Ariel Castro, the Cleveland kidnapper who held three women
against their will for a decade, has been found hanged in his prison cell.
Castro, 53, was found about 9.20pm yesterday at Correctional
Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, just one month into his 1,000 year prison
term.
He was being housed alone in an isolation unit for his
protection, where he would be checked every 30 minutes. Prison officials said that he hanged himself
during a break between inspections.
Castro was jailed after keeping Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus
and Michelle Knight captive in unimaginable conditions in his house for 10
years.
When prison guards found Castro hanging in his cell on
Tuesday, they immediately began trying to resuscitate him.
He was taken to Ohio State University Medical Center, where
he was pronounced dead about an hour and a half later - shortly before 11pm.
It costs nearly $25,000 a year to house a prison inmate in
Ohio, on average. The cost to house Castro, who was kept in high security,
would likely have been much higher.
Castro's family - he has a son and three daughters by his
ex-wife - was informed of his suicide about 1am.
A spokeswoman for the the Ohio Department of Corrections
said the agency will make a full investigation of Castro's suicide to determine
whether regulations were followed and if anything could have been done to
prevent his death.
Castro's attorneys 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, his attorney, Jaye Schlachet, said this morning.
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