Hannah Anderson on Dead Kidnapper: 'He's a Psycho'

Talks about James Lee DiMaggio, ordeal online
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 14, 2013 7:25 AM CDT
Updated Aug 14, 2013 7:35 AM CDT
Hannah Anderson on Dead Kidnapper: 'He's a Psycho'
This combination of undated photos provided by the San Diego Sheriff's Department shows James Lee DiMaggio, 40, left, and Hannah Anderson, 16.   (AP Photo/San Diego Sheriff's Department)

No need to wait for Hannah Anderson's first big TV interview: The teen has already discussed her kidnapping ordeal in surprising detail online. Hannah answered anonymous questions on ask.fm starting Monday night, and the mother of one of her close friends confirmed to the AP that the postings were from Hannah. Among the revelations:

  • She was creeped out by abductor James Lee DiMaggio (whom she called Uncle Jim) before the kidnapping, but didn't tell her parents because "he was my dad's best friend and I didn't want to ruin anything between them," she said, according to CNN. DiMaggio had told her he had a crush on her, she said, but it was "more of a family crush like he had feelings as in he wanted nothing bad to happen to me."
  • "No, not at all," she said when asked whether she wanted to go with DiMaggio. But she didn't run because "he had a gun and threatened to kill me and anyone who tried to help," she said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. (She didn't realize he had already killed her mother and brother.)

  • "[DiMaggio] told us he was losing his house because of money issues so we went up there one last time to support him, and to have fun riding go karts up there but he tricked us," and then separated Hannah from her mother and brother, whom he tied up in the garage, she said. She didn't know about the fire at his house because he rigged it to go up in flames after he left with Hannah, she added.
  • In a heartbreaking detail, she said that while she did not know her story had become national news, she felt certain her mom would be searching for her. "I wish I could go back in time and risk my life to try and save theirs," she said of her mom and brother. "I will never forgive myself for not trying harder to save them."
  • She wouldn't say whether DiMaggio raped her because, she said, she's not "allowed to talk about it." But she did say she's "absolutely" glad he's dead, and called him "a psycho."
(More James DiMaggio stories.)

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