Did authorities really think the conspiracy theories circling the untimely death of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein would be quelled with the release of the official autopsy report? They probably didn’t. They know the social media age or at least I would hope they would have some sense of it. The autopsy report officially lists Epstein’s death as a suicide by hanging (via NYT):
The official results of an autopsy showed that the financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell, the city’s medical examiner’s office said on Friday, determining that the cause of death was suicide by hanging.
The determination came six days after Mr. Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, where he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Guards on their morning rounds found Mr. Epstein at about 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, prison officials said. He appeared to have tied a bedsheet to the top of a set of bunk beds, then knelt toward the floor with enough force that he broke several bones in his neck, officials said.
[…]
Mr. Epstein’s death is the subject of four federal investigations, including by the Justice Department’s inspector general and the F.B.I. The attorney general, William P. Barr, said there were “serious irregularities” in how prison officials handled his supervision.
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) August 16, 2019
And yet, questions abound on this death. Attorney General William Barr has ordered the FBI and the Department of Justice inspector general to look into this matter, saying he was “appalled” that Epstein died while under federal custody.
Epstein was formally indicted on various sex crimes, including the trafficking of girls as young as 14. He is a sex offender. Due to lack of evidence at the time nearly a decade ago, Epstein avoided serious jail time and got what some are describing as a sweetheart deal over his alleged proclivities. Alexander Acosta was the U.S. Attorney on the case and went with this agreement since the evidence was lacking. His involvement led to his resignation from Trump’s cabinet as the labor secretary, but The Miami Herald series on how Epstein used his wealth and connections to save him led to his arrest this summer.
.@BryanLlenas reporting on the latest in the #Epstein case pic.twitter.com/XvuDLTEkjQ
— The Daily Briefing (@dailybriefing) August 14, 2019
oh, it gets weirder, gang https://t.co/HCMVtrqeQl
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) August 14, 2019
Epstein made his fortune as a former hedge fund manager. He has ties to the Clintons, the British Royal Family, and President Trump. Trump said he hadn’t spoken to Epstein in years after a falling out, adding he was never a fan of his. Regardless, this man was high society and his appetites were very aberrant to say the least. If the evidence was lacking the early 2000s, then there’s no need to worry now. His Manhattan residence uncovered a trove of incriminating evidence, including what appear to be blackmail tapes. The FBI also raided his mansion in the Virgin Islands, “Pedophile Island”. It was reportedly wired for surveillance. The purpose was for blackmail, according to reports. A lot of dirty laundry was about to be unearthed and aired in court. It’s not hard to see how a lot of people wanted him dead and him actually dying while under federal custody only adds more suspicion to that narrative.
For once, the conspiracy theorists should be given a little latitude here. It’s not entirely crazy. His legal team supposedly took him off suicide watch two weeks after he initially tried to off himself. Then, the guards watching him fell asleep, falsified log records, and we have reports of substitute guards being assigned to him. Two guards were suspended and the warden on the Manhattan detention facility reassigned due to this fiasco.
Also, we have reports of shrieks being heard from his cell prior to his death. Oh, and the injuries reported are possible with self-strangulation, but are more commonly seen in homicide victims who have been strangled. This aspect was leaked prior to the official report, adding more fuel to the conspiracy fire, which no one should really be dismissive of just yet. What should be dismissed are Democrats and liberal pundits trying to suggest that AG Barr had anything to do with this (via WaPo):
An autopsy found that financier Jeffrey Epstein suffered multiple breaks in his neck bones, according to two people familiar with the findings, deepening the mystery about the circumstances around his death.
Among the bones broken in Epstein’s neck was the hyoid bone, which in men is near the Adam’s apple. Such breaks can occur in those who hang themselves, particularly if they are older, according to forensics experts and studies on the subject. But they are more common in victims of homicide by strangulation, the experts said.
The details are the first findings to emerge from the autopsy of Epstein, a convicted sex offender and multimillionaire in federal custody on charges of sex trafficking. He died early Saturday morning after guards found him hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan and he could not be revived.
And leaving out the conspiracy talk, it seems pretty clear that the DOJ just straight up dropped the ball here. I mean this is incompetence of the most egregious kind. It’s pretty epic—the failure we’re discussing here.
“hey, sorry we forgot to keep close tabs on that high-value prisoner who already tried to commit suicide once. that’s our bad."
— T. Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) August 10, 2019
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