2019 American death in custody
The death of American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein occurred on August 10, 2019; guards found Epstein unresponsive in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. After prison guards performed CPR, he was transported in cardiac arrest to the New York Downtown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:39 am. The New York City medical examiner and the Justice Department Inspector General ruled that Epstein's death was a suicide by hanging. Epstein's lawyers challenged the medical examiner's conclusion and opened their own investigation, hiring pathologist Michael Baden.
After initially expressing suspicion, Attorney General William Barr described Epstein's death as "a perfect storm of screw-ups". Both the FBI and the Department of Justice's Inspector General conducted investigations into the circumstances of his death. The guards on duty were later charged with multiple counts of record falsification. Many public figures accused the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) of negligence; several lawmakers called for reforms to the federal prison system. In response, Barr removed the Bureau's director.
As a result of Epstein's death, all charges against him were dismissed, and ongoing sex-trafficking investigations shifted attention to his alleged associates, notably Ghislaine Maxwell, who was arrested and indicted in July 2020 and convicted on five sex trafficking-related counts on December 29, 2021. Another associate, Jean-Luc Brunel, was arrested by French authorities in 2020 and later died by suicide.
Due to violations of normal jail procedures on the night of Epstein's death, the malfunction of two cameras in front of his cell, and his claims to have compromising information about powerful figures, his death generated speculation and conspiracy theories about the possibility that he was murdered. Other theories claimed his death was feigned. In November 2019, the contested nature of his death spawned the "Epstein didn't kill himself" internet meme. Public opinion polls suggest that only a small percentage of Americans believe that Epstein died by suicide; one such poll saw 16% of respondents saying they believed Epstein died by suicide, 45% believing he was murdered, and 39% being unsure.
Arrest and imprisonment.
Apprehension and indictment.
On July 6, 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in New York City on multiple charges, including sex trafficking, and held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan. He pleaded not guilty. He faced similar charges in Florida in 2008, but escaped federal charges in a plea deal. Under its provisions, he pleaded guilty to two state felony charges, paid restitution to three dozen victims identified by the FBI, and registered as a sex offender in both Florida and New York.
On July 18, 2019, Epstein was denied bail after offering $600,000 to be able to wear an ankle tracker at his New York City townhouse. He was viewed as a potential flight risk because of the 20 international flights he took in the previous 18 months. Epstein appealed the bail denial decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; at the time of his death, the appeal was still pending.
Initial incident and final weeks.
At 1:27a.m. on July 23, 2019, Epstein was found semiconscious in his cell with injuries to his neck. Prison officials questioned his cellmate, multiple murder and drug conspiracy suspect Nicholas Tartaglione. He denied harming Epstein. An internal prison investigation cleared Tartaglione of any connection to the event. An unnamed source claimed Epstein staged the incident in order to be transferred. Spencer Kuvin, a lawyer who represented three of Epstein's alleged victims, said in July 2019, after Epstein's first apparent suicide attempt, that he believed it was an attack on his life, and that there was a high probability that he would be murdered in prison.
As a result of the incident, Epstein was placed on suicide watch. He was held in an observation cell, surrounded by windows, where lights were left on and any devices that he could use to kill himself were not permitted. After six days, psychological staff removed Epstein from suicide watch following a psychiatric examination. He then returned to the special housing unit (SHU), where he was to have a cellmate and be checked on every 30 minutes.
A note written by Epstein was found in his cell after his death. In it, he complained about large bugs crawling on his body, guard Tova Noel giving him burnt food, and a guard intentionally locking him in a shower cell without clothes for an hour. On August 8, Epstein signed his last will and testament, witnessed by two attorneys who knew him. The will named two longtime employees as executors, and immediately gifted all his assets, and any assets remaining in his estate, to a trust.
Death.
When Epstein was placed in the Security Housing Unit (SHU), the jail informed the Justice Department that he would have a cellmate and that a guard would look into the cell every 30 minutes. These procedures were not followed on the night he died. On August 9, Epstein's cellmate was transferred, and no replacement was brought in. The evening of his death, Epstein met with his lawyers, who described him as "upbeat" before being escorted back to the SHU at 7:49p.m. by guard Tova Noel. CCTV footage shows that the two guards failed to perform the required institutional count at 10:00p.m. and recorded Noel briefly walking by Epstein's cell at 10:30p.m., the last time the guards entered the tier where his cell was located. Through the night, in violation of the jail's normal procedure, Epstein was not checked every 30 minutes. The two guards assigned to check his cell overnight, Noel and Michael Thomas, fell asleep at their desk for about three hours and later falsified related records. Two cameras in front of Epstein's cell also malfunctioned that night. Another camera had footage that was "unusable".
Discovery.
As the guards were distributing breakfast shortly after 6:30a.m. on the morning of August 10, Epstein was found unresponsive in cardiac arrest in his cell. He was found in a kneeling position with a strip of bedsheet wrapped around his neck. The sheet was tied to the top of his bunk. He was believed to have been dead for about two hours by then. The guards performed CPR on Epstein, and other prisoners heard them yell "Breathe, Epstein, breathe." At 6:33a.m., the guards pulled an alarm, notifying their supervisor, to whom Noel said, "Epstein hung himself." He was rushed to the New York Downtown Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 6:39a.m. His body was transported to the medical examiner's office soon after.
The removal of Epstein's body from his cell was a violation of protocol, as the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) mandates that a suicide scene be treated with the "same level of protection as any crime scene in which a death has occurred". Consequently, prison personnel also failed to photograph Epstein's body as it was found.
Controversy.
Epstein's death was the first death ruled a suicide at the MCC in 14 years. Michael Baden and "60 Minutes" questioned whether Epstein, who was almost tall and weighed , could have been able to hang himself from the lower bunk. Photos taken after the death also show bottles and medicine standing upright on the top bunk. Baden also questioned why Epstein did not use other materials available in his cell as a ligature, such as wires and tubing from a sleep apnea machine, which were stronger and longer.
Possible motivations.
A psychological reconstruction report of Epstein's death compiled by Bureau of Prisons five weeks after his death suggests that Epstein's identity "appeared to be based on his wealth, power and association with other high-profile individuals." The report further attributes his suicide to lack of significant interpersonal connections, loss of status, and the idea of potentially spending the rest of his life in prison.
Autopsy and medical evidence.
Autopsy.
New York City's Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson conducted a four-hour autopsy on Epstein's body on August 11. Epstein's lawyers sent pathologist Michael Baden to observe the autopsy. Following the autopsy, the medical examiner's office reported that Epstein had hanged himself with a sheet from his bed. On August 14, unofficial sources reported that broken bones were found in Epstein's neck. Although this can occur in the suicide of the elderly, these broken bones are "more common in victims of homicide by strangulation", according to forensic experts and studies. The last death ruled a suicide at the MCC was in 1998. Epstein's lawyers released a joint statement after the medical examiner's report, expressing dissatisfaction with it, challenging its conclusions and saying a more complete response was forthcoming. They said that the defense team fully intended to continue its own investigation into the circumstances and cause of Epstein's death, including taking legal action to view the camera footage near his cell during the night of his death. They later said that the evidence concerning Epstein's death was "far more consistent" with murder than suicide.
Autopsy report and criticism.
On August 16, Sampson announced that Epstein's death had been ruled a suicide by hanging. Later, conflicting reports said the injuries Epstein sustained were as consistent, if not more so, with strangulation or homicide as with suicide. Sampson's report found there was no foul play in his death. Three of Epstein's lawyers expressed their dissatisfaction with Sampson's conclusion, having hired forensic pathologist Michael Baden to observe the autopsy; they said they would initiate their own investigation and provide a more detailed statement in the future. Baden observed Sampson's autopsy when it was conducted; after the autopsy he said he could not comment because of gag orders filed by Sampson's office and Epstein's estate.
On October 30, 2019, Baden issued a report stating that Epstein's neck injuries were much more consistent with "homicidal strangulation" than suicide. He stated that Epstein "had two fractures on the left and right sides of his larynx, specifically the thyroid cartilage or Adam's apple, as well as one fracture on the left hyoid bone above the Adam's apple". In particular, Baden claimed that Epstein's hyoid bone was broken in a way indicative of strangulation from behind. Later that day, Sampson rejected Baden's claims, saying, "I stand firmly behind our determination of the cause and manner of death for Mr. Epstein. The cause is hanging, the manner is suicide." Baden later said, "Going over a thousand jail hangings, suicides in the New York City state prisons over the past 40-50 years, no one had three fractures." Neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta asserted Epstein could have easily broken his hyoid bone in a hanging because of the bone's weakening and loss of flexibility with age. Gupta also suggested that multiple broken neck bones were more characteristic of hanging. Gerald Rodts, chief of spinal surgery at Emory University Hospital, also stated that multiple broken neck bones are consistent with hanging. A professor of forensic science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice said the hyoid bone can indeed break from hanging, noting that it is a weak bone. According to their analysis, a broken hyoid bone is not sufficient proof of homicide.
According to Baden, the neck wound was in the center of Epstein's neck, not under his mandibles as in a typical hanging. Baden said this is more common when a victim is strangled by a wire or cord. Baden also said that the wound was much thinner than the strip of bedsheet, and although there was blood on Epstein's neck, it was absent on the bed-sheet ligature. In response to Baden's claims, Sampson stood by the conclusion that Epstein's death was suicide.
In June 2023, the Justice Department Inspector General confirmed that Epstein indeed died by suicide. The investigators interviewed dozens of witnesses and combed through 100,000 documents, and did not find anything contradicting the FBI's investigation, which also found the death a suicide.
Burial.
Following the autopsy, Epstein's body was claimed by an "unidentified associate", later revealed to be his brother, Mark. On September 5, the body was buried in an unmarked tomb next to those of his parents at the IJ Morris Star of David mausoleum in Palm Beach, Florida. His parents' names were removed from their tombstone to prevent vandalism.
Aftermath.
Reaction.
A few hours after Epstein's death was announced, President Donald Trump responded by retweeting a post related to the "Clinton body count", a conspiracy theory purporting to link Epstein's death to the former president, Bill Clinton, and the former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. At a speech in