Cleveland Kidnapper Ariel Castro Found Dead in Prison Cell

Ariel Castro, the man who kidnapped Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry in Cleveland and held them as hostages for a decade has died at the age of 52.

Last night around 9:20pm, Castro was found hanging in his prison cell. The prison medical staff performed CPR and rushed him to a hospital, but by the time they got him there he was pronounced dead. There are conflicting reports on whether or not he was on suicide watch.  Either way, he was definitely isolated in prison because, clearly, other prisoners would have attacked him on sight and guards were checking him every 30 minutes. A spokeswoman from the Ohio Department of Corrections says his death is believed to be a suicide but is under investigation.

Last month, after Castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping, he was sentenced to life in prison plus another 1,000 years.