Ohio man who held 3 women captive found dead
By Associated Press
Sep 3, 2013 11:32 PM CDT
FILE - This Wednesday, July 17, 2013 file photo shows Ariel Castro standing before a judge during his arraignment on an expanded 977-count indictment in Cleveland. Castro, who held 3 women captive for a decade, has committed suicide, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, file)   (Associated Press)

Ohio corrections officials say Ariel Castro who held three women captive in his home for nearly a decade has committed suicide at a state prison facility.

Spokeswoman JoEllen Smith says 53-year-old Castro was found hanging in his cell around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient. Prison medical staff performed CPR before Castro was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The three women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old. They escaped May 6, when one of the women broke part of a door and yelled to neighbors for help. Castro was arrested that evening.

Castro was sentenced Sept. 1 to life in prison plus 1,000 years on his guilty plea to 937 counts including kidnapping and rape.

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