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Jeffrey Epstein died six years ago in a jail cell at the now-razed Metropolitan Correctional Facility in Lower Manhattan.

But from the moment the disgraced financier’s body was discovered hanging by a noose around his neck from a lower bunk bed in the cell, conspiracies have arisen that he didn’t simply kill himself.

They were stoked by what former Attorney General Bill Barr called a “perfect storm of screw-ups” that night: Epstein had no cellmate, the two people guarding the Secure Housing Unit fell asleep and didn’t perform checks, and only one camera on the floor of the unit was working.


  Jeffrey Epstein was arrested by federal authorities in New Jersey and charged with sex trafficking in July 2019. Kypros Jeffrey Epstein was arrested by federal authorities in New Jersey and charged with sex trafficking in July 2019. Kypros

  Extra bed linens were discovered in Jeffrey Epstein’s cell after he was found hanging from a bunk. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, City of New York Extra bed linens were discovered in Jeffrey Epstein’s cell after he was found hanging from a bunk. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, City of New York

The recent release of the full 11 hours of footage from that camera was meant to help vindicate the government’s position — that incompetence and oversight allowed the most famous prisoner in the country to kill himself — but have only further muddied the waters.

Here are the key points to consider about Epstein’s death, and the answers we have.

The newly released video – and what’s missing

Critics say the 11-hour video isn’t complete, and time stamps show almost three minutes of footage are missing. However, that doesn’t mean anything has deliberately been edited out.


  There was only one working camera in the Special Housing Unit where Jeffrey Epstein was a prisoner at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan. MCC New York/U.S. Department of Justice There was only one working camera in the Special Housing Unit where Jeffrey Epstein was a prisoner at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan. MCC New York/U.S. Department of Justice

A recent CBS News analysis of the video contradicts Barr’s claims that the footage clearly showed no one entered the area near Epstein’s cell before he died.

In the video, only a small part of the staircase leading to Epstein’s wing is visible. Just before 10:40 p.m. August 9, 2019, the night of Epstein’s death, an orange shape is seen moving up the stairs leading to Epstein’s area in the prison video.

A 2023 report by the Office of the Inspector General concluded that the figure is a prison guard handing out bedclothes.


  Video released by the Department of Justice shows a mysterious figure in orange near Jeffrey Epstein’s cell in the prison’s Special Housing Unit. MCC New York/U.S. Department of Justice Video released by the Department of Justice shows a mysterious figure in orange near Jeffrey Epstein’s cell in the prison’s Special Housing Unit. MCC New York/U.S. Department of Justice

But video forensic experts who reviewed the video for CBS believe it could be a fellow prisoner in orange prison garb climbing the stairs toward Epstein’s unit.

Epstein’s body is found

Epstein was found in his prison cell at 6:33 a.m. August 10, 2019, an orange noose made from a sheet around his neck, according to reports.

Epstein was awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges at the time. The way in which he hanged himself has long puzzled many.


  Jeffrey Epstein was found hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan in August 2019. The prison shut down that year. ALBA VIGARAY/EPA-EFE/REX Jeffrey Epstein was found hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan in August 2019. The prison shut down that year. ALBA VIGARAY/EPA-EFE/REX

According to reports, he tied the rope to the top of the bunk bed stairs, slipped the noose around his neck and dropped to his knees. He was found kneeling, leaning forward, so his bodyweight pulled the garrote tight.

Such a method of hanging is possible and reminiscent of the suicide of L’Wren Scott, a model and former girlfriend of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger in 2014. She was found hanging from a doorknob in her New York City apartment with a noose made of a black satin scarf tied around her neck, according to reports.

Follow The Post’s coverage on the Jeffrey Epstein files, Ghislaine Maxwell, and more

Evidence photos of the cell show torn strips of orange sheet in two separate holes on the bed frame. There is also sheet wrapped around one rung of the bunk bed ladder and tied high up near the ceiling on a wire mesh that covers the cell window. They could indicate previous attempts Epstein had made to hang himself that night.


  The noose Epstein used to hang himself. CBS 60 Minutes The noose Epstein used to hang himself. CBS 60 Minutes

Evidence spoiled

Upon finding Epstein, prison guard Michael Thomas, one of the prison guards, cut the noose, lifted Epstein under his arms and laid him down on the cell floor. Despite him clearly being dead, Thomas attempted CPR. “Breathe, Epstein, breathe,” said Thomas, according to the OIG report, adding, “We’re going to be in so much trouble.”

Crucial moves to preserve the death scene were not made. Epstein’s body was moved by prison staff. No photographs were taken of his remains in the cell or his position at the point of death, and multiple people, including first responders, went into the cell.


  Epstein’s prison cell after he was found dead. CBS 60 Minutes Epstein’s prison cell after he was found dead. CBS 60 Minutes

Inside the cell was a CPAP machine, numerous extra bed linens and a second noose. This second noose not found around Epstein’s neck was first entered as evidence.

Some have pointed out that the flex hose of the CPAP machine would have made a better material for Epstein to hang himself with.

Hospital dash

Despite him having died during the night, medics were called and Epstein was rushed to a hospital. A photograph taken by Post photographer William Farrington on August 10, 2019, shows Epstein on a stretcher being wheeled into New York Downtown Hospital by FDNY-EMS personnel. The paramedics appeared to be trying to revive him at that time.


  Post photographer William Farrington captured the last photograph of Jeffrey Epstein as he was being wheeled into New York Downtown Hospital. William Farrington for NY Post Post photographer William Farrington captured the last photograph of Jeffrey Epstein as he was being wheeled into New York Downtown Hospital. William Farrington for NY Post

The autopsy

An initial autopsy was carried out by the New York medical examiner and overseen by pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, at the request of Epstein’s brother, Mark Epstein, his next of kin.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson ruled it a suicide and Epstein hanged himself. Baden maintains he was blindsided by the ruling and that he and the state pathologist had decided the autopsy was inconclusive.


  Epstein’s body on a gurney.
 Epstein’s body on a gurney.

  Epstein’s body before the autopsy. CBS 60 Minutes Epstein’s body before the autopsy. CBS 60 Minutes

He also provided an image showing Epstein suffered three fractures to his neck — injuries he claimed are more consistent with homicide than suicide.

A panel of six senior forensic pathologists prepared an exclusive report in 2024 for The Post, re-examining the full autopsy, crime scene pictures and all available information, led by Tennessee-based professor of pathology William R. Oliver.

Four of the six panel members concluded they would have classified this case as suicide while two said they would have classified the case as undetermined based on the review material.


  Wounds on Epstein’s neck after his suicide.
 Wounds on Epstein’s neck after his suicide.

  Jeffrey Epstein’s legs on an autopsy table. CBS 60 Minutes Jeffrey Epstein’s legs on an autopsy table. CBS 60 Minutes

However, the panel had many unanswered questions, including why there had been no tests for poison or DNA in Epstein’s cell. The panel also said its determination was hindered by a lack of key evidence such as photos of Epstein’s body as it was found.

Aftermath

The two corrections officers — Tova Noel and Michael Thomas — assigned to watch Epstein during the night had falsified records saying they had checked on him through the night.


  Michael Thomas, one of the guards assigned to check on Epstein in jail, leaves a hearing in New York City on Nov. 25, 2019. EPA Michael Thomas, one of the guards assigned to check on Epstein in jail, leaves a hearing in New York City on Nov. 25, 2019. EPA

  Tova Noel, the second security guard, leaving federal court on Nov. 25, 2019. AP Tova Noel, the second security guard, leaving federal court on Nov. 25, 2019. AP

The two guards were criminally charged, although after they cooperated with the investigation, the charges were dropped to minor ones. Neither has ever spoken publicly about what happened that night. It has never been made clear how Epstein got the extra bed linens or who gave them to him.

Timeline

August 9

  • 8 a.m. — Epstein’s cellmate is moved to a different facility in a prearranged transfer. No other cellmate is assigned.
  • 12 p.m. — Hundreds of pages of federal documents are unsealed in a defamation case accusing Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell of sexual abuse.
  • 4 p.m. — Tova Noel begins the first of back-to-back eight-hour shifts at the Special Housing Unit, where Epstein is housed.
  • 7:49 p.m. — Epstein returns to his cell after a visit with his lawyer, escorted by Noel and another corrections officer.
  • 10 p.m. — Inmates are locked in their cells for the night.
  • 10:40 p.m. — An unidentified orange shape, possibly a figure or a person carrying linen, is spotted on the camera, the last movement recorded on video before Epstein’s body is found.

  Epstein was awaiting a federal sex-trafficking trial when he was found dead. ZUMA24.com Epstein was awaiting a federal sex-trafficking trial when he was found dead. ZUMA24.com

August 10

  • 12 a.m. — Corrections officer Michael Thomas begins his shift alongside Noel. Neither officer checks on Epstein, although they falsify records that say they completed their rounds.
  • 6:33 a.m. — An alarm sounds in the Special Housing Unit after Noel and Thomas find Epstein hanging with a noose around his neck. Thomas tries to revive him with CPR as prison staff arrive to remove him from the cell.
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