Update (1:51 pm): looks like the supposed Ariel Castro knife is no longer for sale. The posting disappeared from Ebay some time in the last two hours, but the seller‘s other six items are still up. The url for the pocket knife (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ariel-Castro-Pocket-Knife-/221267759615?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33849611ff) now directs to an Ebay search for Little Mermaid-related (the mermaid was named Ariel) “Polly Pocket” dolls.

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The knife an Ebay user is trying to sell for $100

  • The knife an Ebay user is trying to sell for $100

original story (11:33 am): The Plain Dealer reported this morning that an Ebay user is auctioning off a knife the owner claims came from Ariel Castro‘s Seymour Ave. house.

The old knife was posted on Ebay yesterday and currently has one $100 bid on it. Bidding ends tomorrow evening. The seller, itsalwaysunique, writes: “You are bidding on a double-sided pocket knife taken from Aerial (sic) Castro’s house before it was demolished! One of a kind! NR! GOOD LUCK!”

According to the item’s shipping information, it’s located in Fredericksburg, Ohio, a tiny town of just more than 400 people 70 miles south of Cleveland. It’s not impossible something from the house could have ended up there.

But here’s why it probably didn’t: the seller currently lists seven items for sale, and the other six were each posted within hours of the Ariel Castro knife. There’s a vintage microscope, an antique lamp, a cast iron “fire bowl,” an old “canvas burlap gunny sac,” a late 19th century medical book, and a “Winchester limited edition knife set.” In the description of each of these items posted within hours of the Castro knife, including the non-Castro knife set, the seller says they were found while cleaning out the “estate” of his/her grandparents.

Of the seven old and worn-out items put up for auction yesterday, the only item that supposedly “didn’t” come from the grandparents was the Ariel Castro knife. And if the seller really did have some connection to Castro, his first name probably wouldn’t be butchered twice in the description (“Aerial”). I’m calling bullshit.

This article appears in Aug 14-20, 2013.

Doug Brown is a staff writer at Scene with a passion for public records laws and investigative reporting. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., he has an M.A. in journalism from the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a B.A. in political science from Hiram College. Prior to joining Scene, Doug was a contributing writer for Deadspin.com, reporting behind-the-scenes stories about college sports through public records and developing sources. Doug's work as an enterprise reporter for the Daily Kent Stater was recognized by the Cleveland Press Club (2013 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards), Society of Professional Journalists (regional and national Mark of Excellence Awards), and the Associated Collegiate Press. He spent the summer of 2012 working for the Metro desk of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and spent previous summers working for Outside Bozeman Magazine and Crain's Detroit Business. His website is dougbrown8.com.

6 replies on “The Alleged Ariel Castro Knife on Ebay is Probably Bullshit (updated)”

  2. I’m an eBay seller, and reported this hoax yesterday morning. I have a feeling, that I wasn’t the only one. It’s completely unethical, that anyone would attempt to profit off of Castro’s crimes.

  5. Rick is a dick. He’s just another illiterate monkey-man, attempting to communicate in a primitive manner.

  6. Here’s the correct sentence structure: “Who gives a fuck, it might be the pope’s.” Another approach would be: “Who gives a fuck? It might be the pope’s.” If you hadn’t dropped out of elementary school, Ricky Retard, you might’ve learned something. “Welcome to Walmart!”

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