Home ... Amanda Berry
By TOM GOODENOUGH
CLEVELAND dungeon victim Amanda Berry is finally back home with her family 10 years after she was kidnapped.
Amanda, held as a sex slave since 2003, was driven to her sister’s house today under a heavy police escort.
The 27-year-old was seen carrying a child - believed to be her young daughter Jocelyn who was fathered by one of her captors – into the two-storey house.
She was whisked into the back of the house, which was decked out with balloons to celebrate her homecoming.
Police officers held back the scrum of reporters and well-wishers who had gathered outside the house.
Amanda had been expected to make a short statement after arriving but her sister Beth Serrano emerged from the house to meet waiting media.
She said: “I want to thank the media and the public at this time for their support.
Home at last ... balloons and messages adorn home of Amanda Berry
“Our family would like to request privacy at this time so my sister, my niece and I can have time to recover.
“We appreciate all you have done for us over the past ten years.”
Earlier today police confirmed ropes and chains were used to tie her and two other women who were held prisoner for more than a decade.
It also emerged today their alleged captor joined in the hunts to help find them.
Police confirmed manacles were found in the hallway of the suburban house in Cleveland, Ohio where the women were confined.
Amanda, Michelle Knight, now 32, and Gina DeJesus, now 23, were holed up against their will for a decade by their alleged jailer Ariel Castro.
Victim ... this is the first photograph to emerge of Michelle Knight taken before she was kidnapped
CBS
Incredibly, it was revealed today that he passed flyers out in the local neighbourhood as fellow members of the community desperately hunted for the women.
The 52-year-old former bus driver - whose two brothers have also been arrested - even attended a candlelit vigil and comforted the mother of Gina at the service marked to remember her mysterious disappearance.
A family friend of the missing 23-year-old said Castro seemed to be an active member of the hunt to track down Gina.
Arrested ... Ariel Castro apparently joined in the search for one of the missing girls
Khalid Samad said he considered the Puerto Rican a close acquaintance of the DeJesus family.
He said: "When we went out to look for Gina, he helped pass out fliers.
"You know, he was friends with the family."
Evidence ... an FBI agent removes items from the house in Cleveland, Ohio
And in a sinister revelation, a neighbour of the suspect said Castro told him investigators were looking in the wrong place when they dug up a yard looking for one of the girls.
Castro apparently told Cruz, "They're not going to find anyone there."
A woman's name scrawled on the walls of the dungeon alongside the letters RIP - Rest In Peace - has also been found, according to reports in the United States.
Horror house ... where the three women were held captive for over a decade in Cleveland, Ohio
But investigators have confirmed that no human remains have been found at the property.
Police in Ohio say the three brothers arrested by officers are co-operating and answering their questions
Detectives have refused to say whether Ariel, Pedro and Onil have confessed to any wrongdoing.
Enquiries ... an SUV vehicle is also removed from outside the property
No charges have been filed against the men who could make their first appearance in court on Wednesday.
Amanda Berry, 27, Michelle Knight, 32, and Gina DeJesus, had apparently been held captive in the house since their teens or early 20s, police said.
But despite the crime going undetected for so long, detectives have said they are satisfied they did everything in their power to help find the girls.
Police Chief Michael McGrath said the women were recovering well from their ordeal.
Homecoming ... Gina DeJesus's house has been decked out with balloons to greet her
He said: "Their physical wellbeing was very good considering the circumstances."
And the Cleveland police boss refuted claims from neighbours that cops had ignored their concerns over the property.
"We have no record of those calls coming in," he added.
Meanwhile, Ariel Castro's son has spoken about the secrecy with which his father guarded the underground dungeon where, unbeknown to him, the three women were being held.
Suspects ... Ariel, Pedro and Onil Castro are answering police questions
The 31-year-old, who spoke of his shock at the plight of the kidnap victims, said there were parts of the home which he wasn't allowed near.
He said: "The house was always locked. There were places we could never go.
"There were locks on the basement, locks on the attic (and) locks on the garage," he told a website.
Home ... Amanda Berry
By TOM GOODENOUGH
CLEVELAND dungeon victim Amanda Berry is finally back home with her family 10 years after she was kidnapped.
Amanda, held as a sex slave since 2003, was driven to her sister’s house today under a heavy police escort.
The 27-year-old was seen carrying a child - believed to be her young daughter Jocelyn who was fathered by one of her captors – into the two-storey house.
She was whisked into the back of the house, which was decked out with balloons to celebrate her homecoming.
Police officers held back the scrum of reporters and well-wishers who had gathered outside the house.
Amanda had been expected to make a short statement after arriving but her sister Beth Serrano emerged from the house to meet waiting media.
She said: “I want to thank the media and the public at this time for their support.
Home at last ... balloons and messages adorn home of Amanda Berry
“Our family would like to request privacy at this time so my sister, my niece and I can have time to recover.
“We appreciate all you have done for us over the past ten years.”
Earlier today police confirmed ropes and chains were used to tie her and two other women who were held prisoner for more than a decade.
It also emerged today their alleged captor joined in the hunts to help find them.
Police confirmed manacles were found in the hallway of the suburban house in Cleveland, Ohio where the women were confined.
Amanda, Michelle Knight, now 32, and Gina DeJesus, now 23, were holed up against their will for a decade by their alleged jailer Ariel Castro.
Victim ... this is the first photograph to emerge of Michelle Knight taken before she was kidnapped
CBS
Incredibly, it was revealed today that he passed flyers out in the local neighbourhood as fellow members of the community desperately hunted for the women.
The 52-year-old former bus driver - whose two brothers have also been arrested - even attended a candlelit vigil and comforted the mother of Gina at the service marked to remember her mysterious disappearance.
A family friend of the missing 23-year-old said Castro seemed to be an active member of the hunt to track down Gina.
Arrested ... Ariel Castro apparently joined in the search for one of the missing girls
Khalid Samad said he considered the Puerto Rican a close acquaintance of the DeJesus family.
He said: "When we went out to look for Gina, he helped pass out fliers.
"You know, he was friends with the family."
Evidence ... an FBI agent removes items from the house in Cleveland, Ohio
And in a sinister revelation, a neighbour of the suspect said Castro told him investigators were looking in the wrong place when they dug up a yard looking for one of the girls.
Castro apparently told Cruz, "They're not going to find anyone there."
A woman's name scrawled on the walls of the dungeon alongside the letters RIP - Rest In Peace - has also been found, according to reports in the United States.
Horror house ... where the three women were held captive for over a decade in Cleveland, Ohio
Police in Ohio say the three brothers arrested by officers are co-operating and answering their questions
Detectives have refused to say whether Ariel, Pedro and Onil have confessed to any wrongdoing.
Enquiries ... an SUV vehicle is also removed from outside the property
No charges have been filed against the men who could make their first appearance in court on Wednesday.
Amanda Berry, 27, Michelle Knight, 32, and Gina DeJesus, had apparently been held captive in the house since their teens or early 20s, police said.
But despite the crime going undetected for so long, detectives have said they are satisfied they did everything in their power to help find the girls.
Police Chief Michael McGrath said the women were recovering well from their ordeal.
Homecoming ... Gina DeJesus's house has been decked out with balloons to greet her
He said: "Their physical wellbeing was very good considering the circumstances."
And the Cleveland police boss refuted claims from neighbours that cops had ignored their concerns over the property.
"We have no record of those calls coming in," he added.
Meanwhile, Ariel Castro's son has spoken about the secrecy with which his father guarded the underground dungeon where, unbeknown to him, the three women were being held.
Suspects ... Ariel, Pedro and Onil Castro are answering police questions
The 31-year-old, who spoke of his shock at the plight of the kidnap victims, said there were parts of the home which he wasn't allowed near.
He said: "The house was always locked. There were places we could never go.
"There were locks on the basement, locks on the attic (and) locks on the garage," he told a website.
No comments:
Post a Comment