CLEVELAND (REUTERS) - Accused Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro agreed on Friday to plead guilty and serve life in prison without parole for the abduction and abuse of three women over about a decade.

Under a plea agreement announced in court, Ohio prosecutors agreed that Castro will not be eligible for the death penalty.

Castro was charged with 977 counts including kidnapping and rape for snatching the women, holding them in captivity, and brutalising them for years.