The tearful daughter of accused Cleveland monster Ariel Castro said today she’s “disappointed, embarrassed” and “devastated” by her dad and insisted she had no role in his alleged crimes.
Arlene Castro, 22, was one of the last people to see her friend — kidnapping victim Gina DeJesus — before she was snatched on April 2, 2004.
The younger Castro even gave an interview to “America’s Most Wanted” in 2005, in hopes of spurring renewed interest in DeJesus’ disappearance.
“I’m really disappointed, embarrassed, devastated about this whole situation,” Castro told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Remarkably, the kidnapping and confinement of DeJesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight all happened without the younger Castro’s knowledge, she said.
Arlene Castro’s mom, Grimilda Figueroa, had left Ariel Castro when DeJesus was taken.
“No, I had no idea,” said Castro, who lives in Indiana. “Me and my father were really not that close. Every time we talked it’d just be short conversations, just a, ‘Hello, how are you doing and let me know if you need anything,’ and that was it.”
Asked if she had anything to say to the kidnapping victims, Castro broke down in tears.
“I would like to to say I’m absolutely so, so sorry,” the weeping daughter said. “I really want to see you Gina and I want you to meet my kids. I’m so sorry about everything.”
STORIES
» Inside Ariel Castro’s Cleveland house, where Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus were held captive
» Ariel Castro’s bond set at $8M
» Cops on Amanda Berry 911 call: This might be for real
» Castro’s vile ‘suicide’ note blames kidnap victims
» Fiend Castro was school bus driver for kidnap victim Gina DeJesus
» Tears of joy as plucky survivors back in arms of loved ones
VICTIMS
DeJesus and Knight were rescued Monday after Berry made a bold break for freedom. At least two Good Samaritans heard her cries and rushed to help break open a door.
Yesterday, DeJesus flashed a thumb’s up as she returned home to a throng of well-wishers.
WOIO reporter Lydia Esparra was inside the home with the DeJesus family after covering Gina’s disappearance.
Esparra reported that she hugged the newly-freed girl and told DeJesus her parent’s never stopped looking for her.
Esparra said Gina told her it was good to be home and that the 23-year-old walked through the house and into her bedroom.
DeJesus and Berry are now staying with family in Cleveland, while Knight — the woman left longest in captivity — was still in the hospital yesterday.
Sadly, Berry’s reunion did not include her mom, who passed away in the past decade. Mom Louwana Miller died at 43 in 2006.
Miller worked tirelessly to find her daugher and that heartache surely led to an early passing, Berry’s grandmother Fern Gentry said.
“I’m strong,’’ Gentry told NBC’s “Today.” “Louwana wasn’t that strong. I think she gave up there at the end. She did do everything she could do, I know that much. She kept at it, kept on it, done everything she could.”
Gentry added: “I think we all pretty well died of a broken heart, though, really.”