Ariel Castro


Ariel Castro abducted three women between 2002 and 2004. He was responsible for ruining 10 years of their lives by constantly threatening them and holding them hostages under poor conditions making their lives miserable. His entire life was full of misconducts where he had put the lives of people at stake. It’s important to go through different stages of his life to understand his story.


Ariel Castro was born on July 10, 1960 in Puerto Rico. He moved to the United States with his mother and three siblings soon after the divorce of his parents. Castro had a common law wife, Grimilda Figueroa, who was constantly abused by him. Castro’s sister and her husband claimed that Castro beat his wife, breaking her ribs, nose, and arms. He also once cracked her skull, when he threw her from a chair. He was arrested for his actions, but wasn’t charged. Figueroa moved out in 1996 along with her children, but she was threatened by Castro on multiple occasions. Ariel Castro worked as a school bus driver until he was fired after a number of issues, including using the bus to go to shopping, not following the traffic rules, leaving a kid on the bus while he went to eat food during his working hours.


Ariel Castro abducted three women and held these young women as prisoners against their will between 2002 and 2004. Georgina "Gina" DeJesus, Amanda Berry, and Michelle Knight were held in Cleveland, Ohio in Castro’s house until Amanda escaped and reported to the police. All of them were kidnapped after getting on the ride with him. He drove each to his house in Seymour Avenue, forced her to enter the house, and restrained her in the basement.


DeJesus, Berry, Knight and Berry’s six year old daughter were found on May 6, 2013. It was Berry’s effort when she screamed to grab the attention of the neighbors. Two men came to rescue Berry. Upon leaving the Castro’s house, she entered the house of another neighbor and called 911 asking for help. Police officers responded and entered Castro’s home. As they entered the house, they declared themselves as the police officers. Upon hearing the announcements, DeJesus and Knight entered the hallway. All of them, and the child, were taken to a hospital.


On May 6, 2013, Ariel Castro was arrested. He was accused of 977 charges and on July 26, 2013, he pled guilty to 937 of them, including charges of aggravated murder, rape, and kidnapping. On August 1, 2013, he was penalized to life in prison, plus one thousand years. Moreover, he was fined for a sum of $100,000. The court forfeited all of Castro’s assets and property. On September 3, 2013, he committed suicide after one month into his sentence by hanging himself with his bed sheet in his cell.


Ariel Castro had caused trouble and misery for his common law wife, students, and the women he abducted. He had ruined the lives of three women for no reason. He was arrested when one of the victims reported to the police. He was accused of over 900 charges and he pled guilty for most of them. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but he committed a suicide after a month of his imprisonment.