[Bolduan:] Welcome back to NEW DAY. One year ago this week, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina Dejesus were freed from the clutches of Ariel Castro. A man who held them in a Cleveland house of horrors for a decade. He took Michelle Knight first in August 2002. She's written about it and her survival in a new book. In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Michele describes the moment she realized the nightmare was finally over.
[Knight:] Sometimes I felt hopeless because there was nobody out there for me. No one.
[Anderson Cooper, Host, Cnn's "ac360":] For 11 long years, Michele Knight was held captive inside 2207 Seymour Avenue where along with Amanda Berry and Gina Dejesus she was brutally raped and tortured. For them it seemed there was no end in sight that is until May 6th, 2013. on camera]: Did it seem like any other day?
[Knight:] For me, it was the most awesome day ever, but it was also terrifying at the same time. Because me and Gina, we actually thought somebody was breaking in.
[Cooper:] You heard what, noises down stairs?
[Knight:] Yes.
[Cooper:] What happened?
[Knight:] There was a crash, pounding on doors. Then we didn't hear no sound.
[Cooper:] Did you know that Amanda had run out of the house?
[Knight:] No. We didn't have no clue. Whatsoever that she had taken off.
[Cooper:] Did you know that he was gone?
[Knight:] Well, yes, we knew he was gone somewhere, but we thought it was a trick. You know, like he was just in the backyard, but he was waiting for somebody to be stupid.
[Cooper:] But this time, it wasn't a trick and Amanda Barry was able to break through the front door with her 6-year-old daughter, Joslyn.
[Amanda Berry:] Hello, police. Help me, I'm Amanda Berry. 911
[Operator:] Do you need police, fire or ambulance?
[Berry:] I need police. 911
[Operator:] OK. What's going on there?
[Berry:] I've been kidnapped and missing for ten years. I'm here, I'm free now.
[Cooper:] The police arrived, but inside their boarded up bedroom, Michele and Gina were hiding from what they thought were burglars.
[Knight:] I hear a noise but anybody can say police. Then I noticed some form of a big person. I was like OK, maybe this might be, and I see a badge. I see numbers and then I hear the police radio. I just said, I ran right into her arms, and I literally choked her.
[Cooper:] To the police woman's arms?
[Knight:] Yes.
[Cooper:] Do you remember saying anything?
[Knight:] I said please don't let me go. Please don't put me down.
[Cooper:] You actually were in her arms?
[Knight:] Yes, I actually had my legs wrapped around her and my arms like this. She was like that girl literally choked me and then when
[Cooper:] Did it seem real to you?
[Knight:] At that time, no. It didn't. It seemed unreal.
[Cooper:] What's the past year been like?
[Knight:] Amazing. Overwhelming but amazing as hell.
[Cooper:] What's it like to I mean, to have friends, to have a life? To be able to be the person you want to be?
[Knight:] It's amazing. It's something that I never thought I would have.
[Bolduan:] Unbelievable, the fact that she survived it. She didn't believe that they could actually be free. She thought it was a trick at first. The fact they survived all those years, an amazing story she should be able to tell and tell and tell and I want to listen to it again and again.
[Cuomo:] She looked at him in open court and said her brave words, tried to take the power from him and let him know that, that was a big moment. Coming up on NEW DAY, a sickening reminder of the danger those hundreds of kidnapped girls face. Boko Haram brutally attacking villagers, killing 300 people. Nigeria responding with America's help. Is it already too late? We hope not.
[Bolduan:] Plus a Mother's Day moment times a million. The speech you just cannot get enough of. Kevin Durant's mother joining us live to talk about her son, the NBA's MVP and what it took to get there.