Home after hostage hell

US kidnap victim Amanda Berry arrived at her sister's house yesterday for an emotional reunion with her family a decade after she was kidnapped and held captive.

Television images of the rear of the home showed someone carrying a small child, thought to be the six-year-old daughter Berry bore during her time as a prisoner in a house in Cleveland, Ohio.

Police have confirmed that she, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus - captive in a house in Cleveland for nearly a decade - were bound with ropes and chains.

They were allowed into the back garden occasionally, according to local police chief Michael McGrath.

McGrath told NBC's Today programme that the physical condition of the three women was "very good considering the circumstances".

Kevin Freeman, a reporter for Cleveland's Fox News, told CNN that, according to his sources: "The letters RIP - Rest in Peace - are scrawled on a wall in the basement and there's a woman's name which would lead you to believe that another woman was in there at some time."

The claims strengthen speculation that there was a fourth woman, or perhaps even more, in the house at one point.

Ariel Castro, 52, is the prime suspect in the kidnapping of the three women.

He has been arrested along with his two brothers, Pedro, 54 and Onil, 50.

Police chief McGrath said that the three men "are talking" but he would not say if they have confessed.

He said the charges to be filed were still to be determined and that until the interviews with the three women were complete it would not be possible to describe in detail how they were treated.

He said he could not confirm reports that the captives had had multiple pregnancies.

"The investigative team, which is comprised of the FBI and Cleveland police officers, has been interviewing the victims since last evening and they'll continue interviewing today," he said.

Neighbours and community activists claimed earlier yesterday that Ariel Castro handed out fliers when DeJesus went missing, and performed as a musician at a fundraiser held in her honour in the years after she vanished.

He attended a candlelight vigil for her only a year ago.

Tito DeJesus, an uncle of Gina, played in bands with Castro over the last 20 years. He recalled visiting Castro's house but did not notice anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

Juan Perez, who lives two doors away from the house, said Castro was always happy and respectful.

Berry, 27, Knight, 32 and DeJesus, 23, were freed after almost a decade of imprisonment.

A six-year-old girl, Berry's daughter, was also held in the house.

The women were rescued after Berry kicked out the bottom portion of a locked screen door and used a neighbour's phone to call the police. When a police officer arrived minutes later, Berry ran out of the house and threw her arms around him, a neighbour said.

The first picture of Michelle Knight has emerged. She is reportedly suffering from hearing loss and facial-bone damage after years of abuse.

Her mother, Barbara Knight, speaking from her home in Florida, said that she had not yet been reunited with her daughter.

"I don't want her to think that I forgot about her. I hope that, whatever happened between us, if something did, I hope it heals because I really want to take her back to Florida with me."

PREGNANCIES

CHARGES could include rape and/or assault as well as kidnapping, after it was claimed at least five babies were born at Castro's house in the decade of the women's incarceration.

Unofficial police sources said the women were beaten when they became pregnant, so that the babies would not survive childbirth. - The FirstPost

NOWHERE TO GO

MOST news reports suggest the women were kept in the basement, though Ariel Castro's son, Anthony Castro, has told the Daily Mail that many rooms in the house at 2207 Seymour Avenue were locked. "There were places we could never go. There were locks on the basement. Locks on the attic. Locks on the garage." - The FirstPost