Ariel Castro was found dead in his prison cell, officials believe that he has committed suicide. Source: Fox News
Ariel Castro. Photo: AP Source: Supplied
CLEVELAND kidnapper Ariel Castro has been found dead in his state prison cell.
Ohio Rehabilitation and Correction officials said convicted kidnapper Castro, 52, was found hanged in his prison cell at the Correctional Reception Centre in Orient, Ohio at about 9:20pm local time.
Prison medical staff performed CPR, and Castro was transported to the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Centre. He was pronounced dead at 10:52pm.
Officials say he committed suicide and his lawyers have pointed out that they had unsuccessfully tried to have him put under psychological examination before he was handed over to state authorities.
Castro's death is being investigated by the Ohio State Police and the Department of Corrections, which stated that Castro was being kept in protective custody, isolated from other inmates due to his high profile, and was subject to checks every 30 minutes.
He was taken off county jail suicide watch in early June after authorities determined he was not a suicide risk.
Castro was recently sentenced to life in prison plus 1000 years for holding three women - Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight - captive for more than a decade and repeatedly raping them.
Held captive ... Amanda Berry. (AP Photo/Hennes Paynter Communications) Source: AP
Held captive ... Gina DeJesus. (AP Photo/Hennes Paynter Communications) Source: AP
Held captive ... Michelle Knight. (AP Photo/Hennes Paynter Communications) Source: AP
Castro even fathered a daughter with Berry, but was barred from seeing the child after a judge rejected his request for visitation rights as a consequence of his sentence. Investigators say the women were bound with chains, repeatedly raped and deprived of food and bathroom facilities. Knight told investigators she was beaten and starved several times to force her to miscarry.
The three women disappeared between 2002 and 2004. They escaped on May 6, when one of them yelled to neighbours for help.
The sister of former hostage Gina DeJesus said her family was not making a statement regarding Castro's death, but called it a "sad situation".
One of Castro's relatives said she was distraught.
"I cried for several reasons," cousin Maria Castro Montes told CNN. "My first thoughts were if the girls knew. I am talking about the victims. I immediately thought of them and what is going through their minds. Maybe this was for the best. I don't think they were ever going to find peace with him alive."
Ohio Department of Correction spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said Castro "was in a cell by himself and rounds are required every 30 minutes at staggered intervals". He was reportedly on suicide watch.
"Upon finding inmate Castro, prison medical staff began performing life saving measures. Shortly after he was transported to OSUMC where he was pronounced dead at 10:52pm," Smith said in a statement.
"A thorough review of this incident is under way and more information can be provided as it becomes available pending the status of the investigation."
Castro's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to have a psychological examination of Castro done at the Cuyahoga County Jail, where Castro was housed before he was turned over to state authorities following his conviction, attorney Jaye Schlachet told The Associated Press. Schlachet said he could not immediately comment further.
In an interview last month after Castro's conviction, Schlachet and attorney Craig Weintraub said their client clearly fitted the profile of sociopathic disorder and that they hoped researchers would study him for clues that could be used to stop other predators.
At his sentencing hearing on August 1, Castro had insisted he was not evil but rather addicted to sex.
"I'm not a monster. I'm sick,'' he pleaded.
Held captive for 10 years ... Michelle Knight sits in the courtroom during a break in the sentencing phase for Ariel Castro. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) Source: Supplied
Despite having pleaded guilty to 977 charges related to his victims' brutal decade-long ordeal, including many rapes and the murder of a foetus through beating its mother, Castro said he was not a violent man.
Castro said he had himself been sexually abused as a child and had grown up obsessed with sex, addicted to pornography and a compulsive masturbator.
He said he had not plotted the three kidnaps, but had acted on impulse.
``I am not a monster. I am a normal person. I am just sick. I have an addiction just like an alcoholic has an addiction,'' he said.
Fox News reports that police are investigating the 911 dispatch handling of the Amanda Berry call as well as digging for evidence. Fox News
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight have appeared for the first time since their incredible escape from years of captivity.
Watch incredible mobile phone vision showing Amanda Berry's moment of freedom.
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