Three young women who were kidnapped ten years ago when they were teenagers, were rescued Monday. Ariel Castro had kept them locked up, tied with ropes and chains for ten long years. He was charged with kidnapping and rape of the three women, and is being held on a several million dollar bail.
Next door neighbor, Charles Ramsey, became a hero when he heard Amanda Berry screaming and went to her rescue. At a news conference, authorities gave few details of the horror the women had lived in for 10 years, but police said in an earlier statement that the women
were kept bound with ropes and chains and were starved, beaten and raped repeatedly. Amanda Berry had given birth to a girl who is now 6 years old. The three women had been pregnant several times and were starved and punched in the stomach until they miscarried each pregnancy, other than the one pregnancy that produced the child of Amanda Berry. Investigators said, “It sounds pretty gruesome.”Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba said, the women had only been outside twice in ten years. The first chance they had to attract attention or escape came on Monday. Berry managed to get to the door when Castro was away from the house and began beating on the door and screaming. Charles Ramsey went to the rescue. As soon as he had the woman out, he called 911 where Berry said to the operator, ” Help me. I’m Amanda Berry. I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been missing for 10 years and I’m, I’m here. I’m free now. She also told the operator that other women were being held in the house.
These young teen age girls were kidnapped in the neighborhood they lived
in, and were held captive in the very same neighborhood for ten years. Castro had gone to services that were held for the missing girls and comforted the families. Nobody suspected him of any wrong doing. Two neighbors did say, they had suspicions and had called police, but authorities never investigated. Neighbors who saw Castro with the young child assumed she was a granddaughter.Amanda Berry and another victim, Gina Dejesus were welcomed home by crowds of neighbors and family members. Family took them inside and asked the hundreds of reporters and onlookers to please respect their privacy and asked for patience and time alone. “Give us time to heal.” said an aunt of Gina Dejesus. Michelle Knight the third victim was still in the hospital. All the women were thin and wan from malnutrition. They had not been kept in the same room, but were aware they were not alone.
Ramsey gave several interviews to Cleveland television stations on Monday night, which were picked up on national news. CNN’s Anderson Cooper tracked him down for a sensational interview. His colorful language caught national attention and he was picked up on twitter and Facebook. A website compiled some of Ramsey’s television interviews and kept count of how many times he mentioned McDonald’s, “he mentioned several times that he was eating a MacDonald’s Hamburger when he heard Berry screaming,” McDonald’s later tried to reach him to thank him for the publicity.
Information from CNN News Channel