Matt Lauer denied Ariel Castro jailhouse interview by Sheriff Frank Bova

Matt Lauer has been denied an interview with recently convicted kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro and turned away from the Ohio prison where Castro is being held.

NBC’s Matt Lauer traveled to Cleveland to conduct a jailhouse interview with Ariel Castro, who was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years for his crimes against Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.

Instead, Matt Lauer’s request was declined by Cuyahoga County Sheriff Frank Bova in no uncertain terms.

Scott Taylor, an investigative reporter for 19 Action News in Cleveland tweeted the news yesterday, writing: “@MLauer of @todayshow spotted at jail here in Cleveland asking for #ArielCastro interview. Sheriff Bova said NO.”

According to Scott Taylor, Sheriff Bova told him “I won’t allow it”, and that “an Ariel Castro interview from jail isn’t going to happen in Cleveland”.

A spokesperson for Sheriff Bova said that the reason Lauer was denied the interview was because Ariel Castro was being moved to Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton, Ohio.

“Matt Lauer arrived at the jail on Friday morning and his interview request was denied. Castro is leaving the building today and the interview was declined for security purposes,” she said.

A spokesperson for Ohio’s prisons department said Ariel Castro will be isolated from the greater prison population for his own safety at the beginning of his sentence due to the high profile nature of his case.

Ariel Castro’s lawyers struck a deal with prosecutors that spared him the death sentence but also spared his victims having to testify in court, pleading guilty to aggravated murder, kidnapping and rape on Thursday.

NBC’s Today show has declined to comment on the incident, but Twitter users are speculating about Matt Lauer’s interview techniques.

@LovinTheTribe wrote: “Did Castro agree to interview first? Was wondering why Lauer just showed up?”

According to Scott Taylor, the Today show had already secured the interview.

“MY SOURCE: @MLauer & @todayshow had green light for interview with #ArielCastro today but County Sheriff Frank Bova pulled the plug,” Scott Taylor wrote.