Photos of Jeffrey Epstein’s cell and a noose made out of a bedsheet published by ’60 Minutes’
Several photos believed to be of Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell taken after his death, and an image of a bedsheet that had been turned into a noose, were made public by CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday night.
The images show the chaotic state of Epstein’s cell after he died in August at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
In one photo, a mattress sits on the floor and orange bedsheets are strewn around the room.
Another photo is a close-up of one of the bedsheets that had been tied into a noose. It’s not known whether that noose was used in his suicide.
CBS reports the photos were taken by the Medical Examiner, but did not state how they obtained them, or how they confirmed the photos’ authenticity.
The New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled that Epstein died August 10 by suicide by hanging, though a doctor hired by Epstein’s family to conduct an independent autopsy has disputed that conclusion.
Further, “60 Minutes” released images, which CNN is not publishing, of Epstein’s corpse as well as a bloody mark stretching across the middle of his neck.
The TV news show also released a photo of a note, apparently written by Epstein, that was found in the prison cell.
“(redacted) kept me in a locked shower stall for 1 hr. Noel sent me burnt food. Giant bugs crawling over my hands. No fun!!” the note reads.
Images of the outside of his cell are also included in the piece. One photo shows the door of his cell marked off with police tape.
Epstein, 66, was found non-responsive in his cell with a noose around his neck on August 10, weeks after he was accused of running a sex trafficking ring for underage girls. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Two prison guards who allegedly failed to check on Epstein the night he died and falsified logs saying they had done so were charged with federal conspiracy and filing false records. They have pleaded not guilty.
In the indictment detailing the charges against the guards, prosecutors say Epstein was alone in his cell all night, and internal surveillance video shows that no one entered the tier where Epstein was housed overnight.
The indictment also says that less than three weeks before his death, Epstein was found on the floor of his cell with a strip of bedsheet around his neck, and was subsequently placed on suicide watch for about 24 hours.
Attorney General William Barr said in August that there were “serious irregularities” at the prison, and he removed Hugh Hurwitz, the acting head of the Bureau of Prisons at the time.
