The three women held in captivity inside a U.S. home for about a decade were starved and raped, and one woman had five pregnancies aborted when the suspect punched her in the stomach, a police report says. A prosecutor said he may seek the death penalty for the forced miscarriages.
The report obtained by The Associated Press paints a grim picture of the women's ordeal before their dramatic escape Monday when one of them, Amanda Berry, kicked out a door.
Berry told police that she delivered a baby in a child's plastic pool, so it would be easier to clean up, while in captivity. Michelle Knight told them she suffered at least five miscarriages at the hands of suspect Ariel Castro and said she delivered Berry's baby under threat of death if the baby died. The girl, now 6 years old, was found Monday.
The 52-year-old Castro, who has been charged with rape and kidnapping, made his first court appearance Thursday. Castro was silent in court, looking at the ground, biting his collar and signing documents with his handcuffed hands. He was ordered held on $8 million bond.
Investigators say the women _ lured into Castro's car at the ages of 14, 16 and 20 _ endured lonely, dark lives inside a dingy home and allowed outside only a handful of times in disguises while walking to a garage steps away. Police say the women were apparently bound by ropes and chains at times and were kept in different rooms.
Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said state law calls for the death penalty for the ``most depraved criminals who commit aggravated murder during the course of a kidnapping.'' He said aggravated murder charges could be filed related to pregnancies terminated by force.
McGinty said Castro would be charged for every single act of sexual violence, assault and other crimes, suggesting the charges could number in the hundreds, if not thousands.
The women and Castro have given lengthy statements to police, Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said. None of the women gave any indication that Castro's two brothers, who had been in custody since Monday, were involved, Tomba said. The brothers appeared in court on unrelated charges and were released.
One thing that remains a mystery, Tomba said, is how the women were kept in the house so long.
The women, now in their 20s and 30s, vanished separately between 2002 and 2004. They never saw a chance to escape over the last 10 years until this week, when Berry broke through a door and ran to freedom.
The police report gave a detailed account of the women's escape, beginning with Berry's discovery that a door was unlocked, leaving only a bolted outer door.
Berry feared it was a test: She said Castro occasionally left a door unlocked to test them. But she called to neighbors on a porch for help and was able to get out. Police then entered the house and found the other women, who threw themselves into the officers' arms.
In police audio tapes, women can be heard crying. An officer tells the dispatcher: ``We found `em. We found `em.''
Berry, 27, and Gina DeJesus, 22, were welcomed home Wednesday by jubilant crowds. Family members hustled them inside. Knight, 32, was reported in good condition at a local hospital.
The Associated Press does not usually identify people who may be victims of sexual assault, but the names of the women were widely circulated by their families, friends and law enforcement authorities for years during their disappearance.
On Thursday, a musician who often practiced at Ariel Castro's house said he was there last week and heard noises, ``like banging on the wall.'' Ricky Sanchez said he asked Castro about it, and he blamed it on the dogs. He also said Castro _ a bass guitarist in merengue and salsa bands _ liked to play his music loud inside.
Sanchez said he also noticed there were four or five locks on the outside door.
``When I was about to leave, I tried to open the door. I couldn't even, because there were so many locks in there,'' he said.
Castro's former daughter-in-law said he terrorized the mother of his children, beating her and locking her indoors. Grimilda Figueroa left Castro years ago and died last year.
``He was always described to me as a violent, just a scary violent person,'' said Monica, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she did not want her ties to the family to gain public attention. (AP)
