EXCLUSIVE: Ariel Castro's victims have 'mixed feelings' about his suicide because of the bond they shared with him for ten years



Family of Gina DeJesus spoke to MailOnline to say she was confused but relieved after Castro was found hanging in his prison cell



He was checked on every 30 minutes by guards

Taken off suicide watch in JUNE

Hung himself with a bed sheet



Castro was being held in protective custody away from other inmates

Served just 33 days of his prison sentence of life, plus 1,000 years

His cousin and lawyers are suspicious of the suicide

Autopsy confirmed death by hanging



Pleaded guilty last month to kidnap, rape, and torture of three women

His victims were Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight



Ariel Castro's victims have mixed feelings about the suicide of the man they spent ten years of their life with due to the warped bond they shared with him, MailOnline can reveal today.



Relatives of Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight said the girls are happy they can finally put the traumatic episode beside them but also experienced some confusion when they heard the news.



Castro, 53, was found at 9.20pm yesterday at Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, just 33 days after he was handed down a 1,000 year prison term - a time his victims thought spelled the end of their nightmare.



Jackie Figaro Roman, an aunt of Gina DeJesus, told MailOnline that both girls were going through a ‘mixture of emotions’.



She said: ‘There’s so many mixed feelings about it. Gina is a little confused. We are trying to protect her because we have to remember, she was a 14-year-old girl (when she was kidnapped).



'But Gina and Michelle won’t have to think about him because he’s not around any more.’



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Dead: Ariel Castro's body is set to be claimed by his family today after he hanged himself in his prison cell on Tuesday

Lonely death: This is an isolation cell at Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, like the one where Castro hanged himself Tuesday

She also revealed that Gina’s mother Nancy has been able to move beyond her anger and is already pitying Castro.



'Nancy probably feels bad for him. We have a very strong, spiritual family and so does Ariel Castro. She doesn’t care about him, she’s just happy her daughter is home. She doesn’t feel any anger.'

Amanda Berry - whose daughter is fathered by Castro - has not commented on his death.

Though Castro serially abused the women physically, emotionally, and sexually on a daily basis, they were also so badly manipulated they developed 'Stockholm syndrome' - slowly 'bonding' with their captor in gratitude for rare small favors he would grant them.



His suicide will have come as a slap in the face to his victims and their families, robbing them of the justice that had brought some form of closure to their ten-year nightmare.

Earlier this morning, friends of victim Gina de Jesus called Castro a 'coward' and said he took the easy way out. Her brother said today they were aware of what happened and were 'doing OK'.



Castro was being housed alone in an isolation unit for his protection, where he would be checked every 30 minutes. Prison officials said he hanged himself with a sheet during a break between inspections.

Initially, Castro was being checked on every ten minutes, but this stopped in June after he was deemed not to be a risk to himself and taken off suicide watch. An autopsy confirmed his death was suicide by hanging.



Castro's attorneys tried unsuccessfully to have an independent psychological examination of the 53-year-old done at the Cuyahoga County Jail before he was turned over to state authorities following his conviction.

A full investigation is underway as to how he was able to take his own life while under the watchful eye of prison guards - who said he was always calm and cooperative with them.

He used a sheet to hang himself, it emerged this morning. No one has come to claim his body yet, according to WEWS.

While his defense attorneys said they are suspicious as to why their client would have committed suicide just one month into his prison term, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty issued a scathing statement.

'These degenerate molesters are cowards. They con and capture vulnerable children,' he said. 'This man couldn't take, for even a month, a small portion of what he had dished out for more than a decade.

'Let this be a message to other child kidnappers: There will be a heavy price to pay when you are caught. You won't enjoy the captive side of the bars.'



Freed: Amanda Berry, left, Gina DeJesus, center, and Michelle Knight, right, have all spoken out about recovering from their horrific ordeal being kidnapped, raped and tortured by Castro

House of horrors: This is the four-bedroom home where Castro kept his victims for a decade - unbeknown to his family or his neighbors

Restraints: A rusty chain can be seen over a dirty mattress on the floor of the room Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight shared

Basement: The pole the girls were all chained to and raped many times throughout their time in captivity is pictured As well as his four elder children, Castro fathered a young girl to victim Amanda Berry. It is unclear if the child knows her father is dead.

Castro was jailed after keeping Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight captive in unimaginable conditions in his house for ten years. When prison guards found Castro hanging in his 8x12 foot cell on Tuesday, they immediately began trying to resuscitate him.

'They say that suicide is a cowardly thing, and obviously, he took the coward's way out, but I still really find it hard to believe, that after everything he did, he somehow mustered up the strength or the so-called courage to take his own life' - Cousin Maria Castro Montes He was taken to Ohio State University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about an hour and a half later - shortly before 11pm.

It costs nearly $25,000 a year on average to house a prison inmate in Ohio. The cost to house Castro, who was kept in high security, would likely have been much higher. Castro's family - he has a son and three daughters by his ex-wife - were informed of his suicide about 1am.

A spokeswoman for the the Ohio Department of Corrections said the agency will make a full investigation of Castro's suicide to determine whether regulations were followed and if anything could have been done to prevent his death. Castro's lead attorney, Craig Weintraub said m ore precautions against a possible suicide should have been taken.

'I was stunned,' he told WKYC. 'I think it's so unusual for a prisoner who is in the system for only 30 days to be found dead in a cell. If he was suicidal, he should have been under stricter protection.'

Some will see his death as 'a happy ending to this story, and a quick ending and justifiable', Weintraub said.

'But we're in a civilized society and no one should really be celebrating this.' RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Teen admits to horrifically stabbing principal to death on... Share this article Share Jaye Schlachet told the New York Daily News: 'Alleged suicide, right?' adding that state prison officials provided no details about his client's grim fate, and couldn't say for certain whether Castro actually killed himself.

'I don't deal with speculation,' he said. Maria Castro Montes, the 53-year-old's cousin, said she cried when she heard the news. 'I cried for several reasons. My first thoughts were if the girls knew. I am talking about the victims,' said told CNN's Newsday . '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.' 'DEGENERATE MOLESTER AND COWARD': REACTION TO CASTRO'S SUICIDE

CASTRO'S COUSIN MARIA MONTES: 'He will meet his maker. The punishment he faces now will be greater than anything he could have received on earth. '

CUYAHOGA COUNTY PROSECUTOR TIMOTHY J. MCGINTY: 'These degenerate molesters are cowards. They con and capture vulnerable children. This man couldn't take, for even a month, a small portion of what he had dished out for more than a decade.'

DEFENSE ATTORNEY JAYE SCHLACHET: 'Alleged suicide, right? I don't deal with speculation.'

FAMILY OF CASTRO'S EX WIFE: 'He didn’t even serve the ten years. He didn’t do a month. He couldn’t handle a month - now he knows what the girls felt like after ten years. People may say that he took the easy way out but what happens after death? He will not be judged kindly. Let the Lord take care of this.'

CLEVELAND MAYOR FRANK JOHNSON: '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.'

CASTRO'S NEIGHBOR ELSIE CINTRON: 'He took the coward's way out. We're sad to hear that he's dead, but at the same time, we're happy he's gone, and now we know he can't ask for an appeal or try for one if he's acting like he's crazy.'

She added: '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. they were being raped tortured and beaten.' She also wondered whether or not her cousin's death was actually suicide, echoing the suspicions of Castro's attorney.

'They say that suicide is a cowardly thing, and obviously, he took the coward's way out, but I still really find it hard to believe, that after everything he did, he somehow mustered up the strength or the so-called courage to take his own life.'

The family of Castro’s ex-wife - who he battered so badly she died of brain injuries - today said that he will be ‘not be judged kindly’ by God.

Relatives of Grimilda Figueroa said that Castro did not take the easy way out and that he committed suicide because he couldn’t handle a month of the same incarceration he inflicted on his victims for ten years.

Frank Caraballo, whose wife Elisa is Grimilda’s sister, said: ‘I would have preferred to see him serve his sentence.

‘He didn’t even serve the ten years (that he had the girls locked up). He didn’t do a month. He couldn’t handle a month - now he knows what the girls felt like after ten years.

‘People may say that he took the easy way out but what happens after death, you know?

‘He will not be judged kindly. Let the Lord take care of this’. Grimilda’s family say that Castro, regularly beat her up and once pushed her down a flight of stairs.

He broke her nose, dislocated her shoulder and as a result of the abuse she suffered brain injuries that relatives say led to her earth death at the age of 48 last year.

In another chilling episode Castro shoved her into a cardboard box and ordered her to stay there to keep her under his control. For more videos, please go to TODAY Castro's lead attorney: Craig Weintraub said more precautions against a possible suicide should have been taken and he should have been under stricter protection

Vivid: This image of a pink mattress in a pink room cluttered with clothes was part of the evidence shown in court during Castro's sentencing

Disguise: A wig is pictured in Ariel Castro's house in this undated photo provided to the court as evidence on August 1, 2013 and released to the media by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office

Mr Caraballo, who was very close to Grimilda before she died, said that she would have wanted Castro to serve his full sentence.



He said: ‘She wasn’t the type to wish anybody dead and even after everything that happened she never wished him dead.



‘She was in so much pain pain she didn’t have time to think about it and just dealt with her pain. He (Castro) did what he did (killed himself) that’s what we expected him to do. Hopefully this ends after today.’



'Going forward now these girls are going to have to find a way of healing without a sense of justice.

' He decided his fate, something they were never ever ever able to do for themselves. He had ultimate control. To some extent this was in a way his last slap to their faces - "I’ve got this over you".' - Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos



With surprising compassion he added that he feels ‘bad for (Castro’s) kid, I feel bad for his family.’



Mr Caraballo said: ‘He is still a dad and a son, and his mother will always want to protect her son.’



Meanwhile, a leading psychologist said this was the final act of control Castro has over the women.

'Going forward now these girls are going to have to find a way of healing without a sense of justice,' said Dr Linda Papadopoulos, a U.K.-based psychologist and author. 'We want the sense of justice when we heal.



'Sometimes we have to heal without it, and sadly that is what they will have to do.'



'He decided his fate, something they were never ever ever able to do for themselves. He had ultimate control. To some extent this was in a way his last slap to their faces - "I’ve got this over you".'

According to WOIO-TV , guards checked on him every ten minutes while he was being held in the Cuyahoga County jail awaiting trial.



He had written about killing himself in a self-piteous suicide note he wrote in 2004.



The FBI found the note when they searched his home after his captives were freed.

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 former school bus driver was sentenced to life in prison, plus 1,000 years after he pleaded guilty to 937 counts of kidnapping, rape and battery.



Castro acknowledged in court last month that he would die in prison

Castro had been attempting to see his six-year-old daughter who he fathered with Amanda Berry while she was in captivity

Bulldoze: Castro's family members were allowed to take approved personal items from the home on Monday. Workers emptied the house of furniture and other belongings on Tuesday

Aerial: The house will be completely torn to the ground and the pieces ground to dust to make sure there are no morbid souvenirs taken from the scene

Castro claimed that he was 'sick' but 'not a monster' and blamed his barbaric treatment of the three young women to an addiction to pornography and abuse he sustained as a child.



'I do want to let you know there was harmony in that home. I was a good person,' he told a court before he was sent away.



He admitted that he kidnapped Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus off the streets of Cleveland and kept them chained and bound in his house of horrors for up to 11 years.

Knight, who was his first victim - taken off the street in 2002 - was in the courtroom at the time of his sentencing to bravely read out her victim impact statement.

She offered a stinging rebuke of her tormentor, saying: 'I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning. I will overcome all that happened, but you will face hell for eternity,' she said.

'I will live on, you will die a little every day.'

Sadly, Michelle has been robbed of the little comfort she had that the monster who took ten years of her life has taken the easy way out.

Castro systematically raped and brutally beat the women, causing them to miscarry several children.

With Berry he fathered a daughter who was not allowed the see the light of day for the first six years of her life.

During his trial, he asked the judge to allowed him to see the little girl. The judge denied his request.



The women's ordeal was brought to light when Berry broke out of her four-bedroom prison on Seymour Street on Cleveland's West Side in May.



She told a 911 dispatcher: 'Help me, I'm Amanda Berry ... I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here. I'm free now.'