The daughter of Ariel Castro has made
a tearful plea for her best friend's forgiveness after her father
kidnapped the girl and held her captive for almost a decade.
Arlene
Castro choked back tears as she appeared in an interview on Thursday
morning to say she hoped she could see Gina DeJesus soon and introduce
her to her children.
Ms
Castro had been the last person to see DeJesus, then 14, before she was
allegedly snatched by her father, Ariel Castro, in 2004 and imprisoned
in his Cleveland home.
Speaking
to Good Morning America, Ms Castro said she never had any suspicions
her friend was tied up inside the house, along with two other missing
women, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight.
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Emotional: Ariel Castro's daughter Arlene burst
into tears as she apologized to her best friend Gina DeJesus, who was
kidnapped by her father and held captive for nearly 10 years
Overwhelmed: She said she had no idea that her father was keeping three women locked up in his home
'I'm absolutely so, so sorry,' she
told GMA as tears rolled down her cheeks. 'I really want to see you Gina
and I want you to meet my kids. I'm so sorry for everything.'
Gina,
who said she was not close with her father, added: 'I'm really
disappointed, embarrassed, devastated about this whole situation.'
A
year after DeJesus' disappearance, Arlene had appeared on America's
Most Wanted to recount their last day together and to plead for new
information, unaware that the girl was so close.
The teenagers had been best friends at Wilbur Wright Middle School in Cleveland and, along with another girl, Kayla Rogers, were like 'The Three Musketeers', friends have said.
Best of friends: Arlene Castro (right) was the
last person to see Gina DeJesus (left) in 2004. Arlene's father Ariel
has been charged in her abduction
They were the best of the best of the best of friends,' Lupe Collins, whose daughter was also friends with the girls, told NBC.'Kayla and [Arlene] and Georgina, they were tight, they were like three musketeers. They wouldn't leave each other's sight.'
Kayla
and Gina met in elementary school, and they both met Arlene in middle
school. They would often go to each others' homes to listen to Spanish music and rap and practice their dance moves.
'We used to hang out on Gina's porch,' Kayla Rogers told NBC. 'We had a couple sleepovers.'
They would chat on the phone and talk about boys, Rogers said. 'We were gossips. Gossip girls.'
Rogers said she saw Arlene's father as he worked as a school bus driver.
'He was my bus driver, also,' Rogers said. 'He'd wink at me and… ugh.'
Coming home: Gina Dejesus, now 23, who
disappeared in Cleveland, Ohio in 2004, escaped from a home on Monday
just miles from where she went missing - and is believed to have known
her abductor
Last sighting: Arlene Castro told America's Most
Wanted that she was meant to go to her friend Gina's house that day
after school but her mother said that she had to come home
But following Gina's disappearance,
Rogers said she fell out of touch with Arlene Castro and that the girls
have not been in touch in nearly a decade.
Gina returned to her family's home on
Wednesday, hiding her face but giving a 'thumbs up' to the crowd that
had gathered to greet her.
On Thursday, her mother Nancy Ruiz grinned as she told Good Morning America about her excitement at her daughter's return.
'I'm still in a dream,' she said. 'I
pinch myself every morning and it's awesome. I'm unable to describe the
feeling I have. It's so awesome to have her home.'
When she saw her daughter, who is now 23, for the first time since her kidnapping, Nancy Ruiz said they did not even speak.
'We just grabbed each other and held on,' she said. 'There was just hugging and kissing and crying.'
Relief: Gina's mother Nancy Ruiz said on Thursday that it was 'awesome' to have her daughter home
Emotion: She said that she simply hugged and cried with Gina when they first saw each other again
Ruiz, who has continued to search for
her daughter since she was abducted, said that the three women, whom
she saw together in hospital, are 'doing great'.
'Captor': Ariel Castro, 52, has been charged with kidnapping and raping the three women
'I knew she was strong,' she said of her daughter. 'I didn't know how strong she was.'
Arlene
Castro had planned to go to Gina's house on the day she disappeared in
April, 2004. But when Arlene called her mother to ask permission, she
was told to come straight home and the girls parted ways.
A year after her friend disappeared, Arlene Castro told America's Most Wanted:
'She [Gina] gave me 50 cents to call my mom - and my mom said no I
can't go over to her house. So I told her and she [Gina] said ''ok'' and
just walked.'
After Gina gave Arlene 50 cents to call
her mom, she didn't have enough money for bus fare and so began to walk
home - but never made it.
Gina was not seen again until she
escaped from a home owned by Arlene's father Ariel - around three miles
from where she went missing.
Further
details have emerged about the close links that Ariel Castro kept
to the families of the missing women, even attending vigils on the
anniversaries of their disappearances alongside distraught family and
friends.
He has now been charged with kidnapping and raping the women in his home.
Relief: A 'Welcome Home Gina' sign hangs on a fence outside her family home on May 7 in Cleveland
Joy: Nancy Ruiz, mother of Gina, hugs a police officer as her daughter arrives at her home on Wednesday
Return: Gina gives a thumbs-up for the crowds as she is escorted toward her home on Wednesday
Gina DeJesus, 23, Amanda
Berry, 26, and 32-year-old Michelle Knight were found at the house on
Monday after Berry managed to escape while Castro was away from the
home.
Gina's aunt Sandra Ruiz said: 'Those girls, those women are so
strong. What we've done in ten years is nothing compared to
what those women have done in ten years to survive.'
Gina's oldest cousin Robert Osorio told NBC Latino that it was a time of relief and happiness for their family, who come from Puerto Rico.
He said: 'I saw her in the hospital. She’s happy - she’s in good spirits. She recognizes everybody by name. She’s just happy to be home.'
In April, the DeJesus’ family had marked the nine-year anniversary since Gina disappeared
All three women were released from Metro
Health Medical Center on Tuesday morning.
Never giving up hope: Gina DeJesus' father Felix
holds up a post in shortly after her disappearance in front of a shrine
to his daughter
DAILYMAIL
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