Before she was kidnapped, she was estranged from her family and lost custody of her 2-year-old son. Figley said taking bold steps to share their experience in their own way is therapeutic for abuse survivors. Facebook Twitter Email. Cleveland kidnap victim shows grit, experts say. Share your feedback to help improve our site! Raised by a poor family in Cleveland where they didn't have "a couch to sit on", Michelle helped raise her younger siblings.
After suffering sexual abuse at the hands of a male relative, Michelle ran away from home aged just She eventually returned home where she went back to high school and was bullied by other classmates. After dating a male classmate Michelle welcomed son Joey at age 18, vowing to be the best mother she could despite struggling financially and still living at home.
According to Michelle, she lost custody of Joey in early after her mother's boyfriend got drunk and fractured her son's knee, and he was eventually put in foster car. On the day of Michelle's kidnapping she had been on her way to a case management meeting and got lost, stopping into a store to ask for directions. I tried to call them on a payphone.
It didn't work. Michelle was relieved when a man offered to help her and she recognised him — it was Castro, but he wouldn't take her to the hearing, instead locking her up inside his house. One of the first things Castro did to Michelle when he imprisoned her was cruelly taunt her about Joey. Michelle's family filed a missing-person report in the days following her sudden disappearance. However it was quickly presumed by police and loved ones that she was a runaway, possibly disgruntled after losing custody of Joey.
But in reality Michelle was being chained up "like a fish" for days on end, as well as being repeatedly raped by Castro, who told her he was a sex addict. Two other young women, Berry and DeJesus were later abducted by Castro; Knight was forced to deliver the child Berry gave birth to while in captivity.
Castro also taunted Knight about the fact that DeJesus and Berry had family members desperate to find them, while no one was looking for her. When Castro left his house on May 6, , Berry managed to get to the front door and scream for help, getting the attention of a neighbor. After Berry escaped, she called The authorities who arrived at the scene soon rescued Knight and DeJesus as well. Knight had been held by Castro for more than 10 years. After her release, Knight was brought to the hospital; having been severely beaten by Castro, she was left with a loss of vision and nerve damage.
Her mother told the press that she hoped to reunite with her daughter and to introduce Knight to a younger sister who had been born during the time she was captive.
However, Knight chose to avoid her family after leaving the hospital. At Castro's sentencing in August , Knight stated, "I've got my life back. I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning.
A congregant saw her at the church one day and reported it to her father. He sent her back to school where she says she was bullied. She started seeing a boy from school, got pregnant and gave birth to her son Joey at I wanted to be better than Social services eventually put him in foster care. Knight was desperate to get her son back. On Aug. I tried to call them on a payphone.
It didn't work. I can take you straight to it. It'll only take me But instead of going to family court, he took her to his home, on the pretense of first picking his daughter and showing Michelle some puppies.
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