Ariel Castro, sentenced to life in prison for the abduction, rape and torture of three Cleveland women he held captive for years in his house, was found dead in his Ohio prison cell late on Tuesday, a state corrections official said.
Castro, 53, a former school bus driver, was under protective custody in isolation from other inmates at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio. Prison staff found him hanged in his cell during their rounds at the facility, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said.
Castro was transferred to an area hospital and pronounced dead about 90 minutes later, she said.
Castro was sentenced Aug. 1 to life in prison plus 1,000 years after holding Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight captive for nearly a decade before they were rescued by neighbors.
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