CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ariel Castro’s house is no more.

The modest house at 2207 Seymour Ave., where Castro kept Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight locked up for more than a decade, is nothing more than a pile of rubble after crews used an excavator to tear down the property.

"This house represented evil incarnate, which is Ariel Castro," said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty. "Now, it is gone."

A crush of media and onlookers gathered before daybreak as crews from the Cuyahoga Land Bank, in charge of the demolition, and Independence Excavating prepared to tear down the home.

Knight showed up just before demolition began to hand out and release yellow balloons to neighbors of the home she spent years locked inside.

Crowds cheered as DeJesus' aunt, Peggy Arida, was allowed to man the excavator controls for the claw's first dig into the home’s upper façade at about 7:20 a.m.

Crewmen then took over and aggressively ripped into the home. Christmas decorations and a red laundry hamper tumbled out of the attic as the excavator continued gutting.

A little more than an hour later, the house was all but gone. Church bells at the Immanuel Lutheran church echoed through Seymour Avenue marking the home’s destruction.

In a press conference alongside Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, McGinty thanked a long list of people for their roles in the four months since the women escaped May 6.

In a Cleveland.com interview, McGinty said the demolition of Castro’s home signals victory.

“[Knight, DeJesus and Berry] beat this guy,” McGinty said. “[Castro’s] lost. They won.”

FitzGerald sounded a similar note.

“Nothing I can say…is as eloquent as the expression on the faces of family members of the victims,” FitzGerald said.

FitzGerald also commended the community for its reaction to the horror that was hidden under its nose.

“This neighborhood has seen better days,“ FitzGerald said. “A lot of brighter days are coming.”

The question now is what will happen with the property once the dust settles and the debris is removed.

McGinty said a committee has been formed, co-chaired by Cleveland City Councilmen Matt Zone and Brian Cummins, to determine plans for the property, which could include a park.

Cuyahoga Land Bank President Gus Frangos said two adjacent properties to the west will be torn down in the next 10 days.

“The monument to hell is no more,” Frangos said.

Jonita Marti, who grew up across the street from Castro’s home and whose mother still lives there, said the neighborhood is glad to see the home gone.

“We’re all together happy that the house of horrors is gone,” Marti said.

She said whatever goes on the property will be better than what stood before.

“We want to see something nice,” she said. “We want to be able to look over there and not remember what happened.”