Despite being the most high-profile prisoner in the US, Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in federal custody at the Manhattan Correctional Center in New York on August 10, 2019.
The financier, awaiting trial on charges of sex-trafficking underage girls, was found in his cell shortly after 6:30 a.m., apparently using a long orange sheet tied to the cell’s bunk bed to hang himself.
During the previous night, the cameras in the Secure Housing Unit where Epstein was held were not recording, the prison guards slept and Epstein was left without a companion despite the direct instructions of the prison psychologist.
Then-Attorney General Bill Barr would later call the situation “a perfect storm of chaos.”
Within a week, a medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, meaning no further investigation was necessary. Ultimately, a 128-page report was produced by the Justice Department that concluded prison staff made mistakes and blamed “long-standing operational challenges” for Epstein’s death.
However, some have consistently challenged the official version of events, including Epstein’s brother Mark, 69, who has campaigned for more information to be made public — including video from the cell block.
Jeffrey Epstein’s brother, Mark, has challenged the official story of his famous brother’s suicide. David McGlynn
“I just want to look at the facts, but when we consider the available facts, we get more questions,” the property developer told The Post.
“It seems there was no investigation when it was ruled a suicide, they saw no reason to dig deeper.
“It seems like a cover-up. Why can’t I find his pre-hospital care report and why can’t I get a 911 call?”
Mark Epstein told The Post the suicide story “looked like a cover-up.” Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Here is a compilation of publicly available information about Epstein’s death as well as findings from Mark’s four-year investigation:
autopsy
Two medical examiners were present for Epstein’s autopsy, Dr. Kristin Roman and Dr. Michael Baden. The latter was sent by Mark to independently oversee the procedure.
They agreed to list the manner of death as “pending,” saying further investigation is needed.
That was overturned a week later by New York’s Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Samson, who changed it to suicide.
Samson said he had seen “additional evidence,” but never said what that evidence was.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Manhattan Correctional Center on August 10, 2019. JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/REX Dr. Michael Baden was sent to Epstein’s autopsy by Mark to independently oversee the procedure. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File
Baden said Epstein had two fractures on each side of his thyroid cartilage near his Adam’s apple, and one above it on the left side of his hyoid bone, which is “very unusual in a hanging” and “can happen more often in a homicide strangulation. .”
Baden added: “I have never seen in 50 years where that has happened in a case of hanging suicide.”
In addition, no photographs were taken of the position of Epstein’s body when he was found – which some medical examiners have agreed is crucial evidence in determining exactly how he died.
Post-mortem photographs show the mark on Epstein’s throat from the ligature to be in the middle to the lower part of the neck, and straight, not raised and pointing to the side and back of the throat in a manner more consistent with hanging.
A trap made of sheets was found in Epstein’s cell. CBS 60 Minutes
Epstein cells
A Justice Department investigation into Epstein’s death said he was found “suspended from an upper floor in an almost sitting position, with his back approximately 1 inch to 1 and a half inches from the floor” and his feet in front of him.
This meant that most of his weight was hanging from the ligatures around his neck.
The guard who found him, Michael Thomas, claimed the two tore off the sheet and cut him, then began chest compressions until prison medics arrived.
Two nooses were found in the cell, according to the CBS show “60 Minutes.”
Epstein cells after suicide. CBS 60 Minutes
The rope taken as evidence was not the one that prison guards tore or cut from Epstein’s body.
The noose handed over and photographed was a single piece of cloth with laced edges and no staining or liquid, despite allegedly being around Epstein’s neck when he died.
In a photo of Epstein’s cell, his sleep apnea machine can be seen — which Mark points out has an electrical cord that’s easier to hang yourself from than a piece.
The emergency medical technician (EMT) who attended the scene was not interviewed, which is standard protocol in such cases.
Especially in high-profile cases, EMTs and hospital staff are interviewed by the police, but in this case, none. In addition, reports of pre-hospital care for Epstein “could not be found,” according to hospital staff.
An autopsy showed Epstein had been dead for at least two hours before he was found, and possibly up to six hours.
However, although clearly dead, he was transferred to the hospital and placed in a hospital gown on a gurney.
Meanwhile, the 911 calls made from the prison and their contents have also never been released.
The CPAP machine that was in Epstein’s jail cell. CBS 60 Minutes
Prisoners and evidence
On July 23, while Epstein was in prison, guards were called to the cell he shared with ex-cop and now-convicted four-man Nicholas Tartaglione for an incident in which he suffered a neck injury.
Following the incident, Epstein told prison staff he had been attacked by his cellmate. He later said he “doesn’t remember” how he got the injury and declined to talk more about it.
After the incident, on July 30, the prison’s psychology department said Epstein must have a cellmate at all times and needs to be monitored.
A new cellmate, Efrain “Stone” Reyes, was assigned but transferred out of MCC to another facility less than 24 hours before Epstein’s death.
Epstein shared a cell with now-convicted quadruple killer Nicholas Tartaglione.
Reyes told his family Epstein seemed “depressed” and “didn’t want to live anymore,” according to the New York Daily News, which also quoted another inmate as saying Epstein “said he was going to kill himself because the government was trying to kill him anyway.”
Video evidence from the night of Epstein’s death is “limited”.
What we know about Jeffrey Epstein’s list of 170 associates
- On Wednesday, documents were released naming 170 associates of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The list includes Michael Jackson, magician David Copperfield, Stephen Hawking, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and former President Bill Clinton – who one of Epstein’s victims said “likes them young, referring to girls.”
- Disgraced royal Prince Andrew, a well-known friend of Epstein, was named in the document and was previously sued by Epstein’s accuser Virginia Giuffre, who accused Andrew of sexually misconducting her. According to a royal family expert, the Firm “will stand by” the Duke of York “no matter what.”
- Epstein’s former lawyer and friend, Alan Dershowitz, defended the multi-millionaire sex offender’s associate, saying: “None of us knew about his private life until he kept it a secret.” Dershowitz, who is on the list, added that no one should be automatically convicted in the court of public opinion simply for appearing in court documents.
- Epstein’s brother, Mark Epstein, told The Post that the former businessman said he could overturn the 2016 election based on what he knew about both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton: “Here’s a direct quote: ‘If I say what I know about both. candidates, they have to cancel the election.’ That’s what Jeffrey told me in 2016.”
- Only some of the 170 names and their connections to Epstein have been released. The remainder of the document will likely become public record over the next week.
Follow The Post’s live blog on the revelations about Epstein’s associates revealed in the newly released documents here.
According to the Justice Department’s investigation, “Video evidence recorded for August 9 and 10 for the SHU area where Epstein was housed was only available from one prison security camera due to a malfunction of the New York MCC Digital Video Recorder system.”
However, it also noted that “between approximately 10:40 p.m. on August 9 and approximately 6:30 a.m. on August 10, no one was seen entering Epstein’s cell level from the general area of the SHU.”
Despite the filing of a Freedom of Information Act request, the footage from the working cameras, particularly the one showing when Epstein’s body was removed from the stage in the morning, has never been released to the public.
Epstein’s body is taken to Downtown Hospital in Manhattan on August 11, 2019. William Farrington
Sleep guard
Prison guards Tova Noel and Michael Thomas were stationed 15 feet from Epstein’s cell.
However, they fell asleep and did not check on the inmates at the Secure Housing Unit on August 9, the night Epstein died.
They later admitted to falsifying records that said they had completed the review.
MCC Corrections Officer Tova Noel leaves a New York federal court on January 30, 2020. Matthew McDermott Michael Thomas leaves a federal court on November 25, 2019. AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File
Both were charged federally, but reached a deal in which, in exchange for pleading guilty and cooperating with the federal investigation into Epstein’s death, the charges were dropped.
Neither has spoken publicly about Epstein or what happened that night.
The indictment against the officer also lists the presence of two other prison guards, “Officer-1” and “Officer-2,” who were also on duty during at least part of their shift and were supposed to accompany Noel in his entourage. Their identities have never been revealed.
The bag containing Epstein’s body was taken out of the Downtown Hospital. William Farrington
Mark said he got nothing from his brother’s death, was not part of his will and has incurred legal fees and had to spend money to protect his family since 2019.
“They had a hearing that was going to take place a few days after his death to appeal the bail ban … why would Jeffrey kill himself a few days before that trial? Because if he gets bail, he’ll be out of jail, awaiting trial at home with an ankle monitor,” he told investigative reporter Declan Hill on his “Crimewaves” podcast.
“Why kill yourself then? If bail is denied again, then I can understand that.
“Believe me, it’s easier if [the pathologists] have come out and said, ‘It looks like suicide,’ then I can put all these issues behind me,” he added.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
