Elias Acevedo, Ariel Castro’s Neighbor, Pleads Guilty To Rape And Murder

The neighbor of Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro has pleaded guilty to 297 counts of kidnapping, child rape and murder. Elias Acevedo pleaded guilty on Monday to the murder of two women Pamela Pemberton and Christina Adkins in 1994 and 1995. Acevedo was also accused of raping several young girls; the defendant broke out into tears as some of his victims addressed their attacker. “You robbed me of my childhood. You hurt so many people,” said one of the victims. Acevedo addressed the court saying, “I am not a monster.”

The statement was similar to the one by his now deceased neighbor Ariel Castro at his sentencing hearing. Unlike Castro Acevedo told the court that he was sorry for what he did. “I feel a lot of remorse,” Acevedo said to the silent courtroom. The 49-year-old Cleveland man accepted a deal of two sentences of 20-years to life. The combined sentences equal 445-years in prison. Acevedo became a suspect in these crimes when Cleveland police began to look at disappearances on Seymour Ave. following the Castro case.

Acevedo lived just two doors away from the house where Ariel Castro held three women for over a decade. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were held hostage by Castro and for 10-years they were beaten, tortured and raped. In May 2013 Berry was able to escape and call the police, Castro was arrested and the three women were reunited with family. Castro was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years, he took his own life having served only a few weeks of the sentence.