CBS reveals apparent note left by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein left in jail
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A new investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Jeffrey Epstein has made public several new pieces of evidence, including photos of his jail cell showing a number of bed sheets, prescription medicine and an apparent note written by the convicted sex offender complaining about jail conditions before his death, according to a report in The Independent (UK).
The paedophile financier was awaiting trial in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Centre in downtown Manhattan when his body was found in his cell in August. The circumstances of his death, ruled a suicide by the New York medical examiner, have sparked considerable speculation, given the powerful company he kept that included Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew.
The newly revealed letter, a photo of which was obtained during a months-long investigation by CBS News’ 60 Minutes, includes claims that the writer was locked in a shower for hours, sent burnt food and that “giant bugs” had crawled across his hand.
In the course of a five-month investigation, 60 Minutes obtained photos of Epstein’s cell after his apparent suicide. Also found was a note, giving the world a look into what Jeffrey Epstein may have been thinking in his final days.
The note was written on yellow lined paper with a blue ballpoint pen and there were complaints about jail conditions.
CBS 60 Minutes
The note says that one guard “kept me in a locked shower stall for 1 hour.” “[Another prison guard] sent me burnt food.” “Giant bugs crawling over my hands. No fun!!”
Epstein’s apparent discomfort about jail conditions comes as no surprise. According to Bruce Barket, Epstein’s former cellmate’s lawyer, Jeffrey Epstein and his legal team took up one of the two attorney visiting rooms “all day, every day.”
Images show the chaotic state of Epstein’s cell after he died in August at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
CNN reports that another photo is a close-up of one of the bedsheets that had been tied into a noose. It’s not known whether that noose was used in his suicide. CBS reports the photos were taken by the Medical Examiner, but did not state how they obtained them, or how they confirmed the photos’ authenticity.
The New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled that Epstein died August 10 by suicide by hanging, though a doctor hired by Epstein’s family to conduct an independent autopsy has disputed that conclusion.
Epstein, 66, was found non-responsive in his cell with a noose around his neck on August 10, weeks after he was accused of running a sex trafficking ring for underage girls. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Two prison guards who allegedly failed to check on Epstein the night he died and falsified logs saying they had done so were charged with federal conspiracy and filing false records. They have pleaded not guilty.
In the indictment detailing the charges against the guards, prosecutors say Epstein was alone in his cell all night, and internal surveillance video shows that no one entered the tier where Epstein was housed overnight.
The indictment also says that less than three weeks before his death, Epstein was found on the floor of his cell with a strip of bedsheet around his neck, and was subsequently placed on suicide watch for about 24 hours.
