- The DOJ's watchdog released a report detailing the circumstances leading up to Jeffrey Epstein's death.
- The report confirms that Epstein died by suicide and was not strangled, as some have speculated.
The Justice Department's office of the inspector general released an exhaustive report detailing how officials failed to prevent Jeffrey Epstein's death in a Manhattan jail.
The report also appears to confirm that Epstein died by suicide and was not strangled, as some have speculated.
The OIG concluded that Epstein was "alone and unmonitored in his cell, with an excessive amount of bed linens," from 10:40 p.m. on August 9, 2019, and was discovered hanging in his cell around 6:30 a.m. the next day.
Justice Department officials also interviewed staffers at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Epstein was awaiting trial before his death. And all staff members who were interviewed "said they did not know of any information suggesting that Epstein's cause of death was something other than suicide," the report said.
"Likewise, none of the interviewed inmates provided any credible information that Epstein's cause of death was something other than suicide," it continued.
Investigators also examined surveillance footage of the common area of the unit where Epstein was held and "did not find any evidence that anyone was present" in the area from 10:40 p.m. on August 9 to 6:30 a.m. on August 10, "other than the inmates who were locked in their assigned cells on that tier of the SHU."
The report noted that Epstein likely rehearsed his suicide on July 23, 2019. And even though he was placed on suicide watch, "numerous nooses made from prison bed sheets were found in his cell on the morning of August 10," the report said.
Several inmates who were interviewed also said that on the evening of Epstein's death, "SHU staff did not systematically conduct the required rounds and counts, which was one of the primary mechanisms for the SHU staff to ensure the safety and security of inmates housed in the SHU."
"As a result, Epstein was unmonitored and locked alone in his cell for hours with an excess amount of linens, which provided an opportunity for him to commit suicide," the report said.