Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus are coming together to write a book about their nearly 10-years of captivity by Ariel Castro. Berry and DeJesus are two of three women Castro abducted between 2002 and 2004. Castro kept Berry, DeJesus and Michelle Knight chained up in his home where he repeatedly, beat, starved and raped them for almost a decade. Berry and DeJesus' book will be co-written by Pulitzer Prize winning writers Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan. The two writers are married and work for the Washington Post.
The book will chronicle Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus' kidnapping, years of abuse and eventual escape from the house on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. Berry and DeJesus will also be aided by lawyer Robert Barnett who has helped to negotiate book deals for Amanda Knox, Barack Obama, Tony Blair, Sarah Palin, Bill Clinton and numerous others. The office of Robert Barnett released a statement about Berry and DeJesus' book to the Associated Press on Monday. According to the statement Berry and DeJesus decided to tell their story to counterbalance the so called "inaccurate" reports about their ordeal.
The statement to the Associated Press came from James Wooley, a lawyer in the Barnett law firm representing Berry and DeJesus. "Many have told and continue to tell, this story in ways that are inaccurate and beyond the control of these young women. Our clients have a strong desire for privacy, but it is a reality that confronts them every day. Gina, Amanda and their families have decided to take control and are now interested in telling the story of what happened to them."
Michelle Knight was 20-years old and the first of the three women to be kidnaped by Ariel Castro. Amanda Berry was 16-years-old and the second girl to be abducted by the former school bus driver. At the age of 14, Gina DeJesus was kidnapped by Ariel Castro while on her way home from school. The three women would be kept in Castro's house, repeatedly raped and brutalized until May 6, 2013. Last May while Castro was out running errands Amanda Berry was able to escape his home and call 911.
Ariel Castro was arrested and eventually pleaded guilty to 937 counts of kidnapping and rape. In order to avoid the death penalty Castro took a deal of life in prison plus 1,000 years. Castro was sentenced on August 1, three months after the women escaped. In September Castro was found hanging in his jail cell from an apparent suicide.
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