Ever since Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from the home of Ariel Castro, last May, there have been intimations of how Castro brutalized them over the course of of a decade. But, until now, we've never heard any of the women describe what actually went on inside the house on Seymour Avenue.
In her interview with TV psychologist Phil McGraw, Michelle Knight traced the chronology of her ordeal --- how Castro first convinced her to accept a ride from him, just down the block from where she lived, and how he locked her in a freezing room during the winter with nothing to cover her but a bed sheet. The dramatic music that the program producers used to underscore her comments was superfluous, given the emotional power of what she had to say
KNIGHT: He would look at me and say, "You don't need clothes and anything to stay warm. You're only here for one thing and that's it." And he would just be like, "when I trust you enough to give you clothes, I'll go out and buy you clothes." If it didn't go by his book, then I didn't get the covers, I didn't get the clothes, I didn't get food or anything else, if it wasn't the way he wanted it to be."
Sitting crossed-legged on a couch, the petite 32-year-old said things got so bad at times that she contemplated death, but rejected that option because of a son that she had lost in a custody dispute. Knight's attempts to get her child back are part of what is said to be a troubled family history that she and McGraw discussed at the beginning of the program. Pediatric expert Lolita McDavid of University Hospitals says those issues may give clues to how Knight was able to survive.
McDAVID (2:20): I have no reason to believe that what she was saying about her family was not true --- she didn't have a lot of strength to draw on. What she seemed to hold onto was her child.
KNIGHT: And I want my son to know me as a victor, not a victim. And I wanted him to know that I survived, loving him. His love got me through.
Knight also revealed that she was sometimes able to defuse her captor's rage by feigning sympathy for him.
KNIGHT: I would, like, change things that I said. And I'd say, "Well, you're not bad, you're just a little abnormal and it's okay. Everybody does something wrong." I would let him know that there was places for him to go, where he can get help, and he don't have to do this anymore.
Throughout the interview, Knight showed no indication that she suffered from any mental disability, as had been alleged in the aftermath of the escape. Lolita McDavid says she was impressed with Knight's tenacity.
McDAVID: I saw that Michelle Knight was more articulate than I thought she would be, that she had resilience, that she used strategies that I thought were pretty sophisticated.
Still, McDavid questions the wisdom of Knight describing the grim details of her captivity on ratings-driven TV, which she says tends to simplify some very complex psychological issues.
McDAVID: I really don't think we understand how much work these young women are going to need over the rest of their lives --- not just today and tomorrow and next year --- but the rest of their lives, to deal with what happened to them.
WKYC-TV will air the second part of the interview Wednesday afternoon. Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus have announced plans to tell their stories in a forthcoming book.
