Ariel Castro Found Dead In Cell

(WOIO) -

53-year-old convicted kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro was found hanging in his cell Tuesday night.

Castro was being held at the Correction Reception Center in Orient, OH in Pickaway County. This is a place where inmates new to the prison system are taught what to expect while locked up.

Castro was sentenced on August 1 to life in prison, plus 1,000 years, for kidnapping and sexually assaulting Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus while holding them captive in his Seymour Avenue house for over a decade.

According to CNN Castro's brother-in-law, Juan Alicea, told the network that the family was notified by the warden about 1 a.m. The family is angry, Alicea said, that it learned about the death from media reports first.

JoEllen Smith, of the Ohio Department of Corrections, sent 19 Action News this statement:

Inmate Ariel Castro was found hanging in his cell this evening at 9:20 p.m. at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient. He was housed in protective custody which means he was in a cell by himself and rounds are required every 30 minutes at staggered intervals.  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 10:52 p.m. A thorough review of this incident is underway and more information can be provided as it becomes available pending the status of the investigation. 

The overriding question is what about the medical and psychological tests that are done.  Did those evaluations show any inclination that Castro would harm himself?

Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Department of Corrections are investigating the death.

Copyright 2013 WOIO. All rights reserved.

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