Ariel Castro, the man who held three women captive in his Cleveland home for about a decade, was found dead in his jail cell late Tuesday night, according to multiple reports.

Police are calling it a suicide, according to the Associated Press.

JoEllen Smith of the Ohio Department of Corrections released this statement to 19 Action News in Cleveland:

Inmate Ariel Castro was found hanging in his cell this evening at 9:20 pm 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 pm. A thorough review of this incident is underway and more information can be provided as it becomes available pending the status of the investigation.

Castro's apparent suicide is even more shocking given the fact that he was in protective custody, which required checks every 30 minutes.

Castro was in protective custody yet this still happened. Checks were to be made every 30 minutes — Ed Gallek (@EdGallek19) September 4, 2013

In early August, Castro was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to all 937 counts against him, which included kidnapping and rape. The judge who sentenced him added 1,000 years on top of life in prison.

Castro's three victims — Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight — all disappeared when they were teenagers (Knight was 20). They were allegedly held in horrendous conditions until they made a dramatic escape earlier this year. Castro was accused of raping the women during their captivity, and forcing multiple abortions on at least one of the women.

