Ariel Castro Held in Isolation

Accused Cleveland kidnapper also on suicide watch

A former school bus driver accused of kidnapping and raping three women during a decade of captivity in his house appeared briefly in a Cleveland court on Thursday, standing silently with his head bowed before returning to jail where his lawyer said he would be isolated and placed on suicide watch.

A judge set bond for the suspect, Ariel Castro, at $8 million—$2 million each for the three young women and a child born in captivity.

The women and child fled his house in a low-income neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio on Monday, and the appearance in Cleveland Municipal Court marked the first time Castro, 52, had been seen in public since his arrest a few hours after their escape.