Ariel Castro, charged with holding three Cleveland women captive for
more than a decade, is mentally competent to stand trial, a judge
ruled Wednesday.
Court-appointed psychiatrists, who evaluated Castro for two hours,
found Castro competent and capable of assisting his attorneys with his
defense, Cuyahoga County Judge Michael Russo said Wednesday. Castro
answered "yes" when the judge asked him whether he understood the
purpose of the evaluation and the court proceedings.
The judge denied Castro's request to see the elementary-school-aged
child he fathered with one of the captive women.
"I won't be allowing that, not during the pendency of this case,"
Russo said. "I just don't think that would be appropriate."
The judge said Castro's adult children could visit him in jail if they
wished. Castro is being held on $8 million bail.
Castro, 52, a former school bus driver, has pleaded not guilty to 329
charges that include kidnapping, hundreds of counts of rape and one
murder charge for allegedly beating one of his victims so severely
that she had a miscarriage. If convicted of the murder charge, Castro,
who is being held on $8 million bail, could face the death penalty.
The state's capital review committee meets July 11 and will determine
whether the state will seek the death penalty for Castro. Castro can
submit mitigating evidence, the judge said. A pretrial hearing is
scheduled for July 24. The judge scheduled jury selection for the
trial to begin Aug. 5.
Prosecutors said a grand jury will issue a superseding indictment that
will add more charges for the most recent years of the women's
captivity.
Castro allegedly kidnapped Amanda Berry, then 14, Gina DeJesus, then
16, and Michelle Knight, then 20, between 2002 and 2004 and held them
captive until one of the women escaped his Cleveland home May 6 and
led police to the other women.
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