DNA tests confirm Cleveland kidnap suspect is father of girl freed from house

Local law enforcement officials in Cleveland tell WKYC that accused kidnapper Ariel Castro is the father of Amanda Berry's 6-year-old daughter.

By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News

DNA tests have confirmed that Ariel Castro, the suspect in the kidnapping and decade-long imprisonment of three women in Cleveland, is the father of a 6-year-old girl born to one of the women in captivity, the Ohio attorney general said Friday.

Attorney General Mike DeWine also said that Castros DNA did not match other unsolved Ohio cases. He said that the FBI is still checking Castros DNA against unsolved cases elsewhere in the country.

Castro, 52, is charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape in the abductions of the three women and is being held on $8 million bond. They were freed Monday night when one of them, Amanda Berry, broke through a door and screamed for help.

Berry is the mother of the 6-year-old, who was also rescued from the house, authorities have said.

The baby was delivered in a kiddie pool by another captive, Michelle Knight, according to a Cleveland police report. Knight told investigators that Castro threatened to kill her if the baby died, the report said.

Knight also told investigators that Castro impregnated her at least five times, and starved her and pummeled her in the stomach to force her to miscarry, the police report said.

A DNA match to Castro would confirm what Berry told police, according to the police account. It also said that Castro would take the child out with him, and made sure the girl did not know Knights or DeJesus real name in case she said them in public.

An Ohio prosecutor pledged Thursday to pursue charges of aggravated murder against Castro for any pregnancies that he terminated.

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DNA tests confirm Cleveland kidnap suspect is father of girl freed from house