Charlotte 101.3 - Greenville 97.3 - Boone 92.9 - WSIF Wilkesboro 90.9
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Cleveland Hero Charles Ramsey: I'm Not Broke Or Homeless

If you've seen stories in the past few days about Cleveland's Charles Ramsey supposedly being out of work, broke and homeless, then you'll want to read this update that has word from the man himself:

"Charles Ramsey, the man who helped to rescue Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight from captivity, says a news report by Britain's Daily Mail is 'full of lies,' " Cleveland's WKYC-TV writes.

The station adds that:

" 'It's bulls**t,' he said. 'That's the politically correct word for it.' He said he's made about $18,000 from his sudden fame. ... Ramsey insisted that he's not homeless. He said he moved out of his Seymour Avenue home because too many people were knocking on his door. In the meantime, he's staying with friends and family until he can find an apartment. He's hoping to start an online business, selling merchandise in his likeness. His website, CharlesRamseyLive.com, is currently under construction."

Meanwhile, as The Plain Dealer reports, the man who's accused of holding captive three young women (and a daughter born to one of them) for about a decade "pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning to a 977-count indictment." The charges against Ariel Castro include kidnapping, rape, child endangerment and aggravated murder (for torture that allegedly caused one of the women to suffer miscarriages).

Ramsey gained quick fame after the women were rescued on May 6. His animated descriptions of Amanda Berry's struggle to escape the house and his efforts to help her went viral.

Last week, as we reported, the young women released a thank you video.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.