Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan on August 10, 2019. His lifeless body was discovered shortly after 6:30 a.m., under mysterious circumstances, leading many to speculate that it may not have been self-inflicted.
The initial investigation suggests that he used an orange bedsheet, tied to the bunk bed in his cell, to take his own life.
During the night leading up to the incident, cameras in the Secure Housing Unit, where Epstein was detained, were not operational. Additionally, prison guards were found to have been sleeping, and Epstein was left alone in his cell, contrary to the explicit instructions of prison psychologists who had ordered him to have a cellmate.
Then-Attorney General Bill Barr dubbed the situation a “perfect storm of screw-ups.”
A week after the incident, the death was officially classified as a suicide by a medical examiner, indicating that no additional inquiry was necessary.
Subsequently, the Department of Justice released a comprehensive 128-page report, which identified mistakes made by the prison staff and attributed Epstein’s death to “long-standing operational challenges” at the facility.
Epstein’s brother, Mark, 69, is actively advocating for the release of more details, particularly the video footage from the cell block, to the public, challenging official versions of Epstein’s death.
“I only want to look at facts, but when we consider the facts available, we get more questions,” the property developer told The New York Post.
“There appears to have been no investigation once it was ruled a suicide, they saw no reason to dig deeper,” he said, adding, “It seems like a cover-up. Why can’t I find his pre-hospital care report and why can’t I get the 911 call?”
This document presents a collection of information that is publicly accessible regarding Epstein’s death, complemented by insights gained from Mark’s four-year investigation into the matter.
During Epstein’s autopsy, two medical examiners, Dr. Kristin Roman and Dr. Michael Baden, were in attendance. Dr. Baden was specifically appointed by Mark to independently monitor the process.
Initially, they concurred to classify the death as “pending,” indicating that more investigation was needed.
However, this decision was superseded a week later by Barbara Samson, the Chief Medical Examiner of New York, who altered the classification to suicide.
Although Samson stated she considered “additional evidence” in making this determination, she has not disclosed the nature of this evidence.
Baden noted that Epstein exhibited two fractures on each side of his thyroid cartilage, located near his Adam’s apple, and an additional fracture on the left side of his hyoid bone. He described these injuries as “extremely unusual in suicidal hangings” and stated that such fractures are more commonly associated with homicidal strangulation.
Baden noted that he had “not seen in 50 years where that occurred in a suicidal hanging case.”
Furthermore, there was no photograph captured of Epstein’s body at the time of discovery, a detail which numerous medical examiners concur is crucial in ascertaining the precise cause of his death.
The autopsy images reveal that the ligature marks on Epstein’s neck were located in the central to lower area and were straight. These marks did not exhibit the raised, sideward and backward angle typically seen in cases of hanging.
The Department of Justice’s investigation into his death found that he was ‘suspended from the top bunk in a near-seated position, with his buttocks approximately 1 inch to 1 inch and a half off the floor,’ and his legs splayed in front of him. As detailed by the Post, this means that most of his bodyweight was hanging on the ligature around his neck. The guard who found him, Michael Thomas, claimed that he ripped the sheet, cut it, and began chest compressions until medics showed up.
The New York Post highlighted further oddities:
The submitted and photographed noose was a whole piece of cloth with a hemmed edge and no staining or fluids, despite allegedly being around Epstein’s neck when he died.
In photos of Epstein’s cell, his sleep apnea machine can be seen — which Mark points out has an electrical cord that would have been easier to use to hang himself than a sheet.
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who attended the scene were not interviewed, which is standard protocol in such cases.
Especially in high-profile cases, EMTs and hospital staff are interviewed by police, but in this case, none were. In addition, a pre-hospital care report for Epstein “can’t be found,” according to hospital staff.
The autopsy showed Epstein was dead for at least two hours before he was found, and possibly up to six hours.
However, despite clearly being deceased, he was transferred to a hospital and placed in a hospital gown on a gurney.
Meanwhile, the 911 call made from the prison and its contents have also never been released.
As for the guards who were responsible for watching over Epstein, both were indicted, but the charges were later dropped following their cooperation with the federal probe. The identities of the two officers have never been released.
Speaking to Declan Hill on the true crime podcast “Crimewaves,” Mark Epstein said that he has nothing to gain from his brother’s death and only wants to get to the truth.
“They had a hearing which was coming up a few days after his death to appeal the bail restrictions … why would Jeffrey kill himself a few days before that hearing? Because if he got bail, he’d be out of jail, awaiting trial in his house with an ankle monitor,” he said. “Why kill yourself then? If bail was denied again, then I could understand it.
“Believe me, it would have been easier if [the pathologists] had come out and said, ‘It looks like a suicide,’ then I could put this whole issue behind me,” he said.