Kidnapping of Katie Beers
| Katie Beers Case | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bay Shore, New York |
| Date | December 28, 1992 (aged 9) |
Attack type | Kidnapping |
| Weapons | Knife |
| Victim | Katie Beers |
| Perpetrators | John Esposito |
Katherine "Katie" Beers (born December 30, 1982) was kidnapped in New York in 1992 at age 10, by a friend of the family, and held in an underground bunker for 17 days.[1][2]
Kidnapping
Katie Beers disappeared on December 28, 1992, two days before her tenth birthday. She was lured by the promise of birthday presents to the home of a family friend, John Esposito.[1]
She left a message on her godmother's answering machine saying, "I've been kidnapped by a man with a knife."[3] Esposito, almost immediately a suspect due to his own personal history (he had a criminal record for previously grabbing a seven-year-old in a mall in an attempted abduction as well as assaulting Katie's older brother John), falsely alleged that Beers was kidnapped by a third party while at the Spaceplex indoor amusement park, but security cameras disclosed that Esposito entered Spaceplex by himself.[citation needed]
Beers was held in a 6-foot-by-7-foot concrete bunker under Esposito's garage in Bay Shore, New York, concealed by a 200-pound concrete trap door. The bunker contained a commode toilet, television set, mattress and chains used to restrain Beers. Beers, along with other children, had played in the dirt displaced by the bunker as Esposito dug it a few years earlier. He told police he had built the bunker for Beers.[1]
On January 13, 1993, she was found alive in the bunker[4][5][6] after Esposito led police to it.[1]
Although he was not charged with it, Beers later said Esposito had raped her during her captivity.[1]
Aftermath
Esposito was sentenced on July 27, 1994, to 15 years to life,[7] a sentence he served at Sing Sing prison in Westchester County, New York. He was found dead in his cell of apparently natural causes on September 4, 2013, just after a parole hearing.
Beers was sent to live with foster parents, due to severe neglect from her mother and abuse she had experienced before the kidnapping.[8][9] She was raised by the foster family until adulthood.
Media
In January 2013, Beers published a memoir, Buried Memories (known as Help Me in the United Kingdom) about her ordeal. The book was co-written by reporter Carolyn Gusoff, who had previously covered Beers' case as it was happening.[1] To promote the book Beers shared her abduction on the Dr. Phil talk show in January 2013.[10][11]
The season 4 episode of Law & Order, "Nurture", was based on this case. ABC's 20/20 episode "Saved" covered Katie Beers story in February 2013.[12]
See also
External links
- "Buried Memories: A Vulnerable Girl and Her Story of Survival" at Amazon.
- Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) page, January 2018 - Katie Beers
References
- ^ a b c d e f J. David Goodman (January 15, 2013). "A Girl Held for 16 Days in a Dungeon, Now Looking Back as a Woman". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
- ^ Joe Treen; Maria Eftimiades (January 16, 2013). My Name Is Katherine: The True Story of Little Katie Beers. St. Martin's Press.
- ^ Rabinovitz, Jonathan (December 31, 1992). "Police Query 2 in Search For Girl, 10". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
- ^ McQuiston, John T. (June 29, 1994). "Calm, Collected Katie Beers Testifies in Sex Abuse Case". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
- ^ "Former kidnap victims recall ordeals that came afterward". CNN. March 14, 2003. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ Arthur Herzog (2003). 17 Days: The Katie Beers Story. iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-27146-4.
- ^ McQuiston, John (July 27, 1994). "Man Sentenced to Prison In Kidnapping of L.I. Girl". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
- ^ Press, Associated (21 February 2009). "CHILD ABDUCTOR SAL INGHILLERI DIES IN JAIL". New York Post. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- ^ "Katie Beers: Kidnapping allowed me to escape abuse". CBS/AP. CBS Interactive Inc. Associated Press. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- ^ Real, Evan (13 June 2018). "Who Is Katie Beers? Meet the Woman Who Survived a Brutal Abduction". In Touch Weekly. American Media Inc. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- ^ "Young, Innocent and Held Captive". Dr. Phil. Season 11. Episode 82. 14 January 2013. CBS. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|lay-url=ignored (help) - ^ Bernstein, Alyssa. ""Saved" on "20/20" Airing Friday, February 8 on ABC". ABC News. ABC News Internet Ventures. Retrieved 13 January 2017.