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
Fatima Navarro
These articles always have me thinking…maybe even overthinking everything in my surroundings. It is unimaginable what these three women went through. Giving birth after being raped and kept captive by your predator, how awful but at the same time brave. Knight saved the life of the baby, even if she wanted to live she also wanted the innocent baby to live, while Berry showed a lot of bravery. Berry did not only give birth, but was also brave enough to go out that unlocked door even if it meant it was a trap and a beating awaited her. I am glad he got captured, upsettingly he committed suicide and was not able to pay for the almost 1000 cases he pleaded guilty for…or maybe he is paying even after his death
Andrew Petri
It is terrible thing that happened to those three young women. It is scary to know that there are people out there and are not even suspected of anything, like Castro. Having been one of the neighbors, living that close to a person like him, must have been terrifying after they found out what he was doing for all those years. It is a scary thing to know that there are people out there that are capable of disgusting and horrific acts like the ones to those poor girls.
Felicia Stewart
I believe this article is very interesting as it poses a lot of points that we do not consider in our day to day lives. I have seen many cases similar to this were these crimes are committed by people so close to us, but no one is ever suspecting of their neighbors. They move into the neighborhood and prove themselves to be these innocent people, however, we never really truly know what may be going through someones head. The fact that this guy kidnapped his own daughters friend and raped her is disgusting to me and makes me think of the type of people that are here now. How can we truly trust others, especially when we go on to have kids.
Ruby Wynn
I had heard about this before reading this article, but it is still sickening. I do not know how a man could keep three girls captive in his home and appear normal to the rest of society. How did the neighbors never know? It is even more terrible that he used people’s trust against them. He kidnapped his daughter’s fourteen year old friend and rapped her. It is disgusting that he could do this to three women, then, when accused and sentenced, take the easy way out and kill himself.
Noah Wesolowski
It’s crazy to think that some people even your neighbors could be hiding their true nature when you meet them. Ariel Castro is an insane individual that was able to hide to plain sight. It’s insane that he was able to lure women and keep them locked up in his house. How he kept unlocking the doors and beating them made me sick thinking about it.
Joshua Garza
This article is sick, this article is cring worthy, but ultimately this article is the truth and speaks the truth on many levels. This article just goes to show you that you never really know someone unless their your family. Theres many sick people out there and we may pass right by them and not even know when they could be people in your community group such as this guy in the article.
Katherine Wolf
I remember reading about this when the news broke about the three girls. I was so horrified that they had been held for 10 whole years. I do not think I would have survived for very long like that and I can barely beginning to imagine the strength those women must have that allowed them to stay alive for so long in such horrendous conditions.
Thomas Fraire
The way that these three young ladies were seized by a “confided in an individual from society” and covered up for a long time demonstrates that “more bizarre peril” isn’t the main safeguard that we ought to educate youngsters. Society is beginning to bring issues to light that it isn’t just the forlorn, outsiders to keep an eye out for however anybody. Tragically kids dependably must investigate their shoulder, since we never genuinely know who we can confide in nowadays.
Mason Kheiv
This article shows how important it is to pay attention to those who are around you in your daily life. I have lived in some rougher areas, and I was raised to not trust those who I don’t know. You assume the worst and hope for the best. Living in San Antonio, a hub for human trafficking, I try to use situational awareness to keep out of harm’s way. I lived in an area where there was always plenty of drunks hanging out a Whataburger nearby, and there were a lot of fights that broke out there. I wouldn’t go there past 10 pm. It is an atrocity what happened to these three girls. I wish that they never had to go through any of that, and I hope people can learn from their story. To be more aware of what’s going on around you in your daily life, and in your neighborhood.
Brianna Nevarez
This story is one to make you ponder about what is going on around you. This doesn’t just apply to neighbors but also friends. It is crazy how sometimes we don’t know people around us due to ignorance or taking the time to do so. We never know when someone who we think we know surprises us with something of this nature. I do not know how I would react if I was in this situation. I never realized just how important it is to be careful around anybody because people might not be who they pretend to be.