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| Officials, Citing Miscarriages, Weigh Death Penalty in Ohio Case | Officials, Citing Miscarriages, Weigh Death Penalty in Ohio Case |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| CLEVELAND — As more grim details emerged Thursday about the long captivity of the three women rescued from imprisonment in a dilapidated home here, one official compared the victims to survivors of a P.O.W. camp, and prosecutors said they would seek murder charges against the man held in the abductions, accusing him of forcing at least one of the women to miscarry. | |
| Timothy J. McGinty, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, said the miscarriages, which at least one of the women described to the police, could be grounds for seeking the death penalty for the suspect, Ariel Castro. Mr. Castro, a former bus driver, enticed the women off the street with offers of a ride home, the authorities say. | Timothy J. McGinty, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, said the miscarriages, which at least one of the women described to the police, could be grounds for seeking the death penalty for the suspect, Ariel Castro. Mr. Castro, a former bus driver, enticed the women off the street with offers of a ride home, the authorities say. |
| During his first public appearance since his arrest on Monday, Mr. Castro, 52, buried the lower part of his face in a blue jacket at an arraignment in Cleveland Municipal Court, where bail was set at $8 million. He was arraigned on charges of rape and kidnapping in the abductions of Amanda Berry, held 10 years; Gina DeJesus, held 9 years; and Michelle Knight, held 11 years. He was also charged with kidnapping a daughter Ms. Berry gave birth to in captivity, who is now 6. | |
| Immediately after police officers broke into Mr. Castro’s fortified home on Seymour Avenue on Monday afternoon, Ms. Knight told her rescuers that Mr. Castro had impregnated her multiple times. | Immediately after police officers broke into Mr. Castro’s fortified home on Seymour Avenue on Monday afternoon, Ms. Knight told her rescuers that Mr. Castro had impregnated her multiple times. |
| “She stated that Ariel would make her abort the baby,” the police wrote in a report obtained by The New York Times. Mr. Castro would starve Ms. Knight for weeks, she told the police, then repeatedly punch her in the stomach “until she miscarried.” | “She stated that Ariel would make her abort the baby,” the police wrote in a report obtained by The New York Times. Mr. Castro would starve Ms. Knight for weeks, she told the police, then repeatedly punch her in the stomach “until she miscarried.” |
| Mr. McGinty said at a news briefing that Ohio law allowed for the death penalty for “aggravated murder during the course of a kidnapping” and that he was studying whether to seek capital murder charges from a grand jury because of the forced miscarriages. | Mr. McGinty said at a news briefing that Ohio law allowed for the death penalty for “aggravated murder during the course of a kidnapping” and that he was studying whether to seek capital murder charges from a grand jury because of the forced miscarriages. |
| An official with knowledge of the investigation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that F.B.I. specialists had spent hours with each woman after their rescue, gathering enough information to charge Mr. Castro, but that they stopped short of making them relive their experience. | An official with knowledge of the investigation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that F.B.I. specialists had spent hours with each woman after their rescue, gathering enough information to charge Mr. Castro, but that they stopped short of making them relive their experience. |
| Their captivity was “depraved beyond your imagination,” the official said. | Their captivity was “depraved beyond your imagination,” the official said. |
| The women told the police that Mr. Castro had first kept them chained in the basement but eventually allowed them to live on the second floor. The official said the women later described how they “were brought into the room and out of the room, when the chains were on, when the chains were off,” as well as when they were rewarded with trips to the toilet and occasional showers. | |
| Although Ms. Berry and Ms. DeJesus returned to the homes of family members on Wednesday, Ms. Knight, now 32 and the longest held, remains in the hospital. | Although Ms. Berry and Ms. DeJesus returned to the homes of family members on Wednesday, Ms. Knight, now 32 and the longest held, remains in the hospital. |
| Unlike the two younger women, whose disappearances inspired vigils, posters and police task forces, Ms. Knight received much less attention, apparently because the police regarded her as a runaway. Her mother, Barbara Knight, described her as having “a mental condition,” according to a missing person’s report from 2002 released by the city. Ms. Knight was 21 when she disappeared and had fought with her mother’s partner. | Unlike the two younger women, whose disappearances inspired vigils, posters and police task forces, Ms. Knight received much less attention, apparently because the police regarded her as a runaway. Her mother, Barbara Knight, described her as having “a mental condition,” according to a missing person’s report from 2002 released by the city. Ms. Knight was 21 when she disappeared and had fought with her mother’s partner. |
| When the police broke into Mr. Castro’s house, Ms. Knight threw herself into the arms of an officer, then said she was having trouble breathing, according to the initial police report. Emergency medical services were called. | When the police broke into Mr. Castro’s house, Ms. Knight threw herself into the arms of an officer, then said she was having trouble breathing, according to the initial police report. Emergency medical services were called. |
| She appeared malnourished at the hospital where the three women were first taken, the official with knowledge of the investigation said. When nurses offered food, “she was like a 6-year-old with chocolate cake for the first time,” the official said. | |
| Mr. McGinty, the prosecutor, pleaded with members of the news media here from far and wide not to pursue interviews with the women. Victim specialists with the F.B.I., he said, told him the women “need space and time” before officials press for details of their captivity needed for a prosecution. | Mr. McGinty, the prosecutor, pleaded with members of the news media here from far and wide not to pursue interviews with the women. Victim specialists with the F.B.I., he said, told him the women “need space and time” before officials press for details of their captivity needed for a prosecution. |
| “We cannot have them subjected to 50 interviews and then go seek the interview to get the detailed evidence that we need,” Mr. McGinty said. | “We cannot have them subjected to 50 interviews and then go seek the interview to get the detailed evidence that we need,” Mr. McGinty said. |
| Mayor Frank G. Jackson also ordered police officials to stop divulging information about the case “outside of the established chain of command,” an apparent reference to leaks about the women’s captivity. | Mayor Frank G. Jackson also ordered police officials to stop divulging information about the case “outside of the established chain of command,” an apparent reference to leaks about the women’s captivity. |
Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Serge F. Kovaleski contributed reporting from New York. | Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Serge F. Kovaleski contributed reporting from New York. |