( CNN ) -- A Cleveland man accused of murder , rape and holding three women captive for about a decade in his home pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the 977 counts against him . Ariel Castro 's plea is his second in a month , necessitated by a fresh indictment issued by a grand jury last week . The 977-count indictment added 648 counts to the 329 to which he pleaded not guilty in June . Castro , wearing an orange jumpsuit and flanked by two defense attorneys , kept his eyes closed during most of Wednesday 's proceedings in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas . The judge periodically instructed him to open his eyes to make sure he understood the charges and his rights as she summarized them . `` I 'm trying , '' Castro responded at one point , looking at the judge for a time before closing his eyes again . Authorities said Castro abducted Michelle Knight , Amanda Berry and Georgina `` Gina '' DeJesus separately in a two-year period starting in 2002 . Source : Michelle Knight was Cleveland suspect 's main 'punching bag ' The women , as well as Berry 's 6-year-old daughter , who authorities say was fathered by Castro , were freed in May after one of the women shouted for help while Castro was away from his 1,400-square-foot home . The judge on Wednesday ordered that bail remain at $ 8 million and that a previous order prohibiting Castro from contacting his alleged victims remain in place . Castro , a former school bus driver , is awaiting trial at a Cleveland jail . 'Please do n't let me go , ' Cleveland kidnap victim told officers . The new indictment encompasses all the years of the women 's alleged captivity , whereas the previous indictment covered only the first four and a half years , the Cuyahoga County prosecutor 's office said . Among the charges are two counts of aggravated murder , in which Castro is accused of intentionally causing the termination of a pregnancy . Castro also faces 512 counts of kidnapping , 446 counts of rape , seven counts of gross sexual imposition , six counts of felonious assault , three counts of child endangerment and one count of possessing criminal tools . After Castro pleaded not guilty to the first 329 charges last month , one of his attorneys , Craig Weintraub , told reporters that although some of the charges `` can not be disputed , '' the plea was an effort to seek a deal that would avoid a trial and take the prospect of the death penalty off the table . Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty , Maria Russo , a spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County prosecutor 's office , said Wednesday . She declined to comment on whether a plea deal might be in the works and said that the state will be ready for an August 5 trial date previously set by the judge . 'Thank you : ' Cleveland kidnapping victims speak out for the first time . CNN 's Dana Ford contributed to this report .
Ariel Castro is arraigned on a fresh 977-count indictment . Prosecutors : The indictment covers the entire period of the alleged captivity . Castro is accused of holding three women against their will for close to a decade . He was arrested in Guatemala last year and extradited back to the U.S. Score: