Ariel Castro Is Arraigned, Confession Note Found in His Home

When Ariel Castro is eventually brought to trial for his crimes, one of the key pieces of evidence may be a letter he wrote confessing to his many crimes—a letter made more awful by the fact it was written nine years ago. Police found the letter while searching the house where Castro kept three women captive for over a decade and reporters from Channel 19 Action News have posted excerpts of it online.

In the letter, Castro admits that "I am a sexual predator" and that the women were being held against their will. He also wonders why he took a third captive when "I already had 2 in my possession." (If it was indeed written in 2004, that would have very close to the time that Castro kidnapped his third victim.) He doesn't absolve his victims from blame, however, saying they are captive because they made the "mistake" of getting in a car with him. 

Castro writes "They are here against their will because they made a mistake of getting in a car with a total stranger."

— Scott Taylor (@ScottTaylor19) May 9, 2013

The letter is described as a suicide note, since Castro says he wanted to kill himself and give all his money to his victims. Obviously, that did not happen and whatever guilt or remorse he may have briefly felt was not enough to get him to let the women go and the horrific abuse continued for many more years.

[image error]Castro made his first court appearance at 8:30 a.m. today for a very brief arraignment. Castro was given $2 billion bond on each case, making it unlikely that he will actually be released while awaiting trial. (He is being charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape, though other charges could be added in the future.) Castro said nothing and kept his eyes averted from the cameras and the judge.

Castro's two brothers, who were also arrested with him, are now believed to have had no role in the kidnapping. They each faced minor and years-old misdemeanor charges for open container violations, but their cases were simply dismissed.