In a dramatic courtroom session on Thursday, Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. In a statement to the court, Castro denied preying on his victims and blamed his actions on an addiction. “I’m not a monster. I’m a normal person. I’m sick just like an alcoholic.” He also said the home was not the house of horrors described by the women. “There was a lot of harmony in that home ... Most of the sex that went on in the house was consensual,” he said.
Meanwhile, prosecutors revealed new photos of life inside Castro’s house of horrors.
The exterior of Castro’s home, on the west side of Cleveland’s Seymour Avenue. At his sentencing on Thursday, Castro was forced to sign over the rights to the property to the city of Cleveland.
Chains found in an upstairs bedroom at the Seymour Avenue house are shown on a television monitor.
Tony Dejak/AP
One of the victims, Amanda Berry, gave birth to Castro’s daughter during her decade in captivity. This is the room where the mother and child were reportedly kept.
Prosecutors say chains like this were used to restrain the women at all times.
A wig reportedly worn by one of the three victims on the few instances they were allowed to leave the house.
An alarm system was set up on the inside of the front door.
Tony Dejak/AP
The basement where the women were reportedly chained to the pole.
Tony Dejak/AP
Workbook pages of Amanda Berry and her daughter are posted on a wall in the bedroom.
Tony Dejak/AP
A bedroom inside the Seymour Avenue home.
A model of the home of Ariel Castro is displayed in the courtroom. Amanda Berry escaped in May after busting down the front door of the home and calling for help.
