Sorry for the double post.
Here is another quote which says that Castro's JW mom visits Reading, PA frequently and attends 'church' while there.
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=476287
One by one the Berks County family members of Ariel Castro got the horrible news Monday, all receiving cellphone calls or seeing news reports about the monstrous acts their relative in Cleveland was accused of committing.
Their first thoughts were for the three young women that Castro, 52, is charged with kidnapping, raping and imprisoning for about a decade, and the now-6-year-old girl one of them delivered in captivity.
And then they thought of Ariel's mother, Lillian Castro, who brought Ariel and her three other children to Reading in the late 1960s.
They were unable to comprehend how a man raised by such a good woman, who now is around 70 years old, could go so wrong.
"She is the rock of the family, and she's always been there for whoever needs her," said a Berks woman who is one of dozens of Ariel Castro's relatives in the county.
The woman's father is Lillian's brother, so she is Ariel's first cousin.
On Thursday she, her sister and brother spoke with the Reading Eagle, asking that only their last name - Rodriguez - be used due to concerns for their family's safety and privacy.
They said Ariel Castro was born in Puerto Rico and came to Reading with his mother, his sister and his two brothers after Lillian separated from her husband Pedro, the children's father.
They lived with the Rodriguez family in a row home in the 400 block of North Second Street, and the Castro children attended Lauer's Park Elementary School.
In 1975 they moved to Cleveland, where Pedro Castro was living, but Lillian remained close to the Rodriguezes, coming back to Reading for visits a few times each year.
'Didn't raise Ariel this way'
Lillian ensured that the family stayed tight, lent a hand where needed and insisted on meeting with all her Berks nieces and nephews during each visit.
Three times in the last few years she stayed in Reading for months at a time to care for two of her sisters and her mother when they grew ill. She attended church here, as well as their funerals when they passed away.
Lillian Castro still has two sisters and a brother in Reading, including the father of the siblings interviewed Thursday.
"My dad wants to stress that Lillian didn't raise Ariel this way," said one of those siblings.
The woman said she remembers Ariel as a normal child, and as an adult talked to him occasionally by phone. He would always tell her he missed her and asked when she was coming to visit him.
The last time they spoke was about a year and a half ago. Like always, he seemed normal and happy.
"Nothing seemed strange," she said.
He kept mom outside
The only red flag for Lillian Castro is that Ariel never invited her into his home, the cousin said.
Instead, he'd always go to her house for dinner, or tell her to leave her home-cooked meals on his porch. But she thought that was because he was a hoarder, and she had no clue what was really happening inside, her niece said.
"He knew how to keep people away," she said. "I can't even think what made him do this to these girls. What happened? What went wrong?"
The Rodriguez siblings plan to visit Lillian soon to comfort her.
Baffled by flesh and blood
"It's indescribable what she is going through, what the rest of the family is going through," said one of her nieces, who said Lillian is like a mother to her. "I spoke to her a little bit and she doesn't sound like herself.
"She said it's hard to believe your flesh and blood did something like this."
She is relieved, though, that her sons Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50, were released Thursday. Authorities said they won't be charged.
Ariel Castro's relatives said they are still in shock over the news.
"When I hear the 9-1-1 call from one of the victims and I hear all that she went through, all this stuff she had to endure and the cause of it was this animal (Ariel)," she said. "It makes me sick to think of it.
"Evil comes in different forms. You never know who has that cold, evil heart. You never know how it will be disguised."
She has been in touch with relatives in Cleveland, New Jersey and Puerto Rico who feel likewise.
"Our hearts go out to those families," she said. "We're all in disbelief. He made so many victims."
Fearing the fallout
The woman is afraid that her family will be persecuted or ostracized if it becomes known they are related to Ariel Castro.
"Some people are ignorant like they think something like this is in the genes," she said.
When the Rodriguez family saw photos of 6-year old Jocelyn Berry, who was born in Ariel Castro's home to victim Amanda Berry, they could tell right away that Castro was the father. They said the girl has his features.
Jocelyn is their cousin (first cousin, once removed), and despite all that happened, they hope her mother will someday agree to let the family meet her.
"We're so grateful that little girl is all right," one of the women said. "We're so thankful those girls are alive."