Photos from Ariel Castro Kidnapping House Add New Layer to the Horror
Before it was demolished today, convicted kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro's Cleveland house was scoured by investigators for evidence besides the three brutalized women who escaped from the home back in May. The photos yielded from that evidentiary search are grim, and they offer a disturbing look at the atrocities Castro conducted and how much care he took to imprison three women and a child for almost a decade.
A jury-rigged succession of alarm clocks served as an alarm system for when the front door was opened.
Amanda Berry and her daughter lived in one room in the front of the house.
A hole cut in Amanda's bedroom door for ventilation.
Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight shared this pink room.
The window in Gina and Michelle's room had been boarded up.
Chains found in Gina and Michelle's room. According to Denver news station ABC 7, a forensic scientist who searched the home reported finding more than 99 feet of chains throughout.
Police found more than $22,000 in cash in this washing machine in the basement. The Chicago Tribune reports that authorities offered the money to Amanda, Gina, and Michelle, but all three turned it down, saying they'd rather it "go back to the community."
You can see the rest of the photos here.
[Top image via AP]