Tony Dejak / AP
Ariel Castro stands before a judge during his arraignment on Wednesday July 17 2013 in Cleveland.
Ariel Castro the Cleveland man who was sentenced to life in prison plus 1 000 years in August after pleading guilty to imprisoning and raping three women for a decade was found dead in his jail cell a prison spokeswoman said early Wednesday.
The 53 year old convict was found hanging in his cell around 9 20 p.m. Tuesday at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient officials said.
Since her rescue Cleveland kidnap survivor Michelle Knight has chosen to speak publicly several times which may be her way of bringing closure. On Wednesday Ariel Castro's home was demolished as neighbors prayed. NBC's John Yang reports.
Prison medical staff performed CPR before Castro was transported to Ohio State University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead officials said.
Castro had been housed in protective custody which means he was in a cell by himself and guards make rounds every 30 minutes at staggered intervals according to the Ohio Bureau of Prisons.
Prison officials said a thorough review of this incident is underway.
The three women Castro kidnapped had disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004 when they were 14 16 and 20 years old.
The women Amanda Berry Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped May 6 after Berry broke through a storm door and screamed for help while Castro was out of the house.
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 later that day a short distance from the home.
He was sentenced Aug. 1 to life in prison plus 1 000 years on his guilty plea to 937 counts including kidnapping and rape.
At the sentencing Knight confronted Castro reading a damning statement.
I spent 11 years in hell she told her tormentor. Your hell is just beginning.
In his own statements at the sentencing Castro put much of the blame on his victims saying things like I am not a violent person. I simply kept them there without being able to leave.
Castro's attorneys had 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 his attorney Jaye Schlachet told The Associated Press early Wednesday. Schlachet said he could not immediately comment further.
In an interview last month after Castro's conviction Schlachet and attorney Craig Weintraub said their client 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 the AP reported.
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty had even acknowledged after Castro's sentencing that a suicide note and confession written by Castro was found by authorities at his residence when they searched his home following his arrest in May.
Castro's is the second high profile suicide at an Ohio prison within the span of a month. On Aug. 4 death row inmate Billy Slagle was found hanged in his cell just days before his scheduled execution. He was condemned to death for fatally stabbing a neighbor in Cleveland.
For the first time Michelle Knight confronted the man who held her captive for 11 years telling Ariel Castro she spent more than a decade in hell and now your hell is just beginning. Castro was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 1 000 years. NBC's Kate Snow reports.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
This story was originally published on Wed Sep 4 2013 2 08 AM EDT
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