Castro Guards Faked Log on Night of Death

Prison guards failed to properly make their rounds and check on prisoners the night Ariel Castro apparently hanged himself, and then falsified their log book to indicate that they had, according to an Ohio Department of Correction report released today. It wasn't the only problem that night: When guards did find Castro, they called an ambulance, but that ambulance was "significantly delayed," the report says. The ambulance company's contract states that it must respond within 15 minutes, but it took 34 minutes to show up that night, WBNS-10 Columbus reports. It was fully an hour before Castro was taken to the hospital.

The report also raises the possibility that Castro didn't intentionally kill himself, noting that he left no note and displayed no suicidal tendencies, the Columbus Dispatch reports. It noted that his pants and underwear were around his ankles, leading it to suspect "the possibility of auto-erotic asphyxiation." The Dispatch also notes that the report's findings were almost identical to those related to the suicide of an Ohio death row inmate in August. The guards involved in both incidents have been suspended. (More Ariel Castro stories.)