CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) – Two women who were abducted as teenagers and held captive in a Cleveland house for a decade have been awarded the high school diplomas they missed out on.
Amanda Berry (above right) and Gina DeJesus (above left), shown in a 2014 file photo, donned white caps and gowns Wednesday and were given honorary diplomas from John Marshall High School, according to The Plain Dealer. That’s the school Berry attended when she was abducted by Ariel Castro (pictured below) as a 17-year-old in 2003. DeJesus would have gone to the school had she not been kidnapped in 2004 when she was 14.
The women, along with Michelle Knight, were abused by Castro before escaping his shuttered home two years ago. Castro was convicted and killed himself in prison.
Berry and DeJesus walked with other grads in a ceremony at a downtown Cleveland arena.