Delimar Vera finally tells her kidnapping story on her own terms in “The Hand That Robbed the Cradle.”
“For a long time, I shut the media out. I was diagnosed with PTSD and it wasn’t something I was interested in. Now, my life is very different,” she told Variety.
Back in December 1997, a fire destroyed 10-day-old Delimar’s home in Philadelphia. Nowhere to be found, she was presumed dead for six long years – until a chance encounter at a birthday party resulted in an investigation and arrest. But contrary to how the press depicted it, reuniting with her Puerto Rican parents wasn’t exactly easy.
“They said: ‘She’s back, it’s done, we have a happy ending.’ But I had a real identity crisis. I didn’t know who to be,” she admitted.
“I tried to pick my ‘new’ family’s mannerisms, to make it seem like I was never kidnapped, but I was also mourning my old family. When I was a child, I felt like I had two mums. It wasn’t until I was 11 or 12 years old that the reality finally set in.”
The woman who kidnapped her and renamed her Aaliyah, Carolyn Correa, isn’t featured in the three-episode documentary. Nor is her actual mother, Luz Cuevas.
“Carolyn has told so many lies. Even if I would have the opportunity to sit down with her, I wouldn’t know if I could believe her or not. It’s just something I’ve come to peace with. I’ll never know the answer,” admits Vera. Also when it comes to the alleged participation of her father Pedro.
“Of course I would like to know why. I would like to know who her accomplice was, because that person should be brought to justice as well. I didn’t know about the articles where Carolyn talked about my father’s involvement. There are so many unanswered questions,” she noted, also opening up about a woman who cared for her as a child.
“I didn’t know Antoinette’s children were my biological family members, I didn’t know how everything [that had happened] affected her life. Seeing how badly it hurt her, that was rough. Being able to reunite with them was something I never knew I needed.”
Produced by Wag Entertainment, “The Hand That Robbed the Cradle” – with U.K. title “Back From the Dead: Who Kidnapped Me?”– will start streaming on U&W on Nov. 4-6 and be available as a box set on U from Nov. 4. Fremantle handles global distribution.
“I didn’t want to move forward with some company that would exploit me. I wanted to tell my story authentically and it was achieved here,” she said. It took her many years – “and a lot of soul-searching, therapy, and praying” – to be able to express long-dormant emotions.
“As Latinos, we are not supposed to cry. The way my mum was raised, she didn’t have space to talk about her feelings. You leave everything in the past and move on with your day, and that’s how I’ve learnt to suppress my emotions. Ultimately, it really hurt me. I didn’t know how to process them. Now, our community is opening up and talking about my story will hopefully contribute to that.”
She wants to inspire others who’ve been through difficult times, also by visiting group homes and talking to girls and women who have experienced trauma.
“I want to tell them: ‘Hey, you can really get through anything and come out on the other side. You can be successful, in a happy relationship. Hope is a big thing. When you go through something traumatic, you feel broken. You think you’ll never recover. My main message is that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and your trauma doesn’t define who you are. You can be whoever you want to be.”
Writing a book in the future is not out of a question either, she admits.
“I feel healed and I have a sense of purpose. It was difficult to go back to that space, because I don’t live my life thinking about my kidnapping every day. It just felt like now was the right time. I am strong enough to handle this.”
Describing herself as a “goofy” person, Vera wanted to be herself in the doc. But she still couldn’t hold back tears when discussing the past.
“When I’m watching it, I get emotional, you know? It takes you back to that heartache. But I’ve had so many people over the years who followed my story and I wanted to give them answers as well. This way, I don’t have to constantly go on social media. I can say: ‘Go and watch the documentary. It’s all there.’”
