Disgraced multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on August 10, 2019. The death was ruled a suicide. The FBI is investigating the circumstances surrounding his death, as confirmed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Epstein, 66, was discovered unresponsive in his cell around 6:30 a.m. Staff immediately initiated life-saving measures. He was then transported to New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, according to officials. Initial reports to the jail indicated a cardiac arrest. Multiple reports later claimed that Epstein had hanged himself.
The New York City medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy to determine the official cause of death. The death occurred just two weeks after Epstein was placed on suicide watch after being found nearly unconscious in his cell with neck injuries. It was unclear at the time whether those injuries were self-inflicted or the result of an assault.
NBC News reported that Epstein was in his own cell at the time of his death and was no longer under suicide watch. Epstein’s arrest occurred on July 6, stemming from allegations of sexual abuse of numerous young girls in his Upper East Side townhouse and his waterfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, between 2002 and 2005.
Prosecutors alleged that Epstein created and maintained a “vast network” from 2002 up to at least 2005, enabling him to “sexually exploit and abuse dozens of underage girls.” He also allegedly paid victims to recruit other girls. Victims were reportedly escorted to a room with a massage table where they would perform massages on Epstein. During his arrest, prosecutors found a trove of pictures of nude and seminude young women and girls at his $77 million Manhattan mansion. Since his arrest, additional victims have come forward.
Epstein pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he faced up to 45 years in prison. His death occurred a day after thousands of documents were unsealed in connection with a defamation case against his alleged recruiter, revealing the names of high-profile individuals, including former Maine Sen. George Mitchell, ex-New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, and Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claimed Epstein forced her to have sex with powerful men, alleged in the lawsuit that Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, kept her as a “sex slave” in the early 2000s when she was underage. In a May 2016 deposition, Giuffre claimed she was trafficked to have sex with and provide erotic massages to powerful politicians, foreign leaders, and wealthy businessmen.
Her attorney, Brad Edwards, called Epstein’s apparent suicide “unfortunate and predictable.” He stated, “The fact that Jeffrey Epstein was able to commit the selfish act of taking his own life as his world of abuse, exploitation, and corruption unraveled is both unfortunate and predictable… The victims deserved to see Epstein held accountable, and he owed it to everyone he hurt to accept responsibility for all of the pain he caused.”
Epstein’s arrest drew national attention, particularly focusing on a deal that allowed him to plead guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida and avoid more serious federal charges. Federal prosecutors in New York reopened the probe after investigative reporting by the Miami Herald stirred outrage over that plea bargain. Epstein’s lawyers maintained that the new charges were covered by the deal and were improper, claiming he hadn’t had any illicit contact with girls since serving his 13-month sentence in Florida.
High-profile attorney Lisa Bloom, who represents some of Epstein’s accusers, tweeted that his death signifies a “consciousness of guilt.”
Jeffrey Epstein’s jail suicide means one thing and one thing only: consciousness of guilt. He was charged with only two counts. But he knew. He knew he was guilty, and all his money would not prevent the inevitable conviction. He knew justice was coming and he could not face it. — Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) August 10, 2019
Before his legal troubles, Epstein led a life of extraordinary luxury, associating with princes and presidents and living on a 100-acre private island in the Caribbean and one of the biggest mansions in New York. A college dropout, he became a sought-after benefactor of professors and scientists, donating millions of dollars to Harvard University and other causes.
It remained unclear how the middle-class Brooklyn math whiz became a Wall Street master of high finance. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com