Ariel Castro's three kidnap victims may not testify at his sentencing hearing today in a Cleveland court, but prosecutors plan to lay out a compelling case on how the former school bus driver's actions impacted their lives for more than a decade.
Castro, 53, pleaded guilty to more than 900 charges last week, including aggravated murder, rape and kidnapping, to avoid the death penalty conviction. Under terms of the plea deal, he'll be sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 1,000 years, with no chance for parole.
Still, the sentencing hearing, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., ET, "is about making clear this man's acts had on his victims and this community,'' says Joseph Frolik, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office.
Castro kidnapped Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight between 2002 and 2004, fathering a Christmas Day child with Berry, now 6, He also beat and starved Knight when she became pregnant, forcing her to miscarry five times.
The three have rarely been seen in public since they were rescued from Castro's home in May. Berry, 27, appeared on stage at a Nelly concert two days after Castro's plea, while DeJesus was seen as a tall privacy fence was built around her home last weekend. use.
Neither Frolik or Jones Day, the law firm representing the victims, would confirm if they'll testify.
"We've got a list of potential witnesses, but we're still working on our game plan,'' Frolik says. "We understand we're not putting on a criminal trial. But we're glad at the prospect of closure for the victims and the community."
CNN reported that Knight would speak, citing Castro's sister and an unnamed official.
In a memorandum filed Wednesday night, prosecutors say they intend to detail how Castro lured the three women to his house, then used physical and mental restraints to control them for a decade.
The three women held captive in the run-down home kept diaries documenting the physical and sexual abuse they suffered on a daily basis, prosecutors said.
GRIM DETAILS: Prosecutors detail women's captivity
Each of the victims was lured to the house, either with a promise of a ride, a visit with Castro's daughter or, in Knight's case, a puppy for her son.
Once in the house, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty says in the sentencing memorandum, Castro would keep them chained and locked in the upstairs rooms or subjected them to "the cold of the basement and the heat of the attic as punishment techniques."
McGinty said Castro kept a gun "and threatened to shoot the captives if they ever tried to escape."
One of the women broke free in May and called for help.
According to the memo, Castro told his captives that "he had other victims and that some of them made it home but that others had not."
The document states that "the victims of the defendant's heinous crimes did everything humanly possible to retain a sense of normalcy. They were able to mark the passage of time through the maintenance of diaries. Several diary entries document abuse and life as a captive."
At the time of his plea, Castro told Judge Michael Russo that he was addicted to pornography, had long-running sexual problems and had been sexually abused as a child. But Castro offered no remorse for the kidnappings and no apologies to the victims.
A 10-foot chain link fence surrounds the home of Ariel Castro in Cleveland.(Photo: Mark Duncan, AP)
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty has said he'll ask Russo to prohibit Castro from ever seeing the daughter he fathered with Berry. Anthony Castro, a 31-year-old son from Castro's first marriage, has said he won't visit his father in prison.
McGinty also discounted Castro's courtroom statements.
"He's a thespian playing a contrite act,'' McGinty said after hearing Castro's courtroom comments. "I think he's a coward. He's in his own world, and it's not a world of remorse or regret."
As part of the plea agreement, Castro will give up his Seymour Avenue home, which will be demolished.
Contributing: WKYC-TV
Follow Strauss on twitter @gbstrauss
Castro, 53, pleaded guilty to more than 900 charges last week, including aggravated murder, rape and kidnapping, to avoid the death penalty conviction. Under terms of the plea deal, he'll be sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 1,000 years, with no chance for parole.
Still, the sentencing hearing, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., ET, "is about making clear this man's acts had on his victims and this community,'' says Joseph Frolik, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office.
Castro kidnapped Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight between 2002 and 2004, fathering a Christmas Day child with Berry, now 6, He also beat and starved Knight when she became pregnant, forcing her to miscarry five times.
The three have rarely been seen in public since they were rescued from Castro's home in May. Berry, 27, appeared on stage at a Nelly concert two days after Castro's plea, while DeJesus was seen as a tall privacy fence was built around her home last weekend. use.
Neither Frolik or Jones Day, the law firm representing the victims, would confirm if they'll testify.
"We've got a list of potential witnesses, but we're still working on our game plan,'' Frolik says. "We understand we're not putting on a criminal trial. But we're glad at the prospect of closure for the victims and the community."
CNN reported that Knight would speak, citing Castro's sister and an unnamed official.
In a memorandum filed Wednesday night, prosecutors say they intend to detail how Castro lured the three women to his house, then used physical and mental restraints to control them for a decade.
The three women held captive in the run-down home kept diaries documenting the physical and sexual abuse they suffered on a daily basis, prosecutors said.
GRIM DETAILS: Prosecutors detail women's captivity
Each of the victims was lured to the house, either with a promise of a ride, a visit with Castro's daughter or, in Knight's case, a puppy for her son.
Once in the house, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty says in the sentencing memorandum, Castro would keep them chained and locked in the upstairs rooms or subjected them to "the cold of the basement and the heat of the attic as punishment techniques."
McGinty said Castro kept a gun "and threatened to shoot the captives if they ever tried to escape."
One of the women broke free in May and called for help.
According to the memo, Castro told his captives that "he had other victims and that some of them made it home but that others had not."
The document states that "the victims of the defendant's heinous crimes did everything humanly possible to retain a sense of normalcy. They were able to mark the passage of time through the maintenance of diaries. Several diary entries document abuse and life as a captive."
At the time of his plea, Castro told Judge Michael Russo that he was addicted to pornography, had long-running sexual problems and had been sexually abused as a child. But Castro offered no remorse for the kidnappings and no apologies to the victims.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty has said he'll ask Russo to prohibit Castro from ever seeing the daughter he fathered with Berry. Anthony Castro, a 31-year-old son from Castro's first marriage, has said he won't visit his father in prison.
McGinty also discounted Castro's courtroom statements.
"He's a thespian playing a contrite act,'' McGinty said after hearing Castro's courtroom comments. "I think he's a coward. He's in his own world, and it's not a world of remorse or regret."
As part of the plea agreement, Castro will give up his Seymour Avenue home, which will be demolished.
Contributing: WKYC-TV
Follow Strauss on twitter @gbstrauss