Cleveland Abductions ~ The Cruel Actions of Ariel Castro Part 2.

 

I have just told you all about the evil perp in this case, let me tell you about the victims involved in this case. The first one is particularly "special" and important to me; my heart broke for her, before it happened, while it happened and the aftermath of everything... 

You will soon understand. I hope!!!

Michelle Knight was born on April 23, 1981 and disappeared on August 23, 2002, after leaving a cousin's house. She was 21 years old at the time; and had already endured a very troubled life, especially when it came to her relationship with her mother. On the day of her disappearance, she was scheduled to appear in court for a child custody case involving her son Joey, who had been taken from the state.

As I get more into detail with the other two victims Ariel Castro had abducted; you will understand how angry I am for Michelle Knight and how my heart goes completely out to her.

After Michelle Knight was rescued, the authorities, particularly the police publicly acknowledged that they didn't spend time nor resources on looking for her... they figured she was an adult and probably ran away because she was mad at the fact that the state took her son. 

Merely 15 months (a year and 3 months ?!!) after she disappeared, Michelle Knight was taken off the National Crime Information Centre database... meaning she was virtually unknown by any of the authorities until she was found!!! How is that justified??? How can they ever correct this??? Michelle Knight lost 10 years of her life, hearing repeatedly from her captor that she was unwanted and no one was looking for her. They were cruel words, but they were in fact, the truth!!! 

(I will give an update on everyone in the trial and aftermath section.)

Amanda Marie Berry was born on April 22, 1986 and disappeared on April 21, 2003. The last time she was heard from by anybody was when she called her sister around 8pm telling her that she was catching a ride home from work. She worked at Burger King. The FBI thought she was a runaway until a week after her disappearance, when a male used her phone to call her mother. He said to her, "I have Amanda. She's fine and will be coming home in a couple of days".

(What is it with the authorities constantly going to the "she ran away" or "she's just mad" scenario, instead of being on the cautious side first??? This is very irresponsible and that kind of mentality has cost many people their lives and/or severe traumas!!!)

Amanda Marie Berry's disappearance received A LOT of attention. She was featured in a 2004 episode America's Most Wanted (re-aired in 2005 and 2006; which by this point included the third victim). 

Amanda Marie Berry and Gina DeJesus (the third victim) were profiled on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Montel Williams Show, psychic Sylvia Browne told Amanda's mother, Louwana Miller that her daughter was dead and she was "in water".

Despite being devastated by the self-proclaimed psychic, Amanda's mother never gave up hope and searched for him until she passed awat in March 2006. Ironically, Amanda Marie Berry, would give birth to her own daughter, fathered by Ariel Castro that Christmas, 2006. 

The third and final victim of Ariel Castro, was another innocent teen girl, who was just looking for a ride, with devastating results...

Georgina "Gina" Lynn DeJesus was born on February 13, 1990. She went missing on April 2, 2004, at the age of 14. She was last seen at a payphone around 3 that afternoon while on the way home from school. At the time, she was friends with Ariel Castro's daughter, Arlene. In an act of twisted irony, just before Gina disappeared, she and Arlene had called Arlene's mother, Grimilda Figueroa, for permission to have a sleepover at DeJesus' house; the answer was NO and the girls went their separate ways. Arlene was the last person to see Gina before she vanished.

Gina mistakenly thought Ariel Castro was driving her home, as he was her friend's father. No one saw her enter his truck, so there was no way to issue an AMBER ALERT. This enraged Gina's father who said the law needs to change for any missing child!!!

A year after Gina DeJesus' disappearance, the FBI released a composite sketch and description of a male suspect, described as, "Latino, 25 to 35 years old, 5 ft 10 in, 165 to 185 lbs, with green eyes, a goatee, and possibly a pencil-thin beard". (Later according to court records, Ariel Castro was 5 ft 7 in, 179 lbs, brown eyes and he had a goatee.

(One has to wonder how they came up with this description since no one saw any of these three teenagers taken; so where did the composite come from???)

As mentioned above, both Gina DeJesus and Amanda Marie Berry were featured on America's Most Wanted. Their disappearances continued to recieve media attention well into 2012; with both families holding public vigils. In a sick twist, Ariel Castro had the nerve to attend at least two of these vigils. Ariel Castro also participated in the search for Gina DeJesus; attempting to get close to her family. 

In another sick twist, unbeknownst to the participants, Anthony Castro (Ariel's son) interviewed Gina DeJesus's mother for an article about the disappearances in the Plain Press newspaper. Unlike Michelle Knight's disappearance, these two teens were staying in the mainstream media and the police offered a $25,000 reward for info.

I am going to continue in the next blurb about their ten years of captivity and their eventual rescue. Then we shall get to the trial and aftermath.

To be continued....