Ariel Castro Suicide: Hanged by the Neck Until Dead

compiled by Patrick H. Moore

Maybe it was inevitable but I don’t think any one expected it to happen so soon. Ariel Castro, 53, who was on 30 minute around-the-clock watch but was not considered suicidal, was found hanging in his cell at the Correctional Reception Center in the town of Orient at 9:20 p.m. local time. Prison medical staff attempted to perform life-saving measures to no avail; Castro was then transferred to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, where he was pronounced dead at 10:52 p.m.

Fox News.com and the Associated Press have the story:

Ariel Castro, the man convicted earlier this year of kidnapping three woman, holding them in his Cleveland home for nearly a decade, and repeatedly sexually assaulting them, committed suicide in his Ohio jail cell Tuesday night, according to an Ohio corrections official.

Castro, a former bus driver, was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years on August 1 for kidnapping and sexually assaulting Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Gina DeJesus while holding them captive in his house. He even fathered a daughter with Berry, but was barred from seeing the child as a consequence of his sentence.

At his sentencing, in a rambling statement, Castro rather unconvincingly told the judge he was not a monster but a man suffering from a pornography addiction.

Castro’s death is being investigated by the Ohio State Police and the Department of Corrections. According to the statement from the Ohio State Police and Department of Corrections, Castro was being kept in protective custody, isolated from other inmates due to his high profile. He was subject to checks every 30 minutes. He was in the cell by himself when he was found.

Although some might doubt the usefulness of such a measure, 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.

In an interview last month after Castro’s conviction, his attorney Craig Weintraub said Castro clearly fit the profile of sociopathic disorder and that they hoped researchers would study him for clues that could be used to stop other predators.

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The Ariel Castro story has been as mystifying as it has been infuriating. There have also been surprises. Most people probably didn’t think Michelle Knight would prove to be so strong — a distinct ray of light in this gloomy story and one that has forced me to re-examine my own thoughts on the possibility of heroic recovery from unmitigated disaster.