Hope: A Memoir of Survival

by Amanda Berry

“He beat me over the head with it. It was always on the head. Most of the time.” “And did the hospital do any surgical procedures on you at that time when he hit you with the metal piece?” “Yes. I had maybe about twenty-five, forty stitches on my head at that time.” “Did Mr. Castro ever hit you in the head again?” “Yes.” “Did he use his hand or did he use an object?” “Then next time after that it was with a hand bar, weight.” “An exercise weight?” “Yes. I was nine months pregnant with Emily…. He hit me over the head with it, beat me.” Nilda testified that Castro had punched her so hard in the eye that her sight was severely damaged, and it left one of her eyes permanently “squinty.” She said Castro repeatedly referred to her as “his property.” “He says it all the time, repeats that to me all the time…. I’m scared of him.” Asked about the prognosis for the tumor that had been discovered, she testified: “I have none. I mean, there’s nothing they can do for the tumor. They tried. But they couldn’t do anything.” “Would it be fair to say that the prognosis is, in medical terms, terminal?” “Yes.”