The brothers of accused kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro have broken their public silence, giving CNN what's billed as an exclusive sit-down interview about the case.
Pedro, 54, and Onil Casto, 50, told CNN's Martin Savidge that they had no knowledge of their 52-year-old brother's alleged crimes.
"It’s going to haunt me down because people going to think, 'Yeah, Pedro got something to do with this,'" Pedro Castro said in an excerpt from the interview released Sunday. "And Pedro don’t have nothing to do with this. If I knew, I would have reported it—brother or no brother.”
The full interview with the brothers will air Monday, one week after three women—Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus—were freed from Ariel Castro's west Cleveland home where they were beaten and raped over a decade of captivity, police say. Berry's six-year-old daughter, who police say was fathered by Ariel Castro, was also rescued.
The women had several miscarriages during their captivity, police said.
“I can’t explain the pain and suffering these women went through for so many years,” Pedro said during the interview, which will also be broadcast on CNN en Español on Monday.
“I am very hurt by what has happened and I want the families to know this,” Onil Castro said. “I had nothing to do with this.”
All three brothers were arrested on Monday. Pedro and Onil were questioned and held on on outstanding misdemeanors. They were released on Thursday. Ariel Castro was charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. He is being held on $8 million bail and is currently on suicide watch.
In 2012, as excavating crews dug through an empty lot in the neighborhood looking for Berry's remains, Pedro Castro told a local news crew that the search for the missing girl was "a waste of money."
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