One day after kidnapper Ariel Castro was convicted and sentenced to life and 1,000 years in prison for holding three women against their will for over a decade, one of the victims, Amanda Berry, made her first appearance at a public event. Berry surprised the audience this weekend in Cleveland, when she was brought onstage by rapper Nelly during the RoverFest Concert at Voinovich Park.
“I want to make sure we get a chance to thank you,” Nelly told Berry. “Because I can’t even imagine the type of strength and the type of courage that it took to keep it going. So for that, again, I commend you…and for that, I want you to stay here.” He then dedicated his performance of “Just a Dream” to Berry.
Concertgoers were surprised to say the least. One woman, Kayleigh Fladung, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer about the experience.
“He said, ‘Everyone, here’s Amanda Berry, and she came out with a friend, another young woman,’Fladung said. She didn’t say anything, but she was smiling and happy. She waved to the crowd, everyone went crazy cheering, and she went backstage. Nelly did his set, 4 or 5 songs, and then he brought her out again and everyone cheered.”
Berry was kidnapped by Ariel Castro in 2003 and she and fellow captives Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus escaped in May after they discovered by local man, Charles Ramsey. Other than video-recorded statements from earlier this month, none of the women have given interviews or appeared publicly until now.
“It was cool to see but still very surprising,” Fladung said.
Check out some photos from the show…
