Jeffrey Epstein and the New York jail cell in which he was found dead
A statement that appears to confirm the death of Jeffrey Epstein before it officially happened has emerged among the millions of files released last weekend.
The statement from the Manhattan US Attorney’s office is dated to August 9 2019, while the standard account says the paedophile was found hanged in his cell at 6.30am on August 10.
His unexpected death in custody came as he was being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan ahead of his high-profile trial for conspiracy and sex trafficking.
Epstein was reportedly not on suicide watch at the time, despite being found injured and in a foetal position in his cell two weeks previously.
Two versions of the US Attorney’s statement dated August 9 appear in the files, both with subtle differences from the one dated August 10.
Neither contains the detail that Epstein was found dead ‘of an apparent suicide’, as the officially released statement does.
Instead, both say he was ‘found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead shortly thereafter’.
Like the publicly released statement, both versions with the earlier date pay tribute to the ‘brave young women’ who either have or have not yet previously come forward, though the wording differs slightly.
According to the official account of Epstein’s death, a corrections officer found him unresponsive on the morning of Saturday August 10.
Medical personnel tried to revive him, but he was later pronounced dead.
The version of the death announcement with the earlier date (Picture: US Department of Justice)
The following Friday, the New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging.
Epstein’s death shortly ahead of his highly anticipated trial prompted a wave of anguish and fury from victims and their supporters – and numerous conspiracy theories suggesting it was a homicide.
An apparent ‘missing minute’ of footage from prison CCTV from the night of the incident was released as part of an Epstein files drop last September, contradicting claims it did not exist.
The video did not appear to show anything out of the ordinary.
Notes from investigators, released as part of the batch published by the Department of Justice last week, highlight a blurry orange shape moving towards the tier where Epstein’s cell was located on the night of August 9.
FBI analysis notes this as: ‘A flash of orange looks to be going up the L Tier stairs — could possibly be an inmate escorted up to that Tier.’
Separate analysis from the Inspector General’s Office says ‘it is possible someone is carrying inmate linen or bedding up the stairs’.
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