Morbid - Episode 114: The Amazing Survival Tale Of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus Part 1

Episode Date: January 27, 2020

In this multi-parter, Ash and Alaina discuss the brutal kidnappings and torture of two of the three Cleveland kidnapping victims. Michelle Knight and Amanda Berry thought Ariel Castro was jus...t an acquaintance's father. They never could have imagined the monster he really was, until it was too late. This episode contains some graphic descriptions of torture and sexual assault. Michelle's amazing book Check out our sponsors for this episode! Sign up for Future today at Tryfuture.com/morbid and get 50% off your first month.  Go to Zola.com/morbid today and use promo code SAVE50 to get 50% off your save the dates. You can also get a FREE personalized paper sample before you purchase.  Start saving time, saving money, and saving waste RIGHT NOW - because when you go to ImperfectFoods.com/MORBID now through February 16th you’ll get TEN DOLLARS OFF your next FOUR orders -- that’s a total of FORTY DOLLARS OFF! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:01:28 That's ANGI, or download the app today. Hey, weirdos, I'm Ash. And I'm Elena. And this is Molar Bed. It's a super crazy Molar Bed in here. It is. Yeah, we're here. We're here. We're morbid and we're freaking out because we have a show at the Grammar Sea this. Oh my god the fact that we have a show at the grammar see in four days Like I think I'm shitting my pants at this very moment. Yeah, no, I'm not that's not she's not that's really Disgusting we're in a small laundry room right now. I'm figuratively shitting my pants not literally. Yeah, it's crazy So see you fucking in four days New York
Starting point is 00:02:25 well currently right now anyways from now we will be at the Grammish Theatre in New York and I'm so excited holy balls hold on to your butts New York hold on to you booties and then after that we have like a little hiatus a little hiatus little me time little shushu me time so it's always really hard for me to get out of Margie's voice. I know it is really hard. Except I'm a still. It's really hard.
Starting point is 00:02:48 It's really hard. Well, so after that, in April, we're going to be at the Punchline Comedy Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. So we're gonna be there. Am I screaming? Am I too loud? You might be. Okay, cool, I'm not. So, then, April 15th of every next day,
Starting point is 00:03:05 we're gonna be at the DC improv in Washington, DC. I'm so excited to see things in DC, I've never been. Nor have I, and Annie's coming with us and she's been like 47 times, so she can show us things. Yes, Annie. Anna. Then, pay six, we're going to be at stand-up live, except I think I'll be sitting down in Huntsville, Alabama.
Starting point is 00:03:23 We sure will, and I'm super excited for that. And then May 7th we have two shows and early in a late show in Nashville, Tennessee. Going in Nashville. Yeah, going to get some white buffalo sauce. Rock and roll. That's what John told me I have to do. So I'm going to do it. Let's do it.
Starting point is 00:03:40 And then our new little baby show, which is not a baby show, it's pretty big, but that like just got added, June 12th, my birthday weekend in case you were wondering, just saying. Talia Hall, Chicago, Illinois, which all of these places look really beautiful, but like Chicago, uh, Talia Hall looks like gorgeous. Talia Hall looks haunted as fuck. I feel, I feel like Marie Antoinette has been there. I don't think she has. But you know, I feel- Well, I know that she's from France. Let's just set that record straight. Okay, thank you.
Starting point is 00:04:09 I think it was necessary to set that straight. Yeah, no, I know that, but I'm just saying, like it looks like a place that she would have enjoyed. It's like for sales. Listen, I am not Brittany from- Hey guys, I know it's pronounced for Sigh. Okay, this is a joke. This is a Bravo joke.
Starting point is 00:04:23 And if you don't watch Bravo, you don't get it. It's an inside joke. But watch Vanderbump rules, it's pronounced for Si. Okay. This is a joke. This is a Bravo joke. And if you don't watch Bravo, you don't get it. It's an inside joke. But watch Vanderbilt pearls, it's a great show. Why wouldn't you do it? It's on tomorrow. So yeah, it's gonna be awesome. And in the week of May 3rd, is it? Yeah, it's the first.
Starting point is 00:04:38 It's the first time we're going to be doing crime crime. In Orlando. In Orlando. And I am so excited for that. I want to see all your beautiful faces and I want to see all the people who I'm going to hyperventilate in front of. Yeah, you too. If Keith Morrison is there, I'm going to hyperventilate. I was just listening to the Dateline podcast today. I hope he's going to be there. His voice is so beautiful and like he's
Starting point is 00:05:01 not saying anything boring but I just want to fall asleep to it. It's wonderful. It's like a warm soothe and fire. Well they just said that Dr. Baton is gonna be there and only to lost her mind. I can't. I might hyperventilate in front of him. I'll I'd ask him a bunch of questions. I'll provide you a paper bag. Please do because then I mean who else? You're excited to see Nancy Grace if she's there. I'm not gonna hyperventilate. I'll probably just do what I did to Andrew McMahon when I met him when I was 14. And we're gonna love you.
Starting point is 00:05:27 I love you directly into her face. Well, and you know, Billy Jensen and Paul Holes better be there. I'm just saying. I feel like Billy Jensen is kind of our friend. I feel like he is. You're listening, right, Billy? Billy?
Starting point is 00:05:40 Right, Billy. Billy, you're listening. Well, if you don't think we're friends yet, we will be someday. We will. So just hang tight, Billy, Billy, you're listening. Well, if you don't think we're friends yet, we will be someday. We will. So just hang tight, Billy. Cool. All right, so everybody come to CrimeCon.
Starting point is 00:05:50 It's gonna be awesome and spooky and crimey. And come to our shows. Do it, please do. Because we want to see your faces, and we want to meet you, and we want to tell you true crime stories. Yeah, and you can find the link in our Instagram bio to the link tree that has all of our shows on it,
Starting point is 00:06:04 or you can go to morbidpodcast.com, and they're all listed right there. Just click on the link in our Instagram bio to the link tree that has all of our shows on it or you can go to morbidpodcast.com and they're all listed right there just click on the link and it'll bring you to the ticket sites. Click on it! Do it! So tonight we are going to be this is going to be at least a two-part series. I wasn't initially intending that but holy holy shit guys, this case is crazy. And this case is really heavy, so I'm gonna give a heavy trigger warning in the beginning of it, because whoa. Trigger, warning. We're gonna be covering this in a couple of parts because we are covering the case of actual piece of human pus in a scrotum bag. Ooh, Ariel Castro.
Starting point is 00:06:48 He's like the toenail that I saw today on my feet are killing me on D.S.E. Yep, that's what he is. He is everything disgusting that you can think of in the world. And he is known for kidnapping three young women and holding them in his Cleveland House of Horrors for 10 years. That's almost like scarier than like anything. Yeah, like that was like, it's like I'm terrified already. It totally is. Just that's my reaction, okay?
Starting point is 00:07:23 That's like scarier than like anything. Scarier than many things. It's scarier than all of them. Sorry, I'm not fully functioning right now. It's a day, alright, it's fine. So what we're gonna do is I would like to say, I'm not gonna give you the information about Ariel as a human being right up front.
Starting point is 00:07:45 We'll talk about him in part two because who gives a fuck about him? Now me, we're gonna talk about the girls that fucking survived this shit. Bad-ass motherfuckers. Because holy shit, guys. So we're gonna start out with the first person that was kidnapped and that is Michelle Knight. Okay. Michelle Knight has legally changed her name since this. I believe.
Starting point is 00:08:07 Lillie Rosley. And I think it's because she, and I think she is actually distanced. She used to, obviously, they would have the three of these women together a lot to talk about their experience. She's kind of distanced herself a little bit from the other two. And not because, and she says, like, I love them. They love me. We experience this together.
Starting point is 00:08:24 Right. For my health, I need to. They love me. We experience this together. But for my health, I need to distance myself from this experience a little bit. Well, and it's like you got through it. And like, you probably don't want to talk about it for the rest of your life. You want to live your life. And then maybe they'll come back together again.
Starting point is 00:08:36 Like, I think she's not being like, I never want to speak to them again, but she's like, I think I need to get myself right and like, get past this before we can keep singing each other's lives. Yeah. I think I need to get myself right and like get past this before we can keep heal myself a little bit. Right. Because Michelle, all these women got it absolutely, horrifically. The experience was equally.
Starting point is 00:08:54 What makes a person a murderer? Are they born to kill? Or are they made to kill? I'm Candace DeLong, and on my podcast, Killer Psychie Daily, which you can find exclusively on Amazon Music. I share a quick 10-minute rundown every weekday on the motivations and behaviors of the criminal masterminds you read about in the news. I have decades of experience as a psychiatric nurse, FBI agent, and a criminal profiler. On Killer Psychie Daily, I'll give you my expert perspective on cases like the mysterious New York City drugings, Breaking Down Lori Valow, a.k.a.
Starting point is 00:09:30 Mommy Doom stays motives, and what drove Caitlin Armstrong to murder? I'll also bring on expert guests who add even more insight into these criminal minds. I promise you won't regret adding these 10 minutes to your morning routine. Hey, Prime members, listen to the Amazon Music Exclusive Podcast, Killer Psychie Daily, in the Amazon Music app. Download the app today. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of Wondries Podcast American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud.
Starting point is 00:10:05 In our newest series, we look at the Kids for Cash Scandal, a story about corruption inside America's system of juvenile justice. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, residents had begun noticing an alarming trend. Children were being sent away to jail in high numbers, and often for committing only minor offenses. The FBI began looking at two local judges, and when the full picture emerged, it made national headlines. The judges were earning a fortune, carrying out a brazen criminal scheme, one that would shatter the lives of countless children, and force a heated debate about punishment, an America's criminal justice system.
Starting point is 00:10:40 Follow American scandal wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon music or wonder app. The estramatizing and awful. Michelle just happened to be like his punching bag a little bit more. From what it seems like. Yeah. He definitely seemed to like favor the other two more by favor. Like favor in a fucked up way. Me., not, not favor as in a human way. You know what I mean? Like as favorable as he could be. Like maybe he didn't, like maybe he gave them one less beating
Starting point is 00:11:12 or one less like rape that night. You know what I hate about? Which is not favoring at all, but in this relative situation. So I got a lot of this information from Michelle's book. It's called Finding Me, a Decade of Darkness, a life-re-claimed, and it's a memoir of the Cleveland kidnappings. It is awesome. Go read it. It's there's parts of it that are really hard to read, but her story is unbelievable. So Michelle Knight was the first one to be kidnapped. She was kidnapped on August 22nd August 23rd, 2002 So her story really gets to me because it's really hard to believe that one person can suffer in their life as much as she has
Starting point is 00:11:54 Oh, she just couldn't catch a break. She couldn't catch a break from the get go I hate when like I hate when that happens to anybody But then when it happens to like a victim of something so awful You're like, why can't you just have something good happen for you? Why does she get all this shit? Right like what is one person have to endure all this? That's what's crazy to me She's four foot seven inches tall at her tallest like she Not that much shorter than you She's very tiny
Starting point is 00:12:23 She was actually her nickname was Shorty. Love it. And my nickname was Peanut. I literally, my entire life, I almost just said isn't yours Peanut, but then I didn't want to outstu like that. And yeah, so I totally feel her on that. She's a remarkable human. She really is. So she grew up in extreme poverty right from the jump. Her family once lived in a station wagon for over a year. Oh my God. She lived with her parents in the station wagon,
Starting point is 00:12:50 a cousin, I believe, and her two twin brothers, Freddie and Eddie. Oh my God. Yeah. They moved all over. They didn't even have showers or anything. The things that most of us take for granted they don't have. She did say that when they were able to like shower,
Starting point is 00:13:06 or like brush their teeth, which was very rare. Oh my God. She made sure to make sure her siblings were like, got a really good clean, because she was like, I didn't know when we were gonna get it again. So I made sure to brush their teeth really well. Like she became like their like caretaker. I love that.
Starting point is 00:13:23 Yeah, so right from the get-go, she was having to like take sacrifice for other people. So you grow up at a really young age. She was like, oh yeah. She was like, that happens. And this is what bums me out. And we're gonna see more and more in this case, especially. It's like, she wasn't allowed to have a childhood.
Starting point is 00:13:38 No, that's not a childhood. That sucks. Whenever I see that, because I just think of my kids and how I want them to be kids so badly and I want them to have like all the things The kids should have would you like kid things innocence like curiosity No, not a care in the world, you know, I mean like you should have that like not no like the struggles of real life Yeah, like kid life should not be real life
Starting point is 00:13:58 You should have a point in your life as a kid like a big stretch of time where just you don't have a care in the fucking world Like that everyone should have that not not everybody gets that, and that's a bummer. Um, so when they did get homes, because every once in a while they would move into homes, it was very sporadic, They were always in terrible neighborhoods. Like with like, you know, drug dealers and just like, violence all around them. And then a male family member. Oh no.
Starting point is 00:14:37 So these have like strangers living in their house, roommates, random family members. Because they were probably trying to like make extra money off of like, renting space. Exactly. So a male family member began sexually abusing her when she was just five years old. Oh my god. Yeah. She was also bullied in school because she was really tiny. She was poor. She was often dirty. Right. All this stuff that you can't fucking control. I was going to say everything beyond her control. So in an article in Newsweek, she said of her childhood, quote, it's like I was buried six feet under and screaming
Starting point is 00:15:10 and no one can hear a thing. Oh my God. Like that is awful. That's really horrible. It just really bummed me out. I was like, what the fuck? So when she was 15 years old, she just had fucking enough. Yeah, I believe it.
Starting point is 00:15:23 Because this male family member sexually abused her her entire adolescent. Oh, god. She was turning 15 and was still being raped by him. Oh my god. So you don't have a child? No. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:15:35 And it's like she was living in this abuse of home, super poor, I mean, like having to take care of everything herself. It's like, it doesn't seem like there was like an ounce of happiness. No, nothing. So she ran away from home, and she ended up sleeping in a garbage can under pass.
Starting point is 00:15:51 Oh my God. Yeah, like she was so tiny, she could curl up in a garbage can. She said even this was far superior to the life she had at home. Wow. Yeah. At one point, and this made my heart sore for. I feel like guys my heart is really sore currently
Starting point is 00:16:07 So at one point she said this tall black man approached her Mm-hmm, and at first she was like what like she was very she was very like protective of anybody coming near her Because she knew all she had known her whole life was like people are using her and like taking things from her Mm-hmm, so she sees this guy and she's like what the fuck? He ended up being like a pastor at a Baptist church. Stop. And she said she called him Arsenio because of Arsenio Hall because he had the same like hair cut as the Arsenio Hall. And so she ended up referring to him as that. He approached her and was like worried about her. Yeah. And said we have meals at the church. Like come to the church. We'll feed you. I'm sobbing.
Starting point is 00:16:46 And so she started coming like weekly to the church and like eating food there. She started like knowing people in the church. She said it was like this great home. And she would like people treated her so well. And like he was like her angel stop. So like high five. You're catching me on an off day. I'm gonna cry on the podcast. No, there. It's so funny Not funny, but like when I was researching this there was a point where I was literally tearing up. Yeah, I believe you Oh, no, I might cry on the podcast today. Like today's the day. This might be the day So one day What so she's feeling like a little better about she's still like, you know sleeping where she can sleep She's still homeless and life is gonna say fuck you again. Well, no. Oh, okay. It's actually gave her another, it's a boost.
Starting point is 00:17:30 It's bringing her up to burger back down. So people might not see this as a boost, but like look past the like optics of this and just look at what, okay. So one day a young man who introduced himself as sniper, loved it, approached her as well and said, you know, I see you, I see that you're homeless, like I wanna help you. And so he offers her a room and he says, the only thing I need you to do is be a drug runner for me. Oh.
Starting point is 00:17:57 So she's like, okay, he was apparently super nice. Yeah. Never tried to hurt her. Never tried to do anything. He gave her, he actually gave her a glock 22 to protect He goes sniper both good and he introduced her to someone else who was living in the house too Who was a kid named Rodrick who I think was about the same age maybe a little bit and she was And they became super close like she said we became like brother and sister. It's like you built a family.
Starting point is 00:18:25 Yeah, like he's in like, I guess sniper was super nice. Like they became her brothers. Like her family. She said neither one of them ever tried anything with me. There was nothing romantic about it. Nothing sexual. Yeah, but they were like her brothers. Nothing violent, nothing nefarious.
Starting point is 00:18:40 They were literally just like two drug runners for this guy sniper, but sniper like took care of them. Whatever. And it's like, you know, love your life It's it's like honestly she was going to the church. She had friends there. She was feeling at home there She was feeling at home in this place. I mean Could be worse, you know, it really could. It's not hurt anybody. I can't get too mad at that And again, and he was paying her, like, for doing this stuff. So it's like she had friends, she felt like she was in a family. Now, unfortunately, the cops ended up rating this place.
Starting point is 00:19:13 Oh, no. And at some point, she escaped during this, and she went back to the underpass. That's all she knew. Now, a neighbor of her parents saw her there. Oh, shit. And they called her father. What a fucking asshole. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:19:27 He came in forcibly like dragged her back home because he was like, fuck you ran away. Yeah. And trouble. And were her parents abusive as well? I think that she doesn't specifically say anything about it, but I don't think, you know, it doesn't sound like it was all a pain story.
Starting point is 00:19:42 It doesn't sound like they were great parents, okay. Yeah. That same night that she was dragged back to her home, the sexual abuser relative of hers, It doesn't sound like it was all a hundred or a day. They were great parents. Okay. That same night that she was dragged back to her home, the sexual abuser relative of hers basically laughed saying that it was funny. It was funny that she thought she could escape him. Oh, and that makes me feel like I can't for that very night that she got dragged back to the home. So she's literally like right back in house. She's literally right back in hell.
Starting point is 00:20:04 She got pregnant sophomore year of high school at 17 years old from this guy. So she's literally like right back in house. So she's literally right back in house. She got pregnant sophomore year of high school at 17 years old. From this guy? Nope. This was by someone she was actually dating. Okay. She said she did like this guy. Okay.
Starting point is 00:20:15 But ended up finding out that he was dating someone else at the same time. No. And when given the choice, he chose the other person, even though she was pregnant. Jesus Christ. So she gave birth to a son Joey on October 24th, 1999. Um, and she said while she was pregnant, by the way, her abuser still tried to rape her. Are you kidding me?
Starting point is 00:20:35 But she started fighting him back and he backed off. Because she's fucking pregnant. I think it's important to be like, she fought. Good. Like she decided she was like, nope. Like I'm one I'm pregnant too. You're just not doing this to me right good for you. Hell yeah So she makes me sick. Yeah, she now I'm just gonna give you a little trigger warning
Starting point is 00:20:56 It's like there's I think now is gonna be the start of like a lot of shit coming at you more shit some you know they when she is kidnapped there's a lot of rape a lot of graphic things I'm not going to go into super detail or anything but I just want you to be aware there's a lot of really disturbing things so that's not your deal next episode so she and obviously she hasn't been kidnapped yet but she refers to Joey as like her gift she said she was the greatest thing that ever happened to her. She felt like she had like purpose like she just wanted to do right by him. She wanted him to have a childhood. Um so her mother divorced her
Starting point is 00:21:36 father and her mother started dating a guy named Carlos. Okay. Carlos is an abusive prick. God damn it. So when so Michelle at this point was trying to get she's 17 remember or no excuse me at this point Joey is two years old so she's 18 or 1920. Yeah. So she's 1920 she has a two-year-olds. She's in this horrible situation and she's like I got to get him out of this situation. I want to get I need to get a job. I need to get this going. So she's job hunting, but like she doesn't have like, you know, high school behind her. She, you know, she's- Oh, did she have to leave high school? Yeah, so it's like she was really just struggling to find somebody to take her. So when this was Joey was two years old, Um, so when this was Joey was two years old, um, she left Joey with her mom to go job hunting for a couple hours. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:22:30 Joe, her mom left Joey with Carlos. Uh, Carlos, I don't know what happened. Well, like she was gone, but when I guess when Michelle showed back up at home, Joey was very upset. Okay. I thought you were going to tell me that Joey died. No, Joey doesn't die. Spoiler alert. That's a fine spoiler alert. No, I was gonna say that's a good spoiler alert.
Starting point is 00:22:51 And when he came home, when she came home, Joey was very upset in this piss Carlos off because he was just an asshole and he was a drunk. Yeah. So he was an alcoholic, he's abusive, he's a dick. Handed up grabbing Joey by the leg and fracturing the child's leg. Oh my God. So so Michelle brings Joey to the hospital obviously. And they're like, you know, what happened here?
Starting point is 00:23:16 And doctors know like these people know social workers know. So they were like, what is going on here? And she said, oh, he heard his leg while we were at the park. Because she didn't. And the reason why she was like, I wasn't trying to protect Carlos. She was probably afraid of Carlos. Well, she was also afraid if they know he's in this home, I'm going to get my kid taken away.
Starting point is 00:23:36 She's going to get taken away. So she was like, I'm trying to just say anything. They don't think he's in a home because I'm trying to get him out. So like, I can't have this happened. Well, it is crazy. Carlos actually called the hospital. They don't think he's in a home because I'm trying to get him out so like I can't have this happened Well, and as a leave crazy Carlos actually called the hospital and said I did it Wow, which is pretty sure okay, and he said I I was drunk I didn't mean to hurt him and I did I wonder if he's like one of those people that has a drinking problem and is like a fucking monster when they're drunk
Starting point is 00:24:02 But then it's like a good person when they're sober. I know people like that. Yeah, exactly. And obviously this was great that he like admitted this was me who did this, but then did he get taken away? The hospital was like he can't be in this situation. So they ended up taking Joey from her and put him in foster care. Oh my god. And this was like the apps reading like that must be rock bottom. She must shit together right now, but reading that part of the book when she is talking about like I'm seriously gonna worry. No, because you have kids. That's a piece of you. Because she's probably saying goodbye to him and like giving him a last hug and stuff. I was like whoo. I don't care if I ruin this for anybody else. Does she get to see Joey again?
Starting point is 00:24:44 She I believe she yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah. I'm sorry. I love you all, but like I needed to I needed that peace of mind So a few days later She had a court hearing to like because now she's like I'm gonna get him back. Okay. I'm getting him back Oh, so a few days later she had a court hearing she had to walk three hours to get there Oh my god And she arrived 15 minutes late and they screamed at her and said they were holding it against her. Oh my god She literally just can't she was like I walked here for three hours. Yeah, like she literally can't catch a break So in 2002 she's in the process of attempting to get Joey back
Starting point is 00:25:23 She had moved out of that hell house. Okay, And in with a cousin Lisa, who was older than her. So Lisa wants to help her get it back on track. She's like, we're going to get Joey back. She introduces her to some friends of hers and some other cousins that she didn't know. Yeah. And one of the cousins was named Diana. And Diana introduced her to her friend Emily Castro. Oh no. Emily hung out a lot. Michelle said she really liked her. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:51 It was like a nice girl. Emily did speak and said like her parents were divorced, but she sees her father. Her father's name was Ariel. And she even showed her a photo of him at one point and like spoke to him on the phone many times in front of her. Like Michelle said he seemed sweet.
Starting point is 00:26:09 Yeah. Obviously thought nothing of it. Just like your friend's dad. And she told her that she was, he was an elementary school bus driver, which he was. Are you fucking kidding me? Yes. So Joey's being shuttled at this point to like different foster situations because my heart you're usually not just like given to a family And that's the end. It's like you're right. It's your
Starting point is 00:26:30 traumatizing experience for everyone in here So he's going to different towns and she has to be present at every appointment and also she's doing Visitations like supervised visitations with him, but the problem is, so she's trying to win them back, but she doesn't have a car. So she's just doing whatever she can to get to these places. And if she's late or misses one, it's just going to delay or stop her from right him back. So on August 23rd, 2002, she had an appointment at 2.30 in the afternoon to meet with social services about getting Joey back. They were going to start the process. Okay.
Starting point is 00:27:05 The address of the appointment was somewhere she had no idea how to get to. A family member was going to bring her to this appointment, but bailed at the last second. Oh my God. And the social services people had offered her a ride. And she said, no, I have one. But she said, no, I have one.
Starting point is 00:27:20 Because she had a family member. Right. So now she's like, fuck. So she and her cousin, Deanna, walked for hours trying to find this address. Cause again, this is my heart is breaking. Yeah, so they're trying to find this address. They can't locate the place.
Starting point is 00:27:33 She eventually told Deanna, you go home without me. I'm gonna try to find it. It was like 130 in the afternoon at this point. She's starting to panic. Right. So she, I mean, she ended up calling social services and they were like, well, you should have taken the ride. Don't know what to tell you.
Starting point is 00:27:48 Yeah, thanks for all your help. She's like, how I had a ride. Like, no one's going to believe me here. So she stopped in a family dollar store and asked several people in there. If they knew where this place was, she finally got an answer from the cashier that it was, that she thought it was close by. She was like, I think you go up there and take a left and I'm pretty sure. Well, a man named Ariel Castro was also in there. No. And he heard this exchange and he said, Oh, I know where that is. I'll give you a ride. And she was like, Oh, you're
Starting point is 00:28:17 Emily's dad. And he was like, Yeah. So she thought she could troll Emily. Like, this is fine. So he was like, Oh, you know, like they get in the car. She said his car was like filthy. Like this brand. And that was just like McDonald's wrappers everywhere. So like my car. Pretty much, pretty much. And so he was like, so he starts driving.
Starting point is 00:28:38 She's like, no, I think she said it was like over this way. And he's like, oh, I just have to stop in my house real quick. I'd be like, no, I gotta get to this appointment, bro. Well, she's like, I really have to go. And he's like, I'm just gonna stop real quick. He said that his dog had puppies. And he was like, and she was like, oh, Joey loves puppies.
Starting point is 00:28:55 Whenever he sees a puppy, he goes nuts. Like, and she had told him, I'm going to get my son back right now. So this guy's a fucking guy. So this guy's like, oh, you know what? I'll give you one of the puppies and you can give it to Joey when you got him that's so great yeah now she said quote the day that I disappeared I didn't know that I was gonna be spending 11 years in a house full of torture hell chained up to poles hanged from ceilings I didn't know any of this was going to happen. I was walking to go get my son back.
Starting point is 00:29:25 Oh my god. Yeah. So the home on Seymour Avenue, it was white, it had two floors and a basement, and it was pretty close to her own house. Oh wow. Yeah. It was covered in trash outside. Like in like neglected, just like the grass was burnt and long and He had a chow named Maxine chained up outside. Oh, and when she saw the chow she was like Why isn't she inside with her puppies? And she was like, oh like she needed to go to the bathroom So I chained her up. Yeah, so and again, this is like someone she knows father. Yeah, you're not gonna think anything And it's it's like kind of your friend. It's literally, I mean, yeah. Like we had a lot of acquaintance at the very least.
Starting point is 00:30:07 They knew each other. She said she liked her. So we got her to come inside by saying she could pick one of the puppies. Right. And he was like, oh Emily came home from school. She's inside. So why would you think anything of it?
Starting point is 00:30:20 Michelle said the home was disgusting. Windows were boarded up from the inside. There was trash, rotten food, newspapers everywhere. She said it smelled like piss. It was like disgusting. So he wanted her to come upstairs to look at the puppies. And she said she immediately was like, nope, not going up there.
Starting point is 00:30:39 Yeah. And he said, come on. He said, quote, in her book, quote, come on, you really don't have to be afraid. It's me, Ariel, Emily's dead. It's what a fucking asshole. Totally used to that. He led her to a pink bedroom and pointed,
Starting point is 00:30:55 and he pointed in saying the puppies are in there in a box. You can go pick one out. So she went in there, no puppies. Oh no. Suddenly she said she heard the door slam behind her. Oh my God. And he put his hand over her mouth telling her, I'll kill you if you scream.
Starting point is 00:31:10 Oh my God. And she's like, fuck. This is a nightmare. This girl's life is a fucking nightmare. And just know it's about to get real, real. So if you don't want to hear really rough stuff, graphic, maybe skip forward forward I don't know. Okay I'm hitting the skip forward but yeah so Ash is stuck here but you don't have to be. So he tied cords around her ankles. He tied them so tight that they
Starting point is 00:31:44 were cutting her skin. The craziest thing to sorry to interrupt you is like he didn't even know that she was gonna walk into that dollar store and like and he was prepared. He was just ready to go. Like that's so fucked up. Yeah, that's ready to do this. And these cords were so tight on her ankles they were cutting her skin and she said her feet immediately went numb. Oh my god, immediately. were so tight on her ankles, they were cutting her skin and she said her feet immediately went numb. That's how tight he was. He tied her wrists together with cord as well behind her back.
Starting point is 00:32:10 Then he pulled her feet to her hands and tied them behind her back. She was tall tied. And then he tied the cord around her neck. Yeah. What? He then, and this is really terrible, He then masturbated onto her. Before hanging her by the cord, tying her hands and feet neck onto another weird clothing line-type wire that he had strung between two poles at each end of the room. What? So she's hanging from that cord hog tied,
Starting point is 00:32:43 like stomach-facing the ground. Oh my god. Yeah. He then stuffed a dirty sock in her house. Oh my god. Gross. I'm so sorry. It took duct tape around her entire head to keep it in her mouth. Oh my god. He then, um, and so she's suspended. He said suspended. She suspended like 12 inches off the ground. Oh my god. Yeah And then he said he was gonna he was like you stay here like where else am I gonna go fuck yourself? I'm gonna go get food. Oh No, so before he leaves he turns on the radio to loud music We hate that we hate it so much dresses me out so much. She said it was so loud it hurt her ears. Oh, and that's like yeah. And he left her hanging there for more than a day and a night before coming back.
Starting point is 00:33:33 Oh my god. Yep. And he brought with him McDonald's and aided in front of her. No, he tried to force feed her like some sausage sandwich that was like old. Yeah. And when she wouldn't eat, he untied her through her onto a mattress in another room and raped her for hours. Gross. Yes. Um, so after he did this, he immediately started to cry. I'd be like, why are you crying? And then he told her he didn't mean to beat his ex-wife, that he just had a bad childhood
Starting point is 00:34:04 and he was sexually molested. So now he's just fucked up. I'd be like, yeah, me too, and I'm not fucked up. And he also told her that he's addicted to porn. Then go watch some porn. So she tried to talk nicely to him and be like, it's cool, you can change. You can let me go.
Starting point is 00:34:21 This can all end here. You don't need to give into your childhood. You can be a good person This can all end here. Like you don't need to like, give into your childhood. Like you can be a good person. I will just leave. Well, he lost his shit instead of flipping out because he found out that she was 21 years old. And he was like, I thought you were much younger, like which makes him even scarier.
Starting point is 00:34:38 Yeah. And he told her that she was gonna be there for a while. He goes maybe until Christmas and do his vlogist. Oh my God. So she immediately is like flipping out. Why was he like mad that she was older? Because he's so gross. Yeah, he's a fucking pervert.
Starting point is 00:34:55 I'd be like cool then let me go. Yeah, he's a pervert that I can turn you in. But she looks young. So that's right. Cause she was tiny. Cause she was so tiny. Well then he drags her out of this room out of nowhere, drags her into the main floor and then opens the door to the basement.
Starting point is 00:35:09 No, it is like we're going down there. No. So in the book, she says something like, I've seen enough harm, at least to know that nothing good happens in a basement. Nothing good happens in a basement. She said this basement was covered in rusty chains, dirty clothing, porn, trash, water, just like it was disgusting. He used two eight foot rusty chains to chain her to a pole.
Starting point is 00:35:34 He literally twisted her, he used twist ties to twist tie her hands behind her back and then took the chains and looped them around her belly around the pole and just kept looping them around her whole body up to her mouth. Oh, so from her belly to her mouth, she was literally just chained in place, chained in place, with the rusty chains. So then to make it worse, I need to make sure that you don't make any sounds. He goes and gets a motorcycle helmet and slams it over her head Oh my god I just had did you just see me take a deep rest? I feel claustrophobic because if you've ever seen a motorcycle helmet like that shit it covers every interview to you and she can't move to like
Starting point is 00:36:17 Breathe and he was like getting oxygen in that was and I was already hyperventilating and like crushed from these jams So she said she immediately passed out. I believe it. And she said she would pass out, come to pass out, come through. This poor woman. She ended up getting her hands while he was upstairs. And I think she was he was gone at this point for a little bit. She got her hands untied from the twist ties because she was like, fuck this. I'm going to try. Yeah, you have to try anything. So she got her hands untied from the twist ties because she was like, fuck this, I'm gonna try. Yeah, you have to try anything. She got her hands untied and got the helmet off. That's good. But the she was so chained otherwise. Well, that's the thing. So he showed back up and she tried to make it look like she put the helmet back on and she held her hands behind her back, but he saw. So he said, you're gonna have to be
Starting point is 00:37:02 punished now. No, yeah. So in her book, she says she can't even describe what he did to her. Like she can't even write the words down. But it involved him taking waving a pipe in front of her face and saying if she was screamed, he was gonna shove it right down her throat. Oh, God. And she said it was like the most horrific thing you can imagine Times it by a thousand. That's what happened here. Oh my god He then left her in the pitch black with nothing down there just pitch blackness her chain to this pole with the but with the helmet on this is so Yeah, oh and she said at this point. She's covered in bruises P you see Seaman Bruce's pee, she's just sitting there like just crying. Obviously.
Starting point is 00:37:50 And after this, there was a routine. He would leave in the morning, he would get an egg muffin from McDonald's and shove it down her throat basically, make a great with OJ. And he would go to work, then come home, watch porn super loudly upstairs, like she could hear it. And then come downstairs and violently rape her and beat her. She said it was too bad to even describe. Oh my god. Um, she, she was literally like,
Starting point is 00:38:14 And this guy is an elementary school bus driver. Yep, he's an elementary school bus driver. Wow. Yeah. Then he would tell her that no one was looking for her. He was like, no one's looking for you. It's not in the news. There's no flyers up.
Starting point is 00:38:30 No one gives a shit that you're here. No one's ever going to give a shit that you're here. So he was breaking her. Right. Of course. Yeah. Just so you know, you're never getting out of here. And no one's looking for you.
Starting point is 00:38:41 Right. And she was saying, like, I hated him. I knew, like, I was like, fuck you. But in my head somewhere in there was like, what if no one is like, because people have been beating this poor girl down her entire fucking line. So she's like, what if,
Starting point is 00:38:50 and then she's like, but somebody had to see me at the family dollar, like Diana must have told somebody I was with her and I never showed up again. Like she's starting to like panic here. Right. He also would have people over the house. Oh my God.
Starting point is 00:39:03 And would tell her she can't make a sound. So she's just chained up downstairs. Well, then you're wondering who he's even having. Exactly. Like, you don't want to scream all the way. Like, are these people going to come downstairs and do it too? Right.
Starting point is 00:39:12 He ended up, he was in a band, and he would have his band come over and play every Saturday night. Oh my God. Which, this is just like horrific to me. Well, he's just living his life. Yeah, and you are. And she's just down there. Like this.
Starting point is 00:39:24 Yeah. Suffering. And while he just down there like this, yeah, suffering. And while he was at work, she said she would rattle the chains and try to like hit the helmet against the poles. Like, try to make anybody hear me, someone hear me. She talks and this is the part that really got me. She talks a lot about thinking about Joey. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:39:40 And I'm not even kidding. I started crying reading it. I didn't. It killed me. Yeah. Because she said she would like talk to him. I started crying reading it. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't.
Starting point is 00:39:47 I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't.
Starting point is 00:39:55 I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't.
Starting point is 00:40:03 I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't not, oh my God, this is gonna happen to me. It's like what's gonna happen to them. Right. Like I think about that all the time, because I never happen to me. Not there to protect that. What would happen to them?
Starting point is 00:40:14 Like I know, even if you have like a spouse to significant other, you're like, there's something that's gonna be. It's different when you're the mother. Yeah, and it's like something's going to be ripped away from them because their mother is gone. Right. And I always think about that, like if something happened that like some they would have to tell them, you know, they would have to understand that I would never come back. Like that's an awful thing. Okay, stop talking about that. But it's like Michelle had to think about this.
Starting point is 00:40:36 Yeah. It's like that Joey might never see her again. And it's like, oh, like in just thinking about her going through that alone in the pitch black, which came through a pole. It's just like, oh my god, the things human beings, it's really beautiful. We're the scariest animals. We truly are. So eventually, he did bring her a backup stairs. And this was like weeks and weeks, that being downstairs. I feel like I don't even know if I would want to be back upstairs. Oh, and he said she couldn't even keep track of days.
Starting point is 00:41:04 She started trying to keep track of days because he would go to work. So she was like, maybe it's a Monday. Yeah. I don't know. She couldn't even. On the barely tight on Saturday. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:41:12 Eventually, he brought her back upstairs and changed her to a radiator in the pink room again with a mattress. No, the radiator, actually, then that sucked because she was freezing cold because the radiator was barely pumping out anything. But he chained her to a radiiate or in the pink room with like this filthy mattress
Starting point is 00:41:29 on the floor. He raped her multiple times a day and then he would just lay down and chat with her. And she was like, she literally said like he was like, jekyllin hide. Right. Like he would be this evil monster and then he would try to talk to her like they were like breasts.
Starting point is 00:41:43 And that's even scarier. Like something about that is worse. She that's even scarier. Like something about that is it was where yeah. He told her he loved looking at blonde girls and he told her quote, I wish I had gotten to that little jump in a Ramsey first. If some other bastard didn't get to her first, it could have been me. Oh, she was like, my God, what the actual. And then he also mentioned Elizabeth Smart, oh wow. Oh wow.
Starting point is 00:42:07 And she had blonde hair. And he was also talking about her in some disgusting way. And she was a child. She was a little more child. Oh my God. I'd be like, I'm not a child, dude. And I need you to let me go so that I can turn you in.
Starting point is 00:42:20 And while he'd have these moments where he would go, he would say, you must be bored up here all day. So I'm going to do something for you. So he brought in like a radio at one point. And then at one point, he was like, I'm going to bring up a TV for you. So he brought up a TV. And she was like, why you like, what the fuck just let me go if you have some ounce of feeling like what is and she said there were several times where she thought she had gotten through to him for a second and then he would just turn it off. So then one day months later so she's been doing enduring this daily for months. He told her he would let her go once he got two
Starting point is 00:42:57 other girls in the house and she was like no I don't I don't want to other people to endure this but she was like but then I was hoping he would try and maybe get caught while trying He also brought so he and then she started like because she was really smart because he kept saying I need to know how to trust you I need to trust you so she was like all right I'm gonna make them think he can fucking trust me so like she would he would do these things where he would leave and Like come back five seconds later to see if she was trying to escape. She like caught onto this and make sure she was like not doing anything there. And then like he would, she would talk to him and like use mind games with him.
Starting point is 00:43:36 So she started saying to him, well, you know, you never did get me that puppy that I for Joey. And like, you know, that was your word. You said you were going to get me a puppy. I should I'm supposed to trust you. Like what the hell? And she kept saying it and kept saying it. Yeah. So eventually he got her a puppy and brought her a puppy. What?
Starting point is 00:43:54 And it was a little pit bull puppy. And she named him Lobo because he was like really tiny and low. And she said she fucking loved this puppy. Because you need something to take care of, or like love on. And like literally like trained him. He would curl up and sleep with her at night so she felt like she had something.
Starting point is 00:44:13 Was she like always changed? Always changed. So she was just with this puppy in this room, just by herself. And one night, so he would bring the dog outside and chain it up when he was going to rape and beat her. Mm-hmm. And one night he didn't take the dog out.
Starting point is 00:44:28 Mm-hmm. And just, guys, no, there's a trigger warning, this is an animal thing. He didn't take the dog out. And he started trying to help her. When he came in, she said he was clearly drunk. So that's why he didn't think to take the dog out. Mm-hmm. And he started to come at her, and the dog went after him.
Starting point is 00:44:45 Of course. Because they had grown to be each other's, you know, best friends at that point. So the dog tried to attack him. He picked the dog up and broke the dog's name and threw it on the mattress next to her. And she said that was like, like talk about breaking her.
Starting point is 00:45:06 Oh my God, broke her. And she was like, and she literally said she just sobbed and screamed and like she would, and she said when the dog was alive, she would like talk to the dog. I feel like we're gonna get out of here together, like, you know, like we're gonna be together. And then after that happened, she was like,
Starting point is 00:45:24 I just talked to him and was like, hopefully, I'll see you on the other side. Like, hopefully this ends soon and I can come see you. Wow. Right? Wow. Are we almost done with episode one? Cause I'm like, I'm overwhelmed. It's done. So she then one day so one day he comes up and he's like I'm gonna take you outside
Starting point is 00:45:53 She hasn't been outside and I mean months like eight months at this point right so he's like okay and he's like so he put he Grab grabs her brings her downstairs like puts you know changes are closed because she was buying the same clothes that she had been kidnapped in eight months ago and so he puts her in like dirty like man put your eyes like he clothes then he puts a wig on her in glasses my god and it would be like oh I thought no one was looking for exactly so he takes her out to the backyard and like has her help him do something and she said like she hadn't seen son or like felt air I wonder if it hurt. Well, and a neighbor was outside and she said the reason she didn't scream was because he held it gun at her and said if you make a noise
Starting point is 00:46:36 I'll shoot you. Yeah, and I was like, oh my god. How do you like I don't you think of what you would think you would do in that situation? Because it me like when I think of it, I'm like, I would just scream and be like, you shoot me, you shoot me out of this shit. But you have to wonder. You don't know. You have no idea. And he has mentally broken her. Right.
Starting point is 00:46:54 So far beyond anything we can ever fathom. And not only mentally, physically broken her. Right. And you wonder if at that point, you're like, what if his neighbors are about? Like you just don't trust anybody. I don't get it. Yeah, exactly. What if that's not his neighbor? What if this is like a weird setup?
Starting point is 00:47:07 What if this is gonna get even more as if I bring somebody else into it? Right. So then after that, he brought her into the house and made her take off the pajamas and she thinks she's gonna get her clothing back and he's like, oh no, you're staying naked now. Oh my God.
Starting point is 00:47:23 So for four full months, she was completely naked, chained up all for four months, like it through the winter. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. She went eight months with no shower. Oh my god. And then this is when eight. So this time was April 21st, 2003. Remember she was kidnapped in August, 23rd, 2002. Yeah, so this is almost a full year and 16-year-old Amanda Barry went missing.
Starting point is 00:47:54 16. Yep. Amanda worked at Burger King on Lorraine Avenue in West 1-10th Street in Cleveland. This was right around the area where Michelle was and where she had been kidnapped. This was literally the day before her 17th birthday. She said she almost called out at work that day because it was her birthday the next day. She was like I'm just gonna chill and she said man I wish I had. Wow. So she's leaving work that day and she's walking home now her boyfriend DJ was supposed to pick her up He didn't mm-hmm. I think he was kind of he was kind of being a shithead She passed a maroon van on her way home and it was parked in a driveway She had to maneuver around the van and she saw inside that there was a man in what she just figured was his daughter
Starting point is 00:48:40 So she said she recognized the girl she thought she like went to elementary school with her so she was like oh Like just smiled at them and kept walking so a bit later the van started following her oh god and the guy looked out and said do you need a ride? Mm-hmm, and she was like And she like looks in and she doesn't see the daughter anymore. So he's like oh my daughter Emily was is at my house Like you know Emily right and she was like oh, yeah, I think I do know your daughter. I thought this guy's like using his daughter. I think she's just a daughter. And she was like, he was like, oh, do you want me
Starting point is 00:49:11 to give you a ride? I like, I can take you back so you can say hi to Emily. And she was like, oh, yeah, you know what, sure. Cause I think she had also gotten a fight with her mom that day. And she was like, I'm not going home. I'm like, this is my- Oh, so she had Emily.
Starting point is 00:49:21 Yeah. So she's like, sure. So they go back to his house. She has her phone out, is like, yeah. So she's like, sure. So they go back to his house. She has her phone out, which like cell phones weren't like crazy. No, not in 2000. So, so at one point, he like was like, oh, that's a cool phone while they're driving. And then he tells her, he or they park in the driveway of his house. And he's like, you know what, can I see your phone really quick to do? Like, can I use it really quick?
Starting point is 00:49:46 And she's like, yeah, sure. So she gives it to him. And then he's like, oh, you know what, let me untangle the chain for my dog. And he gets out with the phone. Yeah. She doesn't think anything of it, of course. So she's just sitting there.
Starting point is 00:49:57 My stomach is like dropping. Yeah. So she's just sitting there. And they, so, and he's like, oh, why don't you come inside, Emily's inside, but she's taking a bath. So you can just wait for. That's a weird.
Starting point is 00:50:09 So she's like, okay. So he says that he's like, you know what? Let me show you around this disgusting fucking house. No thanks. And he shows her, he, they go upstairs and he's like, oh, these are the bedrooms. And he shows her one bedroom with a woman sleeping in an upstairs bedroom with a TV in front of her disgusting mattress. It's Michelle. Right. And immediately Amanda's like, what the fuck? Like because she can't see the chains. Right. But she's like, why it's dirty. It's just like
Starting point is 00:50:36 a TV one from her. Well, she said he took her to another bedroom that was dark, didn't turn on any of the lights and he was like, pull your pants down. And this is like, that was the first and so she was like, what the actual fuck? He ended up raping her and then took her down to the basement. No. Where he had kept Michelle for so long and he did the exact same thing to her that he did to Michelle.
Starting point is 00:51:01 With the chains and the motor cycle helmet. Hell made a change. Everything. And he kept telling her, just be quiet and the motor cycle helmets. Helmet. Everything. And he kept telling her, just be quiet and don't make any noise and I'll let you go home. Mm-hmm. Which is the worst thing
Starting point is 00:51:11 because it's like you're, because you just are like, okay. Um, he did take the color television from Michelle and gave it to Amanda down there. Um, and she said she just screamed and cried the entire time. She was like, I couldn't do anything.
Starting point is 00:51:26 She also said she watched on the TV, her sister and mother plead for her return on the news. I always think when I see, first of all, I feel so badly for the families, but then I'm like, what if the person that's missing is watching this and being like helpless? Yeah. Well, and she said, she said instead of being hopeless, she looked at it and she, because her parent,
Starting point is 00:51:43 her mother was saying, like, I'm gonna fight, I'm gonna find you. And she was like, I'm gonna fucking fight to get out of here. Like she said that was the thing that made me be like, I'm gonna get out of here sometime. Like I don't know when, but I'm getting out of here. Wow. And, and she does, by the way, just to give you guys hope that we get out of here. And it's a crazy story. Um, so-
Starting point is 00:52:03 I'm so relieved that they get out at least. I know that. At least there is a good ending to this where they are all living lives. That's how do you live after that? But after they shit the trauma. Right. The trauma.
Starting point is 00:52:14 Like is there a therapist alive that couldn't even help you deal with that? Is there a team of therapists alive that could help you deal with that? Cause you just, how do you ever trust anyone again? And not to be like gross, but like how do you ever have sex again? And not to be like gross, but like, how do you ever have sex again?
Starting point is 00:52:26 Well, that's the thing. I can't imagine. Wouldn't that, and again, I don't know. Like, no, I have no idea. I have no idea. And like sexual abuse at all, like the psychology behind it or anything, I imagine, like it, it must be tough to get past that.
Starting point is 00:52:40 I don't enjoy that again. Right. To see it as not something horrific and violent and degrading. And like you think like you smell a certain smell and you'll go back to a time. Yeah. You're in that position. Like obviously you're going to go back to that in your head. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:52:56 Like I smell certain smells and I go right back to watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love that for you. And I know it's funny because I actually I smelled the smell the other day and I was like, woo, and it like transports you for a second. Like you feel like you're there. It's so good. Or like you know when a smell smells like a certain time in your life. That's what this smell is.
Starting point is 00:53:15 It's not like time in your life. It's not a thing. Oh, that smells like when I was 16 and we were at the carnival. It brings me right back to the time in my life where like Buffy the Vampire Slayer was like, yes, my like safety zone that like took me away from things. It's a thing. It's so, a little factory like is one of the,
Starting point is 00:53:34 that sense is one of the most powerful sense. Yeah. So yeah, so she just, she was gonna fight. And she said on the fourth day of her abduction, it was April 24th, 2003, and he moved her upstairs to a bedroom and chained her to a radiator. She said she did the same thing, like he used the chain, looped it around her belly, and she said it was really hard because she couldn't stand. But she said like you couldn't really comfortably lay on it. Right. Like it, because she was like the handlocked goes in my back. So I'd have to like lay on
Starting point is 00:54:05 weird angles and stuff. It's like, oh, now a week later, he called her fucking family. Oh, because he has her phone. Yep. And he told them man, I have Mandy. And the only people that called her Mandy were family really good friends and family. And he said she wants to be with me. Oh my God. Now the FBI traced to the call. They were like, fuck yeah, we're getting on this. So the FBI traced the call, but it was in the early days of this kind of technology. They were able to track it to in like two blocks of its home.
Starting point is 00:54:40 Wow. But they could only track with the phone on. And then it died. And then it died. Oh yeah, yeah, and he never used it again. And they were hoping they like hung out there waiting because they were like, if he uses it again, we can track it. Right. I never used it again.
Starting point is 00:54:52 God damn it. Then a few weeks later, he asked her if he asked Amanda, he was like, do you want something from the store? Are you bored? Like you did the same thing you did to Michelle. And she asked for a journal or a coloring book because she was like I don't know like just something I would I mean not smart I would want a journal to record and like record days and everything and she did so she so he gave her the journal and she wrote
Starting point is 00:55:14 numbers on the tops of the pages and these numbers were the amount of times he had raped her that day oh my god yeah sometimes he would let her, but it had to be with him. Oh, and she says, and this is so like all of them say this, and it's so commonly like a trauma survivor thing that she was like, I just put myself somewhere else. Because I had to do all of this. You need to do something during the rapes, during the beatings, during all of these awful experiences. I would just leave in my head and just be somewhere else because otherwise it's like you're not going to survive. No, it's crazy that you're like
Starting point is 00:55:50 survival instinct kicks in like that. That flight or fight kind of shit. Right. Just puts you. It's like you might have to do like go somewhere else. And it's like holy shit. I have never had to know put myself that far out of my own body and mind. And I got to hope I never have to. No, put myself that far out of my own body and mind and I got I hope I never have to. So then he so he told her that he would let her go when he got one more girl in the house. So it's keeping track with what he told Michelle. Right. Soon after Amanda was brought into the home, Michelle was pregnant. Oh God. Michelle became pregnant several times, I believe, um, and he would force Michelle to miscarry by like punching her, you know, pushing her downstairs, doing just terrible things.
Starting point is 00:56:35 So horrible. And this one time that she got pregnant, Ariel found out and he tried to starve her to lose the baby. Jesus. And that didn't work. He, and this is awful, just so you guys know, he punched her in the stomach with a barbell. Oh. She miscarried that night alone on that filthy mattress, and then he came upstairs the next morning and beat her for aborting his child. Oh, yep.
Starting point is 00:57:01 And let me tell you, like that, and like the, she is missing her child. Yep. Her Joey. That's like the one thing that's keeping her just like- Keeping her going. Yeah. And then she gets pregnant. It's like, and she's, and it's like, it probably doesn't matter that it's with this
Starting point is 00:57:17 guy. No, because it's a baby. It's your baby. Right. Like this is yours. And she's in her head. She's like, I'm going to take care of this baby. I'm growing this. This is my baby.
Starting point is 00:57:25 And it's like to have, first of all, miscarrying traumatic thing ever anyways, but dramatically miscarrying, having someone like beat a child out of you. Right. I can't imagine. My brain, I can't imagine. Won't even, and I'm glad it won't even allow me
Starting point is 00:57:40 to even fathom that. No. It really won't. Because it's like somebody taking away like the most, the most thing that they could take away from you. Exactly, it's taking away the life out of you. And it's like in a life that you want, you know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:57:54 Like that's the thing. It's like she wanted to keep these. And it's like holy shit. So April 2nd, 2004, coastal a year later, Dina De Hazus goes missing. She was 14 years old. She was 14. She was a baby.
Starting point is 00:58:12 Yeah, baby. And this is where we are going to end for this part because I think we have all suffered enough here. This is actually my last podcast that I'm going to be sitting in on. I'm actually resigning. I know. See you later. This one really broke me.
Starting point is 00:58:28 This one's tough. It's tough. This is worse than the toy box. The good thing is this one has an ending. I mean, I want to call it a happy ending. What is? Yeah. They escape in the end.
Starting point is 00:58:40 And they're helping their lives. But holy shit, what they endured. And for a decade, wow, for a literal decade. Like we just came to the end of a decade and looking back on it, I was like holy shit, that was a long decade. Yeah. You imagine? I was 13 when that decade started,
Starting point is 00:58:57 and I am now 23. Like that's a lot. Yeah. You were my age. And now you're 30. Like that's how decades work in case you were wondering That's a decade's work You like you know when you just say it and you're like whole fuck like a decade
Starting point is 00:59:11 Like in a decade. I will be your age and then a completely it's like so like there's so many different stages of life And they just missed out on this huge stage of life. Oh, they missed so much. Like 14. Oh, 14? I 16. No, even 19. 21. You miss out on your early 20s. Like you miss out on your adolescence.
Starting point is 00:59:33 Like in this poor girl Michelle, she already missed out her adolescence. Oh, yeah, I mean, she's missed every, it's like she has not caught up with you. And then you're at the shitty part of life where you have to get a mortgage. Exactly. Where everything all of a sudden you have to adult.
Starting point is 00:59:44 It's like, that's not fun. But I mean, someone take me to Disneyland. The next episode, the next part of this, we're gonna talk about Gina's disappearance, how she was kidnapped. We're gonna talk about what, what else has gone on because a child does come into this situation. Oh my God. And the child is also like alive and well and flourishing today just so you know. That makes me happy. Yeah, just to give a little hope at the end of this.
Starting point is 01:00:11 And we'll talk about Ariel and what the fuck is his deal? I don't even give a fuck what his deal is. Yeah, he's, but I know we have to. Talk only the worst thing that I could even dream of. He really is. Yeah. Like for all the physical things he would do, but then also for all the mental things he would do to them. Just him
Starting point is 01:00:30 just to try to be at one point, he ripped up the picture of Joey in front of her. Yeah. Stop. Like he literally just wanted to break her in any way he could possibly break her. really just wanted to break her in any way he could possibly break her. I just, that's a lot. Yeah. So, that is part one of the Cleveland Kidnappings and Ariel Castro's a piece of shit and I hope he's getting horrible things done to him and hell right now because he's dead. Damn it. I wanted him to be alive and then jail.
Starting point is 01:01:05 Oh, do you know how badly I wish that fucker was just being tortured like a lie right now? Yeah, it's a real bummer that he's dead. Wow. But, uh, yes, so we will be back, uh, this week with part two. So exciting. And for all you NYCers come into the Grammacy show. See you in three days. See you soon.
Starting point is 01:01:25 Woo! Hopefully I don't crap my fancy pants. Yeah, I hope she doesn't. I talk about shing my pants way too much. I don't shing my pants. She's like, I see everybody just saying no, that doesn't occur that much. To be honest. No, like it just doesn't occur.
Starting point is 01:01:40 It really doesn't. I think you're like that much. I can vouch for that. Yeah, so if you want to look at our Instagram to unwind, I don't know if that will help you, but it is at Morbid Podcast. If you wanna tweet at us about how mad you are that we did this case, because it's sad.
Starting point is 01:01:57 A Morbid Podcast. If you want to send us a Gmail with really kind words to make me feel better about having to listen to this case. Morbid Podcast at gmail.com. If you want to talk about it in the Facebook group, morbid colon, a true crime podcast. If you'd like to donate to the patreon, it is under construction. patreon.com slash morbidpodcast.
Starting point is 01:02:17 We hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it weird. I don't even think I have to say that I'm not doing one for this. Yeah, I mean this is like for the... Brutality by... Hey, Prime Members! You can listen to Morvid, Early, and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen ad-free with Wondery Plus and Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash
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