CLEVELAND – Cleveland kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro was indicted on additional charges on Friday, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Castro is accused of holding Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight captive for a decade in his Seymour Avenue house on Cleveland’s near-west side. He was already charged with 329 counts, covering Aug. 22, 2002 through Feb. 28, 2007.
[Click here to read the indictment: http://bit.ly/15nPSBS ]
The newly-filed superseding is for 977 counts, which includes two aggravated murder charges for an unidentified female, according to a court official. The indictment is 576 pages long and covers the entire time the women were missing, starting in 2002 and ending on May 6.
“Today’s indictment moves us closer to resolution of this gruesome case,’’ Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty said in a statement on Friday. “Our investigation continues, as does our preparation for trial.”
Castro will be arraigned on the new counts on July 17. The prosecutor’s office said Castro wants his trial to take place within 90 days of his arrest and the state said they will be ready for the Aug. 5 start.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the state can still add death penalty specifications in another superseding indictment.
Earlier this week, the three survivors released a video , thanking the community for support and respecting their privacy.
