In 2004, 14-year-old Gina DeJesus was kidnapped by her family friend Ariel Castro — who held her captive in his Cleveland home for nine years.
Personal PhotoGina DeJesus was abducted at age 14 and held prisoner for nine years.
On April 2, 2004, 14-year-old Gina DeJesus was walking home from school in Cleveland, Ohio, on what seemed like an ordinary day.
When Ariel Castro, her friend’s father, offered her a ride, Gina saw no reason to hesitate. She knew and trusted him. In fact, Castro even asked Gina for help finding his daughter. But instead of taking Gina home or looking for his daughter, Castro brought Gina to his house in Cleveland.
There, Castro imprisoned her — a nightmare that would last for nine years. And Gina wasn’t his only captive. He had also imprisoned an older teen named Amanda Berry and a young woman named Michelle Knight.
The search for Gina was delayed when police assumed she was a runaway. Though authorities later realized the gravity of the situation, she had already been locked away — and she wouldn’t be rescued until 2013.
The Chilling Disappearance Of Gina DeJesus
Born in 1990 and raised in Cleveland, Gina DeJesus was the youngest in her family. As a young teenager, she loved walking home from school and stopping at a store for gum or snacks along the way. But on April 2, 2004, what seemed like a typical walk home turned into a nightmare.
That day, Gina chose to walk home from school instead of taking the bus, planning to use the $1.25 her mother had given her for bus fare to buy her favorite snacks. Witnesses last saw her at a payphone before she vanished.
It was later learned that on her way home, someone stopped to offer her a ride. It was Ariel Castro, the father of her friend Arlene. Gina didn’t think twice about accepting his offer; she trusted him. Plus, Castro wanted to know where Arlene went, and Gina thought she could help him find his daughter.
But instead of taking Gina home — or looking for Arlene — Castro drove Gina to his house in the Tremont area, where he locked her in his basement.
Personal PhotosThe three abduction victims of Ariel Castro: Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight.
When Gina failed to return home from school as planned, her family panicked. They quickly reported her missing to the police, but tragically, an AMBER Alert was not issued for her. Authorities initially assumed she ran away or was spending time with a boyfriend. This delayed the investigation, leaving her family to start the search for her on their own.
Over the next nine years, Gina endured unimaginable abuse. She was subjected to brutal rapes, and she was often restrained with ropes and chains. Castro would rape her with a bag over her head, purportedly because he knew her family well. Castro’s other captives, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight, also endured horrific rapes and torture.
Meanwhile, the DeJesus family tirelessly worked with police, who eventually realized that Gina was not a runaway, and the FBI. Gina’s loved ones posted flyers, held vigils, and even featured the case on America’s Most Wanted. But Gina’s whereabouts remained a mystery until her miraculous rescue in 2013.
Gina DeJesus’ Life In Captivity At Ariel Castro’s Cleveland Home
THD3/Wikimedia CommonsAriel Castro’s home in Cleveland, where he imprisoned his victims.
For almost a decade, Gina DeJesus, along with Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight, were kept locked away in Ariel Castro’s Cleveland house, isolated from the outside world. Castro boarded them up in small rooms with no way to escape. He controlled every aspect of their lives, giving them only one meal a day and forcing them to use plastic toilets.
Castro played cruel mind games to keep them in constant fear. Sometimes he would pretend to leave the house, only to sneak back in to see if they were trying to escape. He made it clear — if they tried to get out, he would beat them. Castro sometimes even pitted his victims against each other.
However, Gina found ways to hold on to hope that she would be rescued someday. Her connection to her family, especially her mother, gave her strength. She refused to let her captor completely break her spirit.
Cuyahoga County Jail/dpa picture alliance/Alamy Live NewsAriel Castro, pictured after his arrest for the abduction of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight.
When Castro was at work or elsewhere, the girls tried to find moments of normalcy. They danced, sang, and even watched TV together, especially enjoying The Vampire Diaries. “We would watch the show and then for two hours afterward, we would talk about what’s going to happen next week,” Berry recalled. When Castro would come back home, it was devastating. DeJesus said, “He would walk up the stairs and just ruin our whole day.”
Disturbingly, Castro once gave Gina her own missing person flyer.
The flyer had been given to Castro by Gina’s mother during one of her desperate searches. Castro used the flyer to show his power, trying to make the young girl feel hopeless. But Gina had a surprising reaction.
As Gina later recalled, “He got to the house and told me that he saw my mom that day. And I asked him, ‘Can I have it?’ — so that I know that when we were found, that I would show my mom that I had it.”
A Daring Rescue From A House Of Horrors
On May 6, 2013, Gina DeJesus’ nightmare finally ended. That day, the 26-year-old Amanda Berry saw a rare opportunity to escape. Castro had left the house that day, and Berry noticed that he accidentally left one of his heavily secured doors unlocked. Berry took that chance to escape with her young daughter Jocelyn (who was the result of Castro’s rapes).
After Berry broke free from the house of horrors, she then called 911 from a neighbor’s phone and told the authorities everything.
When officers arrived at Castro’s home, they were shocked at what they found. Inside the house, they discovered Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, held captive in deplorable conditions. DeJesus, now 23 years old, was finally rescued from the house, free for the first time in nearly a decade. She was then taken to the hospital, where she was reunited with her family.
YouTubeAmanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight, pictured after their rescue and recovery.
DeJesus still remembers the shock of hearing her name for the first time in years after her rescue — as Castro had forbidden his victims from using their real names the whole time that they were in captivity.
In August 2013, Castro was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years for his heinous crimes. But on September 3rd, he was found dead in his prison cell from an apparent suicide. While his punishment was cut short by his death, the women he once held captive were finally free to start over.
Gina DeJesus’ Mission To Support The Families Of Other Missing People
For Gina DeJesus, her rescue was the beginning of a new chapter. “I had to do a lot of catching up,” DeJesus later said of her recovery process. “I had to go through all the stages from 14 to 23. I was still doing kid stuff when I returned home, hanging out outside, going skating.”
Despite the challenges ahead, DeJesus learned how to drive and pay bills, and she also re-learned Spanish, which she had forgotten how to speak in captivity. She also focused on finding ways to help others.
In 2018, DeJesus launched Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping families whose loved ones have disappeared. Her own painful experience inspired her to provide resources for families during an incredibly difficult time.
WOIOGina DeJesus now dedicates much of her time to helping families of missing people.
“Our space is located on West 25th and Seymour, right where I was held captive for nine years, right on the corner… because I wanted to bring [something] positive to the street,” DeJesus told A&E. Meanwhile, she has also become a valuable asset to the Northeast Ohio Amber Alert Committee.
But her efforts don’t stop there. She and her family have also traveled around the country, training law enforcement officers on how to better engage with and support families of missing individuals.
This work is especially important to Gina DeJesus. As she put it: “I want to help families because my family didn’t have anything. They didn’t get help.”
After reading about Gina DeJesus and her survival in captivity, learn about Elisabeth Fritzl, the girl who was held captive by her own father for 24 years. Then, go inside some of history’s most incredible survival stories.
