Story highlights Ariel Castro's mother: "I have a sick son, who has done something serious"

Castro's daughter: "It's all adding up, and I'm just disgusted"

Prosecutor says he'll seek to charge Castro with murder for ending captives' pregnancies

Already charged with kidnapping and rape, Castro is being held on $8 million bail

First came the pain -- a decade of torture, torment and terror for three captive women and one of their young daughters.

Now comes the prosecution and -- if there's a conviction -- punishment for the man accused of being responsible for their hell.

Ariel Castro appeared silently in court Thursday, his head down, as he was arraigned on four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape, accused of holding the women captive in his Cleveland home. Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Lauren Moore ordered Castro held on $8 million bond -- $2 million for each of the three women and the child born to Amanda Berry before they were freed Monday evening.

Hours later, the top prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, announced he'd press for more charges -- "for each and every act of sexual violence ... each day of kidnapping, every felonious assault (and) all his attempted murders."

Furthermore, Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said he'd try to persuade a grand jury to indict the 52-year-old Castro for "aggravated murder" for the termination of his captives' pregnancies. He cited a state law that a person can be charged with murder -- a conviction that could lead to the death penalty in Ohio -- for killing unborn children.

Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Amanda Berry speaks in a video released on YouTube on Monday, July 8, thanking people for support and privacy. Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from a Cleveland home on May 6, 2013, after being held captive for nearly a decade. Hide Caption 1 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Amanda Berry vanished a few blocks from her Cleveland home on April 21, 2003. She was 16. Hide Caption 2 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Gina DeJesus speaks in the YouTube video. Hide Caption 3 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Georgina "Gina" DeJesus was last seen in Cleveland on April 2, 2004, on her way home from school. She was 14 when she went missing. Hide Caption 4 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Michelle Knight speaks in the YouTube video. Hide Caption 5 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Knight was last seen on August 22, 2002, when she was 21. Hide Caption 6 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Photos: Kidnapped teens found decade later – In a handwritten note, Knight thanked Cleveland police for their efforts, saying she was overwhelmed with the support she had received from "complete strangers." The note was posted Wednesday, July 31, on the police's Second District Community Relations Committee Facebook page. Hide Caption 7 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Residents gather outside a community meeting at Immanuel Lutheran Church on Thursday, May 9, to talk about the kidnapping case in Cleveland . Balloons were released as part of the ceremony. Hide Caption 8 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – FBI agents and other law enforcement officers stand outside suspect Ariel Castro's home in Cleveland on May 9. Castro, a former school bus driver, has been accused of holding three women captive for a decade in his house. He has also been charged with rape. Hide Caption 9 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Castro hangs his head low while talking with his public defender, Kathleen DeMetz, during his arraignment on May 9. Hide Caption 10 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Ada Colon prays during a vigil held in honor of the kidnapping victims in Cleveland on Wednesday, May 8. Hide Caption 11 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Relatives of kidnapping victim Georgina "Gina" DeJesus hug after she returned to her parents' home in Cleveland on May 8. Hide Caption 12 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Friends and neighbors cheer as a car carrying Amanda Berry arrives at her sister's house in Cleveland on May 8. Hide Caption 13 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Gina DeJesus gives a thumbs up as she arrives at her family's house in Cleveland on May 8. Hide Caption 14 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Ariel Castro was charged on May 8 with kidnapping the three women. Hide Caption 15 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – The family house of Gina DeJesus has been decorated by well-wishers on Tuesday, May 7. Hide Caption 16 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Friends and relatives gather in front of the family house of DeJesus on May 7. Hide Caption 17 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Well-wishers visit the home of the sister of Amanda Berry on Monday, May 6. Hide Caption 18 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Investigators remove evidence from the house on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland where the three women were held. Hide Caption 19 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – An FBI forensics team meets outside the house where three women were held as they investigate the property. Hide Caption 20 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – An FBI forensics team member removes evidence from the house. Hide Caption 21 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – A relative of DeJesus brings balloons to the home of Amanda Berry's sister in Cleveland on May 7. Hide Caption 22 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Children hold a sign and balloons in the yard of Gina DeJesus' family home in Cleveland on May 7. Hide Caption 23 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Bystanders and media gather on May 7 along Seymour Avenue in Cleveland near the house where the three women were held captive. Hide Caption 24 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – A bystander shows the front page of The Plain Dealer newspaper to a friend outside of the house on Seymour Avenue on May 7. Hide Caption 25 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Cleveland Deputy Chief of Police Ed Tomba, center, speaks at a news conference to address details of the developments. Hide Caption 26 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – The house where the three women were held captive in Cleveland was the home of Ariel Castro, who was arrested and is being held pending charges in the case. Hide Caption 27 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – FBI agents remove evidence from the house May 7. Hide Caption 28 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – A police officer stands in front of the broken front door of the house on May 7, where the kidnapped women escaped. Hide Caption 29 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Neighbor Charles Ramsey talks to media as people congratulate him on helping the kidnapped women escape on Monday, May 6. He helped knock down the door after he heard screaming inside. Hide Caption 30 of 30

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According to an initial incident report obtained by CNN, Michelle Knight said she became pregnant at least five times while in Castro's 1,400-square-foot home . When that happened, she told investigators, Castro "starved her for at least two weeks, then he repeatedly punched her in the stomach until she miscarried."

It is not known how many times, if any, the other two women got pregnant only to miscarry. One of them, Berry, gave birth to a daughter while in captivity.

That's just one of the brutal tales reported so far about the women's captivity, which McGinty described as "beyond comprehension."

"The child kidnapper operated a torture chamber and private prison in the heart of the city," he told reporters. "The horrific brutality and torture that the victims endured for a decade is beyond comprehension."

Castro's own mother is among those trying to make sense of the horror.

"I have a sick son who has done something serious," she told Univision and Telemundo. "I'm suffering very much. I ask for forgiveness from those mothers; may those girls forgive me."

Source: Writings detail actions, reasons behind them

So what was going through the suspect's mind, when he allegedly lured three women into a car between 2002 and 2004, took them to his home three miles away and held them there -- where they were chained, threatened and repeatedly sexually assaulted?

Neither Castro, his attorneys nor police have spelled out a motive publicly.

The suspect has talked with investigators, confessing to some of the actions of which he's accused, said a law enforcement source closely involved with the investigation. The source did not describe precisely what Castro confessed to when he was interrogated.

Plus, investigators have asked the state crime lab to expedite tests to create a DNA profile of Castro -- something that typically takes 20 days, but should be back Friday -- said Ohio Attorney General's office spokesman Dan Tierney.

They're also poring over evidence, including more than 200 items seized from Castro's Seymour Avenue home. Among them are writings authorities believe were written by the suspect, said two law enforcement sources closely involved in the case.

Those contain "specific detailing of actions and reasons behind actions" tied to the women's abduction and their kidnapper's behavior toward them, one of the law enforcement sources said. The author cites his own history of abuse by family members as justification.

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The source -- who described the "pretty lengthy" writings as "more of a diary" -- said they included talk of suicide, though that's just one of many aspects.

Authorities are working "meticulously" to see whether others were involved in the kidnapping plot. Two of Castro's brothers, Pedro and Onil, were initially arrested in the case only to be released Thursday -- after appearing in court on unrelated cases -- when investigators found nothing, including from the victims' interviews, linking them to the abductions.

One of his daughters, Angie Gregg, told CNN that she "just wanted to die" upon hearing her father had been implicated.

But looking back, she thinks there were signs of something awry -- such as how her father "kept his house locked down so tight" and would sometimes leave mysteriously for an hour or so, then return, with "no explanation."

"Everything's making sense now," Gregg said. "It's all adding up, and I'm just disgusted."

Source: Death threat if newborn died

According to the initial incident report, the women said Castro first chained them in the basement but later let them live upstairs on the second floor.

The women went outside only twice during their ordeal -- and just "briefly" at that, Cleveland Public Safety Director Martin Flask said.

Most of the time the three would be in different rooms, though they interacted occasionally and came to "rely on each other for survival," said a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation.

One thing they could count on was that their alleged captor wouldn't let them out.

Castro would often test his captives by pretending to leave, the law enforcement source said. Then he'd suddenly return; if there were indications any of the women had moved, they'd be disciplined.

While Knight told investigators Castro forced her to miscarry her own unborn children, she said he ordered her to deliver Berry's child, according to a police source familiar with the investigation.

The baby was delivered in a plastic tub or pool in order to contain the afterbirth and amniotic fluid, the source said.

Panic ensued soon after. The child stopped breathing, and everyone started screaming, the source said, citing accounts by the young women.

Knight said Castro threatened to kill her if the baby did not survive, the initial police report states.

"What's most incredible here is that this girl who knows nothing about childbirth was able to deliver a baby that is now a healthy 6-year-old," the source said.

'I don't think she would have lived very much longer'

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Knight remained hospitalized in good condition Thursday, said MetroHealth Medical Center spokeswoman Tina Shaerban-Arundel.

The others held -- Berry, her 6-year-old daughter and Georgina "Gina" DeJesus -- are back with relatives.

FBI specialists who talked with them feel they "desperately need space and time," said McGinty.

"These victims need to be decompressed," he said. "They need a chance to heal before we seek further in-depth evidence from them."

Those close to them, as well as residents of Cleveland and beyond, are trying to make sense of the alleged depravity.

One of them is Arlene Castro, the suspect's daughter and once a very good friend of DeJesus. She was interviewed on an "America's Most Wanted" segment in 2005 talking about how she'd been with DeJesus, hoping to spend the afternoon with her, shortly before her abduction.

Speaking Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America," she said she last spoke with her father late last month, adding the two had never been close. Whatever their relationship, she insisted, "I had no idea" what was happening.

"I'm really disappointed, embarrassed, mainly devastated," Arlene Castro said. "... I would like to say that I'm absolutely so, so sorry."

Fern Gentry said on CNN's "Starting Point" Thursday that hearing Berry, her granddaughter, was alive 10 years after her disappearance was the "most important thing that ever happened in my life."

Gentry, who spoke to Berry by phone from her Tennessee home Tuesday, said she's grateful for all involved in the case -- from police to helpful neighbors -- and that her granddaughter can now live her life.

"If she hadn't got out, I don't think she would have lived very much longer," Gentry said.