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Michelle Knight on Ariel Castro: my abduction didn't define who I am Michelle Knight on Ariel Castro: my abduction didn't define who I am
(about 9 hours later)
Tuesday marks a year since Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were rescued from the house of Ariel Castro in Cleveland, Ohio, where they had been held prisoner.Tuesday marks a year since Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were rescued from the house of Ariel Castro in Cleveland, Ohio, where they had been held prisoner.
In an exclusive interview, Michelle Knight tells Simon Hattenstone how she survived 11 years of torture at the hands of a man she says she has now forgiven.In an exclusive interview, Michelle Knight tells Simon Hattenstone how she survived 11 years of torture at the hands of a man she says she has now forgiven.
Castro kidnapped the teenage Knight on 22 August 2000, as she was heading to a meeting to discuss the custody of her son Joey, a toddler at the time. Castro offered her a lift in his car, and then took her to his home.Castro kidnapped the teenage Knight on 22 August 2000, as she was heading to a meeting to discuss the custody of her son Joey, a toddler at the time. Castro offered her a lift in his car, and then took her to his home.
"Then we got upstairs, that's when it struck me really hard, that I'm never going to leave this place," she said. "There was too much silence.""Then we got upstairs, that's when it struck me really hard, that I'm never going to leave this place," she said. "There was too much silence."
Over the next decade, Castro would chain Knight – along with the two other women he later abducted – to a pole in his basement, raping and torturing her almost daily. In 11 years of captivity, "not a day went by that I didn't get messed with or get hurt in any type of way," Knight said. Knight fell pregnant five times in her captivity, but Castro would beat and starve her into miscarriage.Over the next decade, Castro would chain Knight – along with the two other women he later abducted – to a pole in his basement, raping and torturing her almost daily. In 11 years of captivity, "not a day went by that I didn't get messed with or get hurt in any type of way," Knight said. Knight fell pregnant five times in her captivity, but Castro would beat and starve her into miscarriage.
"The only thing that was moving was the outside world, and we were on standstill." When asked how she kept going, Knight said she couldn't let her son Joey know that she had given up on him."The only thing that was moving was the outside world, and we were on standstill." When asked how she kept going, Knight said she couldn't let her son Joey know that she had given up on him.
"There was very little times that I actually cracked a smile in that house," she said. "When I first met Amanda and Gina, I smiled. That made me happy to know that I wasn't the only one. But that made me sad too.""There was very little times that I actually cracked a smile in that house," she said. "When I first met Amanda and Gina, I smiled. That made me happy to know that I wasn't the only one. But that made me sad too."
The 53-year-old Castro pleaded guilty in August to hundreds of charges and later committed suicide in prison. When asked if she forgives Castro, Knight said she does, and that she doesn't hate him.The 53-year-old Castro pleaded guilty in August to hundreds of charges and later committed suicide in prison. When asked if she forgives Castro, Knight said she does, and that she doesn't hate him.
"I kind of wish he never killed his self, but to each his own mind ... He didn't want to be alive, he couldn't take what he did. And I understand that.""I kind of wish he never killed his self, but to each his own mind ... He didn't want to be alive, he couldn't take what he did. And I understand that."
"I would be probably either living on the streets or dead right now," Knight said about what she thinks her life would have been like had she not been kidnapped. "And I got to survive it and I got to be able to say that I overcame this. And it didn't define who I am.""I would be probably either living on the streets or dead right now," Knight said about what she thinks her life would have been like had she not been kidnapped. "And I got to survive it and I got to be able to say that I overcame this. And it didn't define who I am."
Don't miss Simon Hattenstone's full interview with Michelle Knight in the Guardian on Saturday. Simon Hattenstone's full interview with Michelle Knight will be published on Saturday.