6 – Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus (2002-2004)
Knight, Berry, and DeJesus were all kidnapped by Ariel Castro in Cleveland, Ohio from August 2002 to April 2004. All three accepted rides from Castro and in each case, he drove the girls to his home, lured them inside, and restrained them in his basement.
Castro kidnapped 21-year-old Knight on August 23, 2002. 16-year-old Berry was his next victim on April 21, 2003, while 14-year-old DeJesus was his final capture on April 2, 2004. Police later acknowledged that they didn’t use enough of their resources to search for Knight. On the day of her abduction, Knight was due to appear in court regarding a child custody case revolving around her son, who was at that time in the custody of the state of Ohio. Police assumed that Knight ran away due to anger over losing her son.
In Berry’s case, police treated her as a runaway until a week after the kidnapping, when a man called her mother and said that he had her daughter. Both Berry and DeJesus were featured on an episode of America’s Most Wanted in 2004, and the episode aired again in 2005 and 2006. Castro subjected all three women to horrific treatment during their captivity. According to Knight, Castro impregnated her five times but the beatings she sustained resulted in miscarriages on all but one occasion where Knight managed to resuscitate the baby.
As well as sexually abusing his victims, Castro only fed them once a day and routinely beat them. Despite the manhunt, the police did not view Castro as a viable suspect. Although they did visit his house on one occasion, it was for an unrelated incident. The nightmare ended on May 6, 2013, when Castro left the house and Knight was able to make contact with neighbors. When the kidnapper left, he forgot to lock the large inside door, although the exterior storm door remained locked.
During their ordeal, Castro used to ‘test’ the captives by leaving doors and exits partially unlocked, and if the women tried to escape, he beat them. As a result on that day, Knight did not try to escape, but she did scream for help when she spotted the neighbors outside. They called the police, who searched the house and found the other two women. The police arrested Castro on that day and in court, he pled guilty to 937 of the whopping 977 charges against him. On August 1, 2013, he was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years. Castro’s property was confiscated, and he was also fined $100,000.
Castro’s house was demolished on August 7, 2013. As for Ariel Castro, he was unable to face life in prison and committed suicide on September 3, 2013, just one month into his sentence.
Sources For Further Reading:
Esquire – The True Story of the 1963 Kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr.
The Washington Post – A Kidnapper’s Story: Can Crime Pay?
The Daily Mail – Mastermind Behind The Kidnapping Of Frank Sinatra Jr.
History Channel – Frank Sinatra’s Mob Ties and Other Secrets from His FBI File
Medium – The Most Depressing Follow-Up To A Happy Ending Ever: The Steven Stayner Story.
New York Time Magazine – 2 Convicted In ’72 Kidnapping Of 7-Year-Old California Boy
Los Angeles Times – Who Was Steven? The Little Boy Who Had Been Kidnaped Never Found Himself
The Guardian – Clinton Grants Full Pardon To Patty Hearst
Wanted In Rome – The Kidnapping And Assassination Of Aldo Moro
Independent – The Riddle Of Aldo Moro: Was Italy’s Establishment Happy To See Him Die?
ABC News – Elizabeth Smart Tells Court Kidnapper Tried to Snatch Her Cousin Too
Deseret News – Elizabeth Smart Describes Rapes, Sex Abuse, Imprisonment, Threats
Biography – Elizabeth Smart: A Complete Timeline of Her Kidnapping, Rescue and Aftermath
Crime Museum – Ariel Castro Cleveland Kidnappings
CNN – Timeline: Three Cleveland Girls Go Missing; No Word Of Them For 10 Years
History Collection – Historic Kidnapping Cases that Inspire Nightmares