Ariel Castro, who held three women captive in his home for nearly a decade, has killed himself at a state prison facility.

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

Spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said Castro, 53, was found hanging in his cell at about 9.20pm on Tuesday at the correctional reception centre in Orient.
Prison medical staff performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation before Castro was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004. They escaped on 6 May when one of the women broke part of a door and yelled to neighbours for help. Castro was arrested that evening.
Castro was sentenced on 1 August to life in prison plus 1,000 years after his guilty plea to 937 counts including kidnapping and rape.
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.