Arrest and Imprisonment
Apprehension and indictment
- Epstein was arrested on July 6th, 2019, in NYC on multiple charges, including sex trafficking
- Faced similar charges in Florida in 2008, escaped federal charge in a plea deal
- Paid restitution to three dozen victims and registered as a sex offender in Florida and NY
Initial incident and final weeks
- First suicide attempt(?) on July 23rd, 2019
- Cell mate cleared of wrong-doing
- Put in suicide watch after, but cleared after 6 days and returned to the special housing unit
- On August 8th, Epstein signed a last will and testament
Death
Death
- Procedures unfollowed
- The two guards failed to perform required institutional count at 10 PM
- Epstein was not checked on every 30 minutes, in violation of jail’s normal procedure.
- The two guards assigned to check his cell fell asleep at their desk
- They later falsified records about this
- Two cameras in front of Epstein’s cell malfunctioned
- A third camera’s footage was “unusable”
Discovery
- Guards discovered body at 6:30 AM
- Found in a kneeling position with strip of bedsheet wrapped around his neck
- Believed to have been dead for 2 hours when found.
- After failing to revive with CPR, he was transferred to NY Downtown Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 6:39 AM.
- Removal of his body was a violation of protocol, lack of photographs taken of body.
Discrepancies
- Michael Baden and 60 Minutes questioned whether Epstein could hang himself from the lower bunk.
- Photos taken show bottles and medicine standing upright on the top bunk.
- Baden questioned why Epstein didn’t use sleep apnea machine materials to kill himself.
Autopsy and Medical Evidence
Autopsy
- The NYC Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson conducted a four-hour autopsy with Michael Baden present.
- Broken bones found in Epstein’s neck, though possible in the elderly, were more common in victims of homicide by strangulation.
Autopsy report and criticism
- On August 16th, 2019, Epstein’s death was ruled by Sampson as a suicide by hanging
- Conflicting reports about whether injuries were consistent with suicide vs homicide based on the Sampson autopsy
- On October 30th, 2019, Baden issued a report stating that Epstein’s neck injuries, due to all the broken bones, were more consistent homicide.
- Baden claimed that over a thousand jail hangings, none of them had three fractures.
- Gerald Rodts, chief of spinal surgery at Emory University Hospital, and a professor of forensic science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice said the death was consistent with suicide.
Aftermath
Reaction
- Lots of people called for and called to investigate the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death.
Investigations
- The US DoJ’s OIG’s investigation report released on June 27th, 2023, claimed repeated “negligence, misconduct, and outright job performance failures” and pushed back against any suggestion that anything other than suicide had occurred.
Subsequent criminal trials and developments
- On November 19th, 2019, federal prosecutors in New York indicted Michael Thomas and Tova Noel with multiple counts of falsifying records and conspiracy to falsify records.
- In 2020, associate Jean-Luc Brunel was arrested and charged with rape of minors in France, and died of suicide before trial could proceed.
Leading Theories
Epstein Killed Himself
Theory
Epstein was a high profile, successful who was looking at a difficult court battle. Seeing no realistic way for him to make bail or escape prison without serving the rest of his life there, Epstein decides to commit suicide.
Evidence in Favor
- Some say the autopsy supports suicide
- No direct evidence of any foul play
- No testimony or indirect evidence of external pressure for him to kill himself
- Epstein clearly had a good reason to want to kill himself
Difficult Facts
- Some contest that the autopsy was indicative of homicide (three broken bones)
- No prisoner had committed suicide for 25 years
- Camera malfunctions and lack of footage availability
- Guards falling asleep/not checking in appropriately
- Taken off suicide watch after only 6 days
- Was supposed to have cell mate, didn’t on the night he suicided
Conclusion
Epstein killing himself makes a lot of sense and is supported broadly by the facts, without any dispositive evidence or compelling reason to believe why this couldn’t be the case. However, there are many confusing questions and strange coincidences that don’t have many satisfying answers.
Someone Murdered Epstein
Theory
Epstein was a high profile billionaire who assisted many other powerful people with the trafficking and exploitation of women and minors. One of these high profile people (or possibly even someone within the government itself) hired a hitman/assassin to kill Epstein in jail.
Evidence in Favor
- Some say the autopsy supports homicide.
- Epstein’s lawyers who met with him days earlier to create his will said he seemed to be in good spirits.
Difficult Facts
- Absolutely no evidence of anyone entering or leaving the cell area that could kill him.
- Autopsy almost certainly doesn’t support homicide.
- Zero evidence or testimony from anyone implicating anyone at all in any sort of scheme to murder him.
- Lots of witnesses/video evidence from outside the jail that shows no one entering/leaving.
Conclusion
This is the weakest of the “Epstein didn’t kill himself” narratives. There is almost no supporting evidence, and there is plenty of reason to believe it didn’t happen.
Conspiracy to encourage and allow Epstein to die
Theory
Epstein was a high profile billionaire who assisted many other powerful people with the trafficking and exploitation of women and minors. One of these high profile people (or possibly even someone within the government itself) pressured/forced Epstein to kill himself, and made sure the conditions were right such that it wouldn’t appear to come from an external source.
Evidence in Favor
- Some say the autopsy supports suicide
- No direct evidence of any foul play
- Could explain why he was released from suicide watch early.
- Many (?) rich and powerful people obviously wanted Epstein dead before he could testify about their involvement.
- Helps to conveniently explain a lot of difficult to explain facts in an ordinary suicide story.
Difficult Facts
- No testimony or indirect evidence of external pressure for him to kill himself.
- Why wouldn’t they make it more obvious it was suicide? Why disable the cameras?
- Why not just have him post bail and kill himself/kill him outside of jail?
Conclusion
This seems highly implausible, why would video be cut and disabled if they wanted to prove a suicide? There are so many easier/better ways to do this, especially if huge sums of money were involved.
Questions
- How common is it for cameras to malfunction/footage to be unusable?
- That jail had TONS of maintenance issues with cameras, electricity, plumbing, etc…The entire DVR2 system that records ~50% of the cameras was malfunctioning for at least three weeks prior to Epstein’s.
- How common is it that people fail to check in on inmates, especially after already attempting suicide?
- Other inmates in the SHU said that the guards never do routine checks.
- How long does it normally take someone to be removed from suicide watch after attempting suicide?
- ???
- How consistent was Epstein’s death with suicide vs homicide? How often do multiple bones break in a suicidal hanging?
- Pretty consistent, zero other wounds/defensive markers/anything to indicate any struggle or drugs in body relating to death.
DOJ OIG Report
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20973326/ https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/23-085.pdf
Other Suicides
- McAfee
- ADX Florence had 8 cases of suicide, highest level of security
Conclusion
Yes.