Diaries of Cleveland kidnap victims reveal full horror of ordeal: Girls' journals tell how Castro said he was hunting for their 'replacements' as evil captor faces sentencing today
- On the eve of Castro's sentencing, prosecutors submitted report detailing the seriousness of his crimes
- It includes evidence from diaries kept by Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry
- Castro told the women he had had other victims - some of whom he claimed had made it home, while others had not
- When Michelle Knight was pregnant, Castro gave her only tea and made her do strenuous exercise until she miscarried
- At one stage he kept the women tied up in a vehicle for several days while he had a visitor in his home
By Daily Mail UK, 1 August 2013
Disturbing new details have emerged about the physical and emotional abuse brutally dished out by Ariel Castro to the three victims he held captive for ten years.
On the eve of Castro’s sentencing on Thursday, prosecutors filed a sentencing memorandum with the court outlining the seriousness of his treatment of Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry.
The report was compiled from a wealth of evidence including diaries kept by the three young women which paint a horrifying picture of the physical and psychological torture they were forced to endure.
On the eve of Ariel Castro's sentencing on Thursday, prosecutors filed a sentencing memorandum
with the court outlining the seriousness of his treatment of Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty said in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday that Castro 'serially abused them physically, emotionally, and sexually on a daily basis' but nonetheless ‘remains remorseless for his actions.’
The memorandum says many of the charges in Castro's indictment were originally recorded by one of the women in her diary.
In the sentencing memorandum, prosecutors describe the horrific conditions the women endured. The women's diaries, they say, ‘document abuse and life as a captive.’
‘The entries speak of forced sexual conduct, of being locked in a dark room, of anticipating the next session of abuse, of the dreams of someday escaping and being reunited with family, of being chained to a wall, of being held like a prisoner of war,’ the memorandum says.
Diaries kept by Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Gina de Jesus while held captive
for a decade in an Ohio home have helped US prosecutors describe their suffering
FULL HORRORS OF CASTRO HOUSE REVEALED IN DOCUMENT
Michelle Knight was forced to abort an apparent pregnancy by consuming only tea and doing strenuous exercise.
She then had to deliver Amanda Berry's child herself and resuscitate the baby after her birth, while Castro threatened to kill her if she failed.
The three women were not allowed out of their bedroom to use the bathroom, and had to resort to plastic toilets which were rarely emptied.
Castro deliberately made the attic unbearably hot and the basement freezing cold so he could punish his prisoners if he thought they were misbehaving.
At one point, he locked the girls in a vehicle in his garage to hide them from a friend who was visiting for three days.
In a bid to frighten the women into obeying him, he told them he was 'hunting for replacements' and claimed he had previously captured other victims.
It also includes an evaluation by a clinical professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University who describes the emotional toll that the ten years of captivity had on the women.
‘He appeared to be evolving in an ever more dangerous direction, capturing younger and younger women, telling his captives he was hunting for replacements,’ wrote Frank Ochberg.
According to Dr Ochberg's evaluation, Castro made his victims believe that their physical survival depended on him, and he threatened to end their lives if they did not comply with their every demand.
He told the women he had had other victims, that some of whom had made it home and others who had not.
'These and other threats had the effect of terrifying the victims into subservience,’ Dr Ochberg explained.
He added: 'Castro hurt each of the three young women that he captured and confined in ways that create lasting wounds. He terrified them.
'The body responds to terror long afterward with uncontrollable visions, smells, sounds and sensations. These are called trauma memories and they are unlike ordinary memory. They come at night in the form of nightmares.'
Castro has admitted forcing Michelle Knight to terminate a pregnancy by putting her
on a tea-only diet for several days and making her perform strenuous exercises
In his evaluation, Dr Ochberg wrote that Knight - who was kidnapped first after Castro promised to give her a puppy for her son - suffered 'the longest and most severely.'
Castro has admitted that on one occasion Knight told him she may be pregnant and he forced a termination by putting her on a tea-only diet for several days, made her perform 'knee bends' and jumping jacks.
However, when Berry fell pregnant, Knight helped save the baby's life as Castro threatened to kill her if the child did not survive.
'It was Michelle who served as doctor, nurse, midwife and pediatrician during the birth. She breathed life into that infant when she wasn't breathing,' wrote Dr Ochberg.
'At other times, she interceded when Castro sought to abuse Gina, interposing herself and absorbing physical and sexual trauma. But each survivor had a will to prevail and used that will to live through the ordeal.'
The memorandum also describes how Castro controlled the movements of the women, keeping them in locked rooms and using physical restraints.
'There is only one bathroom in the house, on the first floor. The Defendant would not allow the victims downstairs to use the bathroom. They only had access to plastic toilets in the bedrooms. They were emptied infrequently.'
The document adds: 'He controlled the temperature and the inflow of food and drink. He used the cold of the basement and the heat of the attic as punishment techniques.'
In the memorandum Michelle Knight - who was kidnapped first -
is described as suffering 'the longest and most severely'
Amanda Berry, top, made a surprise onstage appearance at a rap concert last weekend, and Gina DeJesus,
made a few televised comments as a privacy fence was erected around her house
At one point during 2005 the three women were kept physically restrained in a vehicle in a garage for three days while the defendant had a visitor staying.
Berry's diary was addressed to her mother, and then after her mom died, she 'wrote to her mother in heaven, seeking to soothe her mother' and praying for deliverance and the health of her daughter who Castro fathered.
The diaries show how 'the victims had to watch the rest of the world turn as they were held in captivity,' according to the memorandum. 'Holidays, world events, and even the passing of Ms Berry's mother were observed by them, removed from the outside world.'
The purpose of the memorandum is to help establish a record that will serve as justification for Castro's sentence should it come under review in the future.
Castro pleaded guilty last week to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping, in a deal that dropped a possible death penalty in exchange for life in prison plus 1,000 years.
In early July his victims released a video thanking the local community for its support - since then Amanda Berry, 27, has made a surprise onstage appearance at a rap concert last weekend, and Gina DeJesus, 23, made a few televised comments as a privacy fence was erected around her house.
The third victim, Michelle Knight, 32, has had a letter a letter send to local police posted on their Facebook page.
Castro is expected to be sentenced to life in prison without parole,
plus a minimum of 1,000 years
Ariel Castro claims 'porn took its toll on me' as he ESCAPES the death penalty - but expected to get life without parole PLUS 1,000 years for kidnap and rape of three women
- Ariel Castro, 53, is charged with 977 counts of kidnapping and repeated rape
- Accepted plea deal to avoid death penalty
- It also means his victims won't have to testify
- Said he understands that he will never be released from prison
- Three victims said they are relieved they will not have to testify
Accused Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro told a judge today 'porn took its toll on me' as he accepted a plea deal under which he will serve a life sentence plus 1,000 years for the kidnap and rape of three women.
Castro was said to have agreed to the deal - after initially pleading not guilty to all 977 counts against him - to spare him the death penalty. His previous not guilty pleas were withdrawn.
It also means his three victims Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus will not have to testify about their more than ten-year ordeal in front of a jury.
Ariel Castro has pleaded guilty to 937 counts, including kidnapping, rape,
assault and aggravated murder and is due to be sentenced on Thursday
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Castro said today: 'There are some things I do not comprehend because of my sexual problems
throughout the years. But I trust my lawyers and I understand my rights and the sentence'
All three victims - Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus -
appeared in a video in early July thanking the local community for its support
They released a statement today saying they were relieved at the news, are satisfied by the resolution and are looking forward to the end of the legal side of their ordeal.
Speaking in court today, Castro said: 'I said I was willing to work
with the FBI and I would tell them everything.'
The judge asked him the 53-year-old if he understood that he would die in prison and there would never be a possibility he would be released from prison.
He replied: 'I do understand that and I said because of the sex crimes I knew I would have the book thrown at me.
'There are some things I do not comprehend because of my sexual problems throughout the years. But I trust my lawyers and I understand my rights and the sentence.'
He said he read and signed the plea deal and understood it though 'my addiction to pornography and my sexual problem has taken a toll on my mind' that sometimes caused problems with comprehension.
Offering some form of an explanation for his despicable crimes, he said: 'I was a victim as a child and it just kept going.'
The judge cut him off and told him to save his story for his sentencing hearing.
Castro spoke clearly and intelligibly today in court, answering all the judges questions with clarity. This is in stark contrast to his previous appearances when he has kept his head down, closed his eyes and refused to interact.
Plea Deal: Ariel Castro, 53, walks into the court room with his head down for a pre-trial hearing on
charges including rape, kidnapping and murder in Cleveland, Ohio July 24, 2013
Prosecutors said if evidence of additional crimes came to light, Castro could still be indicted on future charges that included the death penalty.
Castro's lawyers have said for weeks that they would consider an agreement under which the former Cleveland school bus driver would plead guilty to some charges in return for his life.
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