The_Dash_IrelandAdmin- Posts : 24
Join date : 2019-04-04
The Cleveland Abductions: How No One was Suspicious of Ariel Castro
Sun Apr 07, 2019 2:55 pm
If you don't know by now, the Cleveland Abductions were a big case that came to light in 2013. When I read "The Lost Girls" by John Glatt, I had become very disturbed from reading all the events described by Ariel Castro's son, as well as the kidnapping victims themselves. Currently, I am reading another book by John Glatt that talks about the Austrian kidnapping/rape story and Josef Fritzl.
Ariel Castro claimed himself to be a victim of sexual abuse and used that as a scapegoat for his actions. When he was married, he was very abusive to his wife, beating her so hard that she would often go to the hospital for concussions, broken bones, and brain hemorrhages. When it aroused the suspicion of a police officer, he wanted to push Ariel's wife to tell the truth about Castro's abuse. However, his violent tendencies and hold on her causing Stockholm Syndrome allowed Ariel to get away with that. He also would abuse his two daughters and son, even going as far making inappropriate remarks to his daughters. Sometime later, the wife divorced and escaped with the police officer seeking refuge. It wasn't too long afterwards that she unfortunately died of brain cancer. His son, Ariel Jr., became very estranged and changed his name so he couldn't be connected to the monstrosity. Once these events transpired, he quickly went down a path unimaginable.
Ariel remodeled his home on 2207 Seymour to basically be a dungeon where his victims would be locked up, and no one could see what was behind locked doors. Originally, he locked his first victim in a separate room before moving his victims' environment to the basement. Ariel's first victim was Michelle Knight, who was already having to deal with a custody case over her son. Of Ariel's three victims, she was treated the worst. She was kidnapped on August 23, 2002 after being tricked into accepting a ride from him. Ariel not only physically and psychologically abused his victims, but he also sexually assaulted them. Knight was pregnant several times, but Ariel would force miscarriages and subsequently blame her. Ariel's second victim was Amanda Berry, who was kidnapped on April 21, 2003, right before she turned 17. She was tricked into being given a ride home from work by Castro, leading to her disappearance. Amanda was treated as the favorite by Castro while still being horribly abused. One criminal claimed he knew the location of Amanda's body, leading them on to a false lead. On December 25, 2006, Amanda gave birth to a daughter with DNA evidence confirming Ariel Castro was the biological father. Amanda and one of Castro's daughters knew Ariel's third victim: Gina DeJesus. Gina was tricked by Ariel who gave her a false sense of security by talking about who his daughter was. After luring her into the van, she was the last of Ariel's prey.
This abuse lasted for nearly 11 years with the victims developing a sort of Stockholm Syndrome (as put by John Glatt). Amanda was often given time with the daughter to roam the house unlike the other 2. During the time Gina went missing, Ariel knew the DeJesus family and acted along with trying to find them. The DeJesus family never suspected something off about the enigmatic Castro. Castro would often be seen as part of a jazz band which seemed like a working cover. No one would arouse suspicion when he started taking around his 'granddaughter' to shows who had just popped up. However, Ariel made his fatal flaw on May 6, 2013. One day Ariel left the house while leaving Amanda and the child to roam. Here, it was right then and there that Amanda would take her shot at freedom. She saw an advantage in the screen door, put her arm through a hole, and grabbed the attention of the neighbor, who was also not suspicious despite the eccentricity of Castro. Once some of the neighbors heroically broke the door open for Amanda, she was able to call first responders, since you know that Ariel cut all the lines. Once the phone call was made, police and ambulances rushed in to free Knight, Berry, and DeJesus while also waiting to apprehend Ariel Castro.
In the aftermath, the victims were reunited with their families. While Michelle's family thought she was dead, the Berry and DeJesus families refused to give up home. Ariel was charged with nearly 1000 counts, 979 to be exacto, of criminally charges. He was given a full life sentence and denied any opportunity of parole with 1000 years added to his sentence. He was kept away from GenPop in prison due to his notoriety and how criminals react to people like Castro. I remember back in high school how a classmate once told me her father watched inmates in prison gang up on a pedophile, beat him down, and killed him with a broken lunch tray. Prisoners don't take kindly to those types of people. Ariel plead guilty trying to claim insanity and the abuse scapegoat to try and get out of the charges. The jury didn't buy it.
Some time in prison, Castro became very depressed, crying about his sins. It was believed he had been placed on suicide watch by the guards until later evidence showed that the guards had falsified their logs. Sometime later, he ended up hanging himself with his bedsheets, surrounded by disturbing arrangements of family pictures and a bible. One expert believes he died of auto-erotic asphyxiation instead of intentional suicide. The house on 2207 Seymour was demolished due to the horrible events that once took place in it. Some still visit the location to study the history of what causes infamy in a rundown part of Cleveland.
As for the victims, Gina went to stay under wraps with her family, wishing to hide from spotlight after the case had died down. Amanda had gone on to be part of a foundation that helps victims and raising her daughter with the intent to not disclose the father's identity to her. Michelle wrote a book about her own experiences and changed her name to prevent anyone trying to re-victimize her. Unfortunately, these events left different types of scars on Knight, Berry, and DeJesus that can never be fixed. The Cleveland Abductions still remain one of the most harrowing events I've ever read about. Ariel Castro was the embodiment of pure evil, forsaken from light and banished into darkness. It is still disturbing that there are others like him and Josef Fritzl who exist in this world.
Ariel Castro claimed himself to be a victim of sexual abuse and used that as a scapegoat for his actions. When he was married, he was very abusive to his wife, beating her so hard that she would often go to the hospital for concussions, broken bones, and brain hemorrhages. When it aroused the suspicion of a police officer, he wanted to push Ariel's wife to tell the truth about Castro's abuse. However, his violent tendencies and hold on her causing Stockholm Syndrome allowed Ariel to get away with that. He also would abuse his two daughters and son, even going as far making inappropriate remarks to his daughters. Sometime later, the wife divorced and escaped with the police officer seeking refuge. It wasn't too long afterwards that she unfortunately died of brain cancer. His son, Ariel Jr., became very estranged and changed his name so he couldn't be connected to the monstrosity. Once these events transpired, he quickly went down a path unimaginable.
Ariel remodeled his home on 2207 Seymour to basically be a dungeon where his victims would be locked up, and no one could see what was behind locked doors. Originally, he locked his first victim in a separate room before moving his victims' environment to the basement. Ariel's first victim was Michelle Knight, who was already having to deal with a custody case over her son. Of Ariel's three victims, she was treated the worst. She was kidnapped on August 23, 2002 after being tricked into accepting a ride from him. Ariel not only physically and psychologically abused his victims, but he also sexually assaulted them. Knight was pregnant several times, but Ariel would force miscarriages and subsequently blame her. Ariel's second victim was Amanda Berry, who was kidnapped on April 21, 2003, right before she turned 17. She was tricked into being given a ride home from work by Castro, leading to her disappearance. Amanda was treated as the favorite by Castro while still being horribly abused. One criminal claimed he knew the location of Amanda's body, leading them on to a false lead. On December 25, 2006, Amanda gave birth to a daughter with DNA evidence confirming Ariel Castro was the biological father. Amanda and one of Castro's daughters knew Ariel's third victim: Gina DeJesus. Gina was tricked by Ariel who gave her a false sense of security by talking about who his daughter was. After luring her into the van, she was the last of Ariel's prey.
This abuse lasted for nearly 11 years with the victims developing a sort of Stockholm Syndrome (as put by John Glatt). Amanda was often given time with the daughter to roam the house unlike the other 2. During the time Gina went missing, Ariel knew the DeJesus family and acted along with trying to find them. The DeJesus family never suspected something off about the enigmatic Castro. Castro would often be seen as part of a jazz band which seemed like a working cover. No one would arouse suspicion when he started taking around his 'granddaughter' to shows who had just popped up. However, Ariel made his fatal flaw on May 6, 2013. One day Ariel left the house while leaving Amanda and the child to roam. Here, it was right then and there that Amanda would take her shot at freedom. She saw an advantage in the screen door, put her arm through a hole, and grabbed the attention of the neighbor, who was also not suspicious despite the eccentricity of Castro. Once some of the neighbors heroically broke the door open for Amanda, she was able to call first responders, since you know that Ariel cut all the lines. Once the phone call was made, police and ambulances rushed in to free Knight, Berry, and DeJesus while also waiting to apprehend Ariel Castro.
In the aftermath, the victims were reunited with their families. While Michelle's family thought she was dead, the Berry and DeJesus families refused to give up home. Ariel was charged with nearly 1000 counts, 979 to be exacto, of criminally charges. He was given a full life sentence and denied any opportunity of parole with 1000 years added to his sentence. He was kept away from GenPop in prison due to his notoriety and how criminals react to people like Castro. I remember back in high school how a classmate once told me her father watched inmates in prison gang up on a pedophile, beat him down, and killed him with a broken lunch tray. Prisoners don't take kindly to those types of people. Ariel plead guilty trying to claim insanity and the abuse scapegoat to try and get out of the charges. The jury didn't buy it.
Some time in prison, Castro became very depressed, crying about his sins. It was believed he had been placed on suicide watch by the guards until later evidence showed that the guards had falsified their logs. Sometime later, he ended up hanging himself with his bedsheets, surrounded by disturbing arrangements of family pictures and a bible. One expert believes he died of auto-erotic asphyxiation instead of intentional suicide. The house on 2207 Seymour was demolished due to the horrible events that once took place in it. Some still visit the location to study the history of what causes infamy in a rundown part of Cleveland.
As for the victims, Gina went to stay under wraps with her family, wishing to hide from spotlight after the case had died down. Amanda had gone on to be part of a foundation that helps victims and raising her daughter with the intent to not disclose the father's identity to her. Michelle wrote a book about her own experiences and changed her name to prevent anyone trying to re-victimize her. Unfortunately, these events left different types of scars on Knight, Berry, and DeJesus that can never be fixed. The Cleveland Abductions still remain one of the most harrowing events I've ever read about. Ariel Castro was the embodiment of pure evil, forsaken from light and banished into darkness. It is still disturbing that there are others like him and Josef Fritzl who exist in this world.
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum|
|
|