Ariel Castro, who was convicted last month on charges related to the capture and imprisonment of three women in Cleveland, has been found hanged in his prison cell.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction told USA Today in an e-mail that Castro, 53, was in a cell by himself in protective custody at the Correction Reception Center in Orient, Ohio.
Castro was found at 8:20 p.m. in the cell, where checks are required every 30 minutes, JoEllen Smith with the state corrections agency wrote in the e-mail.
After prison medical staff attempted lifesaving measures, Castro was transported to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and pronounced dead at 10:52 p.m. ET, Smith wrote.
“A thorough review of this incident is underway and more information can be provided as it becomes available pending the status of the investigation,” she wrote.
Castro, a former Cleveland bus driver, was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years on Aug. 1 related to the kidnapping, abuse and imprisonment for more than a decade of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, who were held in chains. The case elicited emotions from people across the country whose hearts went out to the young women Castro pleaded guilty to kidnapping and abusing. Castro said he was not mean to the women during their captivity.
The women were captured between 2002 and 2004 and held until May 6, when Berry managed to escape and alert others.
Information from USA Today contributed to this report.
