In 2019, Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier facing federal charges related to sex trafficking, was found dead in a New York jail cell. Years later, questions about the suicide ruling remain. Dr. Michael Baden, the forensic pathologist who conducted an examination of Epstein’s body for his family, has once again voiced his doubts regarding the official suicide ruling.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Baden indicated that he believes Epstein likely died from strangulation rather than hanging. “I believe that his death was more likely due to strangulation pressure than hanging,” Baden remarked to the newspaper. “Given the information now available, it is appropriate to conduct further investigation into the cause and manner of death.”
Jeffrey Epstein Autopsy
In 2019, Epstein was found dead in his cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The New York Medical Examiner’s Office has determined that the cause of death was a suicide by hanging. Although Baden did not perform the autopsy, he was present as an observer. He indicated that at the time of the examination, both he and the medical examiner concurred that more information was necessary to ascertain the cause and manner of death.
Baden described his professional conclusion in 2019 as ‘inconclusive.’ However, just five days after the issuance of Epstein’s death certificate pending further investigation, the then-chief medical examiner, Dr. Barbara Sampson, ruled the death a suicide. Sampson has consistently supported her findings. Baden stated to The Telegraph that she was not present during the post-mortem.
What indicated Homicide?
The official autopsy report indicated the presence of three fractures in Epstein’s neck: one located on the left hyoid bone and two on the thyroid cartilage. Baden stated that throughout his 50-year career, he had never encountered three neck fractures in a case of suicide by hanging including instances of inmate deaths within New York’s jails.
In August 2019, he informed Fox News that “the evidence suggests homicide rather than suicide.” Epstein’s legal representatives have also expressed that they were “not satisfied” with the conclusions drawn by the medical examiner, as reported by The Telegraph.
Is there was a security breach in the jail?
New findings concerning security breaches at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre have raised further questions. According to a 2023 report from the US Department of Justice, multiple security failures were identified at the facility, as reported by the New York-based outlet Daily Express US. Epstein was said to have an excessive amount of blankets, linens, and clothing in his cell, with some items torn into strips that looked like nooses. The report noted that routine searches of the cells were not conducted or documented appropriately.
On August 9, 2019, the day before his death, Epstein’s cellmate was moved out, and no replacement was assigned. After a lockdown at around 8 pm, the necessary 30-minute wellness checks were not performed after approximately 10.40 pm, as reported by CBS, citing newly released video logs. Staff later falsified records to indicate that the rounds had been completed.
The following morning, two guards discovered Epstein unresponsive, suspended from the upper bunk in what was characterised as a nearly seated posture, with his body slightly elevated above the floor. An orange strip of material, believed to be from clothing or bedding, was around his neck.
The guards removed it and attempted CPR before he was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Later on, the two guards faced charges for falsifying records. However, newly released video logs reviewed by the Department of Justice show what one report described as “a flash of orange” moving upstairs toward Epstein’s isolated tier at 10.39 pm on August 9.
