Amazing article with indepth recap of the rescue of Amanda,Gina and Michelle.

[Chilly Willy]

Look again. The front window is coved with sheets of plastic. Again if the window was not boarded up, why would Amanda Berry not have just smashed the window and climbed out?

Reports are that the women never saw daylight, and neighbors reported that the only light that came from the house was the front porch light. Thats a sign that the windows were sealed up.

I see that the storm door is covered in clear plastic, which would not be considered at all unusual considering the climate in Cleveland in the winter months. The front window of the house does not look to be covered. I've read that the neighbors sometimes saw dim light coming from the house. I'm assuming he kept heavy drapes covering the front window. The woman were kept in the basement and then upstairs, they would not see daylight from those areas.

Amanda was not normally allowed downstairs so she would not have had the opportunity to break a window and crawl out.

 

[KaaBoom]

I see that the storm door is covered in clear plastic, which would not be considered at all unusual considering the climate in Cleveland in the winter months. The front window of the house does not look to be covered. I've read that the neighbors sometimes saw dim light coming from the house. I'm assuming he kept heavy drapes covering the front window. The woman were kept in the basement and then upstairs, they would not see daylight from those areas.

Amanda was not normally allowed downstairs so she would not have had the opportunity to break a window and crawl out.

I think you missed my point. When she got down stairs and decided to escape, why didn't she just throw something through the front window and climb out? Rather then even messing with the front door. That would have been the fastest way out.

I believe that was not an option for her. The door was the only possible way out. Thats why she went that route. Which means that the windows were blocked.

 

[Chilly Willy]

I think you missed my point. When she got down stairs and decided to escape, why didn't she just throw something through the front window and climb out? Rather then even messing with the front door. That would have been the fastest way out.

I believe that was not an option for her. The door was the only possible way out. Thats why she went that route. Which means that the windows were blocked.

I believe it was for 2 reasons. One, an unlocked door would appear to be the fastest and safest way out so she tried it first and saw that there were people outside who could help her. Why would someone break a window to get out if they could simply go out through the door?

Two, if for some reason she couldn't get out after breaking the window, Castro would know she'd made an attempt to escape and that could result in punishment or even death.

In case I'm not being clear, think of it this way. You're in a room with closed windows and an unlocked door to the outside. You want to leave. What do you do first?

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I wonder if there was some city code violation with all the windows being boarded up in an occupied home.

OK, a 30-second 411 on Cleveland:

There are more code violations than there are hours in a day to go around and issue them, or follow up on them. Blame the century old housing stock, the foreclosure crisis, banks who neglect the properties they foreclose, copper thieves, squatters - it's a stubborn symbiosis of blight.

We cope using self-depreciating humor - the hallmark of any true Clevelander. See below:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZzgAjjuqZM"]Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video: 2nd Attempt - YouTube[/ame]



Of course, that's satire. The truth is there are lots of nice, well cared for properties too, and amazing people. You saw that if you saw any interviews with the Dejesus/Ruiz families. There is a guy in Amanda's neighborhood who goes around mowing the lawns of the bank-owned properties just to keep the neighborhood nice. He collects and gives out food, all the neighbors know him, he's like a one man block committee. There's lots of gentrification going on in and around the near west side, very close to this neighborhood. I think things are moving in the right direction, but yeah, make no mistake, we've had some tough times in this town.

 

[countryfox]

RE: Pic of the home 2009...it's chillin to know these women were literally being held inside the home when photo was taken..wow, so sad to look a this.