Ariel-Castro the Ohio man who held 3 women captive in his home commits suicide in prison

The Ohio man who held three women captive in his home for nearly a

decade before one escaped and alerted authorities has committed

suicide in prison.

Ariel Castro, 53, was found hanging in his cell around 9:20 PM.

yesterday Tuesday September 3rd at the Correctional Reception Center

in Orient, in central Ohio. A spokeswoman for the prison said early

today that prison medical staff performed CPR before Castro was

transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 10:50

PM



He was in protective custody because of the notoriety of his case,

meaning he was checked every 30 minutes, but was not on suicide watch,

the prison spokeswoman said. She said suicide watch entails constant

observation.

Castro was also watched closely in Cuyahoga County Jail in the several

weeks after his arrest and before his case was resolved by a guilty

plea, with logs noting his activity every 10 minutes. He was taken off

county jail suicide watch in early June after authorities determinedhe

was not a suicide risk.

The three women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when

they were 14, 16 and 20 years old. They escaped from Castro's

Cleveland home May 6, when Amanda Berry, one of the women, broke part

of a door and yelled to neighbors for help.

"Help me," she said in a 911 call. "I've been kidnapped, and I've been

missing for 10 years and I'm, I'm here, I'm free now."

The two other women were so scared of Castro that they held back

initially even as police officers began to swarm the house. But

quickly they realized they were free.

"You saved us! You saved us!" another of the captives, Michelle

Knight, told an officer as she leaped into his arms.

Castro was arrested that evening. He had also fathered a child with

Berry while she was in captivity; that girl was 6 years old when

freed. A judge rejected Castro's request to have visiting rights with

his daughter.

Elation over the women's rescue soon turned toshock as details emerged

about conditions of their captivity. Investigators say they were bound

with chains, repeatedly raped and deprived of food and bathroom

facilities. Knighttold investigators she was beaten and starved

several times to force her to miscarry.

Castro was sentenced Aug. 1 to life in prison plus 1,000 years on his

guilty plea to 937 counts including kidnapping and rape.

In a rambling statement, he told the judge he was not a monster but a

man suffering from a pornography addiction.

"I'm not a monster. I'm sick," Castro said at his sentencing.

Knight was the only one of the three who appeared in court at his sentencing.

"You took 11 years of my life away, and I have got it back," she said

in the hushed courtroom."I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is

just beginning."