A Cleveland man who used to live just a few houses away from serial rapist Ariel Castro pleaded guilty to hundreds of charges Monday, including rape and murder.
Elias Acevedo Sr. agreed to plead guilty to 297 counts for the murders of two women and kidnapping and raping children. (Via CNN)
And finding Acevedo started with Castro. Police say after Castro was arrested in May for holding three women captive in his home for nearly 10 years, they took a closer look at disappearances in his neighborhood. (Via WOIO, WEWS)
Prosecutors say Acevedo strangled 30-year-old Pamela Pemberton in October 1994 and abandoned her body in a vacant lot. A year later, he murdered 18-year-old Christina Adkins, who was reportedly pregnant at the time. (Via NBC)
Acevedo originally pleaded not guilty to the murders and the multiple rape and kidnapping charges against him. (Via WTOL)
But according to the FBI, once authorities agreed to not seek the death penalty if he told them about the crimes, he admitted to committing every charge.
"There's not a day that goes by that I don't cry and wish that none of it ever happened. And I'm sorry." (Via WKYC)
A judge sentenced Acevedo to 445 years behind bars.
