The Importance of DNA Paternity Tests in the Cleveland Kidnappings

12 Sep 2016

Ariel Castro (Cleveland kidnapping) has recently been arrested for kidnapping and raping three women and maintaining them in captivity for more than a decade at his home in Cleveland, Ohio. These three women were kidnapped by Ariel Castro almost 10 years ago when they were under the age of 20 and some were even in their mid-teenage years. Castro’s life had been quite mundane for several decades before his arrest and even before the kidnappings. Married and divorced, he was charged numerous times for domestic violence during and after his marriage.

One of the women he kidnapped was Amanda Berry, who is currently 27 years old but was 17 at the time, back in early 2003.

Although Castro was charged with rape, he also had a daughter with one of the victims, namely Amanda Berry, during December of 2006. This particular child is currently 6 years old, but numerous investigations and media reports have put in doubt the biological paternity of Castro, with respect to this child and whether or not Amanda Berry is really her biological mother.

Drastic situations and bizarre events such as this call the need for DNA paternity tests, to verify whether or not the child holds biological paternity from Castro and if Amanda Berry is the actual mother.

Investigators and police units involved in this case can use DNA paternity tests to verify the true paternity of the supposed daughter that Castro had with Berry.

It wasn’t until this past week on May 6, that Amanda Berry escaped Castro’s home and was able to call the police to condemn the kidnappings. Castro has been arrested and put on an $8 million bail. He is being charged with kidnapping, rape, aggravated murder charges and other brutality acts that his three victims endured during their kidnapping. If convicted, he could serve up to 10 years to a life sentence, or even the death penalty, according to some media reports.

The intriguing question that the public now asks is whether the six year old child is actually Castro’s biological daughter or not, and whether the mother is Amanda Berry.

Only a professional, well conducted paternity test would be able to help the public understand who the actual biological father and mother of this child is.