Ariel
Castro, the Cleveland kidnapping suspect, pleaded not guilty to 977
criminal counts, including two charges of aggravated murder for killing unborn children by beating one of his victims until she miscarried.
The new indictment includes charges from a previous 329-count
indictment against Castro, to which he pleaded not guilty. Craig
Weintraub, one of Castro's attorneys, has said there are some charges
against Castro that cannot be refuted and that a plea deal can be
reached if Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty does not seek the death penalty.
The two charges that could call for the death penalty are for
aggravated murder. They stem from accusations that Castro beat and
tortured one of the three women into suffering a miscarriage.
