Ohio kidnapper found hanged in prison

Ariel Castro, the notorious Ohio Kidnapper, has hanged himself in his cell, committing suicide one month into his 1000 year sentence.

Castro, 53, was found at 9.20pm last night hanging from his bed-sheet. Immediate resuscitation was attempted but all efforts were in vain as he was pronounced dead just over an hour later at 10.52pm.

Due to his infamy, Castro was placed in an isolation unit for his own protection and checked on every thirty minutes by patrolling guards. Before his sentencing on August 1^st for 937 counts of kidnapping, rape and aggravated murder, Castro was on suicide watch, observed every 10 minutes. He was removed from this more intensive scrutiny in June.

Suicide had apparently been at the forefront of the Ohio Kidnapper’s mind since shortly after his abduction of Gina De Jesus. Following his arrest the FBI found a suicide note in his home believed to be written in 2004. It details the physical and sexual abuse he suffered as a child, as well as asking that all his assets be left to his victims Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and De Jesus. In the note he proclaims: “I am a sexual predator I need help.”

This self-piteous tone was continued in his court defence where he claimed: “I’m not a monster, I’m a normal person, I am just sick, I have an addiction.” He followed this up by asserting “there was harmony in that home…I was a good person”.

Following the news of Castro’s death, his lead defence attorney Craig Weintraub released a statement which acknowledged that some would see his suicide as “a happy ending to this story, and a quick ending and justifiable” before adding: “We’re in a civilised society and no one should really be celebrating.”

The opinion that his death may have been for the better was echoed by Castro’s cousin, Maria Castro Montes. She said: “Maybe this was for the best. I don’t think they [his victims] were ever going to find peace with him alive.”

However, psychiatrist Dr Linda Papadopoulos takes a contrary stance arguing that his suicide has deprived his victims of a “sense of justice”. She elaborated: “He decided his fate, something they were never ever ever able to do for themselves. He had ultimate control. To some extent this was in a way his last slap to their faces – I’ve got this over you.”

Rupert Bloor