A letter found by police inside the home of accused Cleveland captor Ariel Castro, said to be a suicide note he wrote in 2004, may contain chilling details surrounding the captivity of three young women.
According to WOIO reporter Scott Taylor, Castro wrote the letter after he allegedly abducted Amanda Berry, then 17, Gina DeJesus, then 14, and Michelle Knight, then 20. In it, he confesses to being a sexual deviant and abducting the women after they agreed to get into his car.
“I am a sexual predator. I need help,” Castro reportedly wrote in the letter. “They are here against their will because they made a mistake of getting in a car with a total stranger.”
WOIO reports Castro recalled in the letter meeting Michelle Knight at a dollar store before luring her to his home. He wrote that he was surprised to learn DeJesus was only 14 when he allegedly kidnapped her because he thought she looked much older.
“I don’t know why I kept looking for another. I already had two in my possession,” the letter reportedly says, presumably about DeJesus, Castro’s alleged third victim.
He also goes on to contemplate suicide and giving his life savings to his victims.
Castro was arraigned Thursday morning on charges of rape and kidnapping after those three missing Cleveland women were rescued from his home Monday night. Berry had given birth to a daughter while in captivity, now 6 years old. Castro’s bail was set at $8 million. He is reportedly on suicide watch while in jail.
Prosecutors may also seek murder charges after a victim told police that she got pregnant at least five times, but Castro forced her to miscarry by starving her and punching her in the stomach. Under Ohio law, Castro would be eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted of murder.
