Charges 'within hours' in kidnapping case

Fox News reports that police are investigating the 911 dispatch handling of the Amanda Berry call as well as digging for evidence. Fox News

CHARGES will be laid in the coming hours in the Cleveland kidnapping case as it emerged Ariel Castro had participated in searches for the missing girls.

When neighbours gathered for a candlelight vigil just a year ago to remember Gina DeJesus, Castro was there too, comforting the girl's mother.

Castro, just like everyone else in the tight-knit, mostly Puerto Rican neighbourhood, seemed shaken by the 2004 disappearance of Ms DeJesus.

Now he and his brothers Onil and Pedro are in custody after a frantic call to emergency officials led police to his run-down house, where authorities say Ms DeJesus, 24, Amanda Berry, 27, and Michele Knight, 32, were held captive.

Ms Berry was expected to front the media today to make a statement but instead her older sister, Beth Serrano, appeared outside her home overnight (about 2am AEST). 

Ms Serrano thanked everyone for their support over the years and requested privacy for the family.

"I want to thank the public and media for their support and courage over the years. At this time our family would request privacy so my sister and niece and I can have time to recover," she told a thicket of microphones and lenses.

Neighbours and relatives say they didn't have a clue about Ariel Castro's suspected crimes, even as his own daughter was interviewed in 2005 on Americas Most Wanted. Fox News

"We appreciate all you have done for us throughout the past ten years. Please respect our privacy until we are ready to make our statements. And thank you," she added, before breaking down in tears.

Police confirmed that interviews with the victims and the suspects will shortly wrap up at which point charges will be filed.

However officials would not say if those charges will be directed solely against Ariel Castro, 52, whose house the missing women were found in on Monday, or if his brothers will also face prosecution.

Ms Berry, Ms DeJesus and Ms Knight all went missing separately about a decade ago not far from each other in Cleveland, Ohio.

Details are starting to emerge about the house that they were held captive in.  Police have confirmed that chains were found on the walls and that the women were only allowed outside for very brief periods of time.

"We have confirmation they were bound and there were chains and ropes in the hall," Michael McGrath, Cleveland's chief of police told the US Today show.

Fox News reports that the three brothers under arrest will be facing multiple charges for the ten year period of captivity and assault they subjected three young women to. Fox News

However, reports have suggested that six-year-old Jocelyn, who was born to Ms Berry while in captivity, was allowed out of the house to visit Ariel Castro's mother, Lillian Rodriguez, who she called 'grandmother'.  It is unconfirmed if Ariel Castro is the father of Ms Berry's child.

Neighbours say they reported seeing three women outside on leashes and a woman pounding on a window with a child in her hand's but that police did nothing.

Mr McGrath said that there had been no record of those calls coming into police over the past 10 years.  Asked if those calls could be made but that a recording was documented, Mr McGrath replied "We would have a recording of those calls."

"I would expect (charges) to be completed today," he said.

Cleveland's safety director Marty Flask said human remains have not been found at the Castro home on Seymour Avenue.

The run-down houses and derelict buildings near Ariel Castro's house made it easier to hide a secret, his neighbours said. 

Local police efforts are in question after calls were made by several neighbours over the past years, and was the suspect deliberately trawling for younger and younger girls? Fox News reports

Those who live near the modest home where the women were kept, say their neighbourhood has a dark side which may have helped the main suspect keep the three women from prying eyes.

"That was a perfect place for him because people couldn't hear any noise," community organiser Khalid Samad told NBC News.

Mr Samad said Ariel Castro had accompanied him on local searches for the missing women.

The 52-year-old's job as a bus driver also made him relatively well-off in a neighbourhood where many houses are boarded up and others have been foreclosed on in an area that has clearly seen better days.

"In terms of money he probably made more money than anyone else on the street when he was driving the bus," he said.

Jennifer Faykus who knew Gina DeJesus' sister, moved from the area because she felt it had lost its sense of community.

Reluctant hero Charles Ramsey tells how he helped rescue Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight ending the women's kidnapping ordeal. Courtesy WKYC3

"In this kind of neighbourhood you don't [pry] because you're afraid to talk to your neighbours," she said.

Did Castro target his daughter's friend?

Ariel "Anthony" Castro said he fears his father may have targeted the 14-year-old who went missing in April 2004 as she was such a close friend of his daughter Arlene. She was the last person to see Gina before she disappeared.

The 31-year-old told The Daily Mail he thinks it is "conceivable" that Gina got into his father's car instead of walking home as she recognised the elder Mr Castro as her best friend's father.

"That's one of the thoughts that went through my head because Gina disappeared in broad daylight on a very busy street. It's probably the busiest street on the west side of Cleveland," he said.

"It make you think how could she possibly disappeared without any trace. If she was abducted forcefully somebody would have seen it."

A photo of Ariel Castro released by the Cleveland Police Department following his arrest.

It is thought the teenager knew the person who took her and initially willing went with that individual on the day she disappeared.

Victims say they are fine

Close relatives of the three abducted women have told of how they're coping.

Amanda Berry's grandmother Fern Gentry said Amanda told her that she's "fine" and that the six-year-old girl named Jocelyn also rescued from the Cleveland home is hers.

"I love you honey, thank God," her tearful grandmother said, in a call recorded by CNN affiliate WJHL. "... I've thought about you all this time. I never forgot about you."

The sister of 23-year-old Georgina "Gina" DeJesus said 'Gina' is in "good spirits."

Police said the woman were not malnourished and that their physical health was good considering what they had been through. 

This undated combination photo released by the Cleveland Police Department shows from left, Pedro Castro and Onil Castro.

Five pregnancies

As the world waits to see what will happen to Ariel Castro and his brothers Pedro and Onil, relatives have told of their shock, painting Ariel Castro as a recluse and violent man at times.

Sources told WKYC that as many as five pregnancies occurred in the house. They were also told the captors would beat the pregnant girls and that the babies didn't survive.

Police in Cleveland have been reportedly searching a property for "possible aborted babies" after finding the three women who had been kidnapped and held as sex slaves.

According to local reporter Scott Taylor of 19 Action News, "investigators are looking for possible aborted babies in the backyard" of the residence where three brothers allegedly held three young women.

There are reports that the three women were also tied up with chains and tape and kept in separate rooms, The Daily Mirror reports.  One of the women is thought to have suffered three miscarriages due to malnutrition.  Police say they aren't in a position to confirm the pregnancies as interviews are ongoing.

Police to gently quiz victims

Amanda Berry's family prepare a warm welcome. Picture: Twitter.

Since the three women have found their freedom, questions have been raised about abductions in the local area, including whether 14-year-old Ashley Summers is the fourth victim of the kidnapping.

She vanished from the same Cleveland neighbourhood where Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight went missing.

FBI investigators have removed vehicles and items from the home where the women were held captive.

FBI spokeswoman Vicki Anderson said an FBI child victim specialist has interviewed all three abducted women as well as Berry's 6-year-old daughter in a "comfortable setting."
 

FBI forensic personels remove evidence from the house where three women were held captive for a decade, May 7, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand Source: AFP

FBI forensic personnel remove evidence from the house where three women were held captive for a decade on May 7, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand Source: AFP

The family house of Gina DeJesus stands decorated by well wishers in Cleveland, Ohio.

Suspects' lives in spotlight

More photos and details of the suspects have also emerged as locals have come to show their support for the women.

Investigators removed a number of items from the Cleveland home of Ariel Castro, including an amplifier, a storm door and black trash bags full of items.

Young residents come to show their support near the house where three women were held captive for a decade, May 7, 2013 in Cleveland. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand Source: AFP

 New photos of Ariel Castro have also surfaced.

Amanda Berry, left, and Gina DeJesus have been found alive after disappearing in the US city of Cleveland about a decade ago. Picture: AFP

 911 call reviewed

Cleveland officials are now reviewing the actions of the 911 dispatcher who took Amanda Berry's call.

The call-taker asked the name of Berry's captor, his age and ethnicity. But the dispatcher's repeatedly told her: "Talk to the police when they get there."

Cleveland Department of Public Safety Director Martin Flask said police were dispatched and on scene in the west side neighbourhood in less than 2 minutes.

"While the call-taker complied with policies and procedures which enabled a very fast response by police, we have noted some concerns which will be the focus of our review, including the call-taker's failure to remain on the line with Ms Berry until police arrived on scene," Mr Flask said in a statement.

Audio has been released of the frantic emergency call Amanda Berry made after escaping a kidnapping lasting ten years.

A house where three women escaped is shown Tuesday, May 7, 2013, in Cleveland.

Neighbour Charles Ramsey speaks to media near the home on the 2200 block of Seymour Avenue, where three missing women were rescued in Cleveland.

"I'm free now." Amanda Berry, centre, with her sister and a young girl believed to be her daughter, told police she had been kidnapped and held for 10 years.

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