Ariel Castro may have died from auto-erotic asphyxiation, report says

GlobalPost

Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro's death by hanging in his cell may not have been suicide, but an attempt at auto-asphyxiation gone wrong, a new report suggests.

The report from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction also accuses prison officers of not completing their rounds and falsifying reports surrounding Castro's death last month.

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The former bus driver had been serving a life sentence plus 1,000 years for the abduction, torture and detention of three young Cleveland women over a decade. One of the women, Amanda Berry, gave birth to his child at the home he kept them prisoners in.

Castro was taken off suicide watch in June, but was supposed to have been checked on by guards every 30 minutes, according to Reuters.

Guards Caleb Ackley, 26, and Ryan Murphy, 27, have been suspended and the State Highway Patrol is investigating.

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Authorities discovered Castro at 9:18 p.m. on Sept. 3 with his pants and underwear down around his ankles and a sheet wrapped around his neck, which had been attached to a window hinge, according to the report.

He left no suicide note, but was found with a Bible open to John, Chapters 2 and 3. There were also pictures of his family, arranged in a "poster-board fashion," according to WOIO.

In documents found in his cell, Castro complained about harassment from staff and other inmates and worried someone was tampering with his food.

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