Kidnapping suspect Castro accepts plea deal

Ariel Castro accepts plea deal.

Accused Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro won't get death penalty for kidnapping and murder charges.

CLEVELAND — The man accused of abducting and raping three women and holding them captive for years appeared in a Cleveland court on Friday and accepted a plea deal, allowing him to avoid the death penalty, reports the Associated Press.\

As part of the plea, Castro will get life plus 1,000 years in prison, and will not be eligible for parole.

Cleveland television station WKYC reported on Thursday that prosecutors had offered Ariel Castro a deal.

Castro's lawyers have said for weeks that they would consider an agreement under which the former
Cleveland school bus driver would plead guilty to some charges in return for his life.

Castro, 53, has been charged with 977 counts including kidnapping and repeated rape. He has also been charged with murder under a fetal homicide law for allegedly forcing one of the women to miscarry. The murder charge could carry the death penalty.

Gina DeJesus, 23, Michelle Knight, 32, and Amanda Berry, 27 were freed from Castro's home in a rundown area of Cleveland on May 6. Also freed was a 6-year-old girl who, according to DNA evidence, was fathered by Castro with Berry during her captivity.

The women had been bound for periods of time in chains or ropes and endured starvation, beatings and sexual assaults, according to court documents and a police report. Avoiding a trial would spare them from having to testify.

If no plea agreement is reached, Castro's trial is scheduled to begin on August 5.