Cleveland Suicide Note Blames Victims for Abduction; Ariel Castro Held on $8 Million Bail
Ariel Castro, the man charged with the abduction and rape of three Ohio women, allegedly wrote a suicide note in 2004 that was recently found by police. Castro is being arraigned this morning on all the charges, but blamed the victims for their own abduction in the note.
"I just got a copy of a letter written by Ariel Castro in 2004," Scott Taylor tweeted. "Cops found it in his house. He says, 'I am a sexual predator. I need help.'"
The note police found was shared with 19 Action News, and reporter Taylor has released excerpts of it that reveal a great deal about Castro's thinking and mindset during the abductions.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Castro writes, 'They are here against their will because they made a mistake of getting in a car with a total stranger. I don't know why I kept looking for another. I already had 2 in my possession,'" Taylor tweeted.
During this time, it appears Castro was hunting for his third victim, who turned out to be 14-year-old Gina DeJesus. Michelle Knight was taken in 2002, when she was 21. Amanda Berry was taken just one year later, when she was still just 16. The women were kept in Castro's home and carefully guarded by Castro's family and kept under lock and key.
Castro has been officially charged with four counts of kidnapping relating to the three women and the baby born in captivity, as well as three counts of rape. The judge ordered him to be held on $8 million bond- $2 million per person he abducted and held.
In the suicide note, Castro originally said he wanted to kill himself and "give all the money I saved to my victims," Taylor posted.
That did not happen, though, and Castro continued to keep all the women, and the baby, in his custody. Berry was the one to break through to freedom and managed to alert authorities to their location. They are in the process of being reunited with their families and receiving proper medical and psychological treatment.
