Late Friday afternoon, June 7, a month and a day after his arrest, a Cuyahoga County grand jury returned an unprecedented 329-count indictment against Ariel Castro. The indictments only covered the period from August 2002, when the first victim, Michelle Knight, was abducted, until February 2007. Prosecutor Tim McGinty promised there would be more to follow. “Today’s indictment represents a first major step in the criminal justice process,” said McGinty. “Our investigation continues and we will present our findings to the grand jury.” The 142-page indictment accused Ariel Castro of two counts of aggravated murder, for causing the unlawful termination of a pregnancy. He was also indicted on 139 counts of rape, 177 counts of kidnapping, seven counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of felonious assault and a single count of possessing criminal tools. After the remaining indictments came down, the County Prosecutor’s Capital Review Committee would meet to decide whether to attach a death penalty specification to it.
