a new one Report of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice details the failures that occurred starting a month before Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide while in custody at the Bureau of Prisons. The report also makes it clear that foul play was not possible.
When agents found Epstein unresponsive in his cell on Aug. 10, 2019, Agent Michael Thomas, who was charged criminally in the case, said, “Breathe, Epstein, breathe,” according to the new report issued on Tuesday.
When Thomas saw Epstein hanging from the bed, he said, “We’re going to be in a lot of trouble,” according to the report.
Jeffrey Epstein is pictured in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September 8, 2004.
Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images, FILE
Epstein died by hanging in New York City’s Metropolitan Correctional Center while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
The disgraced financier hanged himself in his cell with an orange noose he made from “a sheet or a shirt,” the report said.
When Epstein’s room was searched after her death, investigators found additional sheets, another mattress and a noose, according to the report.
A photo of Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell after his death, on August 10, 2019, released by the Department of Justice.
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, New York City through the DOJ
On August 10, the inspector general said Epstein was in his cell at 8 p.m. Officials said he made an unrecorded call to a landline that was not monitored by prison communications. Epstein told officers he was calling his mother, according to the report, but that she had died before that date. The report said staff should have been monitoring that call made by Epstein.
After 10:40 p.m., Epstein was not checked or checked until officers discovered him hanging from his cell, according to the report.
Epstein first attempted suicide in custody on July 23, 2019, and the inspector general’s report said Bureau of Prisons employees should have been alerted then.
On July 30, the inspector general said an email was sent to 70 staff members in the prison’s physio unit stating that Epstein was to be housed with a cellmate. But the inspector general said the notice was not heeded by Bureau of Prisons staff, so when his cellmate was moved on Aug. 8, another inmate was not. be placed
The inspector general makes it clear that Epstein’s death was in fact a suicide.
A piece of orange cloth hangs from Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell bed after his death on Aug. 10, 2019, in a photo released by the Justice Department.
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, New York City through the DOJ
“The medical examiner who performed the detailed autopsy for the OIG [Office of Inspector General] “Why Epstein’s injuries were more consistent and indicative of a suicide by hanging than a homicide by strangulation,” the report said. “The medical examiner also told the OIG that the ligature groove was too wide to have been caused by the electrical cord of the medical device in Epstein’s cell and that blood toxicology tests revealed that there were no illegal drugs or substances in Epstein’s system. The medical examiner also noted the absence of debris under Epstein’s fingernails, marks on his hands, bruises on his knuckles or bruises on his body that would have indicated that Epstein had been a struggle, which would be expected if Epstein’s death had been a homicide by Epstein. strangulation.”
The inspector general’s report also found that the camera system was missing and that the jail had serious structural problems and was understaffed.
Staff members also repeatedly misled the inspector general, including a supervisor who allegedly said he didn’t know Epstein was supposed to have a roommate, even though she was in the July 2019 email in which he said he had to have one.
Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photo taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services sex offender registry on March 28, 2017.
New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services via Reuters, FILE
“In addition, we discovered that several BOP employees submitted false documents claiming to have performed the required counts and rounds, and that several New York MCC staff lacked candor when questioned by the Bureau of the Inspector General (OIG) on its actions,” the report. said
The report adds to nearly 4,000 pages of documents obtained by reporters earlier this month under a Freedom of Information Act request.
Documents show that toward the end of his life, Epstein sat alone in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, repeatedly calling himself a coward out loud.
Thomas and his partner were tasked with tampering with log books to make it appear they had completed rounds when they had not, officials said. Both pleaded guilty.
Ghislaine Maxwell, a former associate of Epstein’s, was convicted in December 2021 of conspiring with Epstein to recruit, groom and abuse minors and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She has appealed the verdict.
If you’re experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises, call or text the new three-digit code to 988. You’ll be put in touch with a qualified crisis counselor toll-free, 24 hours hours of the day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.
