Coroner: Ariel Castro’s Death Was Definitely Suicide

Not auto-erotic asphyxiation

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Tony Dejak / AP

Ariel Castro appears in Cleveland Municipal court Thursday, May 9, 2013, in Cleveland.

The medical examiner who did Ariel Castro’s autopsy dismissed Thursday’s rumors that his death may have been masturbation-related, insisting that it was a suicide.

Coroner Jan Gorniak insisted that Castro’s death was not accidental, CNN reports. “I did the autopsy myself. I saw the ligature. I saw the pictures of the cell,” she said. “It was a suicide.”

Gorniak also said she was irritated that nobody from Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction consulted her before publishing speculation that Castro’s death may have been a result of auto-erotic asphyxiation. “They were outside of their lane … I don’t think anyone else should have an opinion on what the cause of death was,” she noted.

Gorniak pointed out that she found no signs of sexual stimulation in Castro’s body. Although Gorniak was not aware that Castro was found with his pants down, she maintained that that fact was not enough evidence to conclude that he died from auto-erotic asphyxiation.

[CNN]