COLUMBUS, Ohio — The man who held three women captive in his home for nearly a decade before one escaped and alerted authorities 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, located south of Columbus in central Ohio, JoEllen Smith, Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman, said early Wednesday.  Prison medical staff performed CPR before Castro was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 10:50 p.m.  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. She said suicide watch entails constant observation.  PHOTOS: KIDNAPPING VICTIMS FOUND ALIVE IN CLEVELAND HOME  Castro was also watched closely in Cuyahoga County Jail in the several weeks after his arrest and before his case was resolved by a guilty plea, with logs noting his activity every 10 minutes. He was taken off county jail suicide watch in early June after authorities determined he was not a suicide risk.  At least one of the survivors, Gina DeJesus, has been informed. Her aunt, Peggy Arida, spoke with WWLTV.  “And then she also said, well, now he has to answer to god," Arida said. "That was it. He has to answer to god.”  Castro's family learned about the death from the warden about 1 a.m., according to brother-in-law Juan Alicea, who spoke to CNN.  RELATED: WHAT IS SOCIOPATHIC DISORDER? ARIEL CASTRO'S CONDITION EXPLAINED  Some of the convict's relatives were distraught about the news.  "I cried for several reasons," cousin Maria Castro Montes told CNN. "My first thoughts were if the girls knew. I am talking about the victims. I immediately thought of them and what is going through their minds. Maybe this was for the best. I don't think they were ever going to find peace with him alive."  Montes specifically reflected on the life of “luxury” he would have been treated to if kept alive, even behind bars.  “I know they wanted him to live out a life sentence, but really what was he suffering behind bars, I mean getting three square meals a day? Sleeping in a nice, warm, soft bed? Being basically watched over and guarded, making sure that he was safe? You know those girls didn't even have that luxury when they were being held captive in his home,” she told CNN.  RELATED: ARIEL CASTRO'S HOUSE OF HORRORS TO BE DEMOLISHED  “They were being raped, they were being tortured, they were being beaten. He wasn't getting any of that … You know I'm a god-fearing woman, and whatever god feels is his punishment now, that's what he'll have to endure in his afterlife. And maybe that's better punishment than he could have ever gotten here on earth."  It's her hope now that with his life extinguished his name will be as well.  In a statement released by Cleveland mayor Frank G Jackson on Castro's death, he appeared to share Montes' final sentiment.  “Our focus remains on the well-being of the survivors of Seymour Avenue. It is our sincere hope that they will continue to heal and recover. I ask the community to continue to respect the privacy of the survivors so that they can move forward with their lives,” Jackson said.  RELATED: ARIEL CASTRO TO UNDERGO MENTAL EVALUATION  “I think he did those girls a favor by taking his own live because he took theirs,” one man told WWLTV.  The Ohio Department of Corrections later released a statement that read:  "Inmate Ariel Castro was found hanging in his cell this evening at 9:20 p.m. at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient. He was housed in protective custody which means he was in a cell by himself and rounds are required every 30 minutes at staggered intervals. Upon finding inmate Castro, prison medical staff began performing life saving measures. Shortly after he was transported to OSUMC where he was pronounced dead at 10:52 p.m. A thorough review of this incident is underway and more information can be provided as it becomes available pending the status of the investigation."  RELATED: ARIEL CASTRO'S VICTIMS RETURN TO 'HOUSE OF HORRORS'  Castro's attorneys tried unsuccessfully to have a psychological examination of Castro done at the Cuyahoga County Jail, where Castro was housed before he was turned over to state authorities following his conviction, his attorney, Jaye Schlachet, told The Associated Press early Wednesday. Schlachet said he could not immediately comment further.  In an interview last month after Castro's conviction, Schlachet and attorney Craig Weintraub said their client clearly fit the profile of sociopathic disorder and that they hoped researchers would study him for clues that could be used to stop other predators.  The three women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old. They escaped from Castro's Cleveland home May 6, when Amanda Berry, one of the women, broke part of a door and yelled to neighbors for help.  "Help me," she said in a 911 call. "I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years and I'm, I'm here, I'm free now."  RELATED: ARIEL CASTRO RECEIVED 'BEST POSSIBLE SENTENCE,' HIS SON SAYS  The two other women were so scared of Castro that they held back initially even as police officers began to swarm the house. But quickly they realized they were free.  "You saved us! You saved us!" another of the captives, Michelle Knight, told an officer as she leaped into his arms.  Castro was arrested that evening. He had also fathered a child with Berry while she was in captivity; that girl was 6 years old when freed. A judge rejected Castro's request to have visiting rights with his daughter.  Elation over the women's rescue soon turned to shock as details emerged about conditions of their captivity. Investigators say they were bound with chains, repeatedly raped and deprived of food and bathroom facilities. Knight told investigators she was beaten and starved several times to force her to miscarry.  RELATED: CHILLING FOOTAGE SHOWS ARIEL CASTRO'S HOME IN HORRIFIC NEW DETAIL  Messages left for the women's lawyers were not immediately returned early Wednesday.  Castro was sentenced Aug. 1 to life in prison plus 1,000 years on his guilty plea to 937 counts including kidnapping and rape.  In a rambling statement, he told the judge he was not a monster but a man suffering from a pornography addiction.  "I'm not a monster. I'm sick," Castro said at his sentencing.  Knight was the only one of the three who appeared in court at his sentencing.  "You took 11 years of my life away, and I have got it back," she said in the hushed courtroom. "I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning."  This is the second high-profile suicide in an Ohio prison in a month.  On Aug. 4, death row inmate Billy Slagle was found hanged in his cell just days before his scheduled execution. He was condemned to death for fatally stabbing a neighbor.  On a mobile device? Click here to watch the first video.  Click here to watch the second video.
Ariel Castro, the monster convicted of kidnapping and keeping three women as sex slaves in his Cleveland, Ohio, home was found hanging in his prison cell Tuesday, correction officials said.