Caught on camera: Astonishing moment brother of 'abductor' said search for missing Amanda Berry was 'a waste of money'

Pedro Castro, 54, spoke out last July as police excavated an empty lot while looking for the body of missing woman, Amanda Berry



Pedro has been arrested along with brothers Ariel, 52, and Oneil, 50

Amanda Berry, now 26, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, escaped Cleveland, Ohio home on Monday after more than nine years



One of the brothers arrested over the kidnappings of three women who were held captive at a Cleveland home for a decade was caught on camera last year saying that a search for one of them was a 'waste of money'.



Pedro Castro, who has been arrested with his two younger brothers, spoke last July as a lot was excavated for the body of missing Amanda Berry by forensic crews working on a tip from a convict.

The small lot on West 30th Street and Wade Avenue - which is two blocks from the Seymour Avenue home where the three missing women were discovered on Monday afternoon - turned up nothing.

Sitting on the stoop of a house, wearing a floral shirt and sunglasses, Castro, now 54, gestured to the lot and told reporters that looking for Miss Berry's body was 'a waste of money'.

The video has emerged as Pedro was taken into custody along with his brothers Ariel, 52, and Oneil, 50, in connection with the kidnappings of the three women.

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Knowing too much? Pedro Castro, who has been arrested in connection with the three missing women, told news reporters last year that a search for Amanda Berry was 'a waste of money'

The prime suspect Ariel, who owns the home where the women were found, was arrested on Monday after Berry escaped.

Berry, who went missing a day before her 17th birthday in 2003, climbed through a screen door with the help of a neighbor while her alleged captor was out and fled to a neighbor's home to call 911.

When police arrived minutes later, they found Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michele Knight, 32, who had also been missing for a decade, along with a six-year-old girl born to Berry while inside the home.



Brothers: From left, Ariel, Onil and Pedro have all been arrested in connection with the abduction of Gina DeJesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight almost ten years ago

The chilling footage of Pedro taken by Fox was posted on July 19, 2012 after Ohio police were told by inmate Robert Wolford that Miss Berry's body was buried in the same location where he had stabbed a homeless man to death in 2007.

Pedro Castro appeared at the time as another concerned local resident, speaking out about the girl's disappearance after the investigation proved to be another fruitless lead.

Neighbors in the street were shocked to hear that his brother Ariel Castro, who was a school bus driver in the Cleveland area until last year, could be capable of abducting three innocent teenagers from the street and tying them up with chains in his basement.

Ariel Castro's son Anthony described his devastation at his father's alleged abductions of the young women.



He told MailOnline: ‘If I had known anything about this, there is no way I could have not done something about it. I wrote about it ten years ago and now it is so close to my family. It's unbelievable.

'I can express nothing but shame for our family. It is just beyond anything that we can speak about. It’s just a nightmare. I feel unspeakably horrible for them.



Fruitless search: An excavation was carried out by police last July at an empty lot on West 30th Street and Wade Avenue in Cleveland - just two streets from Seymour Avenue where three women were held for a decade

Desperate: Amanda's family were once again left disappointed after the dig last year turned up nothing

'All I know is what is on the TV. It is beyond comprehension what happened to those girls.

'I last saw my dad two weeks ago at the house but he would not let me in. I was never invited inside. Last time was several years ago for about 20 minutes.’



The man who came to Amanda Berry's rescue, Charles Ramsey, expressed disbelief that his neighbor could be capable of such a disturbed and shocking crime.

He told NewsNet5: 'I've been here a year. I barbeque with this dude, we eat ribs and what not and listen to salsa music. Not a clue that that girl was in that house or that anyone else was in there with.



'He just comes out to his backyard, plays with the dogs, tinkering with his cars and motorcycles and goes back in the house.



Happy reunion: Amanda Berry (center) was all smiles at the Cleveland Hospital alongside her emotional sister (left) and a young girl that is believed to be the one who fled Ariel Castro's house with Berry

Found: Amanda Berry (left) and Gina DeJesus (right) were found alive in Cleveland on Monday afternoon

'He's somebody you look and then you look away because he's just doing normal stuff. You got some big testicles to pull this one off because we see this guy every day.'

Sources close to local station WOIO said the women were reportedly tied up during their captivity and police found chains hanging from one of the ceilings



They also reported there were signs that dirt had recently been moved in the backyard of the house, though police continue to investigate whether or not the dirt will lead to any new evidence in the case.

Castro has lived in the house since 1992. His two brothers - Pedro, 54, and Oneil, 50, - do not live at the home but were arrested in connection with the three abductions.

Records show that Castro was arrested for domestic violence and disorderly conduct in December, 1993, though details of this are not yet available.

Alleged abductor: Ariel Castro, pictured, was a local bus driver in the Cleveland area and was a quiet and mysterious figure in the neighborhood where no one really knew him well



Prison: Castro has lived in the house since 1992. His two brothers - aged 50 and 54 - do not live there but have been arrested in connection with the girls' disappearance

Investigation: FBI agents remove evidence from the house where three women who had disappeared as teenagers approximately ten years ago, were found alive on Monday

'HELP ME! I'M AMANDA BERRY!': VICTIM'S FRANTIC 911 CALL

Amanda Berry: Help me, I'm Amanda Berry. Operator: Do you need police, fire or ambulance?

Berry: I need police.

Operator: OK, and what's going on there?

Berry: I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here. I'm free now.

Operator: OK, and what's your address?

(The operator tries to figure out where she is.)

Berry: I'm across the street. I'm using their phone

Operator: OK, stay there with those neighbors and talk to the police when they get there.

(The operator repeats her instructions several times.)

Berry: OK, are they on their way right now? I need them now.

Operator: We're gonna send them as soon as we get a car open.

Berry: No, I need them now before he gets back.

Operator: All right. We're sending them, OK?

Berry: OK. I mean, like, right now.

Operator: Who is the guy who went out?

Berry: His name is Ariel Castro.

Operator: All right. How old is he?

Berry: He's like 52.

Operator: All right, and a...

Berry: And I'm Amanda Berry. I've been on the news for the last 10 years.

Operator: OK, I got that, dear... what is his name again?

Berry: Uh, Ariel Castro.

Operator: And is he white, black or Hispanic?

Berry: Uh, he's Hispanic.

Operator: What's he wearing?

Berry: I don't know cause he's not here right now. That's how we got away.

Operator: When he left, what was he wearing?

Berry: (Indistinguishable)

Operator: The police are on the way. Talk to them when they get there.

Berry: OK.

He was also stopped six times by Cleveland Police between 1995 and 2008 for traffic violations.

In a press conference today, it was revealed that police were called to the house in January 2004, after Castro left a child on his bus at the depot. They were not able to get anyone at the home and police did not follow up on it. After an investigation, no criminal intent was found.



There are no other records of any violations or complaints in relation to the address.



He was a school bus driver in the area until November 2012, when he was let go after doing an illegal U-turn with children on the bus, according to the Cleveland Leader.

Jannette Gomez, 50, who often visits family and friends on the street, said Castro would park his motorcycle and red pickup truck behind the house, lock the gate and enter the house through a back door.



Occasionally, he would turn on a dim porch light, but the house was always dark, she told The Plain Dealer. Shades blocked the windows, and at least one window was boarded up.

Gomez said he never had much to say, she said. He would say 'Hi' back, but there was never much conversation.



The county prosecutor joined dozens of police officers and sheriff's deputies at the scene as they began searching the house late on Monday.

Authorities say the women have been taken to a hospital to reunite with relatives and seem to be in good health.

Michelle Knight had been missing since 2002, Amanda Berry since 2003 and Gina DeJesus since 2004.

Remarkably, Castro's son - also named Ariel who now goes by 'Anthony' - penned an article for the Cleveland Plain Press about the disappearance of Miss DeJesus back in 2004 when he was a journalism student.

He even interviewed her mother for the piece, not knowing that the teen was tied up in a basement owned by his father.

He started the story with: 'Neighborhood residents have been taken by an overwhelming need for caution. Parents are more strictly enforcing curfews, encouraging their children to walk in groups, or driving them to and from school when they had previously walked alone.

'One thing is for certain, however. Almost everyone feels a connection with the family, and Gina’s disappearance has the whole area talking.'

Mother Nancy Ruiz told him at the time: 'You can tell the difference. People are watching out for each other’s kids.



'It’s a shame that a tragedy had to happen for me to really know my neighbors. Bless their hearts, they’ve been great.'

Discovery: Neighbor Charles Ramsey speaks to media after helping Amanda Berry escape the home on Monday

So close: The three victims were all kidnapped on the same Cleveland street and held around three miles away

Celebration: A 'Welcome Home Gina' sign hangs on a fence outside the home of Gina DeJesus Family: Ricardo DeJesus, outside his family's home, speaks about his relief at the discovery of his sister Gina

Relief: A sign outside the Burger King where Amanda Berry was last seen before her kidnap in 2003

Anthony Castro told WKYC-TV reporter Sara Shookman yesterday: 'This is beyond comprehension … I’m truly stunned right now.'

Also struck by the allegations, the suspects' uncle, Julio Castro, told CNN: 'I never want to see them again. For me, it's bad on one side and good on the other side.'

Julio Castro said his nephew used to play bass in various bands that performed at a local club once owned by DeJesus' uncle.



He said he believes his nephew knew the family from the club and the neighborhood.



Another neighbor Juan Perez told News Channel 5 : 'He was a nice guy, he would come around and say hi. He gave the kids rides up and down the street on his four-wheeler.

'I’ve known him since I was like five or six years old myself, he would asked me if I wanted a ride. He seemed like he was a good guy to the kids that were here, I don't think he had any bad (attention).'

Neighbor Juan Perez told News Channel 5 about Castro: 'He was a nice guy, he would come around and say hi. He gave the kids rides up and down the street on his four-wheeler'

Shocked: Neighbors were stunned to hear that Castro had three women locked in his basement as they thought he was a friendly but quiet guy

He also revealed that his sister once heard a scream come from the home and called police but nothing ever came of it. Looking back, he said, he should have seen the signs that something was not quite right.

'Now it's like, red-flag, red-flag, red-flag, somebody should've said something and my sister actually a few years ago heard a scream and she called police.

'He was a fun guy. I mean, parents trusted him. He talked to the parents. He was just a regular guy on the street. He put on that great mask that everyone thought he was a good guy.'



Police didn't immediately provide any details of how the women were found but said they appeared to be in good health and had been taken to a hospital to be reunited with relatives and to be evaluated.

They said a six-year-old also was found in the home.



On a recorded 911 call Monday, Amanda declared: 'I'm Amanda Berry. I've been on the news for the last 10 years.'

Missed: Gina DeJesus, left and right, vanished in 2004 when she was 14 as she walked home from school



Details: Cleveland police Deputy Chief Ed Tomba, right, addresses the media as Safety Service Director Martin Flask, left, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, second left, and Cleveland Police Sgt. Sammy Morris listen

