Amanda Berry, Gina deJesus & Michelle Knight - General discussion #4

[Irish_Eyes]

Today's news report from Cleveland from yours truly:

New website for missing in Cuyahoga County:

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-c...s_new_initiative_to_find_missing_persons.html

This article talks about the Angelo's Pizza fundraiser that was held today:

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and...s-pizza-to-donate-sales-to-rescued-girls-fund

All I can say is it was crazy, but good. (I wasn't there ) But friends who were there in the daytime tweeted pics from the dining room and from behind the counter...their phone lines were jammed and you couldn't get near the place in the evening. It looks to have been very successful.

The article says that Angelo's delivered pizzas to both the Dejesus and Barry families yesterday as well - AND they announced today that Amanda (and daughter), Gina, Michelle, and their immediate families get free Angelo's pizza - for LIFE.

We're not so naive here that we think that all of this outpouring of love and money will just magicallly make the horrors of the last 10 years go away, but I think if there is anything at all that can be done for these families, even just on the level of moral support and community solidarity, it is being done, and for that I'm grateful.

 

[KaaBoom]

In a perfect world that might be true, but the amount of missing people in this Country is astounding. As a mother, I can not imagine not calling and keeping the police on the case. I would be desperate for answers.

For how long would you keep calling? Forever?

 

[ExpectingUnicorns]

For how long would you keep calling? Forever?

No, not forever. Only until I died.

 

[KaaBoom]

Today's news report from Cleveland from yours truly:

New website for missing in Cuyahoga County:

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-c...s_new_initiative_to_find_missing_persons.html

This article talks about the Angelo's Pizza fundraiser that was held today:

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and...s-pizza-to-donate-sales-to-rescued-girls-fund

All I can say is it was crazy, but good. (I wasn't there ) But friends who were there in the daytime tweeted pics from the dining room and from behind the counter...their phone lines were jammed and you couldn't get near the place in the evening. It looks to have been very successful.

The article says that Angelo's delivered pizzas to both the Dejesus and Barry families yesterday as well - AND they announced today that Amanda (and daughter), Gina, Michelle, and their immediate families get free Angelo's pizza - for LIFE.

We're not so naive here that we think that all of this outpouring of love and money will just magicallly make the horrors of the last 10 years go away, but I think if there is anything at all that can be done for these families, even just on the level of moral support and community solidarity, it is being done, and for that I'm grateful.

Sorry, but I can't get too excited about the pizza thing. It sounds more like a marketing ploy, then a serious attempt to help the families. :tsktsk:

 

[SophieRose]

In a perfect world that might be true, but the amount of missing people in this Country is astounding. As a mother, I can not imagine not calling and keeping the police on the case. I would be desperate for answers.

I was going to say the same thing about "a perfect world."

Example of advocate.
From the film "Terms of Endearment"

Aurora Greenway: It's past ten. My daughter is in pain. I don't understand why she has to have this pain. All she has to do is hold out until ten, and IT'S PAST TEN! My daughter is in pain, can't you understand that! GIVE MY DAUGHTER THE SHOT!

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I've seen many cases lately when kids go missing under suspicious circumstances they go door to door in the neighborhood and do extensive interviews, bring in other law enforcement agencies, etc. I wonder how much has changed and how much has been learned over the last decade? What if anything, does Cleveland PD do now that they may have not done a decade ago. Hopefully things have improved.

I think not having Michelle's case in the system is what made it harder to find them. If you look at Michelle's case too, you see a cluster of all 3 women going missing around the neighborhood of Wilbur Wright. That would make you think it was either someone in that neighborhood or someone who felt comfortable in that neighborhood. Maybe even someone who had children in that school.

I attended a community meeting about a year ago in this neighborhood. The district police captain came and spoke and he specifically brought up Gina and Amanda, and how they still continued to look into leads on their cases and that they were personally very committed to finding these girls. Being in the room with him when he said that, I believe him.

 

[KaaBoom]

No, not forever. Only until I died.

Some people would do that, and others would eventually just forget about it, and move on with their lives.

I think personally if I was in that position, it would be too depressing for me to keep calling the police and hearing that there was no new leads, over and over again. I would expect that if there was anything to hear, that the police would call me.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

Sorry, but I can't get too excited about the pizza thing. It sounds more like a marketing ploy, then a serious attempt to help the families. :tsktsk:

Interesting. I had to sit back for a minute when I read that and think about it. Totally see how it could be seen that way. Honestly though, I don't think the locals see it that way. This is the family owned shop in town, as opposed to the Pizza Huts, Dominos, etc., and the family that owns it is part of this community and has been forever, so I think here it made total sense for them to do something like this.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

Some people would do that, and others would eventually just forget about it, and move on with their lives.

I think personally if I was in that position, it would be too depressing for me to keep calling the police and hearing that there was no new leads, over and over again. I would expect that if there was anything to hear, that the police would call me.

I get that, and I think it would be depressing too. I just think that I would be worried. If my child was out there, and finally found one day, I'd want to be able to look him/her in the eye and say "I never stopped looking for you. Even when it seemed hopeless and impossible, I never stopped looking." I think that would be the only thing that would keep me going.

 

[KaaBoom]

Interesting. I had to sit back for a minute when I read that and think about it. Totally see how it could be seen that way. Honestly though, I don't think the locals see it that way. This is the family owned shop in town, as opposed to the Pizza Huts, Dominos, etc., and the family that owns it is part of this community and has been forever, so I think here it made total sense for them to do something like this.

Then I think they should just write out a check to that fund for the girls.

The owner of a pizza place that I once worked at, explained why he donated so much money to sponsor every Little League team in the area. He said, after every game the parents would bring the kids in for an after game pizza party. The profits from those parties would make back all the money he gave to the team. But it was better then that. He would get their kids addicted to the pizza, and they would keep dragging their parents back to have more pizza. He said he eventually he would make a thousand dollars for every dollar he donated. It was the cheapest advertising he could get.

 

[SophieRose]

Some people would do that, and others would eventually just forget about it, and move on with their lives.

I think personally if I was in that position, it would be too depressing for me to keep calling the police and hearing that there was no new leads, over and over again. I would expect that if there was anything to hear, that the police would call me.

It's easier to say, but a mother can't think about herself, can't make it about herself, it's about her child. A frequent call can put your child (even adult child) on the minds of . LE can pass by pictures of hundreds of missing persons, but if you are calling they will remember your child, a picture with a name.

 

[Abby Normal Again]

Then I think they should just write out a check to that fund for the girls.

The owner of a pizza place that I once worked at, explained why he donated so much money to sponsor every Little League team in the area. He said, after every game the parents would bring the kids in for an after game pizza party. The profits from those parties would make back all the money he gave to the team. But it was better then that. He would get their kids addicted to the pizza, and they would keep dragging their parents back to have more pizza. He said he eventually he would make a thousand dollars for every dollar he donated. It was the cheapest advertising he could get.

bbm

Who knows, maybe they did, but I'd dislike if they were bragging on having done so.

Really, I hope this offer sparks a flurry of similar offers for the girls.

I'm not naive to be unaware of marketing tactics, but I'm also aware that some people, even business owners, are sincerely moved and desire to do something big and generous. This experience has touched so many people on a really deep level.

 

[Sparklin]

When Michelle went missing, she had spent the night at a friends house. Has it ever been published who this friend was? Who was the last to see Michelle Knight?

I'm so bad at saving articles, but I did read and posted in previous thread an article that the was at her cousins house where she was 'living' at the time.

 

[Sparklin]

If someone goes missing, it shouldn't be their relatives responsibility to keep calling the police, to keep them on the case.

That may be the case, however, as a mother, it is definitely her responsibility to ensure that her daughters report is not forgotten or slipping through the many cracks. All I'm saying is if the family wasn't contacting them or returning their calls, they would assume she was no longer missing. I would be harassing LE on a very regular basis and they wouldn't need to be tracking me down because they would be hearing from me on a constant basis. I don't understand why that wasn't done. If there are 60 cases on the agenda and 4 of them have had no contact, they can only work it so long and hard? What else were they to do without knowledge that she was even missing?

 

[DD_bwest]

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/v...ac-kaye-cleveland-kidnapping-details.cnn.html

They are saying Michelle WONT be needing facial reconstruction. i guess that was another piece of misinformation that got out there..

also dogs in the home..

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/v...mt-ed-gallek-on-dogs-at-castro-house.cnn.html

 

[nikb]

I'm betting this is yet another inaccuracy in the articles we read. They likely meant hearing loss. There's another post on here recently addressing the errors we are reading about in the media. I think the most accurate ones come from the more notable places like ABC, etc. These foreign or less well know sources seem to have more information, but some of it false, getting the players names mixed up, etc. I remember on article/video saying that the one lady in a wheelchair was Michele's great aunt and another saying it was her grandmother. I think the latter is true, but I'm still not sure.

Good point. I hope it's an inaccuracy! What's happened to them that we know about is already awful, but it's even worse adding in things that are exaggerated or misreported. Sad. I think one of the women who offered a statement of support said something about this - that they'd be seeing things that supposedly happened but didn't. I can't remember her last name but I think her first name's Natascha? The article was linked here sometime yesterday.

 

[JerseyGirl]

also dogs in the home..

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/v...mt-ed-gallek-on-dogs-at-castro-house.cnn.html

"The role of these dogs is still unclear, although last week we reported about an R.I.P. writing on the wall in the basement. R.I.P., that is believed to be in reference to an animal," he explained. "There's some talk in law enforcement circles in recent days about the dogs being pets for the women. That has not been confirmed, fleshed out. That is something that we're still looking into, but that is another possibility."

http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/20...the-dogs-being-pets-for-the-women/?hpt=pm_mid

 

[JerseyGirl]

The DeJesus and Castro families have known each other for years, according to Gina DeJesus' great uncle Noel Ruiz Sr. ... (as) he sipped a Corona in a corner store owned by Julio Castro, Ariel Castro's uncle, only about half a block from where the three girls, including DeJesus, were held. "We used to throw parties here," Ruiz said of Castro's store, where he said he's been coming for decades.

Members of the Castro and DeJesus families also mixed at a 14th birthday party for Gina DeJesus shortly before she disappeared in 2004, Kayla Rogers said. Members of DeJesus' large extended family were there, she said, as well as Arlene Castro. They (Arlene and Kayla) fell out of touch after DeJesus disappeared, she said, and she has not heard from Arlene in nearly 10 years.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...ose-bond-between-victim-castros-daughter?lite

 

[JerseyGirl]

Ok, I'm starting to think Arlene is clearly hiding a lot of information. She went on national tv last week and said this, in the meantime we have read family members' reports as well as police and court records of domestic violence for many, many years!
___

Arlene said that, as a child, she never saw any sign of the abuse, sexual assault and other tortures that Castro is accused of meting out on the women.

“No, never,” she said, denying she grew up in a violent household.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/so_sorry_had_no_idea_daughter_says_N9AFxS00RWjw0PfIz1N3aK

 

[jjenny]

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/v...ac-kaye-cleveland-kidnapping-details.cnn.html

They are saying Michelle WONT be needing facial reconstruction. i guess that was another piece of misinformation that got out there..

also dogs in the home..

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/v...mt-ed-gallek-on-dogs-at-castro-house.cnn.html

It was Michelle's grandmother who confirmed Michelle needed reconstructive surgery.

"Michelle Knight's grandmother, Deborah Knight, confirmed the information, telling WOIO-TV Thursday: "When she was severely beaten, he had beat her so bad in the face, she has to have facial reconstruction, and she's lost hearing in one ear.""
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162...tion-after-cleveland-rescue-grandmother-says/