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
Lesley Martinez
This is a heinous crime and is something everyone should be on the lookout for. As I read this, I not only had the goosebumps but remembered hearing about this on the news and couldn’t even imagine what these women had to go through for ten years. It’s outrageous to read that Ariel Castro was a school bus driver, surrounded by children, visited the missing women’s vigils, and was active in his community. The title of this article is an excellent way to raise awareness about being careful with who you trust, how well you know someone, and getting a ride from someone that may seem familiar. Very interesting article!
Kristina Tijerina
It’s so frightening that Ariel Castro painted himself to be this nice man who the community was comfortable with, when behind closed doors, he was a serious psychopath. Kidnapping anybody in general is scary on its own, but raping, abusing, impregnating, and keeping women captive for 10 years is so terrifying. I cannot even begin to imagine how terrified and traumatized these girls were and probably still are today. These women missed out on ten years of their life and were brutally abused for all of it. And to get impregnated by a psychopath and be forced to deliver your baby in a kiddie pool in the basement is horrible. It’s a miracle that the three women and the child were eventually able to escape to freedom.
Kaleb Werku
I have heard of this story before, reading it again didn’t make it any less shocking. I have so much respect for the women for staying strong in a situation that can only be described as a nightmare. I hope that they are doing fine now and living a prosperous life. One thing I’m mad about is how he got to commit suicide he deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison for what he did.
Sebastian Azcui
It is very curious how you think you actually know someone, but in reality you don’t. And that person being the one leaving next to you! This story is terrifying and the man is a psychopath. How can someone chain 3 girls in a basement, make them pregnant, have the baby thee and mistreat them for 10 years. That is a lot if time for neighbors not to notice a single thing. Very well written.
Michael Lazcano
It’s truly terrifying to read articles like this because there really are people out there in the world who do this for their own sick twisted pleasure. It seems as years go by people constantly out do themselves with more crimes against humanity, and this is a great example of one. This article just makes me more suspicious of the people I encounter in public, or the people who even live on my street. No one should ever have to endure this especially for so long, even though they are free they must have some repressed memories that I hope will only get better with treatment and time.
Mara Martinez
Oh my gosh. Like, how crazy. I think about these kinds of things all the time. Who could be trapped in that house, or in that one, or the next. You never ever know. No matter how close you are to your neighbors, you really just don’t know them and that is so scary to me. This article is so eye opening how honestly you can’t trust anyone anymore.
Brianna Trevino
I remember when this story came out when I was a little girl, its’ interesting to read more about it. It’s crazy to think that a local school bus driver took these girls without making himself suspicious for 9 years to his neighbors. It’s sad to think we grow up to trust our school faulty and then he uses his authority to approach them and take them.
Kelsey Sanchez
News like this always horrifies me because you really don’t know what’s out there, until you finally hear about it. I feel sorry for what these girls had to go through and think they were brave to have survived. However, they need so much support because things like this are depressing and traumatizing. It was shocking to know that the neighbors did not know what was going on until one of them had to come forward. It’s sad to read what people like Ariel Castro are capable of doing, but in the end why cause harm to people who are innocent. This leads to their own worse punishment, which is deserved due to the harm they have caused towards the victims. This article not only expresses a story but helps us in our community know about being aware of things that are out of place.
Sebastian Portilla
These kind of stories are scary to hear about. I think it’s crazy that people can be so insane as to act a certain way when in reality they are crazy. We never truly know who to trust so when we rely on our own judgment sometimes the outcome is not always what we expect. It is shocking as to how deceiving someone can be. Reading about how close in proximity these kidnappings and rapes happen it allows me to be more cautious of my surroundings. Having a sister also makes the situation more nerve racking therefore I am even more cautious when I’m with her. Interesting essay!
Sabrina Doyon
What a disgusting individual. I truly don’t understand how anyone could rape and torture children. It is despicable how he got away with this crime for so long underneath everyone’s noses. I am so glad that the girls are free now and I sincerely hope that they have been able to get help and heal a bit from this horrible incident. Also, Castro is a coward for committing suicide but at least he is gone from this world.