Ariel Castro Hangs Himself in Jail Cell

A shocking end to a shocking story:

Mr. Castro, 53, was found hanging in his cell at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, at 9:20 p.m., JoEllen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said in an e-mailed statement. Mr. Castro was housed in a cell by himself and a guard was required to check on him every 30 minutes at staggered intervals, the statement said. He was transported to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

It was a shocking development in a story that has held the country transfixed since May, when neighbors discovered the women in Mr. Castro’s Cleveland home after hearing the screams of one of them and broke through the front door.

Mr. Castro later pleaded guilty to 937 counts including rape and kidnapping.

It was not immediately clear how Mr. Castro was able to hang himself. The Ohio Department of Corrections statement said a review of the incident was under way.

All three women were kidnapped between 2002 and 2004. All were kidnapped in the vicinity of Mr. Castro’s home at 2207 Seymour Avenue, and all were acquaintances of Mr. Castro’s children.

...

All three had been sexually abused and confined to what was essentially a torture chamber. The women were confined to two rooms on the second floor. Mr. Castro had sealed the windows and covered them with thick curtains. He fed them one meal a day and forced them to use plastic toilets in their rooms, the authorities said. Sometimes they were chained.

Mr. Castro fathered at least one child with his victims. A six-year-old girl, born to Ms. Berry, was rescued along with her.

All this went on while Mr. Castro lived a life that to friends, family and even his own children appeared normal. He was friendly with neighbors and played bass with several Latin bands. He would even attend vigils for the missing girls.

At his sentencing on Aug. 1, Mr. Castro denied that he had been violent or had sexually abused the women. He claimed that whatever sex went on in the house was consensual. He said that he was not evil or violent, but that he was a victim of sexual abuse as a child and had become addicted to pornography.

“People are trying to portray me as a monster and I’m not a monster, I’m just sick,” he said.

That 'sickness' now over.