Kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro will plead not guilty in the kidnapping and rape of three women who he held captive for about ten years, according to his attorneys.
Castro's attorneys Craig Weintraub and Jay Schlachet said that they have met with the suspect and he is not the 'monster' that media is portraying him to be.
"The initial portrayal of him is one of a quote 'monster,' and that is not the impression that I got," Weintraub said in an interview that aired on the Today show Wednesday. "He is a human being, but what is offensive is that the women and the media want to demonize this man before they know the whole story, and I think it's unfair and not equitable." He also added that Castro loves the child he fathered with Amanda Berry.
Schlachet also said that facts "will be disclosed as the case progresses."
"I am aware of how he came in contact with them," Weintraub told NBC.
Castro's non-guilty plea will force the three victims to testify against their captor.
Pedro and Onil Castro, the brother of kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro, have branded him 'a monster' and do not consider him their kin after finding out about the horrible crimes committed by him against the three women for over a decade.
The brothers spoke exclusively to CNN in an interview that aired Monday morning, saying that they had no idea what was going on in their brother's house.
In the interview, they spoke of their shock that Ariel was involved, saying they hoped he 'rots in jail.'
Onil and Pedro Castro were initially arrested together with Ariel upon the discovery of the three missing women and a child– Amanda Berry, Gine DeJesus, Michele Knight, and Jocelyn, whom he fathered with Berry.
However, the brothers were released shortly after lack of evidence in connection to the crimes.
Onil was with his brother Ariel when he was arrested for the kidnapping. He explained how he thought he was being pulled over for running a red light. Meanwhile, Pedro was sleeping in his home when he was woken up by police and taken into custdy. He thought he was being arrested for an outstanding open container warrant.
Only when Onil and Pedro arrived at the police station did they find out the crimes committed by their brother and now do not consider him to be their kin.
The brothers said they felt the worst when they realized that Ariel took Gina DeJesus. They are friends with her father, Felix DeJesus.
He told CNN: "I knew him for a long time and when I found out that Arial had Gina, I just broke down its just shocking. Ariel, we know this guy for a long time and you got his daughter and you go round like nothing, you even went to the vigils, you had posters, you give his mama a hug and you got his daughters captive?'
The brothers recalled how they would always stay in Ariel's kitchen area when they visited his home and did not go into any other rooms as he had curtains blocking the other rooms. "The reason why we would go in the kitchen, because he had alcohol. And he would take me in the kitchen, give me a shot,' Pedro told CNN.
Pedro also explained that there would always be some sort of background noise to drown out any noise from the house, such as a TV or radio and that his brother always wanted to eat on the steps leading up the house instead of indoors.
Pedro told CNN's Martin Savidge his disbelief that his brothers would commit such a crime behind closed doors.
"I couldn't never think of doing anything like that. If I knew that my brother was doing this, in a minute I would have called the cops; cause that ain't right. But yeah, it's going to haunt me down. Cause people are going to think Pedro had something to do with this and pedro don't have anything to do this….If I knew, I would have reported it, brother or no brother."
Berry made her dramatic escape from her captor's house on May 6 after screaming and shouting for help through a small gap on the front door. Her screams were heard by a neighbor, who helped her out.
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michele Knight and Jocelyn were all rescued from the house and taken to hospital. They have since been released from hospital and reunited with their families. Meanwhile, reports say that Knight has gone home with DeJesus and is shunning her family for not looking for her.
Knight, 32, has been held captive by Ariel Castro for the longest time among the three victims - a total of 11 years. She had required additional medical care as she was found with facial injuries and had suffered at least five miscarriages while in captivity. She was reportedly starved and punched in her stomach whenever she fell pregnant by Castro.
Castro, 52, was charged with four counts of kidnapping on May 8. He has also been charged with raping the three women he kidnapped and held captive for around 10 years.
See Onil and Pedro Castro's full interview videos with CNN below:
