Kidnapping of Katie Beers

Katie Beers lived with her mother Marilyn Beers and older half-brother John Beers on Long Island, New York. Her biological father has never been identified. From a young age, Katie also lived with her godmother Linda Inghilleri and Inghilleri's husband, Salvatore. Marilyn frequently neglected Katie and John, leaving them in the care of the Inghilleris, from whom they endured abuse including frequent sexual assaults by Salvatore. John Esposito was a friend of the Beers family who frequently gave attention and gifts to Katie and John Beers, but also sexually abused John. Esposito was previously arrested in 1977 for the attempted abduction of a twelve-year-old boy. ==Kidnapping==

Esposito lured Beers into his house at 1416 Saxon Avenue Bay Shore, New York on December 28, 1992, two days before her tenth birthday, with a promise of birthday presents. Esposito later told police he built the bunker specifically for Beers. Beers later recalled playing in the dirt displaced by the bunker as Esposito dug it a few years before the kidnapping. Police were called when she could not be located. On January 13, 1993, 17 days after the kidnapping, Esposito confessed to holding Beers captive and took police to the bunker where they rescued her. ==Aftermath==

Esposito pleaded guilty to kidnapping on June 16, 1994, and was sentenced on July 27, 1994, to 15 years to life, a sentence he served at Sing Sing prison in Westchester County, New York. During Esposito's trial, Beers said he raped her during her captivity. Although he was not charged with this, Salvatore Inghilleri was convicted of two counts of sexual abuse and served 12 years for molesting Beers. During the investigation into the kidnapping, authorities discovered that Inghilleri sexually abused the girl before she was abducted. He was prosecuted additionally for those crimes. He died in prison in 2009. Shortly after her rescue, Beers was sent to live with foster parents in East Hampton, New York, due to the neglect and abuse the two children experienced before the kidnapping. Beers was given anonymity and raised by her foster parents until adulthood. In January 2013, Beers spoke publicly for the first time about her ordeal and revealed that she was married with two children and working in insurance. During the same month, she published a memoir about her ordeal. ==Media==

In the months following the kidnapping, two books covering the case were published: My Name Is Katherine: The True Story of Little Katie Beers written by Maria Eftimiades and Joe Treen, and 17 Days: The Katie Beers Story by Arthur Herzog. Beers' memoir, Buried Memories (known as Help Me in the United Kingdom) was co-written by reporter Carolyn Gusoff, who had covered Beers' case as it was happening, and was published on January 13, 2013, on the 20th anniversary of her rescue. Investigation Discovery recounted the case on an episode of its 2020 documentary miniseries Killer Carnies. It included accounts from Beers, the lead police detective, and others. ==Further reading==