Friday, May 10, 2013

Ohio prosecutors may charge Ariel Castro with killing unborn children

In the horrific case of the three women who were kidnaped and held captive for years, prosecutors said they could charge Ariel Castro with murder.  According to his victims, Castro starved and beat at least one of his captives when she became pregnant in order to kill the children in her womb. 

The man accused of holding three women captive in his house for more than a decade could face the death penalty if it's determined he is responsible for the deaths of the victims' unborn children, prosecutors said Thursday.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said pending further police investigation, Castro, 52, could face charge of murder in the course of kidnapping, which carries a potential death penalty. McGinty will present the case to the grand jury and could seek aggravated murder charges for each of the pregnancies.

Initial police reports obtained by Cleveland TV station WKYC said kidnap victims Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were raped by Castro. Knight was impregnated five times during her captivity, then starved and beaten, forcing the termination of the fetuses.

FULL STORY