got rid of it! Bleedin sap lol
@Buster Lawless: there isn’t the space.
have your say