>> it's good to be back. >> i thought you were gone. >> nope, i'm here. >> we're happy and here for you. >> thank you so much. i miss you and love you guys so much. >> the little girl is your baby? >> yeah. she's my daughter. born on christmas. >> we got to get together soon. >> i know it. >> but i love you, honey. thank god. >> i love you too. >> i thought about you all the time. i never forgot you. >> today, amanda berry's sister thanked the public and media but asked for privacy during these difficult times. that's it for me this hour. see you back here at 5:00 p.m. in "the situation room." "cnn newsroom" continues right now with ashleigh banfield reporting from phoenix. ashleigh. >> wolf, thank you so much. in our live story that just continues to unfold with remarkable details comes to us in cleveland, ohio, where right now we may see somewhat of a repeat of what we saw just an

hour and a half ago with the return home of yet another one of these three victims who were held captive for a decade. we had just seen the return home of amanda berry, age 27. and now we are seeing a crowd that is developing outside of the home of gina dejesus, 23 years old. this is the crowd that's gathered outside of her home as police tell us she is likely now to make her homecoming in the next few moments. we don't know when she's coming, but the police say that her return home is imminent. it is 1:00 in the afternoon cleveland time as the police presence grows outside of gina dejesus's home. let me remind you, gina has been missing since 2004. that is one year after amanda berry went missing. at the time gina went missing she was just 14 years old. and the reports were that she was last seen at a pay phone in the middle of an afternoon as

she was on her way home from school. but now we're being told that after being treated in the hospital and her condition being reported to us as somewhat frail but good, we are likely to see in the next -- hopefully in the next short while the return home of gina dejesus to her family after just a harrowing ordeal allegedly at the hands of a man and his two brothers not far from the neighborhood where she disappeared. we have a number of developments that are happening in this story at this hour in fact. just a short time ago as i mentioned amanda berry, one of the three women locked up in now what is often being described as a house of horrors locked up for nearly a decade or more, amanda returned home to her family. and there was a crush -- a throng of neighbors and friends and of course the media as well. her nightmare finally ending for

her -- at least this phase of it. her sister pleaded to all those who had gathered who had been told by the police she was going to make a statement that she wanted to make a statement, instead her sister saying she chose not to and now is asking for privacy as this family tries to recover. >> i just want to say we are so happy to have amanda and her daughter home. i want to thank the public and the media for their support and encourage over the years. and at this time our family would request privacy. so my sister and niece and i can have time to recover. we appreciate all you have done for us throughout the past ten years. please respect our privacy until we are ready to make our statements. and thank you. >> beth serrano making those comments amid just so many reporters. all of this as the men who allegedly held her sister and two others captive are expected

to be charged with the crimes at any time now. our poppy harlow joins us on the phone now live from cleveland. poppy, i know that you are at the home when amanda arrived and it was just such a remarkable scene to witness. obviously so many so fascinated and so interested in her recovery, both neighbors and friends but also the media wanting to know if she's okay. give me a feel for that scene as you watched her arrive. >> hi, ashleigh, i would say that it's jubilation. we pulled up just as crowds started to cheer. there are neighbors there, a lot of media of course, friends, acquaintances of amanda's all outside waiting for her to return. she was in sort of an unmarked type of squad car if you will, accompanied by police officers, also with some of the lead fbi agents, people who had been on this case for years and years trying to find her. people outside just erupted in cheers and applause for her that

she had come home. to paint a picture for you of this home, the serrano home, they have had a sign with the picture of amanda tied to the front of their home we're told by neighbors for years and years waiting, not giving up hope for her to come home, a yellow ribbon tied around a tree in front of the house neighbors tell us also has been there for years for amanda. today, she came home. they could not be happier. some of the neighbors i spoke with after we heard that statement from her sister, beth, told me that they could not be more excited, that this is thrilling, that this is just such a happy ending to such a scary and what they thought might be tragic story for amanda and for those other two girls. of course there is still one girl from this area still missing. and we cannot forget that. additionally, one of the neighbors that i spoke with that lives just down the street told me, you know, frankly i didn't think this day was coming. it had been so long, i didn't think she would return home. and to see her return home is

just incredible. >> poppy, this story is remarkable. and there are so many developing facets. not only those three victims, their stories, their homecomi s homecomings, also those tlie e three suspects, yet to be charged, what their stories are, what they're going to face, what their culpability may be in all of this. we're going to continue on the coverage of what's going to happen on those three men, but at the same time critically focus on the well-being of these victims of this horrendous ten-year deal. the pictures are coming live to us from our cleveland affiliate wkyc. this is the live picture at gina dejesus's home. she was abducted in 2004 spending nearly an entire decade in captivity. she was treated at the hospital. her condition at the time according to sources said that

she was actually doing fine and was in fairly good condition, certainly good enough condition to be released. the girls -- the women at this point, girls as they went into captivity, women as they emerge have all been reported to be in what frail health and certainly undernourished at the very least. we had reports from neighbors that they'd seen the accused -- or the near to be accused in this case, the owner of that home, he had been walking in and out of that home with many bags of mcdonald's. at the time it didn't seem so unusual, in retrospect perhaps making more sense. but now as we look at the ho homecoming for gina dejesus, it's looking remarkably similar to what we just witnessed an hour ago, the homecoming of her co-captive amanda berry, came home to her sister's home with her 6-year-old daughter, a daughter born in captivity as well. now here we are an hour later about to witness the homecoming of gina dejesus as well.

friends beginning to emerge. neighbors emerging outside of this home as well. in the case of amanda we saw the crowd growing from just a few to several hundred over the course of about an hour as news broke that their friend and loved one and neighbor was going to be arriving home. and as we await gina dejesus's arrival home, brian todd joins me live now with more on this story. brian. >> ashleigh, as this all unfolds we're awaiting another development here at the courthouse in cleveland, the possible filing of charges against ariel castro and his two brothers. that could come some time today, maybe this afternoon. not quite clear on that. we are getting some new information on a tangled web of allegations of abuse within the castro family especially against ariel castro from past years when he was living with the mother of his natural children. this was a woman named gramilda. this is a document from cuyahoga

county. this contains several accounts of abuse. listed as the natural parent of his child, not as his spouse but natural parent of his child among the allegations of abuse against ariel castro that he broke petitioner's nose twice. that he broke her ribs. that he gave her lacerations, knocked out a tooth, gave her a blood clot on the brain and in parenthesis says inoperable tumor, dislocated shoulders once on each side, threatened to kill her and her daughters three to four times just this year. and you flip the page here and another allegation is that -- i'll read it to you, the petitioner has full custody with no visitation for the respondent and the responsibility is ariel castro. nevertheless, the respondent frequently abducts daughters and

keeps them from the mother. these are allegations of abuse and abduction against ariel castro. we do have to say that these charges were dismissed later in that year. a court official familiar with the case tells us however that that does not necessarily mean a finding of guilty or not guilty. there were several instances where ariel castro did not show up for court. and finally on one of the bigger days of these proceedings, the lawyer for gramidla was not able to be present and the court determined she would be at a disadvantage so they dismissed the case against him. according to a court official familiar with this case, that was not necessarily a finding of guilt or guilty or not guilty with regard to these allegations, ashleigh. >> and, again, brian, we should remind our viewers these allegations come for protective order, but not -- they didn't result necessarily in charges of abuse, which is so remarkable. and, brian, as we know this wife, gramilda is now deceased,

is there anything in any of these dock yuments to indicate where these two children are, these two daughters, essentially could they have been part of this home in which these three young women were allegedly held captive? >> well, it's not clear where one of the daughters is. but we do know where one of the other daughters is because we have another document from the state of indiana about wub of one of their daughters, emily castro, a document which states that she in 2007 tried to kill her baby daughter by slitting her throat four times. this is another document from a court in indiana saying sthe e she tried to kill her own baby daughter and that the mother actually saved that baby daughter's life by wrestling the daughter from her, hailing a car and getting her to the hospital. that's according to this court document that we have in our possession right now. we've also confirmed with the courts and with the prison system in indiana that that daughter, emily castro, is serving a 25-year sentence for

attempted murder in that case. >> brian todd reporting for us live outside the criminal justice center in downtown cleveland. i want to bring in my colleague nancy grace now who knows a thing or two about prosecuting having been a prosecutor for so many years. i don't even know where to begin, nancy, with the number of different infractions, violations and laws that have been broken in the myriad different series of facts we're beginning to learn about in this now what we're being told is a house of horrors. i want to just ask you with your initial knowledge of the evidence that so far police have told us about where do you see this investigation going? >> well, i see the obvious choices that you have already discussed such as kidnapping, rape, sodomy, abuse. but i think one victim that is not received any focus at all is the child that was born out of this house of horrors. the 6-year-old little girl that came out of that house.

we have also heard from sources that the other women were pregnant several times. but there was never another live birth, which leads me to wonder what happened to those pregnancies. not only that, according to many sources an alleged suicide note written by one of the castros, ariel castro, was found in the home and shockingly in that alleged suicide note, ashleigh, he blames the victims for getting into his car to start with. he claims he has a sex addiction and that he needs help. ropes and chains were found in that home. it is speculated that the women were kept in separate rooms, bound, even in cages. all of this happening in a residential neighborhood. a lot of focus claiming cops didn't do enough, but i would suggest that we take the focus off what cops didn't do and focus on the real perpetrators,

that being the castros. if this suicide note is real, that will be very strong evidence against ariel castro. and another thing, about the child, the little child born in that home, think of the child abuse. no vaccinations, no school, nothing, living off bags of mcdonald's that ariel brought in once in a while during the day. he would stay gone for long periods of time, stay for maybe an hour and then leave. that child was raised up in that condition. you know, i also am happy to report that there are sources saying that the brothers, the castro brothers, are subjected to a lot of verbal abuse behind bars. and, boy, do they deserve it. >> well, their saga is just beginning as well in terms of what they're going to be facing. nancy, with all of your years having been a prosecutor i can't even begin to wonder what this community, cleveland, it is not

a small city, but how much manpower is this city going to need in terms of dispatching those to investigate each of those brothers, the crime scene itself, these three young women who were once children, their stories, the child born in captivity, it just seems to me this is a crime like no other that would require manpower unknown to probably a lot of communities that have dealt with terrible crimes in the past. how do they even begin this remarkable investigation and the cases that are going to follow? >> well, the most evidence is going to be obtained from the four victims that we know of, the child and adult females. i would suggest after cordoning off the home and processing it that we also focus on another girl, 14-year-old ashley summers who went missing very, very close to the same location as these girls. they all go missing around lorraine street, all three of

them. it's amazing to me that no one could connect the dots that three girls may go missing within a space of a couple of years off one street from one street. and one of the three missing girls was actually friends with one of the castro children. yes. that's right. gina, the one -- the 14-year-old that was taken on her way home walking home from school was a close friend of one of the castro brothers' children. they were all connected. this is not stranger on stranger. so my advice is that maybe there's another life to be saved or sadly a homicide to be solved with 14-year-old -- then-14-year-old ashleigh summers. is she another victim in the castro brothers? >> and, nancy, we're going to be following the story of ashly summers a little later on in this program because as you mentioned she went missing not long after these other three victims went missing as well. and not that far away.

i also want to report, nancy, that one of the things our cnn crews in the field in cleveland have been discovering is that a number of people have been approaching our live trucks because they see that there's cnn em blazened on the side and asking help for their child missing that perhaps these suspected brothers may be involved in the disappearance of their children. this isn't just one report, this is happening to a number of our crews and our reporters in the field. they're being approached by people in cleveland asking for help, asking to turn the attention to their loved one who hasn't been found yet. it's just such a traumatic ordeal for the families of those involved all around cleveland. >> ashleigh, that is very upsetting. that's very upsetting. i want to point out when ashley was taken, she was believed to be a runaway. which tragically is a label put on so many children that disappear especially the tweens. you know, 12, 13, 14, 15,

they're labeled as runaways. and i'm telling you, police are crushed. they don't have enough resources. so when they hear runaway, they put it off in another category. i wonder how many of these children died or were abducted at the hands of the castro brothers right under the nose of their own neighbors. >> yeah. and clearly the investigation will go as far as it can in determining that. we do want to say that police and fbi did respond with cadaver dogs to that location and they have reported today that there are no human remains that have been discovered on that site. nancy, if you could hold for one moment. i want to bring up that live picture again of gina dejesus's home where we're expecting at any moment she's about to make her homecoming as well. not unlike the homecoming just over an hour ago of her co-captive amanda berry. and gina, now at age 23 was missing at age 14 back in 2004. and you can see the people who are amassing, the neighbors and media as well. nancy, if you could just

standby, i have so many more questions about the fbi and the child victim specialist that they have dispatch today interview these women who were children when they disappeared. sdp the child that amanda berry had in captivity, nancy, i have so many questions. quick break. y set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪

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and we are back live in cleveland with an aerial shot of the home of gina dejesus. we are told that gina's aunt is preparing to make a public comment for not only all of those neighbors who are coming out, but also the press. i feel as though i've just been through this exact story with the young woman who was a captive alongside her for a decade because we just saw almost an identical story playing out not far away at the home of amanda berry, age 27. and she just returned home to her sister's home amid a crush of neighbors, hundreds of them turning out to welcome her home, balloons and toys and things on her front doorstep and signs welcoming her home. and we were told by the police she wanted to make a public comment, something changed and instead her sister, beth

serrano, asked for privacy as they prepare to make a statement at another time. and here we are looking at the home of gina dejesus and almost the exact same situation is playing out. the police have actually roped off the area. they kept people behind the yellow tape as you can see on your screen. but we are told that gina will not be making a public statement herself but that her aunt, when she comes home, will be making this statement. i also just want to remind you that these three young women once they were freed from this now described house of horrors were almost immediately taken for treatment to a hospital nearby. in fact, the two on the left hand side of your screen, amanda berry and gina dejesus, were described in fairly good condition, in fact. they were undernourished, somewhat malnourished but weak and frail. michelle knight on the other hand was not released, not quite as lucky. and not in as good a shape either. in fact, she ri e remains in the

hospital we're told after the press was notified all three were released, they changed that. michelle knight is still in the hospital and still undergoing treatment. i want to go back to my colleague nancy grace still standing by. nancy, one of the things i asked you as we were going to break is how to handle these victims. because we're talking about three children who went into captivity, emerged as women and then a fourth child who has emerged from captivity. the interviewing process and the necessary information they need to glean from these people, it's just got to be such a difficult process. and they have to have such skilled investigators. >> well, ashleigh, i recall one of my very first child molestation cases, i had a little girl, i still remember her, she was 3 years old and had been molested by her mom's live-in for years. i still remember her. she had about 100 braids on her hair. she was absolutely the most

beautiful girl. and somehow i had to break through and talk to her and glean evidence about years of sexual abuse and child rape. what these investigators have going for them is that these once-girls are now grown women. and one of them likely very protective of her own child born in captivity. so i think they're going to want to speak. they're able to speak unlike child victims, the problem is they're going to be so emotionally distraught in retelling that story. the good news is is that over the years investigators have built a special school regarding forensic questioning of sex abuse victims. and they'll be utilizing all of those skills. also, the feds are involved. so a lot of times those skills aren't honed in smaller jurisdictions, but the feds will be able to help. it's a horrible time for these victims, but the headline is forget the questioning, forget

the case building, they are alive. and that child is alive. that's the headline. they're going to be so happy. i think that they'll be able to recount their story and build a case on their testimony alone. remember, it wasn't that long ago that we tried cases without dna, without sperm, without hair analysis built on the testimony of witnesses, these three witnesses. and i would not be surprised if the child witness is called as well at trial. >> and they've got an fbi child specialist who's been doing part of this investigation. they've already done some of the questioning. in fact, my colleague, your colleague, jean casarez is standing beside me right here as well. i think one of the questions a lot of people will be wondering, so many are focusing on the condition of these young women, as we should be. they're really the focus of the story now and their well-being. but, jean, if you take a case like this where teenagers go into captivity for a decade, have they grown, have they

matured? are they still children? at this point how to police and investigators view them? and how do they -- not suggesting you're a psychologist or anything, but you've covered so many cases, how do they recover from this and grow up? >> you're right. i have covered many cases. you have the glorious reunions. forensic psychologists are what you're talking about. psychologists will need to come in to take these girls step by step through what they've been through, see what level they're at. and the amazing thing about this, ashleigh, just minutes away from these reunions forensic investigators, crime scene investigators are combing through the mountain of evidence from a decade now that have been put together that will be a part of the criminal case. >> and it's just -- i want to go back to that scene that's just growing as we speak outside of gina dejesus' home in cleveland, ohio, where hundreds of her

neighbors and friends have begun to appear just like they did at amanda berry's home. they bring balloons and toys and messages of good will and hope and recovery. and we've been told that her aunt is going to make a public statement for us. and it's apparently just moments away she's going to be returning home to this cleveland residence. nancy grace, if you could just jump in here with me as well. for a homecoming, and i know as a prosecutor you spend so much time with victims and that is such a crucial part of any kind of prosecution, but at the same time, nancy, when you have victims like this who are so scarred emotionally, physically probably, how do you bring them into this case? and at the same time how do you get the most from them to get an ironclad case? >> well, the sad and harsh reality is that it is the police job and the prosecutor's job to get the evidence. i tried so hard. i would sit in my car and cry

before i would go in and try to talk to for instance child rape victims or adult rape victims that had been through so much they could hardly speak. some of them i remember one girl broke down on the stand, put her hands down on her -- her head on her hands and couldn't speak anymore on direct examination, the moment of truth in front of the jury. we had to stop court and kind of start all over. and unless you've seen it or lived through it yourself, it's so hard to describe what these victims have been through. and there are a lot of victims out there right now hearing our voices that have never told police or anyone else what has happened to them. it's so hard and difficult and painful to talk about not just the physical abuse, it's the feeling of helplessness. that feeling that nobody helped you. nobody could help you. that feeling, that particular feeling seems to go with these victims for the rest of their

lives. but i'll tell you this, ashleigh, i think it's more important for them to go to court and try their best to verbalize and tell their story than to not speak and years from now feel that justice skipped over them. that is the worst injustice of all. they must speak. >> and if they need time, they should have it. every professional we've spoken with says the same thing including jaycee dugard and elizabeth smart who have undergone similar experiences. they've all said these young women need to make their own choices. and may never speak at all publicly, that's fine. if they want to speak publicly and helps their good being, they need to know this is not just happened to them. >> ashleigh, i'm not talking about speaking publicly. i don't give a fig if they never give an interview or speak to the press, i'm talking about

putting these guys behind bars for the rest of their lives which is where they need to be. >> and as we go to break, nancy, i'm very thankful for your perspective and insight and years of inside knowledge of how these prosecutions actually go forward. a young woman at the center of this story right now, gina dejesus, as she makes her triumphant return home after almost ten years in captivity, there is a throng of people, obviously those in tears in the streets, we have witnessed neighbors, friends and even though who never knew these girls now women crying as they hear the successful return of these three women to their families. i mean, successful is a marginal description at this point. the trouble, the difficulties that lie ahead for these three victims is just, it's indescribable. but at least we can report this. in moments at this location gina

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and download our free lennox mobile app. ♪ lennox. innovation never felt so good. we are live once again. our aerial pictures over the home of gina dejesus at this hour 1:35 in the afternoon that young woman who spent almost ten years in captivity is going to make her return home to her family. you can see the house is surrounded in balloons and signs and toys and gifts from neighbors, friends and even those who never knew her. people have come out to show that they love her and support her, that they didn't forget about her. you can see the neighbors who have amassed at the yellow crime scene tape that they have roped off to try to give her her space as she returns home just as her friend and co-captive who also spent nearly a decade behind

those walls in that horrible house of horrors, amanda berry, made her triumphant homecoming over an hour ago. gina dejesus is about to join her family having been released from the hospital. we're told by her older sister that for all of the hell she's gone through, gina is in good spirits. that's a quote from gina dejesus' older sister telling cnn that her sister is in good spirits. we also have been reporting cnn learning that both amanda and gina were in fairly good condition, definitely thinner and malnourished and that physically able to be released from the hospital and good enough condition to come home. the third co-captive unfortunately michelle knight still in the hospital undergoing treatment. she was the longest of those three to be held captive. as we await gina dejesus's homecoming, we continue to cover this story as they put out the

barriers is the thing we saw happen at aamanda's home, a cruh of journalists there and sadly created a really difficult melee couldn't hear her. i'm coming to you live from phoenix, arizona. there is another very big story that's been developing in this community as well. in fact, a four-month-long trial is about to come to an end, the trial of jodi arias. our jean casarez and hln correspondent and also paul callan our legal analyst, join me live now -- oh, i apologize. we're in the official verdict watch now here in phoenix. and that verdict could come down at any moment. and let me remind you this is a death penalty case. jean casarez, you are able to actually get a read on these jurors, their comings and goings in this now day four of deliberations, the eight men and four women. give me an update as to what they've been doing, how long they've been deliberating and what their day is like. >> ashleigh, we just learned the jury actually has started

deliberating already this morning. they're about 40 minutes into it at this point. started a little bit before 10:00 this morning. everyone was assembled. we understand a lot of men just have t-shirts on, so they're really dressed down today. also i can tell you juan martinez, the prosecutor in this case, was seen on the fifth floor with the victim's advocate, which is interesting. they were leaving the fifth floor, but deliberations begun once again today. >> and very short breaks deliberating through lunch yesterday, i believe, you may have mentioned as well, jean, earlier in one of your reports. paul callan, hold for a moment. i want to ask you about a question about this but not before a quick update about cleveland. the motorcade carrying gina dejesus, they've got several vehicles apparently not far away. i'm definitely keeping the live eye as this happens. and at the same time on verdict watch on jodi arias. paul callan, a lot of people jump to a conclusion at four days, my, this is going on a

long time. but in a four-month case, the number of trial days, the number of exhibits and the gravity of the charge they're facing here, first-degree murder carrying with it a death penalty, this is not long at all. >> no, it's not long. and the jury's got an awful lot to consider. somebody's life is at stake. someone's life has been lost. the defendant is facing potential death penalty in this case. so i'm not surprised. and, you know, what lawyers look at who have tried murder cases in situations like this is what's going on in the jury room? are alliances being formed? that's what you want to look at. you want to try to look at your jury demographics and split and see is there a group of jurors who may hold one position and another large group who will hold another position? and if you have alliances of say three, four or more jurors advocating one position, they can hold out for a long time to try to get their view to prevail. and they can be arguing about

whether it's first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, we of course don't know what's going on in that jury room. but that's generally how it plays out. if only one or two jurors have questions, they usually don't have the power to fight back against the other ten. so that's what i'd be looking to see. >> and i think, you know, leading up to this there's just such a profound amount of evidence that is in the prosecution's column against jodi arias. the evidence in her favor seems to be her own testimony, her own words that are not necessarily backed up by hard evidence in this case. and as an admitted liar, you know, at least twice over liar, that's pretty tough evidence to overcome on the prosecution's side. jean casarez, when you're talking about the amount of evidence that they're dealing with as i understand a lot of it actually in the room with them as they deliberate, the number of hours, we're only at i think if i'm doing quick math just around 14 hours of work. just to go around the table if

that's what they chose to do to see where they started with their positions and then to go over the charging documents, their instructions and then to begin to revisit evidence from, i don't know, two, three months ago, that's a lot of work to do. so we're really not that far into this, are we? >> think about it there are over 600 pieces of evidence here. a couple things happened in the end could make for an interesting deliberation. the defense at the last moment got in manslaughter, sudden quarrel, heat of passion. what has the relationship between jodi and travis been all about? sudden quarrel and heat of passion. that could be throwing a wrench into things. there's also the issue of premeditation. that's the most important thing they have to look at. we know she killed travis and the prosecution show she intended to kill travis, the pictures show it all. premeditation, that's going to be an issue there.

>> remind our viewers, again, even those who followed the case closely couldn't possibly have watched the number of trial hours that played out over the course of the last four months. and, jean casarez, there is an enormous amount of evidence that was brought up on what 19 days on the standby the accused herself, but very little hard evidence to corroborate her story that she had to act in self-defense and kill in self-defense as a battered woman. >> right, but the primary piece of evidence for premeditation is that gun. that gun that was in her grandparents' home that suddenly the same caliber shot travis, but prosecutors say he was stabbed first. if you're going to premeditate a murder with a gun, why do you stab first? that sounds like something that happened out of the blue. >> and i keep going back to all of that other evidence as well loading up a car, a rented car with gas cans, turning license plates upside down, driving through the night, leaving cell phone messages after the fact as though nothing had gone wrong at all. i mean, there's just so much evidence.

i think a lot of people even forget some of the most compelling evidence there's so much of it. i'm going to ask the two of you to hold tight if you would as we continue our verdict watch on the case of jodi arias which could come down at any moment. on the right hand bottom of your screen you're also going to notice we are still awaiting the homecoming of gina dejesus. any moment now the police motorcade that was reportedly quite close or getting close anyway bringing her home, esc t escorting this young woman home after a horrifying ordeal beginning at the age of 14. we are going to bring you back here live in just a moment.

welcome back to our continuing live coverage. i'm ashleigh banfield reporting live. we have several stories breaking all at the same time. on your screen you're seeing a number of images with regard to the triumphant return home of the three victims of this just remarkable series of crimes that have developed in cleveland, ohio. over the last 48 hours we've been learning about a house of

horrors in which three young victims were held for in essence a decade, an entire decade held against their will after disappearing off the streets of cleveland in three successive years. amanda berry, gina dejesus and michelle knight all now free after a decade of captivity. amanda berry having returned home to her home in cleveland, to her sister's home in cleveland amid a throng of well-wishers, hundreds of people, neighbors, friends, strangers all returned home to witness her triumphant homecoming. and i may remind you the homecoming of her now daughter born in this terrible ordeal, a 6-year-old daughter who was also brought home when she returned. she was brought by a police motorcade and you can see one of the officials taking that young daughter, carrying that young daughter in the back door of that home. amanda berry also returning home. police having originally told us she wanted to make a public

statement and speak to the public, whether her mind was changed, whether that was just erroneous information, she did not. instead, choosing her sister, beth serrano as her representative to very hastily come out and give a very quick news conference quickly just to give the statement that they needed their privacy, that they wanted some time before they actually put together any kind of public statement. but her sister at least speaking to us publicly. and now we expect this scene to almost play out almost identically over at the home of gina dejesus, however, we have been told that gina does not want to speak publicly at this time. and at least her -- that her aunt will be coming out to address the media and public to let us know where things stand with that family. but you can see how the neighborhood is growing so quickly. and this is almost exactly what happened over at amanda's home within an hour hundreds of people had shown up.

somewhere down in that crowd that has amassed outside of gina dejesus' home, our poppy harlow actually witnessing those arriving and the situation as it's unfolding. poppy, i want to find you and get you to report whatever it is you're witnessing. >> hi there, ashleigh. we're on the phone. we're going to be up live as soon as possible for you, but i think we have some aerial shots we can show you of the dejesus home where i spent all day yesterday with some of the family members of gina. at this hour we are told by a local councilman here who knows the family very well that gina will be coming home. she will be coming home, he said around 2:00. that would be in the next 15 minutes or so. the crowd has been growing here progressively as you said throughout the past few hours. well over 100 people here now. friends, neighbors, press outside waiting to hear -- waiting to see gina come home for the first time in nine years. we are told that gina will not be making a statement.

we are told that one of her family members will. it's unclear who that will be. we have been hearing primarily from sandra, the after gina com. interesting, though, ashleigh, her face is a 14-year-old girl when she was last seen in front of the home, we're told by neighbors it has been here the entire time she has been missing and it is still up here now. it is flocked with balloons and other welcome home signs. this is a family that told me yesterday, they never gave up home looking for gina who was 14 years old when she disappeared. >> i hope those images of those balloons and those messages are a welcome sight to gina dejesus as she returns home momentarily. but nothing will be more welcome than the sight inside that family home, and that treasures

she may remember from when she was 14. let's remember here, she disappeared back in 2004 at the age of 14. last seen using a pay phone as she was on her way home from school. this was the middle of the day that she was snatched off the streets. not far from where she lives. in fact, what is so remarkable is all three of these captives were snatched from the same street. we're going to take a quick break as we await her return. and when we come back, hopefully we'll be able to catch this live as she comes back. and thank god for that. gina dejesus safe and back in the arms of her family in just moments.

welcome back to our live continuing coverage out of cleveland, ohio. a live picture coming to us courtesy of our affiliate wkyc at the home of gina dejesus, one of three young women who were just freed from captivity within the last 48 hours. captivity that lasted roughly a decade for all three of these young women, who as teenagers were snatched off the streets not far from their home. gina will be coming home to her family and hundreds of well wishers, friends and neighbors, and media who gathered outside her home. we're going to watch that live

as police keep a careful presence outside. maintaining the order. and we also have got the aerial shot that shows you how many neighbors have showed up to cheer her on as she comes home. as we await the motorcade, i want to turn our attention to washington, d.c. for a moment where my colleague jake tapper is standing by. jake, it is a very, very busy breaking news day. there are so many stories that have been breaking. not the least of which an extraordinarily important house hearing on the attack on the u.s. mission in benghazi, libya. if you could get our viewers up to speed on everything that has been transpiring on capitol hill, it would be much appreciated. >> the house oversight and government reform committee hearing began this morning. there are three so-called whistle blowers. the state department argues that they're not whistle blowers since they were allowed to tell their stories to the independent review. but both the republican and ranking democrat on the house committee have referred to the three men as whistle blowers. one of them testified before. eric nordstrom, he's the former regional security officer for the u.s. embassy in tripoli, libya. he's been talking about why --

questions he has about why diplomats in libya were not given enough security, despite repeated requests for security. there is also the former number two at the embassy, former deputy chief of mission, gregory hicks. he's been talking quite a bit about what was going on. one little bit of news that he expressed earlier was that the reason why the compound in benghazi was there, and why the ambassador, chris stevens, who was killed the night of september 11th at that post, the reason why he went there according to hicks is because hillary clinton, the secretary of state, wanted it to be a permanent post in benghazi. and she wanted a report by the environment in benghazi, on the political environment and the security environment. in addition, hicks talked about when he watched the sunday shows and saw the u.s. ambassador to the united nations susan rice talk about how this was a

spontaneous demonstration against the anti-muslim video that got out of hand and not a terrorist attack, that was contradicting the president of libya, who had said it was a terrorist attack. let's take a listen of some of the exchange with mr. hicks. >> at about 3:00 a.m., i received a call from the prime minister of libya. i think it is the saddest phone call i've ever had in my life. he told me that ambassador stevens had passed away. i immediately telephoned washington that news afterwards. >> that's greg hicks, the former number two at the u.s. embassy in tripoli. an emotional moment at the gibing of the hearing, talking

about the human cost of the scandal. it has become a very political debate on capitol hill with republicans using it to exploit the obama administration, democrats acting as if there is nothing to see here, nothing to discuss, but the truth is, behind this, there are four human lives, four americans who were killed on september 11th, september 12th, 2012. and there are serious questions remaining about why there wasn't enough security in libya, and the administration's insistence initially that this was not a terrorist attack in that's last couple of months before the 2012 presidential election. ashleigh? >> a lot of critical information that still needs to be discov discovered in this very intricate process. jake tapper, thank you for that. later on this afternoon you'll have a lot more on this on your program "the lead" at 4:00 p.m. eastern. my colleague, i thank him, jake tapper, for that. in the meantime, we're continuing to watch the image on the bottom right-hand side of the screen, the homecoming imminent at any moment now, expected for gina dejesus. she spent ten years roughly

behind the closed door of the home of now a man who is expected to be charged with a myriad of different charges related to the captivity of three young women. amanda berry, gina dejesus, and michelle knight. we have had one joyous homecoming already earlier on today. amanda berry, now 27, returning home to her sister's home. and bringing with her a 6-year-old daughter born in captivity. gina dejesus about to come home at any moment. we'll bring it to you live after the short break. welcome to the new buffalo... where new york state is investing one billion dollars to attract and grow business... where companies like geico are investing in technology & finance. welcome to the state where cutting taxes for business... is our business. welcome to the new buffalo. welcome to the new buffalo. welcome to the new buffalo. new york state is throwing out the old rule book to give your business a new edge, the edge you can only get in new york state.

to grow or start your business, visit thenewny.com we're continuing our live coverage out of cleveland, ohio. i'm ashleigh banfield reporting live for you on the jodi arias verdict watch as well. but our biggest story this hour, right now, that scene right there outside of georgina, named gina dejesus' home in cleveland. now 23 years old, she went missing at age 14 back in 2004.

and this will be her homecoming. after being released from captivity, not even two days ago, 48 hours ago, and having spent time in the hospital, she is about to roll down those streets and through those crowds who have come out to cheer her on. these are neighbors, these are friends, some of them may even be strangers from the cleveland area who have just come by to wish her well and to give her their homecoming thoughts as she sees those balloons and toys and signs, all of these gifts that have been brought over to her home in the last just day. we have seen this crowd over the hour nearly quadruple in size. and it is very reminiscent of what we witnessed about an hour and a half ago, the homecoming of another young woman held captive, amanda berry. jean casarez, look, court coverage in trials aside, you and i have had our fair share of cases that are horrendous. this one will rank among them with absolute certainty. but it is so important for us to focus first on these victims and what they know and how they can

help. >> sure. and the psychological aspect of going back to your family, i mean, that has to be immense within them. maybe it will help law enforcement. maybe it will help trigger things because law enforcement wants to have names now from them. is there anybody else that knew about this for a decade. >> the details, the facts, those things that will lead to hard and fast charges against one or all of these brothers. this is -- their testimony is going to be critical. their information is going to be critical, right? >> it is going to be extremely critical. because they will want to corroborate the forensic evidence that they're getting from computers and cell phones and text messages and e-mails and fingerprints from the home. >> so much. >> with their statements. >> this investigation is just beginning. but for now, gina dejesus will be coming home and as jean said, a momentous occasion for her and this community as they begin to try to heal from the horrors that developed in a home not far away. i'm going to thank you so much for watching and i'm going to

turn it over to my colleague, brooke baldwin, who is going to carry the torch from here as we await that homecoming. brooke? and welcome. i'm brooke baldwin live here in cleveland for special coverage of the fast moving story of three long lost women. and, of course, the three brothers arrested here in this case. we're watching the story, we're also watching for you today this hearing on capitol hill, two live pictures, both on your screen here, we know that in washington, whistle-blowers are testifying about the attack in benghazi from september of a year ago. but, first, just over my right shoulder here, seymour avenue this is the home police say was a prison. but not too far from here, let's go to the pictures, absolute jubilation, not too far from where i stand in cleveland as we are hearing that gina dejesus, who went missing ten years ago, when she was 14 years of age, she was leaving her middl