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Ariel Castro appears with one of his attorneys Craig Weintraub in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court for hundreds of new criminal charges. He pleaded not guilty.
(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Accused kidnapper and murderer Ariel Castro pleaded not guilty this morning to a 977-count indictment (read the full text of the indictment in the document viewer below), but not before he was admonished by a judge to raise his head and open his eyes during his appearance in court.
Castro was charged anew last week in an indictment that covers the entire 10-year period prosecutors say Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were imprisoned and repeatedly raped in Castro's Seymour Avenue home.
In previous court appearances, Castro had kept his head down and would not look up. Judge Pamela Barker, sitting in for Judge Michael Russo, ordered Castro to lift his head and open his eyes, saying she wanted to make sure he understood the reading of his rights.
Castro complied, but when he again dropped his head, Barker again ordered him to raise his head and open his eyes. He raised his head, but after again closing his eyes, Barker admonished him.
"I'm trying," Castro said.
McGinty said previously that he may seek the death penalty for Castro, but so far neither indictment includes death penalty specifications. McGinty reserves the right to add them later.
The new indictment of Castro includes 512 counts of kidnapping and 446 counts of rape, as well as three counts of child endangerment.
Berry gave birth to a child during her imprisonment that was fathered by Castro.
Castro appeared before Judge Barker because Judge Russo is off this week.