US house where three women held captive demolished

The US house where three women were held captive and raped over a decade has been demolished.

The house in Cleveland is being torn down as part of a deal that spared owner Ariel Castro possible execution. He was sentenced last week to life in prison plus 1,000 years.

One of the women imprisoned there, Michelle Knight, showed up before the demolition began. She made a brief statement and released some balloons.

A crowd of onlookers clapped as the demolition began.

Prosecutors say Ariel Castro cried when he signed over the house deed and mentioned his “many happy memories” there with the women.

The women escaped on May 6th when one of them broke part of a door and yelled for help.

Google Earth had already blurred out a satellite image of the house, before the demolition began.