CLEVELAND (AP) — As relatives of the Cleveland kidnappingand rape suspect recounted claims of his
unnerving paranoia and violentoutbursts, DNA testing confirmed the man who allegedly held three womencaptive
for nearly a decade is the father of a 6-year-old girl whoescaped from the house along with the women.Ariel
Castro, chargedwith rape and kidnapping, remained jailed Friday under a suicide watchon $8 million bond
while prosecutors weighed more charges, includingsome that might carry the death penalty. Public defender
KathleenDemetz, who said she is acting as Castro’s adviser while he awaits afull-time attorney, said Friday
she can’t speak to his guilt orinnocence and said only that she advised him not to talk to
reporters.Butthose who know the 52-year-old Castro are speaking up, saying he wasoften angry, paranoid and
prone to violent outbursts against the motherof his children. He frequently beat her, played bizarre
psychologicalgames and locked her indoors, they said.The stories, repeated inseparate interviews with The
Associated Press by members of Castro’sextended family, have surprised people who knew him as a musician
whoplayed bass in several bands around Cleveland the last two decades.MiguelQuinones, manager of a group
Castro played with twice as a backup bassplayer about five years ago, said he had nothing bad to say about
Castrobased on his own experiences.But in the interviews, some ofCastro’s ex-relatives said he frequently
flashed his compulsions forsecrecy and terrifying rage that often led him to beat his common-lawwife,
Grimilda Figueroa.Figueroa left Castro years ago and diedin 2012 after a long illness. Their early years
together were happy, butsomething inside Castro snapped after the birth of their first child,they
said.Castro pushed her down the stairs, fractured her ribs,broke her nose several times, cracked a tooth and
dislocated bothshoulders, they said. In one incident, he shoved Figueroa into acardboard box and closed the
flaps over her head, they said. He kept herand children imprisoned, cut off from friends and family, and
Figueroacouldn’t even unlock her own front door, they said.Figueroa fileddomestic-violence complaints,
accusing Castro of threatening many timesto kill her and her daughters. She charged that he frequently
abductedthe children and kept them from her, even though she had full custody,with no visitation rights for
Castro."When I go over there tovisit her, and I ask her, ‘Nilda, I’m here, open the door,’ she’s
like,’I can’t. Ariel has the key,’" Figueroa’s sister, Elida Caraballo,recalled.Two of the women freed
from Castro’s home, including theone who gave birth to the girl, returned to relatives’ houses earlierthis
week. The third woman, Michelle Knight, was released from ahospital Friday with a request that her privacy
be respected."MichelleKnight is in good spirits and would like the community to know that sheis
extremely grateful for the outpouring of flowers and gifts," thestatement said.On Friday, Knight’s
grandmother, Deborah King,visited the home of one of the captives, Gina DeJesus, to meet theDeJesus
family.She said she loved and missed Knight, "And if Iget to, she’s going to get the biggest hug and
kiss from me that sheever did have."A police report alleged that Castro impregnatedone of his captives
at least five times and made her miscarry bystarving her and punching her in the stomach. The report also
saidanother one of the women, Amanda Berry, was forced to give birth in aplastic kiddie pool.Tests by the
state attorney general’s officeon a sample of Castro’s DNA confirmed he fathered Berry’s 6-year-olddaughter,
who was rescued from his house, the office said Friday. Afterher release, the girl returned home with the
27-year-old Berry.Officials also were entering the DNA profile into a national database tosee if it links
him to other crimes.The three women said Castrochained them up in the basement but eventually let them live
on thehome’s second floor. Each woman told a similar story about beingabducted after accepting a ride from
him.The FBI has notrecovered human remains in its search of the house, spokeswoman VickiAnderson said
Friday. Agents removed more than 200 pieces of evidence,she added, declining to say what was found.Berry and
former captive Gina DeJesus, 22, went home with relatives Wednesday.TheAP does not usually name people
alleging sexual assault without theirconsent, but the names of the three women were widely circulated
bytheir families, the media and law enforcement for years.___AssociatedPress writers Meghan Barr, Mike
Householder, Thomas J. Sheeran andAndrew Welsh-Huggins and AP freelance writer John Coyne in
Cleveland;Brendan Farrington in Florida; and Dan Sewell in Cincinnati contributedto this report along with
news researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.