Ohio kidnap suspect’s family 'pack their bags and flee' as mother apologizes 'for what my son has done' 

• Marisol Alicea believed to be Ariel Castro's sister was seen with packed bags
• She was picked up by their mother Lillian Rodriguez from Cleveland home
• Pair dropped the family dog off with a friend before speeding away
  
• Apology from Lillian Rodriguez who calls herself 'a mother in a lot of pain'
• His brother, Pedro and Onil, do not face charges in the case
  

By Jill Reilly

PUBLISHED: 03:56 EST, 10 May 2013 | UPDATED: 11:06 EST, 10 May 2013

Carrying bags with their heads down, Ariel Castro's family looked frantic as they hurriedly sped off in a car today.

Marisol Alicea, believed to be alleged kidnapper Castro's sister, was picked up by their mother, Lillian Rodriguez, from her home in Cleveland, Ohio.

It is unclear where the family are headed - their quick exit has fuelled rumors they are fleeing town to escape the media frenzy.

Leaving town: Marisol Alicea, believed to be kidnapper Ariel Castro's sister, gets picked up by their mother, Lillian Rodriguez, from her home in Cleveland, Ohio today

Frantic: Talking animatedly on her mobile phone Marisol Alicea was seen with two bags as she climbed into her mother's awaiting red 4x4

Talking animatedly on her mobile phone Marisol Alicea was seen with two bags as she climbed into her mother's awaiting red 4x4.

Police officers stood guard near the car and Marisol Alicea put her hand up to cover her face as the car sped away.

A friend was seen holding the family dog suggesting the pair will be away for a some time. 

Yesterday Lillian Rodriguez tearfully apologized for her son's actions and said she is 'in a lot of pain'.

She spoke to reporters from the window of her car as she left her home, which she shares with her son Pedro, who was also arrested in connection with the kidnappings but who has not been charged.

'I am a mother in a lot of pain,' she said in Spanish. 'I am sorry for what my son has done.'

Bags packed: Lillian Rodriguez sped away with her daughter in the front seat of the car

Loose ends: The pair dropped the family dog off with a friend before leaving town

Leaving: Two police officers are seen next to Lillian Rodriguez's car. Police are believed to have questioned Rodriguez earlier this week, but there is no indication she knew of her son's allegedly heinous crimes

She added that she is sorry for the mothers of the three women - Amanda Berry, 26, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32 - whom her son allegedly raped and beat while holding them captive.

Police are believed to have questioned Rodriguez earlier this week, but there is no indication she knew of her son's allegedly heinous crimes.

She did, however, know the six-year-old girl, Jocelyn, who was born to Berry while she was held captive.

Authorities said it is likely the suspect is the father but are carrying out paternity DNA tests.

The young girl was the only victim to ever leave the fortified home on Seymour Avenue and is believed to have called Rodriguez 'grandmother'.

Apology: Lillian Rodriguez spoke to reporters as she left her home to says she was sorry for her son's actions

In court: Ariel Castro was formally charged with kidnapping and raping the three women on Thursday

Locked up: Castro talks with his public defender, Kathleen DeMetz, during his arraignment on the charges

Released: Brothers Onil (left) and Pedro (right) were not charged in connection with the kidnappings

Today MailOnline revealed that one of the Castro's daughters Arlene Castro said that her father Ariel should be executed for what he did to the women.

The revelations of her father's alleged involvement in Gina DeJesus' disappearance were particularly devastating, as Arlene and Gina were classmates and close friends before she vanished.

Ms Castro had been the last person to see DeJesus, then 14, before she was allegedly snatched by her father in 2004 and imprisoned in his Cleveland home.

She feels that only the death penalty can make him 'suffer the consequences' for allegedly keeping Gina, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight in captivity for a decade.

MailOnline can also reveal that Ariel's five children have vowed never to visit him in prison because they are so disgusted by him.

Emotional: Ariel Castro's daughter Arlene pictured during a Good Morning America interview on Thursday, has called on her father to receive the death penalty

Best of friends: Arlene Castro (right) was the last person to see Gina DeJesus (left) before she vanished in 2004. Arlene's father Ariel has been charged in her abduction

They also look away from the TV whenever he comes on because they are outraged that he 'used' them to find his prey.

That the call for Ariel to face the death penalty comes from Arlene is a clear sign of the rage she feels towards her father - but also the guilt at being an unwitting part of his twisted scheme.

In a separate interview, also with The Plain Dealer, Castro's cousin, Maria Castro-Montes, also apologized to the women.

'We are horribly sorry for what the three of you went through,' she said, adding that Castro does not 'define this family and we hope that people don't judge an entire family on one persons actions.' 

'We will get through this, our greatest concern is for those three girls,' she said. 'From one family to another, we feel your pain. I feel horrible that their families for their daughters for so many years. Those families always believe.'

With tears in her eyes, she added that she never suspected Ariel's dark secret, calling him a loving cousin, father and son, during a television interview on Thursday.

Castro's daughter, Arlene Castro, also became emotional as she asked for the forgiveness of Gina DeJesus, her best friend.

Locked up: Three missing women were found at this home, owned by Castro, in Cleveland on Monday

Found: Gina DeJesus, left, was just 14 when she vanished in 2004, while another alleged victim Amanda Berry, right, was 16 when she went missing in 2003. Both women were found on Monday

Missing: Michelle Knight, now 32, was also found inside the home, nearly 11 years after she went missing

Their comments came as Castro, 52, was formally charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape after the three women and one of their six-year-old daughters escaped the home.

His brothers, Pedro and Onil, were also arrested on Monday in connection with the crimes but have now been released after authorities found no evidence to charge them.

Instead they faced other charges: Pedro Castro, 54, pleaded no contest to an open container charge from July 2011 and was fined $100. He was released.

Onil Castro, 50, was also released after the judge threw out charges of drug abuse and carrying an open container from November 2001.

After the court appearance on Thursday morning, they went to collect their car at an impound lot but have not yet returned to their homes, the Plain Dealer reported.

Reunited: Amanda Berry (center) is pictured with her sister Beth and her six-year-old daughter Jocelyn

Return: Gina gives a thumbs-up for the crowds as she is escorted toward her home on Wednesday

As media swarmed their houses, one of Onil's neighbors, Dolores Essenburg, told the Plain Dealer that Onil and Pedro were 'real good guys'.

It was echoed by Pedro's neighbor, Mike Jones, who added: 'He's a good guy. He never bothered nobody. He always put [Ariel] down. He didn't like him.'

Castro refused to look up at judge Lauren Moore or face the bank of TV cameras inside the courtroom today. He did not speak or acknowledge the judge when she set bond at $8 million.

Prosecutor Brian Murphy told the court Castro had kidnapped the three women, two of whom were then young teenagers, for his 'self gratifying and self serving ways'.

He said their ordeal lasted more than a decade during which time they were beaten and sexually assaulted by Castro and never allowed to leave the residence where he held them captive.

'As inexplicably as they disappeared they reappeared this week,' Murphy told the hearing. 'Today the situation has turned, your honor. Mr Castro stands before you a captive, in captivity, a prisoner, and the women are free.

House of horrors: In a photograph taken in 2001, suspect Ariel Castro stands with a former girlfriend in front of a padlocked door, which led to the basement where he allegedly kept the girls

'Free to resume their lives with the promise that justice will be served to to protect the victims and the community he manipulated and deceived.'

Castro, a former school bus driver, showed no reaction during the prosecutor's statement, staring intently at the floor and trying to hide his face in his jumpsuit.

The arraignment is the first step in the legal process. He will next appear at the Cuyahoga County Court where evidence will be presented to a Grand Jury to decide if the case should proceed.

It was revealed in a police press conference yesterday that Ariel Castro waived his Miranda rights and provided a detailed statement to police. He claimed there are no more victims.

It also emerged that among the 200 items collected from his home was a letter, in which Castro allegedly confesses to his crimes and writes about his desire to kill himself 'and give all the money I saved to my victims'.

Horrible details have begun to emerge about what the girls may have been forced to endure over the last decade at the hands of their captors.

Local police sources revealed that Ariel Castro would use a sick game to 'train' the three girls not to run away by pretending to leave the house, only to beat them if they tried to run free.

This is said to be just one of the manipulative tactics he used to keep the three young women in his house for up to ten years, in addition to rapes, frequent beatings and chains hanging from the ceiling.

Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry returned home to their families on Wednesday.