Several neighbors of accused kidnapper Ariel Castro say they had in the past seen naked women in the backyard of Castro's house. Elsie Cintron told BBC News that she kept her grandchildren away from Castro's home after her granddaughter said she had seen a "naked lady crawling in the backyard of his house". Nina Samoylicz, who lives three doors down, told CNN on Tuesday that two years ago she spotted a naked woman in the backyard. And women living in a nearby apartment building who have not yet been identified told Israel Lugo - who lived two doors down from Castro - they saw three young girls with dog leashes around their necks being led on all fours around the yard by three men. When the women called the police, they never came. Lugo, 39, says that after learning of this, he called police on three separate occasions, to no apparent effect. Watch Elsie Cintron tell BBC News about her suspicions below.
In November 2011, according to USA Today, Lugo heard pounding on the doors of the house, which had plastic bags covering the windows. "[Police] walked to the side of the house and then left," said Lugo. On another occasion, he called the police after his sister told him she heard banging on a window in the Castro home and saw a woman and a baby standing in the window, partially obscured by a wooden board. The third time, it was his mother who called after her suspicions were raised once again by how much McDonalds' food Castro would bring in after work. Police responded but did not enter the home.
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Elsie Cintron, a neighbor from three houses down, said her granddaughter had told her she'd seen a "naked lady" in Castro's backyard. Cintron told her to keep away from the house and informed a police officer, who told her to consult a detective without offering an accompanying name and number.
Nina Samoylicz says she found it "weird" and "funny at first" when she saw a naked woman in Castro's backyard. She told CNN that when she called the police, they didn't believe her. Castro allegedly yelled at the woman to get back in the house, and soon after set up tarps to obscure the interior of his house.
"When we seen the lady, like, the backyard was opened," Samoylicz said. "Then, like, after that, like a week or two after, he put tarps up. He like, secluded himself."
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A law enforcement official told USA Today the victims may have been held in chains during part of their captivity.
Amanda Berry disappeared in 2003, when she was 16; 14-year-old Gina DeJesus went missing a year later, and 19-year-old Michelle Knight disappeared in 2002.
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