Jeffrey Epstein, the New York City billionaire who was being brought up on child sex trafficking charges was found dead in his Manhattan jail by an apparent suicide.
According to reports, Epstein was found hung in his cell around 7:30 am ET. It was also assumed that Epstein was on a suicide watch after previously attempting to take his own like in the past.
This summer, Manhattan federal prosecutors charged Epstein with sex trafficking of girls as young as 14. It was rumored too that Epstein could have had tons of dirt on some high profile individuals. Ironically enough Epstein’s hanging comes less than a day after newly unsealed documents were released in the case that shed some light on the Billionaire’s inner circle and could have implicated some very powerful people.
This story is breaking and we’ll have more as it becomes available.
🙈 Epstein not on suicide watch at the time of his death
UPDATE 1:45 pm ET: According to the New York Times, Jeffrey Epstein was not on suicide watch at the time of his death despite the NYC Billionaire who’s accused of running a child sex trafficking ring attempting to take his own life three weeks ago.
The federal Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to requests for information.
But one federal prison official with knowledge of the incident said Mr. Epstein had been taken off suicide watch a few days and was being held alone in a cell in a special housing unit.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being fired, said guards found Mr. Epstein in the empty cell during morning rounds. He had hanged himself and he appeared to be dead.
It would have been extremely difficult for Mr. Epstein to harm himself had he still been on suicide watch, a second official said, also speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Inmates on suicide watch are generally placed in a special observation cell, surrounded with windows, with a bolted down and no bedclothes. A correction officer — or sometimes a fellow inmate trained to be a “suicide companion” — is typically assigned to sit in an adjacent office and monitor the inmate constantly.
Meanwhile, attorney general William Barr has asked the Inspector General at the Justice Department to open an investigation into the death of Epstein.