Imagine being chained to the wall of a dirty room that wasn’t your own, being mentally tormented by a man who is widely considered to be a positive influence in the community. Imagine being impregnated by your captor, then giving birth in a kiddie-pool in the basement of the house that has become your worst nightmare. Three young women were held captive by Ariel Castro, a local school bus driver and band bassist, for over ten years.1
Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Georgina DeJesus were the three strong and inspiring young women that survived this nightmare. In Cleveland, Ohio, Ariel Castro captured his first victim, Michelle Knight, as she was walking home from her cousin’s home in 2002. He held her in his basement to torment and rape her, which allowed him to develop power over her. Castro then moved her upstairs in his home, where the abuses continued. Some of the early abuse that Knight endured ended in pregnancies, but Castro would beat her until she miscarried.2
The second victim, Amanda Berry, was last seen by her co-workers at Burger King the day before her seventeenth birthday in 2003. On her way home from work, she accepted a ride home from community member, Ariel Castro. However, the ultimate destination was not what she had expected. Within the time Castro held Berry captive, he impregnated her. She gave birth to her daughter, Jocelyn, in the basement of Castro’s home in a kiddie-pool with the assistance of Knight. Castro had threatened Michelle Knight’s life, insisting that if the baby didn’t survive, neither would she. So when Berry’s daughter wasn’t breathing at birth, Knight successfully performed CPR on the infant, saving her life.3
Georgina DeJesus was a friend of Castro’s daughter, a fact he used to lure her into his car. In 2004, DeJesus was walking home from school when Castro approached her and offered her a ride home. The fourteen-year-old girl recognized him and accepted the offer, little did she know that she wouldn’t be returning to her home for another nine years. The three women only had each other from 2002 until they were rescued in 2013.4
Each woman’s nightmare began similarly as Castro had a system of abuse that he used to overpower them. This system made them fear him so much that they wouldn’t fight back or attempt to escape. One of the tactics Castro used to prevent his victim’s from escaping was that he intentionally left their doors unlocked, and then he patiently waited by the front door for them. When Castro discovered that one of them trying to escape, he violently beat them, using it as an example to the other captives as to what would happen if they chose to flee.5
Castro successfully hid his monstrosities from the community he lived in for the eleven years he held the women captive. His friends and family noticed that he didn’t have people over often, but that wasn’t abnormal for Castro. After his wife divorced him, Castro spent most of his time outside of his home, attending local concerts with bands as the bassist, and even attending searches and vigils for the women he held captive in his own home. The community had no reason to suspect that he had anything to do with the women’s disappearances. Roughly two weeks before the rescue of the women, Castro had an individual over because he was interested in purchasing their bass guitar. The man said he had no idea that there was anyone in the home other than Castro, hearing only a sound like a dog upstairs.6
The community will never forget the day Castro made a simple mistake. On May 6, 2013, Castro left a door unlocked. The women upstairs, contemplating whether it was another one of Castro’s wicked tricks or an honest mistake, remained in their rooms. Eventually, however, Amanda Berry built up the courage to try to escape. When she discovered that it was a mistake on Castro’s end, she and her daughter headed for the door. It was the middle of the day when Berry had opened the front door and started yelling for help, her daughter at her side. Castro’s neighbors noticed the strange scene and immediately came to Berry’s aid.7
The screen door was locked from the outside so the neighbor’s kicked in a corner to free Berry and her daughter, Jocelyn. Berry then immediately called the police to get the other girls rescued from their real life nightmare. Upon the girls’ escape, the neighborhood was stunned. Throughout those eleven years, none of Castro’s surrounding neighbors had any indication or idea that three women were being held captive just a few yards away.8
Nobody knew what to think. The community felt like they had failed these three women. Ultimately, Ariel Castro plead guilty to 937 counts of kidnapping, rape, and aggravated assault. He was sentenced to life plus 1,000 years in prison without the possibility of parole. After a month in prison Castro hung himself with his bed sheets in his cell. While kidnapping is a horrific crime, it is not uncommon in the United States. In 1999, it was estimated that 11.4 children per 1,000 in the United States are reported missing. So, how well do you know your neighbors?9
- Phillip J. Resnick M.D. and George W. Schmedlen Ph.D., “Competency Report,” Court Psychiatric Clinic, (2013); 2-3. ↵
- Biography.com Editors, “Ariel Castro Biography”, The Biography.com Website, (2014) https://www.biography.com/people/ariel-castro-21311121. ↵
- Corky Siemaszko, “Michelle Knight still recovering five years after being freed from Ariel Castro,” ABC News, (2018), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michelle-knight-still-recovering-5-years-after-being-freed-ariel-n870906. ↵
- Melanie Eversley and Doug Stranglin, “Autopsy: Ariel Castro hanged himself in prison cell,” USA Today, (2013), https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/04/ariel-castro-hung-prison/2761177/. ↵
- Biography.com Editors, “Ariel Castro Biography”, The Biography.com Website, (2014) https://www.biography.com/people/ariel-castro-21311121. ↵
- Corky Siemaszko, “Michelle Knight still recovering five years after being freed from Ariel Castro,” ABC News, (2018), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michelle-knight-still-recovering-5-years-after-being-freed-ariel-n870906. ↵
- Melanie Eversley and Doug Stranglin, “Autopsy: Ariel Castro hanged himself in prison cell,” USA Today, (2013), https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/04/ariel-castro-hung-prison/2761177/. ↵
- Corky Siemaszko, “Michelle Knight still recovering five years after being freed from Ariel Castro,” ABC News, (2018), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michelle-knight-still-recovering-5-years-after-being-freed-ariel-n870906. ↵
- Andrea Sedlak, David Finkelhor, Heather Hammer, and Dana Schultz, “National Estimates of Missing Children: An Overview,” NISMART, (2002): 5-10. ↵
124 comments
Diego Terrazas
I despise stories like this. Although, I do believe that they should be published for the sake of preventing a similar incident in the future. It makes one wonder how the future with all the new security technology like phones, should help to lower the chances of similar incidents occurring. I just hope that someday people will not have to worry about others’ motives, even those they know.
Maya Mani
To think that the suspect was in a neighborhood and disguised as a friendly community member all along. What happened to these three women is absolutely terrifying, thankfully they managed to escape. What’s also appalling is how Amanda was friends with Castro’s daughter, which is why she accepted the ride home from him. I appreciate how you emphasized this theme of trusting a neighbor who isn’t trustworthy at all.
Michael Hinojosa
After reading this article even I’m starting to see the world around me in a different light! I think the scary part about all of this is that we’re normally used to seeing and hearing stories about this from other places in the world so we don’t really stop to consider that the person who lives right next door to you could be a crazed maniac like the ones we see on TV and the one in this article. This was without a doubt a suspenseful read that made my skin crawl.
Tala Owens
This article makes you think about what monstrosities people are capable of. There are people out there who are truly evil. It is so scary that Castro was someone who was a very well known and liked man in the community and he used that to take advantage of three young girls. This story is so twisting, disturbing, and terrifying. I am so glad those girls are now free and Castro is unable to harm anyone else in this world.
Ava Rodriguez
This article forces you to see the harsh and scary reality of how dark humanity can really be. When you take the time to think about how well you truly know an individual, you realize that there is a lot you do not know about them. You could know somebody for years and still not really know them at all. I have had this experience with thinking you knew someone to be so genuine, but then they do something so horrific. It is so sad that they lost so much time being held captive there, and it is heartbreaking knowing they will never get that time back. Instead they are forced to live with the horrible memories.
Danniella Villarreal
This article had my eyes stuck to the screen. What he did to those three girls for nine years was horrible and disgusting. For a man to calmly help look for the girls he took, and to be able to go out in to the community and act as if he did nothing wrong it means something truly has to be wrong with him. I am happy that one of the girls built to the courage to yell for help when he accidently left the door unlocked.
Engelbert Madrid
It is horrifying to know that these three women were tormented, raped, beaten, and locked inside of a house for nine years. After nine years of torture, many people couldn’t believe that Ariel Castro, the kidnapper, was the person responsible for the abuse of these three women. Sometimes people only see the good deeds and the exterior behavior of others; however, we forget that the interior feelings and thoughts of people are important to look. The title of this article is creative in the way that we forget to put attention to our surroundings if there is trouble or something odd.
Nicolas Vicinanza
Wow this article had my eyes stuck to the screen. It was really gross what this man did to these poor women for 9 years. It is crazy to think that he slipped up on such a random day, but I really like how that woman grew confidence to flee from captivity. It is scary that anyone could do this and get away with this crime for so long.
Paola Arellano
I thoroughly enjoyed the way that you presented this article. The fact that there was awareness brought and not just the idea of delivering news was truly eye opening. People take risks and do not really realize that they are potentially setting themselves up for disaster. In the end, character has plenty of influence and if there is someone who is respected and does not seem to pose a threat they are more easily trusted and therefore pose an even greater threat. These three girls genuinely did not know what was coming but in my opinion, it was good that it was three of them and they were not completely alone. Ultimately, we all have to keep a look out for our surroundings.
Vanessa Sanchez
I am personally fascinated by stories like this. After reading this article its impressive to know that it’s hard to in reality trust someone. Just the fact that he was “helping” to find the missing girls and in reality he had them in his own house. How can someone be so calm and participate in the community like that knowing he’s the criminal. 10 years living in hell and no clue that hell is located right next door impressive.