Ariel Castro’s Death Linked To Autoerotic Strangulation, Not Suicide

Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro’s prison suicide may not have been suicide after all, and claims of an autoerotic asphyxiation fatality have filtered out weeks after his shocking death behind bars.

When news Ariel Castro had died in prison by his own hand was reported, suicide was given as a cause of death for the reviled convicted. However, new information indicates that Castro may have been left unguarded, and his death might be due to the practice of restricting one’s own breathing for a sexual thrill.

If Castro died due to autoerotic asphyxiation, he would not be the first victim of the dangerous form of “edge play.” Several high-profile figures have died in an attempt to gain sexual pleasure via deliberate strangulation, and the risks are well known.

New details point to kinky fetishes for asphyxiation being at play in the events leading up to Castro’s death — and logs from the prison in which he was incarcerated may have even been falsified to mitigate the damage.

CBS reports that the scene where Castro was found dead showed several indicators of a possible unintentional death by misadventure, and the network explains:

“Castro’s pants and underwear were pulled down to his ankles when he was found Sept. 3 in his cell at a prison reception center south of Columbus, the report said. He had a sheet wrapped around his neck, which was attached to a window hinge, investigators said.”

An investigation into Ariel Castro’s suicide also indicated that little suggested the inmate was thinking of harming himself. The day of his death, officials say, Castro had asked about the conditions of his imprisonment, which seems to negate an intent to take his own life.

The network further reports:

“Surveillance video indicates guards did not do at least eight required checks on Castro the afternoon and evening before he died. Two checks were done properly just before Castro hanged himself.”

In addition to that evidence suggesting Ariel Castro’s suicide was possibly an accidental death, a statement made by Castro in court weeks prior attested to an addiction to pornography and not an intent to harm the victims as the motivation for his crimes.