Cleveland Captives & Ariel Castro Suicide - Merge

[laura oz]

I hope there is a hell, and I hope it is miserable and very, very hot, solely for people like this.

If there is, he busted it wide open.

[Stephanie66]

I guess he just saved the state of Ohio a bit of money, but still confused about how someone can commit suicide in prison. I thought the cells were on camera?

http://www.citizennewspaper.com/main.as ... leID=15306

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The man who held three women captive in his home for nearly a decade before one escaped has been found dead and is believed to have committed suicide, a prison official said.

Ariel Castro, 53, was found hanging in his cell around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, a community located south of Columbus in central Ohio, JoEllen Smith, Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokesman, said early Wednesday.

Prison medical staff performed CPR before Castro was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

He was in protective custody because of the notoriety of his case, meaning he was checked every 30 minutes, but was not on suicide watch, Smith said.

Messages were left for Castro's attorneys at their offices and were not immediately returned.

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

[Ellimenopy]

It's what I would do in his situation, although I'm a little sad that his victims won't get to see him suffer in prison.

[Stephanie66]

It's what I would do in his situation, although I'm a little sad that his victims won't get to see him suffer in prison.

I thought he plead guilty to avoid the death penalty? I guess taking your own life is still better than letting the state do it for you.

[Jana814]

It's what I would do in his situation, although I'm a little sad that his victims won't get to see him suffer in prison.

Same here!

[paganhomeschooler]

Honestly, from all I've heard locally about the victims, they just really want to be out of the public eye and want this nightmare to end. No, he didn't get the suffering he deserved, but at least he's dead. Amanda also never has to worry about him trying to see her little girl. I can remember when those girls went missing. I remember last year when someone lied to try to get out of jail saying he knew where Amanda's body was and raising everyone's hopes again. I hope this gives them the closure that they need to move on in life.

(And I'm not being condescending calling them girls. That's just how most NE Ohioans think of them, since we've seen their school pictures as young girls for the past decade. Amanda and Gina's families never gave up hope and never let them be forgotten.)

[Palimpsest]

Yes, he accepted a plea bargain and pled guilty to avoid the death penalty. Usually the victims are consulted on plea bargains although they don't have to approve them.

I can't say I'm surprised he hanged himself although supervision should have been better. I also doubt that he would have lasted very long if he had made it to the prison general population. Orient is a receiving center where inmates spend a few weeks before being sent to a regular prison, IIRC. Ohio prisons are tough.

This may be a relief and closure for the young women. I don't know. Personally, I wish he'd spent at least 10 years living in an Ohio prison.

Stephanie66, the link in the first post leads oddly to an article on MkMama and Stellan in case you want to edit it!

Here is a link to the same story in the Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi- ... 7452.story

[DifferentGurl]

I can't say I'm surprised he hanged himself although supervision should have been better. I also doubt that he would have lasted very long if he had made it to the prison general population. Orient is a receiving center where inmates spend a few weeks before being sent to a regular prison, IIRC. Ohio prisons are tough.

I don't think he would have lasted in any prison. We're talking about someone that had kidnapped and raped three girls. Pedophiles are the lowest of the low in prison. Add in the fact that it was a well-known case. There was now no chance of him surviving prison. He became a target the moment he stepped foot into the prison.

[RainbowSky]

It's not pedophilia unless he found younger girls as well.

Creepy, asshole, not enough bad words to describe, but not pedo.

[FJismyheadship]

It's not pedophilia unless he found younger girls as well.

Creepy, asshole, not enough bad words to describe, but not pedo.

Weren't they teens when he kidnapped then?

[alysee]

Weren't they teens when he kidnapped then?

Technically if they were menstruating, it wasn't pedophilia it was ephebophilia(I think, if I remember correctly) which is when an adult has a sexual attraction to teenagers 14-19(after puberty has started)

I would have to check my textbook to double check but technically not a pedophile.

[bionicmlle]

Technically if they were menstruating, it wasn't pedophilia it was ephebophilia(I think, if I remember correctly) which is when an adult has a sexual attraction to teenagers 14-19(after puberty has started)

I would have to check my textbook to double check but technically not a pedophile.

Pedophilia is a sexual attraction to pre-pubertal children. And while Castro was a sick fuck, it doesn't seem he was a pedophile. The distinction is actually important.

[Lillybee]

I wish that he is not resting in peace.

[RosyDaisy]

I'm ashamed to even think this, but maybe he killed himself because he knew what would await him in prison. There were probably other inmates just waiting to do to him what he did to those poor women and prison guards who would turn a blind eye while Castro got a dose of his own medicine. I'm not condoning prison rape (I absolutely do not), just pointing out that it exist and a powerful motive for suicide.

[Arete]

I'm ashamed to even think this, but maybe he killed himself because he knew what would await him in prison. There were probably other inmates just waiting to do to him what he did to those poor women and prison guards who would turn a blind eye while Castro got a dose of his own medicine. I'm not condoning prison rape (I absolutely do not), just pointing out that it exist and a powerful motive for suicide.

I definitely think there could have been some of this sort of calculus, but I also think his overall powerlessness tipped the scales. Meaning, even if the prison system could have guaranteed him solitary and absolute safety, he would have offed himself, because he had lost his power over other human beings. He really must have considered himself a type of demigod, absolute control over all those girls, the power of life and death, the power to determine if they would see their next meal or morning....

Once you fall from a demigod to an ant, what is left?

[halcionne]

I'm ashamed to even think this, but maybe he killed himself because he knew what would await him in prison. There were probably other inmates just waiting to do to him what he did to those poor women and prison guards who would turn a blind eye while Castro got a dose of his own medicine. I'm not condoning prison rape (I absolutely do not), just pointing out that it exist and a powerful motive for suicide.

It seems that he didn't actually kill himself; he was attempting to get his rocks off:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/stat ... d-20529229

The article goes on to state that he asked to be segregated from the general population, and that this request, along with other behavior, suggest against suicide.

The notion that he was okay with being incarcerated and simply carried on spanking his monkey is just awful. But unsurprising.

[crazyforkate]

The notion that he was okay with being incarcerated and simply carried on spanking his monkey is just awful. But unsurprising.

Yeah, what the hell else are you going to do in solitary confinement?

[halcionne]

Yeah, what the hell else are you going to do in solitary confinement?

I don't know, prepare a defense, learn a new language, pick at the paint on the walls. Masturbate to your heart's content, I guess. There are twenty-four hours in a day, after all. I guess it's the "okay with being incarcerated" that bothers me.

I don't know this whole awful story upsets me.

[bionicmlle]

FYI - Michelle knight on tomorrow's dr Phil. She looks very small - I wonder what her stature was pre-kidnapping.

[bionicmlle]

Not sure if anyone else watched these episodes, but I'd be interested in other's thoughts. I was under the impression that MK was much more developmentally delayed than she seemed. She's not exactly Gloria Steinem, but she was poised and powerful, in her own way. I thought her take on the dynamic between the three young women was very interesting. Her accounts of what happened in that house are horrifying and I'm sure she just scratched the surface, especially when you consider that it went on for 11 years. I hope she continues to heal and get the support she needs - I'm not really clear on who her support system is and I wish that he would have asked her more about that. I also appreciated that they acknowledged that they paid her/made a "donation" to her for the interview -- that seems to be a very rare admission for a very common practice.

[Mela99]

Not sure if anyone else watched these episodes, but I'd be interested in other's thoughts. I was under the impression that MK was much more developmentally delayed than she seemed. She's not exactly Gloria Steinem, but she was poised and powerful, in her own way. I thought her take on the dynamic between the three young women was very interesting. Her accounts of what happened in that house are horrifying and I'm sure she just scratched the surface, especially when you consider that it went on for 11 years. I hope she continues to heal and get the support she needs - I'm not really clear on who her support system is and I wish that he would have asked her more about that. I also appreciated that they acknowledged that they paid her/made a "donation" to her for the interview -- that seems to be a very rare admission for a very common practice.

I watched both episodes. Poor girl proke my heart. If I had extra money right now, I'd happily send her some.

I do think she has some kind of delay, but nothing powerful. I think her mother overplayed it to try and garner sympathy for herself for not being there for her.

I'm not the hugest fan of Dr. Phil, but he was kind with her, and very fair questions. He was visibly shaken by some of the things she said.

I hope she gets to be back in her little boy's life. Not sure who has custody of him right now, but she deserves so much happiness...

[Lillybee]

My heart breaks for her. At least the other women have family support and I don't think that she does. I do hope that she is not dealing with this alone. Could Dr. Phil help her get the help that she really needs.