Amanda Berry, Gina deJesus & Michelle Knight - General discussion #5

[CazzBa]

Thanks for this. This isn't the book Amanda and Gina were working on, is it? From this preview it sounds like the author has quite a bit of info that hasn't been released before. I assume the book from Amanda and Gina will take longer, but I was surprised at the level of detail in this book.

Yeah, this is a different book. The one Amanda and Gina are working on together will be co-written by a woman named Mary Jordan and I don't think it will be out until late in 2014.

 

[nikb]

Yeah, this is a different book. The one Amanda and Gina are working on together will be co-written by a woman named Mary Jordan and I don't think it will be out until late in 2014.

Thanks CazzBa! I will keep an eye out for it.

Just jumping off... I'm not too interested in reading all the books that will inevitably come out. I get pretty skeptical when an author claims to have "exclusive" interviews with local LE, FBI, family, etc. Really? The LE/FBI chit-chat behind the victims' backs with an author? If that's true those people need to get fired yesterday. The aforementioned book seems so detailed, it had me wondering where the info came from.

I'm definitely interested in hearing directly from the ladies, though. Hope that doesn't sound completely morbid... I just really want to understand what happened, and especially how to prevent it from ever happening again if that's possible.

 

[ckia2013]

Thanks CazzBa! I will keep an eye out for it.

Just jumping off... I'm not too interested in reading all the books that will inevitably come out. I get pretty skeptical when an author claims to have "exclusive" interviews with local LE, FBI, family, etc. Really? The LE/FBI chit-chat behind the victims' backs with an author? If that's true those people need to get fired yesterday. The aforementioned book seems so detailed, it had me wondering where the info came from.

I'm definitely interested in hearing directly from the ladies, though. Hope that doesn't sound completely morbid... I just really want to understand what happened, and especially how to prevent it from ever happening again if that's possible.

Totally hear ya, nikb.

The author (Allan Hall) seems to capitalize on abduction stories. He has also written a book about Natascha Kampusch. While I take his inside info regarding the girls' experiences with a grain of salt, I *am* interested in his knowledge of Castro. Based solely on chapter one, Hall does provide some new information and often names sources (mostly Castro family members and friends). What I've been wanting to know since news of Castro's "suicide" letter broke (back in May) is what does the uncle that Castro claims molested him think about the letter? Which uncle was it? Was it Julio (a.k.a. "Cesi", who owns Cesi’s Caribe on West 25th)? Well, according to Hall, the uncle in question is DEAD.

Anyway, I ordered the book. I co-own a website called clevelandkidnappings.com -- how could I not? =) But I truly understand why some of you may not want to read it.

BTW, Scott Taylor (19 Action News) tweeted us earlier saying that Allan Hall asked to interview him for the book, but he declined.... which is very telling!

What else? Castro's father was an abusive alcoholic (shocker!), and his mother seems like a good woman.

 

[nikb]

Totally hear ya, nikb.

The author (Allan Hall) seems to capitalize on abduction stories. He has also written a book about Natascha Kampusch. While I take his inside info regarding the girls' experiences with a grain of salt, I *am* interested in his knowledge of Castro. Based solely on chapter one, Hall does provide some new information and often names sources (mostly Castro family members and friends). What I've been wanting to know since news of Castro's "suicide" letter broke (back in May) is what does the uncle that Castro claims molested him think about the letter? Which uncle was it? Was it Julio (a.k.a. "Cesi", who owns Cesi’s Caribe on West 25th)? Well, according to Hall, the uncle in question is DEAD.

Anyway, I ordered the book. I co-own a website called clevelandkidnappings.com -- how could I not? =) But I truly understand why some of you may not want to read it.

BTW, Scott Taylor (19 Action News) tweeted us earlier saying that Allan Hall asked to interview him for the book, but he declined.... which is very telling!

What else? Castro's father was an abusive alcoholic (shocker!), and his mother seems like a good woman.

Good points, ckia. And yes, I completely understand why you'd be sure to read that book! I'll be interested to hear what you think of it. I saw he wrote that book about Natascha as well (apparently, against her wishes). I'm definitely curious as to how he could possibly know so much about the Castro family, and especially the specific details about the church bells, Amanda's daughter being the one to urge Amanda to call for help, etc. I'm assuming he must have sources to back it up.

 

[singers]

What else? Castro's father was an abusive alcoholic (shocker!), and his mother seems like a good woman.

Well the author might think she was a good woman but I doubt Castro's wife thought she was a good mother-in-law. Those close to him knew there was something seriously wrong with him.

 

[MsFacetious]

I don't know if it's true but I like the idea of J being the one who saved them all. :seeya:

 

[ckia2013]

Good points, ckia. And yes, I completely understand why you'd be sure to read that book! I'll be interested to hear what you think of it. I saw he wrote that book about Natascha as well (apparently, against her wishes). I'm definitely curious as to how he could possibly know so much about the Castro family, and especially the specific details about the church bells, Amanda's daughter being the one to urge Amanda to call for help, etc. I'm assuming he must have sources to back it up.

I'll definitely let you know what I think, nik =) Allan Hall seems to have gotten much of his information from Castro family members themselves, as well as from some old friends and neighbors; he references many of his sources by name. As far as the church bells & Amanda's daughter go, I already knew about both. His knowledge of the church bells likely comes from Revered Hoyer of Immanuel Lutheran Church on the corner of Seymour and Scranton. Hoyer said "there was one thing that Mr. Castro could not stop from coming into that house and into the rooms of those good ladies, and that was the sound of the bells that we have up in the tower here. Every Sunday, twice, they heard them”. Whether the girls themselves have ever mentioned the church bells, I do not know; however, I think that it may be impossible NOT to hear the bells if you live as close to the church as Ariel Castro did. Anyway, it was in the beginning of the community meeting that was held at the church just a few days after the rescue that Rev. Hoyer talked about the bells.

Cleveland community meeting at Immanuel Lutheran Church​

I can't remember how I knew about JB's role in the escape, but I definitely already knew that she had been credited for convincing Castro to leave the bedroom door unlocked. Coincidentally, just a few days before all the articles about JB's heroism and bravery came out-- in response to a profoundly awful post blaming the girls for not trying to escape before May 6th-- I had posted a YouTube comment about how JB had asked Castro not to lock the doors. So, when the news first broke, for a split-second I thought my comment had prompted it... lol, yeah right! Unfortunately, I can't remember my source, but I am combing through my videos right now. I know for sure that it was either a CPD detective or an FBI agent who initially credited JB for Amanda's chance to escape. Ariel Castro himself told Cleveland police that "his" daughter asked him to leave the bedroom door unlocked that day, and it was because of her that he "let [his] guard down". I will link to the source as soon as I find it.

BTW, the reason I'm combing through these videos is that we want to get the FAQ page done. The stupid, redundant, often victim-blaming questions on our YouTube videos are driving us crazzzzy! If you, CazzBa, or anyone else here wants access to the page before we publish it to the internet-- either to add questions, to answer questions (you will be credited!), or to evaluate/edit our answers, please email my partner admin@clevelandkidnappings.com or shoot me a message on here, and he can set it up so that you guys have access. I know we already changed it so that some of you have moderator privileges (our domain sucks, so you might not even know that we changed your access level!), and we'll make anyone that we've had helpful interactions with on websleuths a moderator... just ask & make sure to tell us what your user name is on our website.

Cheers :toast:

 

[ckia2013]

I don't know if it's true but I like the idea of J being the one who saved them all. :seeya:

Me too =) Well, at the very least, JB was certainly the catalyst. Whether she actually verbalized her desire for Amanda to escape is very questionable (especially considering how much she loved Castro & cried for him during the 911 call), but I think it's a fact that she convinced Castro to leave her bedroom door unlocked...... which enabled Amanda to make it downstairs to the front door that Castro had accidentally left unlocked.

 

[ckia2013]

Well the author might think she was a good woman but I doubt Castro's wife thought she was a good mother-in-law. Those close to him knew there was something seriously wrong with him.

I don't know what the author thinks. I actually meant that I thought Lillian (Castro's mother) was a good woman. I thought so even before I read chapter one, but now I feel even more heartbreak for her after reading about the abuse she endured from Ariel Castro's father (which I believe to be true). I don't think that Nilda (Castro's ex-common-law-wife) placed any blame on her mother-in-law; in fact, I have no idea whether Lillian even knew that her adult son was terrorizing his household. I don't think it's fair to place any blame on Castro's family members or neighbors. I will definitely agree that those close to Castro should have done more to stop the violence that went on in his household, but I don't think it's his mother's fault. She is no more to blame than Nilda's family members (whom we know for a fact knew).

 

[nikb]

I'll definitely let you know what I think, nik =) Allan Hall seems to have gotten much of his information from Castro family members themselves, as well as from some old friends and neighbors; he references many of his sources by name. As far as the church bells & Amanda's daughter go, I already knew about both. His knowledge of the church bells likely comes from Revered Hoyer of Immanuel Lutheran Church on the corner of Seymour and Scranton. Hoyer said "there was one thing that Mr. Castro could not stop from coming into that house and into the rooms of those good ladies, and that was the sound of the bells that we have up in the tower here. Every Sunday, twice, they heard them”. Whether the girls themselves have ever mentioned the church bells, I do not know; however, I think that it may be impossible NOT to hear the bells if you live as close to the church as Ariel Castro did. Anyway, it was in the beginning of the community meeting that was held at the church just a few days after the rescue that Rev. Hoyer talked about the bells.

Cleveland community meeting at Immanuel Lutheran Church​

I can't remember how I knew about JB's role in the escape, but I definitely already knew that she had been credited for convincing Castro to leave the bedroom door unlocked. Coincidentally, just a few days before all the articles about JB's heroism and bravery came out-- in response to a profoundly awful post blaming the girls for not trying to escape before May 6th-- I had posted a YouTube comment about how JB had asked Castro not to lock the doors. So, when the news first broke, for a split-second I thought my comment had prompted it... lol, yeah right! Unfortunately, I can't remember my source, but I am combing through my videos right now. I know for sure that it was either a CPD detective or an FBI agent who initially credited JB for Amanda's chance to escape. Ariel Castro himself told Cleveland police that "his" daughter asked him to leave the bedroom door unlocked that day, and it was because of her that he "let [his] guard down". I will link to the source as soon as I find it.

BTW, the reason I'm combing through these videos is that we want to get the FAQ page done. The stupid, redundant, often victim-blaming questions on our YouTube videos are driving us crazzzzy! If you, CazzBa, or anyone else here wants access to the page before we publish it to the internet-- either to add questions, to answer questions (you will be credited!), or to evaluate/edit our answers, please email my partner admin@clevelandkidnappings.com or shoot me a message on here, and he can set it up so that you guys have access. I know we already changed it so that some of you have moderator privileges (our domain sucks, so you might not even know that we changed your access level!), and we'll make anyone that we've had helpful interactions with on websleuths a moderator... just ask & make sure to tell us what your user name is on our website.

Cheers :toast:

Ahh interesting about the church. That part I hadn't heard before. I wonder if that's partially how they kept track of time, too. It seemed like Michelle had a pretty good idea of the amount of time between things that happened in her interview on Dr. Phil. I'm sure some of that was probably from when she watched TV, but the church bells would be a really good way to keep track too.

I'd heard or read about JB convincing him to keep the door unlocked that day, but this was the first I'd heard that she did it so they could get out of there. I remember having the impression it was more like "please can we leave the door unlocked like other people do?" That's what prompted me to wonder what her day to day life really looked like, how many other people she interacted with, did she go to other houses and realize "hmmm something's not right at my house?" - those types of things. If I can find where I heard or read it I'll post the link to help your searching.

If she not only wanted the door unlocked but pushed Amanda to escape, wow... she knew something was VERY wrong, IMO.

I'm saddened to hear about the types of things you're seeing on the YouTube videos! It seems like it's so easy for people to say "well if *I* was in the situation XYZ never would've happened because I would've done _____." Yeah, right. 99.9% of us have never been in a situation even close to this terrifying. Often how someone DOES react vs. how they THINK they'd react is very different... IMO. Hopefully the FAQs will help. I think it's wonderful you're putting in so much time and effort to compile all of this.

 

[CazzBa]

I can't remember how I knew about JB's role in the escape, but I definitely already knew that she had been credited for convincing Castro to leave the bedroom door unlocked. Coincidentally, just a few days before all the articles about JB's heroism and bravery came out-- in response to a profoundly awful post blaming the girls for not trying to escape before May 6th-- I had posted a YouTube comment about how JB had asked Castro not to lock the doors. So, when the news first broke, for a split-second I thought my comment had prompted it... lol, yeah right! Unfortunately, I can't remember my source, but I am combing through my videos right now. I know for sure that it was either a CPD detective or an FBI agent who initially credited JB for Amanda's chance to escape. Ariel Castro himself told Cleveland police that "his" daughter asked him to leave the bedroom door unlocked that day, and it was because of her that he "let [his] guard down". I will link to the source as soon as I find it.

BTW, the reason I'm combing through these videos is that we want to get the FAQ page done. The stupid, redundant, often victim-blaming questions on our YouTube videos are driving us crazzzzy! If you, CazzBa, or anyone else here wants access to the page before we publish it to the internet-- either to add questions, to answer questions (you will be credited!), or to evaluate/edit our answers, please email my partner admin@clevelandkidnappings.com or shoot me a message on here, and he can set it up so that you guys have access. I know we already changed it so that some of you have moderator privileges (our domain sucks, so you might not even know that we changed your access level!), and we'll make anyone that we've had helpful interactions with on websleuths a moderator... just ask & make sure to tell us what your user name is on our website.

Well, you're definitely not imagining the part about J pleading with Ariel Castro to leave doors unlocked, I distinctly remember hearing about that weeks or months ago. But like you, I just can't remember where/when it was I heard about it!
I want to say that it was a bit of info that came out around the time of the sentencing hearing, maybe at the hearing itself, I just can't recall, but I think you're right, it was a member of law enforcement who made the initial remark.

Speaking of the FAQ, I'm curious, are you going to address the Charles Ramsey issue? i.e. a question along the lines of "Did Charles Ramsey actually rescue the three women?"
:wink: :worms:
Can of worms indeed!

I know he still has many, many fans and I'll admit that for a time, I really wanted him to have been the one mainly responsible for getting Amanda and J out - it was such a good story, reformed ex-con saves kidnapped women and gives legendarily awesome interview afterward - however...
I know this topic has been gone over many times before here on WS, but apparently the new Allan Hall book comes out and explicitly states the author's firm opinion that Mr. Ramsey had essentially NOTHING to do with the rescue.
My girlfriend has already acquired the ebook version and although she hasn't read the thing, she's had a chance to skim through it and she was telling me that the author spends quite a few pages debunking Ramsey's (ever-changing) story. I'm looking forward to reading the author's views on this myself. Don't know if the author has any evidence other than the already-established fact that none of the witnesses to AB & J's escape said that Castro had much to do with it, but I'm curious nonetheless.
I bring it up because I think this might be the first time a major publication or media outlet has directly called Ramsey's story into question. Before now it's just been hints, whispers and suggestions I would say.
Anyway, the Charles Ramsey story might be the most well-known part of this case to the general public, so definitely worthy of being included in your FAQ, although you might be courting controversy - it's amazing how many fans the guy still has.

BTW, let me throw out a thank you for the all the work you've put into your website (and into social media generally speaking) over the last few months!
I visit the CKIA website frequently and I thought you should know how much I and I'm sure many others appreciate your efforts.

:congrats:

 

[ckia2013]

Well, you're definitely not imagining the part about J pleading with Ariel Castro to leave doors unlocked, I distinctly remember hearing about that weeks or months ago. But like you, I just can't remember where/when it was I heard about it!
I want to say that it was a bit of info that came out around the time of the sentencing hearing, maybe at the hearing itself, I just can't recall, but I think you're right, it was a member of law enforcement who made the initial remark.

Speaking of the FAQ, I'm curious, are you going to address the Charles Ramsey issue? i.e. a question along the lines of "Did Charles Ramsey actually rescue the three women?"
:wink: :worms:
Can of worms indeed!

I know he still has many, many fans and I'll admit that for a time, I really wanted him to have been the one mainly responsible for getting Amanda and J out - it was such a good story, reformed ex-con saves kidnapped women and gives legendarily awesome interview afterward - however...
I know this topic has been gone over many times before here on WS, but apparently the new Allan Hall "Captive" book comes out and explicitly states the author's firm opinion that Mr. Ramsey had essentially NOTHING to do with the rescue.
My girlfriend has already acquired the ebook version of "Captive" and although she hasn't read the thing, she's had a chance to skim through it and she was telling me that the author spends quite a few pages debunking Ramsey's (ever-changing) story. I'm looking forward to reading the author's views on this myself. Don't know if the author has any evidence other than the already-established fact that none of the witnesses to AB & J's escape said that Castro had much to do with it, but I'm curious nonetheless.
I bring it up because I think this might be the first time a major publication or media outlet has directly called Ramsey's into question. Before now it's just been hints, whispers and suggestions I would say.
Anyway, the Charles Ramsey story might be the most well-known part of this case to the general public, so definitely worthy of being included in your FAQ, although you might be courting controversy - it's amazing how many fans the guy still has.

BTW, let me throw out a thank you for the all the work you've put into your website (and into social media generally speaking) over the last few months!
I visit the CKIA website frequently and I thought you should know how much I and I'm sure many others appreciate your efforts.

:congrats:

You just MADE MY NIGHT! I know I may sound like a bad person here, but it makes me happy to hear that the author spends a significant amount of time debunking the ever-changing story! How did your gf order the book? I thought only UK residents could download the e-version! If I can get this book tonight, the FAQ will have to be put on hold =)

As far as addressing Charles Ramsey on the site goes, ABSOLUTELY. It makes me sick that this man is STILL receiving donations!! I've upset people on here, we've upset people on twitter, and we've upset people on YouTube-- so we're going to address the issue *VERY* delicately on CKIA. Instead of explicitly stating that we think Ramsey is a con-artist, we will focus more on the corroborated stories...... but we will definitely [gently] point out the inconsistencies in Ramsey's story. You're right that most of the media have only hinted around Ramsey's lack of credibility. I wonder whether the backlash received by the local news station that leaked his police record (WEWS) has something to do with it. There have a few hints re: Ramsey's character that are so strong that I don't even know whether "hints" is the right word anymore. One of my favorites is Ed Gallek's coverage regarding Ramsey's threat to have the random man that was filming him killed. The very end of that segment is priceless. 19 Action News definitely takes risks that the other local news stations will not.

Edit: This is not the video I was referring to, but Gallek still closes with a decent Ramsey dig. I think the vid below is one that aired a few hours before the one I liked-- which seems to have disappeared off the face of the internet =([ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvqlw67TwsA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvqlw67TwsA[/ame]

Whew, thanks for backing me up on the JB thing. That gives it insta-credibility =) You've been so remarkably on top of the media surrounding this story! Can't tell you how many times I've logged onto WS to break news..... only to find out that you had posted it hours earlier, lol. Thank you so very much for your kind words. I didn't know you had seen any of our social media stuff, but I'm really glad you have (please keep in mind while reading CKIA posts on social media that it is not always I-- the one who posts on WS-- that is writing it!)

All of your posts have been absolutely amazing. Whenever I see that you were the last one who posted, I'm like yaaay, it was CazzBa... this is gonna be a good post!! :skip:

P.S. lol, you should re-read your post... there is one ironic mistake that I know you'll want to edit! =)

 

[CazzBa]

You just MADE MY NIGHT! I know I may sound like a bad person here, but it makes me happy to hear that the author spends a significant amount of time debunking the ever-changing story! How did your gf order the book? I thought only UK residents could download the e-version! If I can get this book tonight, the FAQ will have to be put on hold =)

You can get the Kindle version from Amazon.com right now:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Captive-House-Three-Women-Years-ebook/dp/B00ELXQZG0/"]Amazon.com: Captive: One House, Three Women and Ten Years in Hell eBook: Allan Hall: Kindle Store@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mbaM18hiL.@@AMEPARAM@@51mbaM18hiL[/ame]


I think you need to download the Kindle app for whatever device you want to read the book on (phone/tablet/PC etc.) but I'm pretty sure the app is free.

I was kinda lukewarm about reading this book when I read through the excerpt that's been made public, but what I've heard about it since has definitely piqued my curiosity. I might get my own copy of this book!

 

[ckia2013]

You can get the Kindle version from Amazon.com right now:

Amazon.com: Captive: One House, Three Women and Ten Years in Hell eBook: Allan Hall: Kindle Store


I think you need to download the Kindle app for whatever device you want to read the book on (phone/tablet/PC etc.) but I'm pretty sure the app is free.

I was kinda lukewarm about reading this book when I read through the excerpt that's been made public, but what I've heard about it since has definitely piqued my curiosity. I might get my own copy of this book!

Arg, it says that it's not available for purchase! Anyone else having that problem?? What country are you from, CazzBa? I feel like all the big English-speaking countries EXCEPT for the US (all of the UK, Canada, Australia, NZ...) are able to access this book, but I would be much happier if I were just an idiot and couldn't figure out how to buy it! Well, I hope you bought it.... 'cause I can't wait to hear what you think! And if there is any way of sharing your copy with me, please let me know (Disclaimer: Don't worry, Amazon-- I already paid you triple what he did for the paper copy!)

 

[CazzBa]

Arg, it says that it's not available for purchase! Anyone else having that problem?? What country are you from, CazzBa? I feel like all the big English-speaking countries EXCEPT for the US (all of the UK, Canada, Australia, NZ...) are able to access this book, but I would be much happier if I were just an idiot and couldn't figure out how to buy it! Well, I hope you bought it.... 'cause I can't wait to hear what you think! And if there is any way of sharing your copy with me, please let me know (Disclaimer: Don't worry, Amazon-- I already paid you triple what he did for the paper copy!)

Damn that is annoying, sorry to hear that!

Yeah, I live in Canada and I just (a few minutes ago) bought my own copy of the ebook from Amazon Canada (Amazon.ca).
When I visit Amazon.COM (the US site), a message is displayed saying that "Kindle titles are available for CA customers on Amazon.ca" and there's not option for me to buy it but I just assumed that was just because I'm a Canadian resident and my IP address is Canadian. Didn't realize that the book wasn't available yet on the US site.

I think you may be right, for whatever reason the book just isn't available yet in the USA, but it does seem to be available in other English-speaking countries. A quick Google search indicated that you can buy it at Amazon.co.uk or from iTunes in Australia, but nowhere in the US so far as I was able to tell.

 

[CazzBa]

I doubt very much that it''ll work but you can try buying it at Amazon Canada.

[ame="http://www.amazon.ca/Captive-House-Three-Women-Years-ebook/dp/B00ELXQZG0/"]Captive: One House, Three Women and Ten Years in Hell eBook: Allan Hall: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mbaM18hiL.@@AMEPARAM@@51mbaM18hiL[/ame]

 

[ckia2013]

This just in: MICHELLE IS WRITING A BOOK!

According to the publisher (Weinstein Books), it will be the "full story".

The book is scheduled to come out next spring and will be co-authored by Michelle Burford, who worked on Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas' memoir (never heard of the author or the athlete).

Regarding the book, Michelle said that she wants to "give every victim of violence a new outlook on life" and that "victims need to know that no matter how hard it rains in the darkness, they will have the strength and courage that God gave them when they were born to rise above and overcome any obstacle that stands in their way".

Right now all I'm seeing is the raw AP article, but I'll try to edit this post later today, once more informative articles come out.

Edit:

Cleveland Plain Dealer - "Michelle Knight agrees to book deal; memoir will be released in spring" (11/25/13, 12:22 AM)

WEWS NewsChannel 5 - "Michelle Knight announces deal for her memoir. She will tell of her time as Ariel Castro's captive" (11/25/13, 12:09 AM)

 

[nikb]

Arg, it says that it's not available for purchase! Anyone else having that problem?? What country are you from, CazzBa? I feel like all the big English-speaking countries EXCEPT for the US (all of the UK, Canada, Australia, NZ...) are able to access this book, but I would be much happier if I were just an idiot and couldn't figure out how to buy it! Well, I hope you bought it.... 'cause I can't wait to hear what you think! And if there is any way of sharing your copy with me, please let me know (Disclaimer: Don't worry, Amazon-- I already paid you triple what he did for the paper copy!)

It says the same for me, not available for purchase, and I have the Kindle software installed. I'm in the US. ETA: I didn't go through with the purchase but it did say I could do an instant download from the Canada link, so might be worth a try.

 

[ckia2013]

It says the same for me, not available for purchase, and I have the Kindle software installed. I'm in the US. ETA: I didn't go through with the purchase but it did say I could do an instant download from the Canada link, so might be worth a try.

It said that for me too.... until I signed in and Amazon realized I was American =(

 

[singers]

I just downloaded the book and for those who are curious as to what it said about Charles Ramsey (I certainly was) - I'll try give the you quick version.

It listed and detailed his 3 arrests for domestic violence and prison time for such, also mentioned his arrests for other things (drugs and receiving stolen goods) and implied that he is a flawed hero.

How the rescue was described in the book went like this.... (Amanda's version regarding the door isn't told, just Aurora Marti and Charles Ramsey's versions.)

Aurora Marti, the lady from across the street saw Amanda and couldn't understand her, she calls her neighbor Angelo who also goes across the street. They work out the door needs to be kicked in and start kicking. Charles Ramsey arrives and helps kick the last bit of the door in. Amanda comes out. (Ramsey's initial interviews on what happened are also written out.)

Amanda rolls under the door with J in her arms.

There are the 2 calls to the police.

Ramsey and Cordero and Jocelyn waited with Amanda next to them.

The police arrived within 15 minutes

Amanda was asked if anyone else was in the house, she said yes, Gina DeJesus and another girl.

The police searched basement and first floor then got to the top floor and Michelle came out of her room and shouts you saved us and hugged 2 officers. Then, Gina came to the doorway of her room and came out of her room.

-------------------------------------------------

Well, back to reading for me Any questions just ask and I'll try look up the part you are interested in.

The Charles Ramsey part was about how I imagined it to go. There was that video of him walking around afterwards with Amanda. I think she chatted to him as his english was better than the others perhaps. The 15 minute wait for the police would have been excruciating for Amanda. I thought at the time they claimed they were there in 2 minutes?