COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell, two corrections consultants concluded following a review of his death that was released Tuesday, rejecting suggestions he may have died accidentally while seeking a sexual thrill.
Castro’s Sept. 3 death was probably not the result of autoerotic asphyxiation, in which individuals choke themselves into unconsciousness to achieve sexual satisfaction, according to the consultants. An earlier review by the state prisons agency suggested that possibility.
The new report said all evidence pointed to suicide, including a shrine-like arrangement of family pictures and a
Bible in Castro’s cell, an increasing tone of frustration in his prison journal, and the reality of spending the rest of his life in prison while subject to constant harassment.
Castro pleaded guilty to imprisoning three women in his home for a decade while repeatedly raping and assaulting them.