Prosecutors Lay Out The Horrific Case Against Cleveland Kidnapper Ariel Castro
AP
The man who held three women captive in his Cleveland house for about a decade is expected to be sentenced Thursday to life in prison, and prosecutors have released a memorandum that lays out the details of the horrific case.
One shocking detail is that he apparently took credit for giving the women the opportunity to escape.
Ariel Castro lured each of the women into his car on separate occasions with the promise of a ride to wherever they needed to go. Instead, he took them to his house, where he spent years abusing them psychologically, physically, and sexually.
According to the court documents, Castro broke off his relationship with his girlfriend in 2003 to "successfully undertake [the] kidnapping of the victims without any interruption by his social connections."
Castro pleaded guilty last week to a staggering 937 counts against him. Prosecutors have recommended a prison sentence of life without parole plus 1,000 years.
In the sentencing memorandum, obtained by WKYC in Cleveland, prosecutors explained how Castro kept Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight imprisoned for so long.
He not only physically restrained the women using chains and zip ties, but he also used punishment techniques to render the victims powerless and make them believe they had to depend on him for survival. Castro reportedly "used the cold of the basement and the heat of the attic" as punishment technique and threatened to shoot them if they ever tried to escape.
Castro reportedly admitted to terminating Knight's pregnancies by beating and starving her. He also kept the women restrained in a vehicle in his garage for three days while he had a visitor, according to the report.
A doctor who evaluated the conditions of the women's confinement confirmed that Stockholm Syndrome was at play, according to WKYC. The women became bonded to Castro through their need for self-preservation.
The document also mentions a diary kept by at least one of the captives that talks about the abuse the women suffered and about dreaming of freedom.
Castro also took credit for the women's freedom, telling law enforcement that he "gave them all the chance to escape" by leaving the door to Berry's room unlocked while he left the house. He reportedly shows no remorse for his actions, according to the document.
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