On the west side of town, a couple of blocks up from Mr. Walton Avenue’s house on Seymour Avenue 2207, Mr. Camacho saw Ariel Castro’s motorcycle belonging to Mr. Ariel. Mr. Jamie Camacho, a taxi driver from Cleveland, who has been singing with local Latin bands for decades, stopped at a vigil to mark Gina DeJesus’ disappearance last year.
They would be found alive, another local girl named Amanda Berry, who went missing in 2003, and Gina, who went missing from her middle school while walking home in 2004, expressed his hope. Eventually, he found the 52-year-old in the crowd. Mr. Ariel Camacho, who knew Mr. Camacho as a neighbor and a bass guitarist who frequented the same clubs and gigs.
In 2002, Gina, Amanda, and Michelle Knight disappeared. Jamie stated this week following the arrest of Ariel and his siblings, 54-year-old Pedro and 50-year-old Onil, in relation to the kidnapping. Jamie expressed, “I hope the individual who took them is apprehended and placed in one of those unrestricted correctional facilities – not isolated – so that fellow inmates can administer physical punishment to him.”
“Ariel stated his agreement with me,” Jamie explained. “He affirmed, ‘Yes, I concur.'”
Jamie and the broader Cleveland community are beginning to understand the nightmares that were concealed within its walls as forensic teams meticulously investigate the house on Seymour Avenue, aligning with the accounts provided by the three Castro siblings.
According to county documents, Ariel purchased the four-bedroom house with a basement measuring 760 square feet for $12,000 from Edwin and Antonia Castro in 1992. Ariel, who worked as a school bus driver until being terminated last year, was the most well-known among the three individuals under suspicion, and local musicians were familiar with him due to his expertise as a bass player.
The area surrounding the large Hispanic population has experienced significant growth in recent decades. Some members of Ariel’s family, who moved from Puerto Rico to Ohio soon after World War II, have been among the earlier arrivals. In the late 1970s, Ariel’s uncle Edwin opened the first Latino record store in Cleveland, whether or not it is known that Edwin is the one who sold the house.
From his residence in Columbus, he expressed, “There were locations we could never access.” This also applied to both the garage and the attic. Anthony, Ariel’s 31-year-old son, has mentioned that he was not allowed to enter the basement whenever he visited the property after completing high school. Recently surfaced images of the house reveal a lock on the basement door. Due to Ariel’s outstanding tax debts amounting to thousands of dollars, the Seymour Avenue property is currently under foreclosure.
In 2011, Tito DeJesus, a pianist from the Cleveland area who was acquainted with Ariel but not related to Gina DeJesus, last visited the property. He had sold his washer-dryer and other household items to Castro and was transitioning from a house to an apartment. Mr DeJesus stated, “I assisted him in relocating [them]. I was only present for a brief period. He extended an invitation for me to have a beer. However, I had to rush – I had a performance.” Inside, there was regular furniture. I didn’t venture very far. He had his musical instruments displayed and utilized [them] as ornaments.
The captives were released into the backyard while he added. NBC confirmed that the women, who were bound with ropes and chains, were found in his home. “We have confirmed,” revealed Michael McGrath, the chief of police in Cleveland, “that the house also contained chains.”
While recalling some memories, he told the police that he has regularly seen a little girl in the attic window of his house, bringing large bags from McDonald’s. Today, other neighbors informed him that they have never responded to the authorities, but they called the police when they saw three men controlling the women. Mr. Lugo, the neighbor, told the police that he has noticed odd activities, including three girls or women crawling around with leashes around their necks, at the Castro house. Between 2011 and 2012, Mr. Lugo has spoken about how he called the police three times, after observing strange events happening in the backyard and the houses down Seymour Avenue, where he lives in two neighboring houses at 2207.
He was fired last year when Castro caught up with him, appearing to have caught him in a number of missteps, including an incident with a child while using his bus, including going grocery shopping. They have not reported venturing inside, but police are known to have visited his house on a number of occasions, including when Ariel Castro was accused of leaving a child on a school bus.
He stated, “She mentioned [occasionally] he would confine her in the residence when he left.” Mr Camacho last encountered Ms Figueroa approximately seven years ago when he bumped into her at a nightclub, long after she had departed Ariel, reportedly in the 1990s. Ms Figueroa, whose attorney also alleged Castro frequently kidnapped his daughters despite lacking any custody rights, passed away last year. A court filing from 2005 reveals that, years after Ariel separated from his wife Grimilda Figueroa, who obtained custody of their children, he was accused of brutally assaulting her, resulting in two broken noses, broken ribs, both shoulders being dislocated, and a blood clot in her brain. To the knowledge of Tito, Jamie, and others, Ariel had lived on his own after his marriage dissolved over ten years ago.
Mr. Roman said that Pedro, who was once a bright student in high school and worked at a local factory, started heavily drinking when he ended up living off state benefits in recent years. Locals said they hadn’t seen him around Seymour Avenue, but they knew he lived with his mother and brother Ariel.
As per Mr. Roman, both Pedro and the youngest sibling, Onil, have never tied the knot. After parting ways several years ago with a partner he cohabitated with and had two children with, Onil possessed a residence and resided independently, as mentioned by Anthony, Ariel’s son.
He said that cheques have been provided as compensation to workers in recent years. Onil used to work as a labourer and earned a living as a handyman, despite the fact that he also drank heavily. Furthermore, Mr. Roman mentioned.
Mr. DeJesus expressed astonishment as he recounted the moment he learned about the women imprisoned at Ariel’s residence, stating, “I was completely taken aback. I had absolutely no clue.”