At a pretrial hearing, Cuyahoga County Judge Michael Russo said psychiatrists appointed by the court found that Castro understood the charges against him and was competent to assist his defense attorneys. The prosecution and the defense agreed with that conclusion.
Prosecutors have brought 329 charges against Castro, and say more are on the way. He’s accused of rape, kidnapping, aggravated murder and other crimes. Castro has pleaded not guilty. His defense has indicated they might be open to a plea deal, but none has yet been announced.
Prosecutors have scheduled to be a meeting next week to discuss whether to seek the death penalty against Castro for allegedly forcing one of the women to miscarry a pregnancy.
Before the hearing finished, Castro asked the judge if he could have contact with his 6-year-old daughter, whom authorities say he fathered with Amanda Berry during her captivity.
Judge Russo denied that request.
