CLEVELAND — A judge says a Cleveland man accused of holding three women captive in his home for about a decade has a plea deal.
Ariel Castro is in court Friday. He had been charged in a 977-count indictment that could lead to the death penalty.
Castro is scheduled for trial Aug. 5 on allegations that include repeatedly restraining the women and punching and starving one woman until she had a miscarriage.
They escaped Castro's house May 6 when one kicked out part of a door and called to neighbors for help. Castro was arrested within hours and has remained behind bars.
The women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old. Each said they had accepted a ride from Castro.
Copyright The Associated Press