KIDNAPPING OF THREE WOMEN IN CLEVELAND

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XRzsNbskT (Click on the link to watch the video)

Three women who disappeared more than a decade ago have been found alive after they were rescued from a makeshift dungeon in a suburban American home.

Amanda Berry, 26, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, spent years chained up in a blacked-out room. They escaped when a neighbour helped break down the door after hearing Miss Berry scream for help when their captor left the house.

The women were aged 14, 16 and 21 when they were kidnapped separately in Cleveland, Ohio. Three brothers were arrested last night as the escape sparked celebrations in the city where the victims had been presumed dead.

Miss Berry, who was 16 when she went missing in April 2003, held an emotional reunion with her older sister Beth Serrano.

Miss Berry introduced her sister to her daughter, who was born during the 10-year ordeal and is now thought to be aged about six. Beth's husband Ted Serrano said his wife was overjoyed about her sister's return: "She said [Amanda]'s okay, she's got a daughter. She said she's okay, she looks good."

In an emergency call to police after fleeing the house, Amanda said: "Help me, I'm Amanda Berry … I need police … I've been kidnapped, I've been missing for 10 years. I'm here, I'm free now."

She added: "I need them [the police] now, before he gets back . ..  I'm Amanda Berry. I've been in the news for the past 10 years."

During the call, she gave the name of her alleged abductor, said he was "out of the house" and repeatedly urged police to come quickly.

The disappearances of Miss Berry and Miss DeJesus captured the attention of the city for the past decade and their relatives have held vigils to keep the story alive in the local press.

Miss Berry had not been seen or heard from since calling her sister to say she was on her way home from her job at Burger King.

Miss DeJesus was 14 when she disappeared on her way home from school about a year later. Miss Knight, went missing in 2002 when she was 21. As well as Miss Berry's daughter, a younger child was also found in the house.

Miss Berry's mother, Louwana Miller, died six years ago. Friends said the search for her daughter had taken a toll on her health and that she died of "a broken heart".

Miss Berry's aunt Gale Mitchell said: "I can't wait to talk to her, I can't wait to hold her, to see her." She added: "You never give up. You just pray and pray and pray."

Castro is accused of kidnapping Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight and holding them captive along with a six-year-old girl he fathered with Ms Berry. He also was indicted on charges including 139 counts of rape, 177 counts of kidnapping and multiple counts of gross sexual imposition and felonious assault.

Castro's lawyers have said he would plead not guilty to any indictment.

When he was in the prison, he hanged and he died.

Vocabulary
Rescue: bring someone out of danger (rescatar)
Makeshift: a usually crude and temporary expedient (improvisado)
Dungeon: A close prison cell (calabozo)
Spend: To pass time (gastar el tiempo)
Chain up: a series of related or connected facts, events (encadenar)
To kidnap: to take away (someone) by force usually in order to keep the person as a prisoner and demand money for returning the person (secuestrar)
Presume: To take (something) for granted (suponer)
Miss: Not able to be trace and not know to be dead (desaparecer)
To overjoy: Excessively happy
To flee: run or move quickly; rush; speed
Abductor: To remove (a person) by force (secuestro)
To keep alive: to continue or cause to continue (mantener)
Toll: Loss or damage incurred through an accident, disaster, kidnapper... (pérdida)
Hold: To have or keep with or within the hands, arms, etc. (agarrar)
Give up: To renounce (rendirse)
Pray: To implore (pregar, rogar)
Captive: A person or animal that is confined or restrained (prisionero)
Charge: An accusation (cargo)
Assault: A violent attack, either physical or verbal (asalto)
Lawyer: Amember of the legal profession (abogado)

SUMMARYThree women, who were kidnapped in Cleveland for ten years in a suburban home, now are free. Amanda Berry, now 26, Gina de Jesus, now 23, and Michelle Knight, now 33, tried to escape from their captor when he left the house. Berry screamed for help and she was heard by a neighbour who tried to help them. Berry had a baby with the kidnapper. Ten years later they escaped and the kidnapper was accused of kidnapping 3 women, indicted on charges 139 counts of rape and multiple counts of gross sexual imposition and felonius assault. When he was sentenced to be in the prison, he committed suicide hanging himself.

Posted by: Laura Peñalver and Veronica de Vera      2nd batx. C

The most famous kidnapping

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The man who held three women captive in his home for nearly a decade before one escaped and alerted authorities has been found dead and is believed to have committed suicide, a prison official said.

Ariel Castro, 53, was found hanging in his cell around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, located south of Columbus in central Ohio, JoEllen Smith, Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman, said early Wednesday.

Prison medical staff performed CPR before Castro was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 10:50 p.m.

He was in protective custody because of the notoriety of his case, meaning he was checked every 30 minutes, but was not on suicide watch, Smith said. She said suicide watch entails constant observation.

Castro was also watched closely in Cuyahoga County Jail in the several weeks after his arrest and before his case was resolved by a guilty plea, with logs noting his activity every 10 minutes. He was taken off county jail suicide watch in early June after authorities determined he was not a suicide risk.

At least one of the survivors, Gina DeJesus, has been informed. Her aunt, Peggy Arida, spoke with WWLTV.Castro's family learned about the death from the warden about 1 a.m., according to brother-in-law Juan Alicea, who spoke to CNT.

Some of the convict's relatives were distraught about the news. Castro's attorneys tried unsuccessfully to have a psychological examination of Castro done at the Cuyahoga County Jail, where Castro was housed before he was turned over to state authorities following his conviction, his attorney, Jaye Schlachet, told The Associated Press early Wednesday. Schlachet said he could not immediately comment further.

In an interview last month after Castro's conviction, Schlachet and attorney Craig Weintraub said their client clearly fit the profile of sociopathic disorder and that they hoped researchers would study him for clues that could be used to stop other predators.

The three women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old. They escaped from Castro's Cleveland home May 6, when Amanda Berry, one of the women, broke part of a door and yelled to neighbors for help.

Castro was arrested that evening. He had also fathered a child with Berry while she was in captivity; that girl was 6 years old when freed. A judge rejected Castro's request to have visiting rights with his daughter.

Castro was sentenced Aug. 1 to life in prison plus 1,000 years on his guilty plea to 937 counts including kidnapping and rape.In a rambling statement, he told the judge he was not a monster but a man suffering from a pornography addiction.

Sumary




The Abduction of Cleveland was called a criminal act that took place in Cleveland , Ohio in the United States between 2002 and 2013. Georgina " Gina " DeJesus , Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight had been kidnapping for ten years.They were realeased in 2013.

Knight went missing in 2002 at 21, Berry in 2003 at 16, and DeJesus in 2004 at 14. During the captivity, the women had multiple pregnancies, at least one live birth (Berry's daughter), and multiple spontaneous abortions. Women were sometimes tied with chains and ropes.

The May 6, 2013, the three women were rescued when Berry escaped and called the police. They were in a house owned by Ariel Castro, the suspect of his kidnapping. A six-year-old daughter of Berry, born in captivity, was also rescued.

Ariel Castro was arrested on May 6th of 2013 shortly after they were released women. On May 8th, Castro was charged with four charges of kidnapping and three charges of rape.  The incident received front page news coverage worldwide. Ariel Castro was found dead on Wednesday, September 4th, in his cell.





Synomyms

captive-held as prisioner,prisioner                    arrest- take into custody

commited- do, be guilty of                               case- insatnce

hanging- capital punishment                             suicide- deliberate killing of self

count- district                                                 attorney- lawyer

jail-prision                                                      further- greatre extend

convict- person in prision                                predator- hunting animal

freed- not restrained                                       judge- fort a trial

rejected- refuse                                              sentenced- pronunce sentence

kidnapping- abduction of person                     rape-sexual assault

By Marta Catchot and Aitana Hontecillas