Jeffrey Epstein’s death was recorded day before he died, new files reveal
Topics: US News, News, World News, Crime, Jeffrey Epstein
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Kypros/Getty Images
Topics: US News, News, World News, Crime, Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein’s death was recorded the day before he died, according to a post-mortem released in the latest Epstein files.
A federal statement attributed to prosecutors announcing Epstein’s death appears in newly released Justice Department files, but it carries a date one day earlier than the official time he was found dead in his New York prison cell by suicide.
The document, issued by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and dated Friday, 9 August 2019, states that Epstein, who had pleaded not guilty and was awaiting trial, had already been found unresponsive and pronounced dead.
Prison records and official accounts place the discovery on the morning of 10 August 2019, when a corrections officer delivering breakfast found him in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.
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In the statement, then-Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: "Earlier this morning, the Manhattan Correctional Center confirmed that Jeffrey Epstein, who faced charges brought by this Office of engaging in the sex trafficking of minors, had been found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
"Today’s events are disturbing, and we are deeply aware of their potential to present yet another hurdle to giving Epstein’s many victims their day in Court.
"To those brave young women who have already come forward and to the many others who have yet to do so, let me reiterate that we remain committed to standing for you, and our investigation of the conduct charged in the Indictment."
Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement on 10 August 2019: "I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody.
"Mr Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered. In addition to the FBI’s investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of Mr Epstein’s death."
Previously unseen photos of Epstein’s body on a stretcher, with medics attending, were also released by the US Department of Justice as part of the newly declassified files on his death in custody.
Twenty images appear in an unclassified 23-page FBI report titled 'Jeffrey Epstein death investigation', alongside post-mortem findings, prison records, emails and psychological assessments.
The photos are dated 10 August 2019 at 06:49, around 16 minutes after he was found unresponsive in his New York prison cell. Some images, including close-ups of neck injuries, appear to have been taken at the hospital.
The files also include an 89-page post-mortem report noting two fractures to thyroid cartilage in his neck, and a six-page detention timeline.
Epstein had been on suicide watch after a 23 July 2019 incident involving cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione, who was released the day before his death.
In psychologist meetings, Epstein said he had 'no interest in killing myself', that it 'would be crazy' to take his life, and later that he was 'too vested in my case to fight it, I have a life, and I want to go back to living my life', the BBC reports.
Documents show prison leadership advised he should not be housed alone and ordered '30-minute checks' and 'unannounced rounds'.
Guards missed scheduled checks at 3 am and 5 am the night before Epstein's death, according to prison documents, and unit cameras were down when he was found.
Tyla has reached out to both the US Justice Department and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for comment.