Arlene Castro has been seen in a video apologizing to Gina DeJesus – one of the three Ohio girls kidnapped, raped and imprisoned by her father more than nine years ago.
Arlene, the daughter of Ariel Castro, was tearful and emotional as she begged her friend, Gina DeJesus, for forgiveness in an interview on Thursday morning. She added that she hoped that Gina would agree to meet with her and that she could introduce her to her children.
Arlene was the last person to see DeJesus before she disappeared nearly a decade ago, then-aged just 14. She went missing, and it now turns out that it was Arlene's own father who had abducted her and kept her prisoner in his house with two other kidnapped women, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight.
Speaking to Good Morning America, Arlene said tearfully, "I'm absolutely so, so sorry. I really want to see you Gina and I want you to meet my kids. I'm so sorry for everything."
Arlene had appeared on America's Most Wanted a year after DeJesus had gone missing to give an account of their last day together, and at that time she pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.
Arlene and Gina were best friends at Wilbur Wright Middle School in Cleveland, and were always seen together, according to others who knew them at the time.
Ariel Castro's neighbor Charles Ramsey is the man who helped Amanda Berry escape from the house where she was held captive and notify authorities. He told WEWS-TV, "I heard screaming. I'm eating my McDonald's. I come outside; I see this girl going nuts trying to get out of a house."
He described, "I go on the porch and she said, 'Help me get out. I've been here a long time.' I figure it was a domestic violence dispute. She comes out with a little girl and says, 'Call 911. My name is Amanda Berry.' When she told me, it didn't register until I got the call to 911 and I'm like, 'I'm calling 911 for Amanda Berry? I thought this girl was dead.'"
Berry had given birth to a little girl while in captivity, who she is now 6-years-old. DeJesus, who went missing at age 14 in 2004 was also found in the home, as was Knight, who disappeared in 2002 and is now 32.
