A New York Times Bestseller! New York Times bestselling crime writer John Glatt tells the true story behind the kidnappings and long-overdue rescue of three women found in a Cleveland basement. The Lost Girls tells the truly amazing story of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, who were kidnapped, imprisoned, and repeatedly raped and beaten in a Cleveland house for over a decade by Ariel Castro, and their amazing escape in May 2013, which made headlines all over the world. The book has an exclusive interview and photographs of Ariel Castro's secret fiancé, who spent many romantic nights in his house of horror, without realizing he had bound and chained captives just a few feet away. There are also revealing interviews with several Castro family members, musician friends and several neighbors who witnessed the dramatic rescue. “The murder case John Glatt recounts in lurid detail is too bizarre for a work of fiction. . . . a true crime story harking back to the fabled era when stars like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra entertained the crowds at the front of the house while mobsters ran the show behind the scenes.” ― New York Times Book Review on Prince of Paradise “John Glatt is one of the finest true crime craftsmen writing today.” ― Howard Goldberg, VH1.com “Veteran crime scribe Glatt gives us all the atmosphere, characters and facts to make an engrossing thriller. ” ― New York Post (required reading section) on Prince of Paradise English-born JOHN GLATT is the Edgar-award nominated author of more than thirty books including The Lost Girls and My Sweet Angel , and has over thirty years of experience as an investigative journalist in England and America. He has appeared on television and radio programs all over the world, including Dateline NBC, Fox News, ABC’s 20/20, BBC World News, and A&E Biography. The Lost Girls The True Story of the Cleveland Abductions and the Incredible Rescue of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus By John Glatt St. Martin's Press Copyright © 2015 John Glatt All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-250-03636-0 Contents Title Page, Copyright Notice, Dedication, Acknowledgments, Prologue, Part One ARIEL CASTRO, 1. Roots, 2. Nilda, 3. 2207 Seymour Avenue, 4. Breaking Free, 5. Lillian, Part Two THE VANISHINGS, 6. Michelle, 7. "I Think I Know You", 8. Amanda, 9. "I Have Your Daughter", 10. Gina, 11. The Search, 12. "Somebody Knows Where Amanda Is", 13. Revenge, 14. "She's Not Alive, Honey", 15. Frame-Up, 16. Witness for the Prosecution: Ariel Castro, 17. "She Died of a Broken Heart", 18. Miracle at Christmas, 19. A Narrow Escape, 20. AMINA's Law, 21. "Did They Ever Find Your Cousin Yet?", 22. Terminated, 23. "Miracles Really Do Happen", Part Three FREEDOM, 24. Deliverance From Evil, 25. "Dead Giveaway", 26. "The Nightmare Is Over", 27. Mother's Day, 28. "This Child Kidnapper Operated a Torture Chamber", 29. "The Monster's a Goner", 30. "The Best Defense We Can", 31. Indicted!, 32. "He's Never Coming Out Except Nailed in a Box", 33. "The Scope and Magnitude of Ariel Castro's Crime is Unprecedented", 34. "I Am Not a Monster", 35. Yellow Balloons, 36. Retribution, Epilogue, Photographs, About the Author, Also by John Glatt, Copyright, CHAPTER 1 ROOTS Ariel Castro was born on July 10, 1960, in Duey, Puerto Rico, the third child of Pedro "Nona" Castro and Lillian Rodriguez. He had two elder siblings, Marisol Alicea and Pedro Jr., and his younger brother, Onil, was the baby of the family. Duey is a tiny village on the outskirts of Yauco, the coffee capital of Puerto Rico. Over many generations, the Castro family had become the preeminent family in the isolated mountainous barrio, owning most of the land in a section called La Parra. Despite the family's preeminence, however, their living conditions were primitive. Ariel was born in his father's little wooden shack at the very top of La Parra. At that time there was no running water or electricity, and all the cooking was done over coal on the dirt floor. Every morning, Pedro would drive his jeep several miles down the steep mud track to a well to fill up large plastic water buckets. He would then haul them back up the hill so that his family could wash and have fresh drinking water. When Ariel was a young child, his father started an affair with a young girl named Gladys Torres, who lived one house away down the mountain. Over the next few years Pedro lived a double life, dividing his time between his wife, Lillian, and his girlfriend, who bore him four children. "Lillian never suspected anything was wrong," said Ariel Castro's aunt, Monserrate Baez, who was married to Lillian's brother Milfon Rodriguez. "Nona had another family, unknown to us, just a few yards down the mountain." In 1962, Lillian finally discovered Pedro's secret family. "Lillian was pregnant with her last child when she found out he had another woman and children