Two Prison Guards Put On Leave While Ariel Castro's Suicide Is Investigated

Two prison guards have been placed on leave during the investigation into the suicide of convicted Cleveland “monster” Ariel Castro.

The guards, who were on duty in the unit of the prison south of Columbus where Castro hanged himself, are on paid administrative leave until internal investigations by the department and a criminal investigation by the state highway patrol are completed, JoEllen Smith, Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman, said Tuesday.

Guards Caleb Ackley, 26, and Ryan Murphy, 27, both joined the agency in 2007 and neither has ever been disciplined, Smith said.

Castro, 53, hanged himself with a bedsheet last week, a few weeks into a life sentence after pleading guilty and admitting to imprisoning three women in his home for a decade during which he repeatedly beat and raped them. He was on protective custody, a status requiring checks every 30 minutes, but was not on suicide watch.

Prisons director Gary Mohr has ordered reviews due by month's end into how the suicide happened, and whether Castro had received proper medical and mental health care.

Tim Shafer, an operations director for the union representing prison guards, said the two guards are being made scapegoats for Castro's suicide. Shafer said preliminary reports all say the guards did their jobs correctly that day.

Castro was at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient awaiting assignment to a permanent prison.

Based on reporting by The Associated Press.

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