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Shattered Innocence: The Cleveland Kidnappings That Shocked America
Today we were going to pop across to Cleveland, Ohio, to the neighborhood of Tremont.
This quiet little section of Cleveland has a population of about 8,000 and is known for its shopping and art galleries, but back in 2003 whilst residents and visitors scurried around minding their own business. Something truly evil was happening nearby, the devil was in their midst and had been for some time, his name was Ariel Castro.
This is a story of kidnap, assault, torture, unwanted pregnancy, forced abortion, and after 10 years, eventual escape and rescue.
Ariel Castro was born on 10th July, 1960 in Puerto Rico, he had 3 other siblings, all of whom would move to the U.S. after the marriage of their parents broke down. The family first settled in Pennsylvania, only to later move to Cleveland Ohio, He would eventually graduate from Lincoln West High School in 1979, by that time he had 9 siblings.
In the 1980’s, his family would move houses but still remained within Cleveland, in the new neighborhood, Castro would meet his new girlfriend, Grimilda Figueroa.
The couple would later be married and have 4 children together, they would move to Tremont in 1992 to a house located at 2207 Seymour Avenue, this was a 2 story, 4 bedroom house with an unfinished basement.
